Fighting for Desire (2 page)

“I don’t know what you are doing but I’m going to work.
Goodbye, Dev.”

She opened her car door and slid onto the torn seat. She
knew he watched as she started the car and backed out of the spot. Luckily it had
only taken one try to get the car going. Sometimes it took a while for the
engine to crank.

A glance at the clock on the dashboard showed she was going
to be late to her second job. She swallowed down the painful emotions burning
her throat. She had survived eight years without him and she could survive
more.

Dev stood in the parking lot until Shannon’s car disappeared
from view. What in the hell had just happened? He turned and saw a security
camera pointed right at him. Fuck. He shouldn’t have been so careless.

He ran his hands through his hair and then stalked back into
the club. Marco waited just inside the door.

“Everything okay?”

His jaw clenched and unclenched. “Get the car. We’re leaving
in five!”

Marco grabbed onto his arm to stop him from striding away. Marco
was probably one of the only people in the world who had enough balls to interfere
when Dev’s mood turned this black.

“I asked around while you two were…talking. She works here,
bartending only. Then she leaves and goes to another job. The girl I talked to
thinks she is a waitress at an all-night diner but she wasn’t sure.”

“What in the fuck is she even doing in a place like this?”

She was too good to be working in
The Honey
Jar
.
Even after everything they had been through he wouldn’t wish a job like that on
her.

Marco lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know, man,
but I do know one thing. You need to calm down and think this out.”

Dev felt his anger rising to the surface and he swung his
fist before he could stop himself. The familiar sense of relief as he made
contact with the wall was almost a comfort in that moment. Bits of drywall flew
around Marco’s head but his friend never flinched. Hell, he was probably used
to walls being destroyed by now.

“Finished?” Marco asked with a raised eyebrow. “Then let me
finish what I was saying. You haven’t seen Shannon in eight years and a lot has
changed since then. You are filthy rich, Dev. You have things people are
after…”

Dev shook his head. “You’re wrong. Shannon isn’t one of
those women.”

“Maybe so. Maybe not. My point is you need to be smart about
this—don’t rush into the situation blindly. We need to form a plan, Dev.”

“What are you asking me to do? Pretend I didn’t see her
tonight? Pretend I don’t still want to rip off her clothes and fuck her until I
can’t breathe?”

It felt good saying the words out loud. Yeah, he still
wanted her even though she had ripped him apart eight years ago.

His friend sighed. “Just give me some time to look into
this. Don’t you find it hard to believe you just
happened
to run into
her tonight? Didn’t you say you heard she was still living in Tyler?”

“The last I heard Shannon was still living with her folks
but that was a few years ago. I wouldn’t blame her for getting out of that
hellhole.”

They were both born and raised in Tyler, Texas and Dev had hated
every minute of living there. Small towns just didn’t do it for him, especially
when everybody knew everyone’s business. And especially when he had never fit
in.

The day he turned eighteen he left that town behind and
never looked back. Of course Shannon had been part of why he had run. He could
admit that now.

“Trust me on this, Dev. Let me have my people look into her.
If she checks out, then I say go fuck her and get her out of your system once
and for all.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Marco sighed. “If she doesn’t, then I will have your
attorneys write up a contract that will force her to leave you alone.”

He stared at his friend and finally nodded. “You have one
week. If you haven’t found out something by then, I’m going to find her and
finish this my fucking way.”

* * * * *

Exactly four days later Dev stood outside a tiny diner. To call
it a hole in the wall would be too kind. While the club Shannon worked at was
considered upscale, this place should be shut down and condemned.

A neon light with missing bulbs flashed and beckoned the
scum of the earth to enter. He watched as an obviously drunk man stumbled
through the front door and barely situated himself on a ripped barstool. Even
from the outside Dev could see that everything inside was shit.

Shannon walked up to the man, wearing a sweet smile. Dev
watched as she talked to her customer. She poured him a cup of coffee before
moving on to another man who sat farther down the counter. When she was out of
sight, Dev pulled a folded paper from his pocket.

