Chapter 10

TEN

Jack

As if I needed more of a reason to hate Davis, the fact that he put that uncertainty in Shannon's eyes made my blood boil.

I was lucky enough to have parents who encouraged me to be myself. That meant following any path that made me happy, as long as it didn't involve drugs or a life of crime. So far, I’d held myself to that, but I might have a hard time keeping to that second part. The more I learned about Davis, the more murdering him sounded like a damn good idea.

Shannon gifted me with a genuine smile.

How did I know it was genuine? Because last night at the bar I had seen the fake one. It was meant to keep distance from what was supposed to only be a one-night stand. Now that we’d moved past that, I was getting the real her.

Maybe it was too soon to be thinking it but I was pretty damn sure I was falling for the real Shannon.

It was a good thing my phone chose that moment to ring. Otherwise, I might've blurted my feelings out, and I had a feeling Shannon wouldn't appreciate them.

Not yet anyway.

When I saw it was my brother calling, I quickly swiped to answer. I didn't get the opportunity to say hello before he started talking.

"Someone torched Shannon's father's shop."

My heart shattered at my brother's words. I knew what this would do to Shannon. She might've just admitted that she didn't want to run her father's business, but I had no doubt that she wouldn't want it to burn to the ground either.

"Keep me posted on what you find out."

I hung up before my brother could warn me what this meant. I already knew what Davis' objective was and I was going to have an uphill battle trying to convince Shannon not to play into his hands.

"Who was that?" The tremble in her voice gave her away. She already knew something bad had happened. She just hadn't known how bad it really was.

"It was Matthew."

"Tell me. I would rather you just rip the Band-Aid off and tell me."

I gave her what she asked for, and then immediately wished I hadn't. In front of me was no longer the strong woman I met in a bar. Tears poured down Shannon's cheeks and her entire body shook with sobs. I thought hearing my brother tell me about the shop had shattered my heart, but I was wrong. Watching Shannon fall apart did it instead.

I gathered her in my arms and set her on my lap. I gave her my strength and whispered promises to make him pay. I didn't have to say his name. We both knew who did it. I should've expected something like this to happen after we hid Shannon away, but I foolishly thought there would be time before Davis acted out. I wouldn't be making the same mistake twice. I would give my brother and his team twenty-four hours to locate Davis and then I was going hunting myself. I might no longer be special ops but that didn't mean I lost my edge. Matthew made sure of that.

"I've ruined everything." The words slipped out between sobs.

Her head was buried into my shoulder, so it was more mumbled, but I understood what she said. And it only made me want to lash out at someone. That someone being Davis.

"You've done no such thing," I said with as much conviction as I could muster. I was trying my best to keep the anger out of my tone. Shannon didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else.

"I brought Davis into their lives. Most of my father's employees have been with him since I was a little girl and look how I repaid them."

I tilted her chin up until I had her beautiful blue eyes looking at me. "I doubt there's a single one of them who would blame you." And if they did, they would have to deal with me. I wasn't going to let anyone make this worse for her.

"I need to go back home. I need to see the damage he's done."

It was the moment I dreaded. I found pretty quickly that I wanted to give this woman the world, but this was one time I wouldn't be able to do it.

"We can't do that." I tried to minimize the blow as much as possible, but it was no use. The newfound fire in Shannon's eyes confirmed she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"I wasn't asking your permission."

I took a deep breath. It wouldn't help for both of us to be angry. Shannon had every right to be, which meant I was stuck being the levelheaded one.

"I know you weren't but hear me out. Davis did this on purpose. Moving to this hotel under a false name revoked his access to you. He wants it back and he struck out in the one way he knew would get your attention."

Shannon climbed out of my lap and off the bed. I missed her touch immediately, but this wasn't about me. She clearly needed space and I had to give it to her.

"Damn right, he got my attention." Anger was rolling off her in waves. "He burned down my father's legacy like a toddler in the middle of a damn temper tantrum!"

I climbed off the bed so we were on equal footing. "Exactly. He's throwing a tantrum in hopes that you react without thinking. You can't give him what he wants."

Shannon deflated right in front of me, and it killed me. "I can't let my employees think I abandoned them. I told them to give me a few weeks and now there's nothing for them to come back to."

