UNBREAKABLE BOND novel Chapter 8

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Chris Donovan had always been a forceful person. He’d had lots of criticisms from people because of this trait. But he’d never wanted to change that about himself. Ever. And for the first time in his life, he was happy he hadn’t. If that forceful nature was going to help him find peace, then he was going to go all out and be forceful.

After coming out of his personal sanctuary two days earlier, Chris had vowed to get Shane to talk to him come hell or high water. And he planned on achieving that through fair or foul means if he had to. He’d hired the services of one of the best private investigators the country had to offer. The man’s task had been simple… Find out Shane Lewis’ daily routine. When did he usually go out of his house? What time did he usually get back home?

Chris had already found out where Shane lived. The house was big but had only one security guard at the front gate. Shane’s back gate had no such security. The guy probably thought he didn’t have enemies, Chris thought with a chuckle. Well, with his reputation for doing only genuine business, it was no surprise that the man thought no one would try to harm him. After all, most people didn’t even know he was the Shane Lewis.

By Friday evening, Chris had all the information he needed. The best information being that Shane always drove into the house through his back gate because his garage was situated in the back. The electronically operated gate would slide up for Shane to drive in, and then would come back down immediately the car went through. Chris wasn’t worried about how long the gate was going to take to come down because he planned on rolling in right behind Shane’s car. Joining the military for a twelve-month stint had not been for nothing, Chris thought grimly. What was the worst thing that could happen? Shane would probably catch him trespassing and hand him over to the police. Big deal!

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Shane groaned as he sped home in his luxury Cadillac Escalade SUV after a basketball match on Saturday. He had a group he played basketball with sometimes. He was good at the game…very good. But that day, he’d let his side down because his head hadn’t been in the game. Shane had made silly misses that had surprised his boys because that was so not like him. He’d had to apologize to the guys after the game, explaining that he had a lot on his mind. It was just for fun anyway so the guys hadn’t given him a hard time about it. But Shane had been pissed off at himself…and at Chris Donovan.

Since seeing Chris at that meeting on Monday morning, all Shane could do was think about Chris. He couldn’t put a finger on what exactly he thought about…he just thought about the guy and that pissed Shane off to no end. Even on the basketball court, thoughts of Chris had intruded because Shane couldn’t help but think of all those fun times years ago when he used to play basketball on the court in Chris’ house. Shane groaned and tightened his hold on the steering wheel in annoyance.

Chris was ruining the little fun he usually indulged in and that was not right. Shane was so upset he hadn’t even waited to have a drink with the guys like he usually did. He’d just hit the showers and gotten into his car, lying to the guys that he had an appointment elsewhere. Thanks to Chris-fucking-Donovan, he couldn’t even bring himself to properly hang out with his friend. As if that wasn’t enough, Shane had to be stopped for overspeeding. He hadn’t even realized he was driving above the acceptable limit. Fuck!

As Shane got back onto the road, with a ticket tucked into his glove compartment, he couldn’t help but curse Chris silently. What bothered Shane was not the ticket but rather the fact that he’d been careless on the road because he’d been preoccupied. He couldn’t help but accept the fact that he was falling apart and he had no one other than Chris to blame for that. Shane was so angry he failed to notice the unfamiliar car parked just around his house. Though he was confident no one would want to harm him, he usually made it a point to note any odd or unfamiliar presence around his home. Shane parked in his garage and rested his head on the steering wheel, trying to calm himself down.

Shane raised his head after a while and instantly froze when his eyes went to his driving mirror. Was he hallucinating on top of his woes? He could see an image of Chris behind his car. Shane was positive he was hallucinating because there was no way Chris could have gotten inside his garage without being allowed in? It was all in his mind. Shane blinked and looked again but the image was still there. In fact, it looked real. Shane had had it!

There was only one way to know whether he was hallucinating or looking at the real Chris. Shane opened his glove compartment and punched in a code that opened an inner compartment. Then he reached for the pistol in there. The head of his security had insisted on hiding a pistol in each of his cars because Shane had insisted that he neither needed a bodyguard nor a chauffeur. Well, it looked like after all these years, the gun was going to come of use. Shane got out of his car.

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Chris’ heart went out to Shane when he saw the way he leaned his head against the steering wheel when he parked his car beside a white Lamborghini Gallardo. It was obvious that something was bothering Shane and Chris hoped, with all his heart, that he wasn’t the reason for whatever Shane was going through. He decided to wait till Shane got out of his car to talk to him…give him the chance to compose himself. Chris knew the exact moment Shane saw him through his driving mirror.

He waited with his heart pounding as Shane got out of the car. Then he saw what was pointing straight at his head and froze. A pistol. Chris would be a liar if he said he didn’t get scared when he saw the gun pointed at him. Who wouldn’t get scared if someone who had every reason to hate them pointed a gun at them? But what terrified Chris, even more, was the look on Shane’s face.

The look of utter desolation on Shane’s face was heart-wrenchingly palpable. It was the look of a broken man. And as he looked at Chris, Shane begun to breathe harshly, his face scrunched up and his eyes welled up. Chris forgot about the gun.

“Oh God, Shane.” Chris breathed as he felt goosebumps break out on his skin at the look on the other man’s face.

Chris started slowly towards Shane, noting how the gun didn’t waver even once but remained pointed right at his head. Then he heard it…the sound of the safety catch on the gun being released. The sound was pretty loud in the quiet garage. Chris knew Shane could kill him in an instant but he didn’t really care if Shane took that shot at him. Hell, he’d tried to do it himself once because he deserved it. But he also knew deep down that Shane wouldn’t shoot him. Chris just knew it.

As he neared Shane, Chris saw the tears begin to slide down Shane’s cheeks and felt his heartbreak even more. When he got so close to Shane their bodies were almost touching, Chris slowly reached up and took hold of the hand holding the gun. Then Chris gently pried it out of Shane’s hand and pushed the safety back into place. What happened next, Chris would never forget.