Marco’s man had found some interesting things in his
investigation. One, Shannon was up to her neck in debt and she hadn’t just maxed
out a credit card or two. She was in serious financial trouble. Two, she had
left Texas shortly after he had, though people had lied to him and said she was
still there. Three, she had been arrested.

A smile spread across his face. Never in a million years
would he have thought Ms. Perfect would have a police record. The investigator
had been unable to find out why she had been arrested but knowing her it was
probably something minor like arguing over a speeding ticket.

The investigator also found out that her scholarship had
been taken away for an unknown reason and she had never gone to college. Out of
everything on the report, that one surprised him the most.

Hell, college was all Shannon ever talked about when they
were together. She just knew moving out of Texas for school would change their
lives and he had almost been able to believe her.

He still remembered sitting in the school’s library as they
filled out application after application. She had specifically picked out universities
he would want to attend…

“
Devlin James
…
if you’d just focus
,
then
we’d be finished.
” S
he scolded him with a giggle.

His hands had been slowly making their way up her silky
thigh and his touch was starting to get to her. No one around them knew what he
was up to, which made their little petting session even more exciting.

“Babe, do we really have to do this? You know I’m never
going to get accepted to any of these schools…”

His voice trailed out in silent defeat. His grades alone
would make it hard to get accepted anywhere, not to mention his laughable SAT
score. Even with all of Shannon’s help, filling out all these applications
seemed hopeless.

She bit her lip and said, “I could always talk to Daddy
again.”

His fist hit the desk. “Dammit, no! I told you I don’t
want your old man’s help! I don’t want to give him something to hold over my
head!”

Her face paled and she nodded. “I’m sorry I mentioned it.
I won’t bring it up again.” She took in a deep breath and picked up another
application. “This one’s a community college in California and it’s near the
beach.”

His anger melted away as he looked at her. She was the
only person who could calm him down and he felt bad for snapping at her. It
wasn’t her fault her family was loaded and his…wasn’t.

He glanced at the application and smiled. “Near the beach?
Does that mean we could study on the sand?”

She grinned.

“That sounds great,” he said.

Her head bent as she began to fill out the application
for him. A moment later she caught him watching her.

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about how much I love you.”

Her face lit up brighter than the sun and she threw her
arms around his neck.

“I love you too, Dev. I always will.”

A car honked, bringing Dev back to the present. Enough time
had passed that he could appreciate the irony of the memory. She would always
love him? That was probably the biggest load of shit he ever fell for, but in
some ways, he should also thank her for playing him like a fool. Without that
little betrayal he wouldn’t be the man he was today.

He shoved the report back into his pocket and strolled
toward the diner door. He was here for one thing and he didn’t plan on leaving
until he got it.

“How are the kids, Joe?” Shannon asked the man sitting near
the end of the bar.

Joe, a regular to the Sunset Café, sat with his hands in his
greasy blonde hair, shielding his face from the light. Judging by how he looked,
days had passed since he had seen a shower and fresh clothes. She walked down
the bar until she stood in front of him.

“Joe?”

His head lifted and bright, bloodshot eyes full of sadness
stared back at her. She could remember looking in a mirror and seeing the same expression
in her own eyes before getting sober. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away the
pain from those days. Right now she needed to be there for a friend and not wallow
in her own memories.

“She left me,” he whispered in a broken voice. “She took the
kids and left and I don’t know where they are.”

Her heart broke for him. She understood what drinking could
do to a person and now Joe’s worst fear had come true because of his addiction.

“I told her I would go to those fucking AA meetings but she
said it was too late.” Tears filled his smoky-blue eyes. “I could hear my baby
crying as she drove away. Oh God what have I done?”

Silent sobs racked his body and Shannon ducked under the
counter so she could put her arms around him. Her embrace unleashed more tears
and she held onto him, comforting him the only way she could. He was broken and
she could sympathize with him.

