Chain of Title (21 page)

“And just who am I,
Chastain?” Sean asked coldly, agilely stepping in between Frank and Shayna.  He
cupped Shayna’s face in his hands and tilted her head up, bringing her gaze to
his.  What he saw in her eyes crushed him.  He swallowed, regained his
composure and stared directly into her fearful eyes; he could feel her
trembling in his hands.

“Do you want to leave?  You
can call Dani and meet her another time.”

Shayna took a deep breath,
seeming to pull strength from Sean, and shook her head.  “No.  I’ll be fine.  I
want to see Dani before we leave today.”  His face pinched in question.  “I’m
sure, Sean.  I’ll be just fine,” she said, taking his hands in hers, squeezing
them and smiling weakly.  He nodded, unconvinced, and then slowly, keeping
Shayna behind him, turned to face down Frank, who was nearly as tall as he was.

“Got something you want to
say to me, Chastain?” he asked, through tight lips.

Frank inched closer, his
chest expanding.  “Yeah, I’ve got plenty to say to you, punk,” he said with
gritted teeth.

“Daddy!” Danielle called out
from the other side of the lobby.  Her arms stretched for a hug as she quickly
covered the distance with Harper in tow.  Frank’s eyes didn’t leave Sean’s. 
“Oh?  Hi, Sean, I didn’t know—” her tone was apprehensive and then she caught
sight of Shayna standing behind him with her hands twined in his.  “Mom?  Are
you, okay?”

Frank hastily pulled Danielle
into a warm embrace, acknowledging Harper and extending a hand to him, while
keeping the other around his daughter, herding her away from Sean and Shayna.

“Let’s get a table,
sweetheart,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek and motioning to Harper to
follow, whisking them both away into the restaurant.

Sean inhaled deeply and did
his best to cage the malice boiling deep in his chest.  He wasn’t about to make
a scene or draw attention publicly to the mounting acrimony and approaching
reckoning.

He brought Shayna around to
stand in front of him and eyed her circumspectly.  Jesus, she was so
beautiful.  It killed him to see this timid version of her staring up at him.

“I’ll do my best to be civil,
Shay, for your daughter’s sake.  But I need you to back me if I think we need
to leave, if I think things might get out of control.  No questions.  Can you
do that?”

She reached up, stroked his
jaw, and then lifted on tiptoes to surprise him with a warm, deep kiss.  Wrapping
his arms around her, molding her body against his, he felt his heart pick up
speed as the delicious taste of her lips and tongue mingled with his—teasing
him with hope.  She eased away slightly and he saw in her eyes the trust that
he knew she didn’t easily give.  A lump clogged his throat at the thought of ever
disappointing her, ever losing her trust.

“No questions.  I’ll do
anything you ask,” she whispered softly.

His blood heated immediately
and he bit back the lusty remark that would have ordinarily followed a comment
like that.  Things had changed in the last twenty-four hours, and he didn’t
want to frighten her or make her uncomfortable with his need, which was quickly
becoming urgent.  He ached to love her—gently and slowly.  However, he was
letting her set the pace, and he would eagerly follow wherever, whenever, she
was ready.

She looked like she was
waiting for him to say something, her creased eyes hinted at a smile, but then
it quickly faded, replaced by what looked like doubt or embarrassment.  She
stepped away from him and dropped her arms at her sides, avoiding his eyes.

“We’d better go sit down,” she
said in a detached tone as she turned to head toward the table.

Sean quickly clasped her hand,
wondering what had just happened.  He felt certain he had done something wrong,
but wasn’t sure what.  He looked ahead and saw Frank Chastain’s steely frame
and hard eyes watching them intently, rage and jealously warring on his face. 
He sat at one end of the six-seat rectangular table.  Danielle was sitting around
one corner to the left of her father with Harper at her other side.  They both
looked skittish, no doubt from the palpable discord between Frank and Sean. 
Sean’s jaw tightened.  It was clear that Frank was expecting Shayna to sit
across from their daughter and next to him by default.  Not happening, Chastain,
Sean thought, his lips twitching in aggravation.

He pulled out Shayna’s chair
and she glanced at Danielle and back to Sean.  Tilting his chin down, Sean
leveled his eyes at her and nodded faintly with a quick wink.  He sighed to
himself with relief when she took her seat across from Harper without
hesitation.  Then he dropped smoothly down in his seat next to Frank, wrapping one
arm around Shayna and drawing her in closer to him.  Drumming his fingers on
the table in front of Frank, Sean sneered at his stony face.

