Chapter 12

TWELVE

Jack

I wanted to wake up like this every morning. If someone had told me a month ago that I would be thinking that, I would've told them they were insane. It didn't matter that my parents had an amazing relationship, I never saw that for my future. Work was who I was married to, and I was okay with that.

Now I wondered if that was just my immature self because suddenly I saw my future clear as day and it didn't involve just work. It was centered around this woman in my arms and hopefully the children she would one day want to have with me.

"Why does it feel like you're thinking so hard?" Shannon's gravelly voice had me dipping my chin to catch a glimpse of her beautiful eyes. I loved the fact that she didn't wake up with smeared makeup all over her face like the women I hooked up with. She was comfortable enough in her own skin to go all natural and that was sexier than any made-up face could ever be.

"Do you want to have kids?" I blurted the question out with no fanfare.

Damn, my lack of a filter first thing in the morning. A better man would've taken the question back immediately. Or at least attempted to backpedal but I wasn't a better man. Mostly because I really wanted to know the answer. It didn't matter to me either way, but now that the thought crossed my mind, I was curious.

"I have nothing against children."

That wasn't what I asked, and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew it as well. I wasn't sure how to continue the conversation without sounding like a dick, so I kept my mouth shut. Thankfully Shannon didn't make me wait long.

"I'm not sure if you’ve noticed I never talk about my mother."

I had noticed. It was also one of the things I considered having Matthew look into for me but dismissed the idea before I could do that. That information needed to come from Shannon, not some background check, and it looked like I was about to get the story now.

"She left my father was I was two years old. Said she didn't have what it took to be a mother and walked away. We never heard from her again. When I was in high school, I had a bit of a rebellious streak. I was determined to find her."

I held my breath as I waited for her to finish. There was a whole lot of hurt in her blue eyes.

"Turned out she just didn't want to mother me . She had a whole new life with a husband and two kids. Both were young, but from the little I saw, she was happy."

I gathered Shannon closer. I pulled her so that she was practically lying on top of me as both my arms held her tight and my chin rested on the top of her head. I could kick myself for the question. Then I was tempted to find her mother and give her a piece of my mind. Who walks away from their child and never looks back?

"I'm so sorry I asked."

"It's okay," Shannon mumbled against my chest. "These are things that need to be discussed." She went quiet for a moment, but her next question nearly slayed me. "Are children a deal breaker for you? Because I have no idea if I will ever be ready to be a mother."

It was a good thing I didn't condone violence against women. Although I might make an exception and ask one of Matthew's female co-workers to deal with Shannon's mother for me. Damn that woman for making my girl feel less about herself.

"No, it's not a deal breaker for me. I’d be happy with it just being the two of us forever."

I thought more about the words I said and found them to be true. Sure, kids would be great, but I wasn't dying to have some. It had never even crossed my mind until a few minutes ago.

Shannon wiggled until her chin was resting on her hands on top of my chest. I had to tuck my own chin so I could look at her. It wasn't the most comfortable angle to be in but I felt what she was about to say next was important.

"Are you sure?” she asked. “We’re still early enough in this to walk away without either of us getting hurt."

Shannon let out a little squeak as I flipped us both over so that she was pinned beneath me. My forearms trapped her and I made sure I had her full attention before I spoke again.

"First off, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Second, if you think that you walking away right now wouldn't rip me to pieces, then you haven't been paying close enough attention. I might not be ready to say the words, but I can promise you I'm already well on my way."

Tears pooled in Shannon's eyes and I used my thumb to brush the one that managed to slip free.

"I thought it was just me."

I caught two more tears as they trailed down her cheeks. "Not just you, I promise."

My phone chose that moment to chime, and I was tempted to ignore it. This conversation felt more important, but I was expecting a call from my brother.

"Hold that thought."

I rolled over and snatched the phone off the nightstand. Sure enough, it was Matthew.

"This better be good," I growled as a greeting.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I cockblock you? Some of us spent the entire night working, not snuggled in a cozy bed wrapped in a woman's warm embrace."

I mentally berated myself. Matthew was right. He was out doing all the work while I got to spend time with Shannon. The least I could do was not be an asshole when he called.

"Sorry," I said automatically.

"It's cool but yes, I do have something good for you." That had me sitting up in bed. We could use some good when it came to this situation. "Shannon was right. We followed the money and she's not the first. She’s the fourth, in fact. The first two went off the grid, kinda like what Shannon tried to do. It took nearly a year, but eventually, Davis got sick of destroying their lives. The third is spending time in an institution. My guess is he drove her to that after he destroyed her life. And now he's set his focus on Shannon."

I cursed under my breath, but it did no good. Shannon was sitting up next to me, her ear pressed to the other side of the phone. There was no mistaking the fact that she heard everything Matthew said. Luckily the tears from a moment ago were gone and nothing but anger could be found in her eyes.

"Please tell me you have the bastard," I seethed.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. Teach the motherfucker a lesson. Not just for Shannon but for the other three women who didn't deserve what he did to them. The bastard was sick and deserved to be put down for what he did.

"Not yet, but again, we're following the money. He's stayed at a different hotel each night this week. We’re waiting for one of his credit cards to ping again. As soon as it does, my team will grab him.”

I didn't have to look at Shannon to know we were both on the same page. "Let us know when you get him. We want to be there."

Shannon nodded her head in confirmation, and I knew I’d made the right choice. She deserved to see this through to the end. I wasn’t worried that she was some wilting flower who needed someone to take care of her. She could do it herself, but I would be happy to help.

"You sure about that?" Matthew asked.

This time it was Shannon who answered. "We're sure. Just tell us where to meet you and we'll be there. I want this finished."

"Okay," Matthew sighed. "Be ready for my call." There was nothing left to say and Matthew wasn't one to fill space with senseless chatter.

I put the phone back on the nightstand and turned to Shannon. The anger was a living, breathing thing at this point. I didn't bother to ask her how she was doing.

"Want to talk about it?"

Shannon didn't wait to answer. "I want him to pay. I want those three women to know that justice was served, however that might look. I want to make sure he can never do this to another woman again. I got lucky when I found you. Pretty sure those other three can't say the same."

It killed me to admit it, but I was sure she was correct. Maybe the first two enjoyed their new lives by themselves, if that was what they were doing but the third woman didn't deserve to be institutionalized. Not if Davis was the one to drive her to that state of mind with the things he did.

"I'll make sure we help them,” I swore. “Whatever it takes."

"Thank you." Shannon was quickly off the bed and pacing the large room. I figured she had some excess energy to burn, and while I could think of other ways to help with that, sex didn't solve every problem. Even if I wish it did.

"How about we order breakfast and then watch a movie while we wait for Matthew to call us back?"

I wanted to suggest getting out of the room, but I refused to take a chance with her life. We would be staying put until my brother's team had Davis in their clutches and not a minute before. I wasn't stupid. I knew how easy it was to get careless too soon.

"Yeah, okay."

I climbed off the bed and stepped in front of Shannon to stop her pacing, even if it was just for a moment.

"This ends tonight," I promised her.

"It ends tonight," she echoed back.

I would make sure that was the truth. One weekend was enough for her to deal with this mess. I refused to let it go longer than that. Come tomorrow, we would start the rest of our lives knowing Davis would never again be a part of it.