Chapter 4

FOUR

Jack

I tried to remember what I knew or read about Davis Jackson. It wasn't much considering social media wasn't really my thing. I used it for work but only because my secretary said I had to and offered to run it for me. Otherwise, I was probably the only thirty-one-year-old who wasn't glued to his phone and posting every move I made.

"He did this?" I tried to hide the disbelief from my voice, but I figured I hit the mark when Shannon sighed.

"And this is why I was forced to run. No one believes me when I tell them what he's done."

She was still sitting in the desk chair, and since the two mattresses were flipped off the bed, that only left the tiny ottoman as a place for me to sit. I dragged it over to the desk and dropped down onto it. It was short, so my six-foot-two frame looked awkward, with my knees nearly hitting my chest. I made it work though, despite how uncomfortable I was.

"I'm not saying I don't believe you. I'm just trying to wrap my head around what's going on. Weren't you the one asking if I was trouble? Seems like you had that backwards."

I didn't get the laugh or even the small smile I was hoping for.

I thought more about what she said and, to be honest, I was a little surprised.

"Isn't he a billionaire?" The question popped out of my mouth before I thought better of it.

Shannon rolled her eyes at me as if to show me exactly what she thought of my question.

"He's a millionaire and I know what you're thinking. Can he really be that bad?"

"Actually, I was trying to reconcile the woman I met last night who told me she was into blue-collar men with the women who dated a billionaire. Excuse me, a millionaire ," I quickly corrected when she gave me a stern look.

This was the same woman who let me do unspeakable things to her last night after only hours of meeting me, and she met everything I dished out with fervor. I had some eclectic tastes in the bedroom, but I'm pretty sure Shannon had me beat.

"A momentary lack of judgment and the loss of my father are the best explanations I have. Believe me, I learned very quickly the error of my ways. I was just too far down the rabbit hole to get out unscathed."

I ran my eyes up and down her body despite knowing damn well that I had seen and touched every inch of it last night. There wasn't a single mark on her. But not all scars could be seen.

"We need to call management and the police," I reiterated. "A place like this has to have surveillance, so I'm sure he was caught on camera."

Shannon scoffed. "Not likely. Davis doesn't get his hands dirty. He probably hired some thug to do the job for him. It will be another dead end just like every other time I've tried to involve the police in this."

I suddenly thought of my brother and what he did for a living. I wasn't supposed to know about the jobs he took for Blackguard Security. He was a black ops team for a reason, but seven years apart didn't mean shit. Not when we were both former special ops. I just chose a civilian life when I got out. Matthew didn't. It was easy to recognize when someone wasn't completely out of the game.

"I might be able to help with that, but let's start with the police first."

It only took fifteen minutes of being in the presence of both management and the two police officers assigned to the case for me to understand why Shannon sounded defeated even before she told them who she suspected did it.

It was blatantly obvious that everyone in the room, except me, thought she was lying.

Maybe lying wasn't the right word.

Attention seeker. That was the vibe they were giving off and none of them bothered to hide it.

"So, you were in a relationship with Davis Jackson for"—the officer looked down at the notebook he was taking notes in—"six months but you have no proof of this relationship."

"I’m sorry that, when I decided to run for my life, I didn't consider bringing along memories of our relationship. I guess it just slipped my mind," Shannon sneered. Her tone was laced with sarcasm. Something I'm sure the police officer didn't appreciate.

"No phone with pictures? No social media accounts? Davis Jackson is a media mogul. He makes his living from social media."

It was obvious Shannon was holding on to her patience with the thinnest piece of thread and she was going to snap any moment. I was about to answer the officer for her, but she beat me to it.

"I left my phone so I couldn't be traced. I deleted my social media accounts for the same reason. And if you think for a minute that Davis manages his own socials, then you're even dumber than you look," Shannon snapped.

Her attitude wasn't doing us any favors. I wanted to remind her as much, but it didn't seem like the best time for me to bring attention to the fact that she had nothing to go off of.

As she suspected, the video footage didn't show Davis breaking into her room, but it did show a man. A young one, so at least there was proof she hadn't caused the destruction. Well, sorta. Management was trying to say she did it before she went down to the bar, even though she had only been in the room for less than ten minutes. That wasn’t nearly enough time to cause that much of a mess, at least, not in my opinion. The police officers, on the other hand, weren’t convinced.