Never taking his eyes off
Frank’s, he spoke in a restrained tone, skillfully laced with contempt.  “I get
the feeling Shayna’s right.  With
this
gathering there must be big
news.”  He slowly diverted his gaze to the young couple on the other side of
the table, who were fidgeting and giving one another nervous sideways glances. 
He could feel the tension thrumming in Shayna.

Harper cleared his throat and
brushed the dark hair away from his golden brown eyes.  He put his arm around
Danielle, causing her to blush and giggle nervously, and then he spoke with a
confidence that contradicted his youthful appearance.  “I spoke with Mr.
Chastain a few days ago,” he began, nodding to Frank, who smiled in reply, “and
asked for permission to marry Danielle.”  He and Danielle looked at one
another, each with ear-to-ear grins, and he took her left hand in his, placing
it on the table.  “And she said, yes,” he announced, lifting her hand to
display a two-carat princess-cut diamond solitaire ring.

Shayna reached out, took her
daughter’s hand, and then grabbed Harper’s, as well.  “I’m so happy for you,
love, for both of you,” she said, glancing between them.  “I really am.  You
two are wonderful together.  Always remember the way you feel right now.  It’ll
make the bumps in the road that we all experience in life, smoother—when you
have each other.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Danielle said,
with tears threatening to spill over her dark lashes.

Three punctuated claps sounded
from Frank, as he locked eyes with Shayna.  “I couldn’t have said it better,
Shay.  I’d only add one thing.”  He turned his eyes to Danielle and her
husband-to-be.  “What you two are feeling right now, will only grow stronger
with time, deeper—a bond that can never
really
be broken.  You should do
everything
in your power to make sure that it’s not—
without apology
,”
he said with deliberate emphasis, and then turned his narrow focus back to
Shayna.

Danielle and her fiancé were
back to appearing skittish and uncomfortable.

Sean leaned forward in an
attempt to block Shayna from Frank’s view and to convey to him, with a
murderous expression, the impending doom he was inviting.  Then he felt Shayna’s
hand on his chest, directing him out of the way.

“Really, Frank?  On the day
our daughter announces she’s engaged, you want to make it about us?”

She leaned around Sean to get
closer to her ex.  Sean noticed Frank flinch and his heart warmed at the newly
lit fire in Shayna.

“I wish for so much more than
that for her.  I want her to marry her first love, not her
second
choice,
a second choice who ended up not even being a
close
second.”  Danielle
gasped, her eyes volleying between her parents.  Shayna ignored her, hissing, “And
you made sure I paid for that, didn’t you?”

A sheen of sweat appeared on
Frank’s forehead and above his upper lip.  He nervously swiped them away, apparently
realizing too late that he had woken the giant.

“You’re a real piece of work,
Frank.  I never really knew you.  And Danielle is the only good thing I have to
show for my time with you, because the rest of it was a lie,” she breathed out
hotly.

“Mom!  Your wrists!  What
happened?  How’d you get those bruises?” Danielle asked with alarm, accusing
Sean with her eyes.

Shayna held her hands out in
front of her, slowly pulling her long sleeves up to her elbows, twisting and
turning her wrists so all could view them better.  Frank loosened his tie and
cleared his throat.  Sean squeezed one tight fist into his other hand, planting
his elbows on the table, unable to take his eyes off Frank.

Shayna huffed derisively.  “These
are the only ones that I can show you,” she remarked coldly.

“Mom, what’s going on?  How
did that happen?” Danielle repeated, the concern obvious in her pitched voice,
her eyes still casting suspicion at Sean.

Then Shayna leveled her
unforgiving eyes directly at Frank, her posture strong and unyielding, as was
her voice, “Ask your father.  He knows all about it, don’t you, Frank?”  The
year-around tan that Frank Chastain always seemed to boast drained to a ghostly
white, his skin appearing clammy.  “I’m no longer in the business of protecting
people from the truth,” she said, bringing her eyes back to Danielle.  “The
truth gets heavy when you carry it by yourself.  I need to start spreading the burden
around.  If I can handle it, so can everyone else.”  Shayna turned to Sean and
squeezed his thigh, looking pointedly at him.  “Let’s go.”