Option after option floated through my mind. As a business owner, I felt the same sense of responsibility for my employees. I would move heaven and earth to take care of them.

"Matthew's already there or at least on his way." I hoped so at least. "Let him communicate with them for you."

Even as I said the words, I knew better. If I couldn't live with that solution, I couldn’t expect Shannon to.

She shook her head no, just as I expected she would. Then it hit me.

"How many of your employees do you trust?"

Shannon scoffed at the question. "Almost all of them, but there are a few I would trust with my life. Ones my father would trust with my life."

The more she spoke, the better the idea sounded in my head. "Would you be willing to meet with just them? Not necessarily travel back but video conference? That way we aren't playing right into Davis' hands."

I watched as Shannon chewed on the side of her lip. I gave her time to think about it without adding anything more. I couldn't persuade her either way. The decision had to be made solely by her. Otherwise, she would resent me later and that wasn't how I wanted to start my relationship with her.

Because whether Shannon realized it or not, that was where this was heading. Nothing I learned was going to change that.

"That could work but I need to know they’re protected. If Davis is willing to burn down my father's place to get my attention, then who knows what else he's willing to do? I won't have my people hurt while I hide here."

"Done." I thumbed out a message to my brother setting everything up. It would take more resources from Blackguard Security, but I was sure Matthew's boss wouldn't mind. I had met the man a few times when I visited, and he was fiercely protective of those who worked for him. That extended to family as well. "Do you have the names of the employees and their families? I know Matthew's team can probably find the information, but it would be faster if you gave it to them."

And it would give Shannon something to focus on other than the situation at hand.

Shannon nodded her head eagerly. She found a notepad and pen on the large desk. Sitting down in the chair, she got to work.

I felt my phone vibrating and looked down to see my brother was calling once again. I stepped away, not only to give Shannon some space but to try and keep the call as private as possible.

"What do you have?"

"The fire marshal has no doubt the fire was arson. The person didn't even try to cover their tracks. I would say it was done by an amateur but I'm leaning towards the person wanting us to know this was no accident."

"I figured as much. I already told Shannon that Davis is likely trying to draw her out."

The bastard wouldn't have had the balls to cause the destruction personally, but no doubt he would be there to snatch her up. It made no sense. He was going through an awful lot to get her back. I couldn’t blame him, Shannon was amazing. But she deserved someone who worshipped her, not a boy who was prone to fits.

"I'm going to reach out to my team and get her people protection. Send me the names as soon as you have them."

I glanced at where Shannon was sitting at the desk. The pen in her hand was flying across the paper. "Already on it. I'll have it to you shortly. She has one more request."

I told my brother about the video call I needed him to set up as soon as I had a name or two. Shannon would want to speak with them sooner rather than later, so he promised to round the people up after our call.

By the time I hung up the phone, Shannon was walking my way.

"Here you go. This is everyone."

I glanced at the list. There were more names than I expected. I had it in my head that her father's shop was small. Based on this list, that wasn't the case. Hopefully, Matthew would be able to make it happen.

Snapping a picture of the names, I sent it off to my brother before putting the phone away. I wanted to see where Shannon's head was at.

"How you doin’?"

Her eyes were still red and her face blotchy from crying, but there was also a fire in her eyes that for a second I thought Davis managed to snuff out. I should've known better though. Shannon wasn't the type of woman to let a man do that to her. One hour in her presence and I knew that much at least.

"Better now that we have a plan. I hate not being able to go back to check on the place, but I understand it. Davis is unhinged. There's no telling what he would do to me, and I don't have a death wish. I just can't figure out how I missed it before."

My need to comfort her and validate her took over. "You weren't the only one and I doubt you missed anything. Hundreds of thousands of people think he's great. Some master manipulators are just great at hiding who they truly are. He didn't get the title ‘media mogul’ for nothing. But the public doesn’t see the real man. Unfortunately, he showed it to you, and I'm betting if we dig hard enough, there will be other women in his past."

That gave me an idea. I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and typed out another message to my brother. There was a good chance someone on his team already thought of it, but in case not, now they would. There was no doubt in my mind that Shannon wasn't the first woman Davis did this to. It was just a matter of finding others. And if anyone could do it, it was my brother's team.