The bell on the door dinged as another customer walked in
but she didn’t look up. Only regulars came in at this hour and they all knew
Joe’s story. They would understand if it took her a moment to get their order.

Finally she asked, “Do you have a place to stay?”

He shook his head.

“I’m going to give you some money. Get a motel room and
sober up. Then you need to get to the AA meetings. Even if Lori doesn’t take
you back, you need to do this for your kids. Do you understand me? It isn’t too
late.”

“Shannon, I can’t take your money. I know you need it—”

“This isn’t up for debate, Joe. Now let me grab my purse and
call you a cab.”

He nodded and she ducked back under the counter. Since she
worked the night shift, she locked her purse in the tiny office to keep it
safe. She’d learned her lesson the hard way when someone stole her wallet two
days after she had started working there.

She unlocked the door and grabbed her purse from its hiding
spot under the desk. Digging around, she found her wallet and pulled out all of
her cash. She held five hundred dollars in her hand and sighed.

Joe would need at least three hundred to get him through the
week, even at a crappy motel, and her rent was due tomorrow. If she gave Joe
the three, she’d have to dodge her landlord until she was paid again.

She squared her shoulders and put the last bit of her money
away. Times had been tougher than this and she had survived. Picking up the
phone, she dialed the cab company, slightly sad that she knew the number by
heart.

“I need a taxi at the Sunset Café. Ten minutes is fine.
Thanks.”

She hung up the phone and ran her hand through her hair. A
roach ran across the cluttered desk and she smashed it with the stapler. She
would have to tell her boss to contact the pest company again, which he
probably wouldn’t do. Again.

“Shan-Shan, order up!” a voice called from the kitchen.

“I’m coming, Tony,” she called back.

Tony tended to get bitchy as the night went on and she
didn’t want to deal with his diva-like attitude. She made sure her apron was
tied neatly and walked out of the office. As she passed the kitchen window she
grabbed the plates she needed to deliver.

“Here you go, gentlemen,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be
back with some more coffee.”

She saw the new customer had decided to sit in a dark corner
with his back facing everyone. She called out to him, “I’ll be right there,
sir.”

Customers who chose to sit away from everyone else irritated
her. Everyone knew she and Tony were the only ones working and tried to sit as
close to the counter as possible. She sighed.
Asshole
.

She made her way back to Joe, who sat drinking his coffee.
She slid the money into the palm of his hand.

“Here you go, hon. The cab will be here in ten minutes,
okay?”

He nodded.

“Do you still have the number for the AA sponsor?” she asked
softly.

She had given him the name of her own sponsor, an older man without
whom she never would have made it through those first few months after getting
sober. She had made more late-night calls to him than she could count and she
could never repay him for his help. One day she hoped she could be a saving
grace in someone else’s life.

“Yes, I still have it.”

“Good. Give him a call tomorrow.” She hugged him. “It’s all
going to work out, I promise.”

Deep down she knew Joe was about to face the biggest battle
of his life. The days ahead were going to be mentally and physically painful
but sobriety would be worth it in the end.

Of course he could always decide not to get sober but she
was too tired and worn down to even think about the possibility. At least she
had given him a chance he didn’t have otherwise.

She grabbed the pot of coffee from the warmer and filled up
the customers’ cups as she passed. She had ignored Mr.
Sit-as-Far-Away-from-Everyone-Else-as-Possible as long as she could and headed
his way.

As much as she hated being a waitress she needed all the
tips she could get, especially since she was now short on rent money. Johnny
Ice’s offer at the club danced through her mind. The cash he said she’d make
would go so far…but at what cost? Johnny always wanted more than he asked for
and she needed to shove the idea away. Why make a deal with the devil when she
worked in paradise? Smiling wryly to herself, she focused on refilling her
patrons’ coffee cups. Now was most definitely not the time to consider what Ice
was asking of her.