As they stood together, Sean
congratulated Danielle and extended his hand to Harper.  “I haven’t had the
privilege of getting to know Danielle yet, but if she’s anything like her
mother, you’re a very lucky young man.”

Shayna glanced at Harper and
then Danielle, and smiled apologetically at them both.  “I’m sorry that your
father chose to ruin this day for you.  Understand now, this is the last time I
will be in the same room with him, except of course for your wedding and
reception.  Do me a favor though—make it a
big
room.”  She shot Frank a
scathing look before Sean wrapped his arm around her and escorted her through
the bustling restaurant.

Sean was
more than pleased with the way events had unfolded at Lucy’s.  Based on the
horror-stricken look on Danielle’s face, he could only imagine the questions she
must’ve asked her father after he and Shayna left.  The satisfied smirk on
Sean’s face just might become permanent.  However, it had taken every ounce of
his strength not to kill Chastain in front of everyone at that restaurant.  The
raging war between self-control and seething emotions had left him feeling
beaten and worn.  He raked his hand through his wavy brown hair, shaking his
head.  Shayna’s declaration that she wouldn’t be seeing her ex again, except
for the upcoming nuptials, had been the words he had wanted to hear from the
beginning.  He did feel sorry for Danielle though.  The poor kid’s engagement
announcement had been relegated to a non-event, the wedding date not even
discussed.

Glancing over at Shayna as
they headed for the marina, he couldn’t help but feel a coolness from her.  She
hadn’t said a word since leaving the restaurant.  After what she had been
through, he knew not to read too much into it.  He just needed to be patient
and follow her lead until
his
Shayna was back.  He was a patient man,
and time was on his side.

Shayna pulled the ringing
phone from her bag, glancing at the caller ID.  “Hello, sweetheart,” Shayna murmured
with a regretful tone, her elbow wedged up against the window and door,
thumbnail flicking at her teeth as she stared out over the passing cityscape. 
“Really.  What did he tell you?”  Shayna rubbed at her eyes and exhaled.  “Yes,
we had an...
altercation
.  I’m not going to discuss the details, Dani,
other than to tell you that there are other bruises.  And that I meant what I
said today.  I’ll be making sure that your Uncle Jack understands, too.” 
Shayna paused and dropped her head back against the dark leather headrest, closing
her eyes.  “Don’t cry, love.  Everything will be just fine.  Sean and I will be
back in a few days and I’ll call you then.  We’ll discuss whatever plans you
have for your wedding, and I’ll help as much you’ll let me.  Have you set a
date?”  She sat straight up looking forward.  “What?  Dani, please don’t do
that because of what happened today.  I hope this is the only wedding you’ll
have, unlike me, and that your marriage will be long and happy.  I want it to
be special for you and Harper.  You both deserve it.  Your father and I
will
be civil.  We won’t do anything to embarrass you.  You have my word.”  Shayna
began shaking her head.  “No, no, no.  Just wait until I get back and we’ll
talk—just you and me.  Okay?”  Shayna nodded and a weak smile dragged across
her lips.  “Great.  I’ll call you as soon as I get back.  I love you too,
Dani.”

Shayna disconnected the call
and returned to her former mute state, staring gloomily out over the passing
structures.  Lake Indigo lay low on the horizon.  Sean slid his hand around
hers, but she remained limp and unresponsive.

Her phone rang again.  He was
getting rid of the damn thing before they got on the boat.

She scowled when she saw who
was calling and then answered it with a bitter tone.  “Is Dani hurt?  Is she
sick?”  Shayna’s face shaded with fury.  “Then why the hell are you calling
me!”  She bit at her lip, eyelids dropping to slits.  She listened for a few
moments and then laughed mockingly.  “You know, Frank, I think you’re right.  Maybe
I am a poor judge of character. 
You’re the shining example
.”  She
disconnected from the call and meant to drop it in her purse, but Sean caught
it, sliding the phone into his pocket.

He answered the annoyed look
on her strained, tired face, saying, “It’s mine, now—until we get back.”  He
raised his brows and shook his head as she prepared to contradict him. 
Surprisingly, the fight in her drained quickly, and she relaxed back into her
seat.

“I feel almost sick it’s been
so long since I’ve eaten.  Can we stop by your restaurant and get something?”

“Yeah, sure.  Can we get it
to go?  I really want to get the hell out of here.”

