“You do not want that.” Shane shook his head as he eyed Jeff up and down. “Trust me.”
The mood in the diner changed. People openly gawked and the waitress backed away from their table. Blame it on testosterone or whatever, but a battle was brewing and clearly everyone felt the danger. Except Jeff. He didn’t back down. He outweighed Shane by at least thirty pounds, but Shane was all lean muscle and lethal fighter.
This would be a bloodbath, and while Jeff deserved to be pounded into the floor, she didn’t want to witness it. “Shane, stop.”
“Listen to the woman, Shane.”
“One more time. Who are you?” Shane’s voice dripped with disdain.
“Just one of the men she screwed over.” Jeff threw out an arm in her direction, nearly hitting her.
She pulled back just in time. “You can’t blame me. You’re the liar.”
With each word, her anger rose. She seethed with it. This guy had tracked her down, showed up at her house more than once. He’d been in the wrong and now pretended to be the victim. She despised him and everything he stood for.
Jeff’s face flushed red and he took a threatening step toward her. He reached his arm out but never touched her. Shane moved with lightning speed to stand between them and pushed the guy back. Kept pushing over Jeff’s protests and swearing until his back hit the wall. Shane held Jeff there with a hand around his throat. That was it. One hand had him pinned.
Shane didn’t even move as Jeff punched at his arm and moved his whole body, trying to break loose. When two men got up at another table, Shane held up a hand. Didn’t say a word, but the gesture was enough to get them sitting back down again.
Makena’s heart lodged in her throat and wouldn’t slip back down again. She wanted to stop the madness, but it had spiraled so fast and so furiously and she could only stand there, openmouthed and stunned.
“We seem to be having a miscommunication issue here. Let me be clear.” Shane’s voice sounded deadly cold and even. “You don’t go near her. Not to talk with her or touch her. Ever.”
Jeff tried to pry Shane’s hand off but failed. “She’s been asking for it.”
“That is the line said by every abusive male on the planet.” Shane’s grip tightened. “She dumped you. Move on.”
The idea of dating Jeff made her stomach roll. “That’s not what this is about.”
Jeff scoffed. “As if I would date that piece of—” His words choked off as his eyes bulged.
“Last warning.” Shane leaned in closer to Jeff. “If you think I won’t rip you apart in front of an audience, you’re dead wrong.”
“Tough talk from a guy who doesn’t even know what’s going on.”
It was as if Jeff wanted Shane to kill him. She couldn’t believe Jeff missed the rage simmering there. That he couldn’t see the darkness in Shane’s eyes.
After a beat of silence Shane let Jeff go, but not before shoving his head back and knocking it against the wall. “Explain it to me.”
Jeff doubled over in a coughing fit. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure. When he did, anger thrummed off him. “Ask your girlfriend. She’s the one causing trouble.” He scowled at her. “You going to turn on this guy, too?”
She hated being put in the role of bad guy. Jeff took no responsibility for his bad choices. That shouldn’t surprise her, but it did. “Shane’s not a liar.”
“Makena, don’t help,” Shane said without moving his gaze away from Jeff.
“That won’t work. She’s ruthless.”
Shane pointed at Jeff. “And you’re done talking to her or about her.”
He batted the hand away. “You’ll find out. Just wait.”
Makena watched as Jeff stomped off. Pivoted around the tables, ignoring all the stares and the waitress rooted to the spot with the coffeepot dangling from her hand. The noise of the diner muffled. Makena could hear the creaking of chairs and the clanging of silverware, but it all sounded so distant.
Shane dropped back into his seat and stared at her. “So...”
“I never dated that guy. I would never date someone like him.” She wanted that clear from the start.
The waitress darted over and refilled glasses. Shane waited until she left again to start talking. “What’s his name? And do not hesitate. Tell me.”
She didn’t even have to wage an internal debate. It would all spill out now. “Jeff Horvath.”
Shane exhaled. “And who is Jeff Horvath to you?”
“That’s not exactly an easy question.”
He shoved his plate of uneaten food aside and leaned in on his elbows. “Lucky for you, I have all night. All day tomorrow, too. Talk.”
“He’s a fake SEAL.” The words tumbled out of her then. “You were in the military. Others weren’t. There are men who pretend to be war heroes, special ops guys, and...they lie. They live their entire lives lying and not caring that real people fought and died doing what the liars claim to have done.”
She expected to feel empty and frustrated at having the information pulled out of her, but no. A surge of relief hit her. She’d dealt with this huge weight and all the anger that came along with it for almost a year.
Shane’s eyes narrowed and stayed there. “This Jeff is one of those guys?”
“Yes.”
“Huh, I should have decked him.” Shane dropped his hands to the table. Just inches from hers. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
This was the part he’d hate. She steeled her body for the inevitable yelling. “There’s this website called Wall of Dishonor. It outs men who are pretending to be war heroes.” When he continued to frown, she tried again. “I work for the website. Do research, file Freedom of Information Act requests.”
“You work at a college. At a desk.” His expression went blank. “Didn’t you reiterate that earlier?”
The look on his face didn’t fool her. He was winding up. She could feel the tension twisting the air around them. “Yes, but—”
“What, Makena?”
That tone. Not helpful, but she decided not to point that out, since he looked half-ready to strangle her. “I do this on the side.”
“You tick off men who lie about military service. Men invested in their lies who have everything to lose when you uncover their deceit.” With each word he jammed his fingertip against the table with a thud. “Do you hear the tone of my voice? Can you tell how bad this is?”
“They deserve to be exposed.” She believed that to her core. She’d grown up with a military man. Her father had dedicated his life to his career more than he ever had his family. Early in his service, he’d been stationed in Hawaii and found the perfect military wife who put everything aside for his career. By the time Makena and Holt came along, their parents were entrenched.
Dad was tough and commanding and demanded excellence, something she’d failed at for almost all of her life. Holt had suffered their father’s wrath while she’d been spared. She’d been the disappointment. She flailed and tried to find her way, but got something of a pass from her parents, who never expected much of her anyway. Holt went into the army.
She’d gotten a lot of things wrong in her life, but she understood the military mind-set and the sacrifices. She hated the idea of someone claiming to have served who never did. It was an insult, and she’d spent most of her free time for nearly a year hunting these