Page 51 of Shea's Hero

But I’m not so sure about that once I’m seated in the Blade and Arrow conference room with three very tall, muscular guys, and Nora, who’s one of the most badass women I’ve ever met. They all ooze intensity, the same kind Niall and his teammates have, postures tense and gazes alert, like they’re anticipating trouble at any moment.

It doesn’t bother me when Niall gets like that, because he’s my brother, and after spending a week visiting him in Texas, I’ve gotten to know his team there pretty well. But these people are practically strangers, and even with Oliver here, I’m a little intimidated.

The biggest of the guys is staring at his laptop intently, his fingers flying over the keyboard at a blinding speed. Leo, I remember from our initial greeting, the resident tech genius.

I recognize Cole at the head of the table from the night at the Hop-less Horseman. He’s the founder of Blade and Arrow and Maya’s husband, which means I desperately want to make a good impression on him.

The third man, who introduced himself as Finn, has dark hair and a teasing glint to his eyes. I remember Jade mentioning him as she showed me a gorgeous photo hung in her apartment,explaining it was taken by Hanna, a professional photographer, and that Finn’s her husband.

I’m not quite as intimidated by Nora, since she and Zane have been the ones escorting me to work and back every day. And if it weren’t for Nora’s story about her own husband, I might not have had the courage to reach out to Oliver in the first place.

She looks across the table at me and Oliver, her gaze carefully assessing, and then she gives me a pleased little smile. Feeling a bit better, I smile back at her and mouth,Thanks.

Beneath the long conference table, Oliver rests our entwined hands on my thigh. The reassuring contact makes the pressure in my chest ease a little more.

“Okay.” Cole looks up from his tablet and glances around the table. With a kind smile, he says, “First off, before we get started. Shea. How are you feeling?”

I answer in an overly chipper tone, “I’m good, thanks. How are you?”

Oliver coughs quietly beside me.

Sighing, I admit quietly, “A little nervous.”

Cole nods, understanding in his gaze. “You’re not the first person to feel nervous here. I get it. People you don’t really know, and we’re asking you to recount some pretty scary stuff. But we’ll try to make it as painless as possible.”

Leo looks up from his laptop and says in a low, rumbly voice, “When my Georgia came here for help, she was terrified. But it all worked out. And she married me”—he smiles, his face lighting up—“so I guess I didn’t scare her too badly.”

Cole chuckles. “That’s true. And Maya made me promise to be extra nice, not like I wouldn’t, but she’s worried about you. She said to call if you need anything.”

Oh.

“See,” Oliver whispers. “I told you.”

“Okay,” Leo announces. “Niall’s signing on right now.” He grabs a remote from the center of the conference table and clicks on the large projection screen on the wall.

“Wait.” I straighten in my chair. “Niall’s going to be here, too?”

“Of course,” Cole replies. His brow furrows. “Is that a problem?”

Now everyone is looking at me like I just sprouted an extra head. Which makes sense; why wouldn’t I want my brother, who happens to be a part of Blade and Arrow, no less, to join a meeting about a case that involves me?

My cheeks go warm. I’m about to make up some kind of excuse when I realize I’m about to do it again. Hiding how I feel because I’m afraid it might upset someone.

“I just know we’re going to talk about some of the stuff that happened,” I confess. “And I know it’ll upset Niall. Make him feel bad. I don’t want him worrying about me more than he already does.”

“Shea.” Niall’s voice erupts through the speaker, blasting through the room.

Everyone jumps, and Leo lets out an exasperated sigh. As he clicks away on his laptop, he says, “You guys. I was gone foronevideo call. How did you manage to mess it up again?”

Finn smirks at him. “To make you feel useful.” Then he turns to me. “Sorry about your eardrums, Shea. Aside from Leo, we’re not the best with technology.”

Nora flicks a pen at him. “Speak for yourself. I’m not the one who insisted he could set up the callthe right way this time.”

Through the speaker, Niall huffs, at a much lower volume this time. “While this is all very amusing, I’d like to say something to my sister.”

On the screen, he searches out my gaze. His expression softens. “Shea. I’m your brother. I’m always going to worryabout you. But please don’t feel like you have to hide things to keep from upsetting me. Not knowing is worse. Trust me.”

Guilt pricks at me. We already went through all this when I got so sick and Niall didn’t know until I was in the hospital, and he felt so guilty he and Jade ended up having a giant fight because of it.

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