"Ma'am, you used your credit card to pay for the room. You were already able to be traced," the second officer informed her.

Shannon's shoulders slumped forward as she realized her error. Very few civilians understood how much their everyday activities could be traced.

"I hadn't thought about that," she groaned.

The first officer flipped his notebook shut with more effort than needed. The audible sigh didn't help either. "Is there anything else you can think of that's important?"

Shannon looked defeated when she shook her head no. The original fight she had in her when the officers arrived was gone, and only a shell of the woman still existed. I wanted to go to her and provide some comfort, but that wasn't what we were.

Hell, we were strangers.

A one-night stand.

"We'll be in touch," the officer huffed.

Both officers left, followed by the manager, after assurances that Shannon would be provided a new room if she wanted it. She was quick to decline the offer and promised to be out of the room within an hour so housekeeping could clean up. I waited for the door to close before I spoke again.

"I see what you mean." I had stood off to the side while Shannon was giving her statement, but now I felt the need to be close to her again, so I sat back down on the uncomfortable ottoman. I didn't care what it said about me that I wanted to provide her comfort. I was going to do it anyway.

"At least they were decent enough not to call me a liar to my face. I've had that happen a time or two," she muttered.

I was angry for her. Sure, there were probably a few people in the world who got off on the attention that accusing a high-profile person like Davis Jackson got them, but Shannon didn't seem like the type. For starters, she didn't want attention. From everything she’d told the officers about the previous incidences, she never went public to make her claim. Everything was kept quiet when she filed her police reports.

She stood from the chair and sighed. "Let me just grab my stuff and then we can get out of here. I need to figure out my next steps."

"I'm just going to step into the hallway to make a quick phone call."

Shannon waved me off. I'm not even sure she heard what I said. She was already focused on the task at hand.

I was dialing my brother before I stepped fully into the hallway. Just like every other time I called, he answered on the second ring.

"I expected to hear from you last night. Don't tell me you found a woman to warm your bed instead of calling your favorite sibling," Matthew laughed.

"You're my only sibling, fucker, and yeah, I did, but it's not like that."

Actually, it was exactly like that, or it had been until we found her hotel room trashed.

"I need a favor," I was quick to add on before my brother could continue to bust my balls. It was how we communicated most of the time, but right now I didn't need my brother, Matthew. I needed Navy Seal Matthew Moore.

"Name it." And just like that, my brother flipped the switch.

"I need you to book me a hotel room under an alias. Preferably one that will hold up under scrutiny."

I knew I was asking a lot, but I also knew it was something my brother could do. Not him specifically, but someone on his team. Again, I wasn't supposed to know what my brother did for a living, but based on how often he traveled internationally and how often he actually traveled under his real name didn't exactly add up, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

"Are you in trouble?"

"Not me specifically." I didn't want to tell him too much over the phone. There was no telling who could be listening in.

And now I sounded as paranoid as my brother. Great . . .

"So not only did you ditch me for a woman, but you found one who needed a hero as well."

"Can you do it or not?" The irritation was clear in my tone. I didn't have time for games. Yes, I was in Boston to see my brother, but I wasn't about to leave Shannon high and dry. There was no doubt in my mind if I didn't come up with a solution, she would be on the road today and out of my life within the hour, only for Davis to find her again in the next town she stopped at.

"Of course, I can do it. Do you plan on telling me what's going on?" My brother was in full operator mode. Nothing would distract him from helping.

"I will, I promise. Just get me the hotel info and I'll meet you there and tell you everything."

After I got the rest of the information out of Shannon. It was clear when she was talking to the police that she left a few things out. I was going to need all the details if I had any hope of keeping her safe.

"I'll have it for you soon. Be careful in the meantime, brother. I would hate to burn my city to the ground because you went and got yourself into trouble."

I laughed at what he said. That was something Matthew loved to remind me of; he might've been seven years older, but we were close, and he didn't take kindly to anyone bothering me. One word and he really would burn the city down to save me.

"I'll see you soon."

I hung up the phone and mentally prepared myself for the fight I was going to have as soon as I walked back into the room. Shannon wasn't going to accept help easily, so I just needed to prove to her that it was in her best interest to let me handle things.

I highly doubted it was going to be an easy feat.