“So do I,” Shayna whispered
somberly.

****

Thick
clouds skated across the sky, blocking most of the stars and moonlight.  Safety
lights flashed ghostly intermittent warnings in the murky distance, where other
boats sat anchored in the protected waters for the night.  Sean and Shayna had
gorged on lasagna, garlic bread, and delicious roasted red pepper bisque.  She
had been unusually quiet since the confrontation with Frank earlier in the day,
but Sean also felt a chill directed at him.  He knew she was pissed about him
locking her phone in his desk at the restaurant, but, damn it, he didn’t want
any interruptions.

He also wanted to make sure
they couldn’t be tracked.

His hand scrubbed at one side
of his face.  A crew had swept the Tuscan Dream before he and Shayna arrived at
the marina.  He needed to make sure there were no listening devices aboard or anything
more nefarious.  Things were beginning to heat up, and he wasn’t about to take
chances, especially where the woman he loved was concerned.

Now she sat with her arms
crossed and draped over a side rail, gazing into the darkness, away from him. 
Before boarding the boat, she had told him they needed to talk, get some things
settled.  He didn’t like the sound of that.  He had meant it when he’d told he
wouldn’t answer every question she asked.  Some things simply weren’t relevant
to
them
.  He would have to make her understand that.

A gentle gust lifted and
fluffed Shayna’s blonde hair.  He watched her breathe in the cool air, turning
her face into it.  Jesus, she was so beautiful.  His chest tightened just
looking at her.  Remembering the times they had spent sweaty and naked together
sent hot spikes of need to his groin.  He had never planned on her.  Never
expected her.  Never thought he would find a woman he couldn’t live without. 
He would do anything to keep her safe—except, of course, for that one time he
couldn’t.

The bruises on her body, the
distress on her face, and the waver in her voice sparked an unparalleled rage
that swelled inside him.  His hands raked hard through his dark hair, gripping
unmercifully at the nape of his neck, trying to control the beast inside him.  He
would find a way to make it up to her, for not being there to protect her. 
Sean ground his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the moon sneakily peeking
through the clouds.  Frank Chastain was a dead man, one way or another.  He
would make sure of it.

“I want to know what’s going
on, Sean,” Shayna said dispassionately.  She still sat, brooding out over the inky
bay.  Silence stretched between them, only the sound of water lapping lazily at
the side of the Tuscan Dream.

He wished he could read her
mind.  “What do you mean?”

“The things you said last
night.”  She paused and skimmed a finger along the railing, her eyes following
the path.  “Exactly what kind of friends do you have?  You and Frank?”  She bravely
turned to face him.

Sean swallowed hard, inhaling
deeply and exhaling slowly.  He hated this.  None of it would’ve ever had to
come up but for her bungling, loser of an ex-husband.  None of it had anything
to do with Shayna or their relationship.  Now, a divide was already beginning
to form between them because of it.  He could feel it.

“Like I told you before, I
know people.  People with means and connections.”  He paused and chose his
words carefully.  “The kind of connections that are sometimes outside the
law.”  He braced for her reaction.

“And these people are here in
Mt. Pleasant?”

“When they want to be.”

Her brow furrowed.  “What
does that mean?”

Wetting his lips, he thought
carefully.  “Most aren’t from here.  It’s a network scattered between the
coasts—and beyond.  There are no boundaries.”

“And Frank knows these people
too?”

Sean grabbed a seat and
pulled it over to sit across from Shayna.  “No.  He’s mostly mixed up with
local thugs and one from Vegas.”

“Vegas?”

His eyes searched hers for
any recognition.  “Did you know your ex has a gambling problem?”  The sudden
shock that spread across her creamy complexion said she didn’t.  “It’s probably
one reason he dragged his feet about the divorce in the beginning.  He needed cash
readily available.  The divorce forced him to sell a substantial amount of his
personal stock and real estate portfolios to pay you off.  You’re a smart
woman, Shay.  I’m sure you’ve already wondered if the problem with the release on
your acreage had anything to do with money troubles.”

“How do you know all of
this?” she asked warily.

“I already told you.”

She nodded slowly, suspicion
clouding her features.  “And yet, you still expect me to believe that you
didn’t know who I was when we first met?  When you heard my last name?”

His head cocked.  Where was
she going with this?  “No, Shay, I didn’t.”

“I find that hard to
believe—now.”  Sean winced away from words that felt like a punch to the gut. 
“Does Frank owe you money?  Or your
friends
?  Is that what this is
about?  Getting to him through me or getting money
from
me?”

Sean sat gaping in wide-eyed disbelief. 
“How could you possibly think I’ve been using you this whole time?”  He felt
like a hot spear had just pierced his heart.

“Like you said, I’m a smart
woman.  The world I knew up until a day and a half ago no longer exists.  Right
now, I’m questioning everything I thought I knew.  Apparently, I should’ve
questioned a hell of a lot more over the years,” she said distantly.  Her eyes
wandered off over the water and into the darkness.

He clasped her hands and
pulled her toward him, bringing her eyes back to his.  “You don’t need to
question my intentions where you’re concerned,” he pleaded roughly.  His throat
constricted, his stomach rolled at the thought of losing her trust, of losing
her.  “You know me, Shay.  I’ve never lied to you.”

“You get around that by not
answering my questions and by omitting information that you think I might not
like hearing.”

He dropped her hands and
slapped his against his thighs.  “What the hell!”

“You don’t always answer my
questions, Sean.  Not directly.  Not even last night.  Just this morning you
told me you
wouldn’t
answer all my questions and that I should know when
not
to ask them.  Why?  What are you hiding?”

The doubt in her eyes made
him queasy.  Sean stood abruptly, scraping the boat deck with the chair as he
knocked it back with his legs.  “You know everything you need to know about me,
Shay.  Everything that’s
important
.”

Shaking her heading solemnly,
she asked pointedly, “Am I safe being with you?  These friends of yours...am I
in any danger because of you?”

He exhaled sharply, eyes
widening, his ego bruised.  “How
safe
were you with
him
!”  The
instant he blurted it out, he felt like an enormous prick.  The pain on her
face confirmed it.

Shayna gasped, as she looked
away, arms crossing over her chest.  Shaking her head slightly and worrying her
bottom lip, she said sharply, “That’s a really shitty thing to say, Sean.”  She
flicked her eyes back to his.  “I don’t need a reminder from you.  I’m not to
blame for what happened.  He is!  I never in a million years thought he
would...”  She didn’t finish, instead angrily swiping away a tear.  Sean could
feel himself shrinking in shame for his insensitive comment and harsh tone.  “I
can’t believe I was so wrong about him.  For so long,” she said in an anguished
whisper, glancing down at her hands twisting in her lap.  “But I’ll get past
it, like everything else.  I always do,” she muttered, looking resolutely into
the night.

Sean tentatively moved toward
her, sitting next to her but not touching her.  She immediately drew her body
away from him and stood, walking to the other side.  He rubbed his hand roughly
over his face as his stomach churned from the chilly rejection.

“I have a lot to think about,
Sean.”

The way his heart hammered
against his chest, she had to hear it.  “Just talk to me, Shay.  Whatever
you’re thinking right now, just say it.  It’s okay.  We can work out whatever
it is.  Just don’t shut me out.”  He stood and moved a few steps closer.  “What
are you thinking, Shay?”  The words were more like a demand than a question.

With her back to him, she
sighed and responded coolly, “I won’t answer all your questions, and you should
know when not to ask them.”

He huffed loudly at the
verbal face-slap.  Then his reaction followed with a rising anger and need to
set some things straight.  “I never said I was a saint.  I
didn’t
know
who you were until you spelled it out for me.  You know why?”  She still stood
with her back to him, her arms closed tightly around herself.  “Because I’m a
man.  When I saw you, all I could think about was what you’d feel like underneath
me.  I didn’t give a shit what your last name was—
that’s
the truth.  I
have my reasons for not wanting to talk about certain things, Shay.  I’ve made
mistakes in my life—some big ones.  I don’t want to relive them, talk about
them.”  He swallowed the lump growing in his throat.  “And I don’t want you to
hate me,” he said quietly, stepping to her side.  “I’m sorry about what I said
before.  I didn’t mean it, Shay.  I know it wasn’t your fault.  I never thought
it was.  Look, I know you’ve been through a lot, even before yesterday.  You
are
safe with me.  You always will be.  I’d never hurt you.  And I’ll do everything
in my power to make sure that no one else ever does again.”  She still wouldn’t
meet his eyes.  Sean inhaled deeply and exhaled softly.  “But you have to stop
comparing me to him, Shay.”