Chapter 5

FIVE

Shannon

I shoved my clothes back into my duffle with enough aggression to accidentally tear something, but I didn’t care. I was too damn mad at myself.

How could I not have realized Davis could track me when I used my credit card to pay for the room?

Out of all the crime shows I watched and the books I read, that little detail should never have slipped my mind. Yet here I was, standing in a trashed hotel room after a police officer verbally handed me my ass because of my naivety.

Not my finest moment.

I was gathering what was left of my toiletries—you know, the ones not destroyed by Davis' minion—when Jack came back in the room.

"Thank you for an amazing night,” I said. “Really, it was the best of my life, but as soon as I get my stuff together, I need to get out of here."

It killed me to say those words. What should've only been one night turned out to be something better, but now that Jack saw the level of dysfunction my life was, it was time to bow out gracefully.

If that was what I could even call this.

"You're not running away," he said bluntly.

I stopped mid-throwing my brush into the bag to turn around and look at Jack. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Excuse me? I'm not sure what part of the last hour you missed, but I am sure as hell running away." I went back to my packing and did my best to ignore Jack, but he wasn't having it.

"And what exactly is your plan?" he pressed. "You heard the officer. Using your name and cards is going to keep leading Davis right to you."

I threw the duffel down on the floor and yelled at him. "You think I don't know that now?! That officer you so kindly referred to did a good job of making me feel like an idiot . So yeah, I'm aware that I can't use my license or any of my credit cards but that doesn't mean I'm staying here. I'll figure out a way." Jack didn't deserve my anger, but he was the only one around, and I couldn't keep it bottled up anymore.

I had money. My father made sure of that. I just needed to take the cash out and then I could fly under the radar. Maybe get a cheap vehicle from some shady car dealer so that Davis couldn't track me that way.

Yeah, I could do this.

The more I thought about it, the more ideas started to pop into my head.

"Or I could help you."

"Help me?" I asked, like the idea was a foreign concept. And maybe it was. No one had helped me since my father passed away.

"Listen, I know you're not stupid, despite what that officer wanted you to believe. Using cash is a viable option but that means you’ll be forced to stay in seedy motels. What if I told you I could make sure we stayed in decent places without using your name?"

I only needed a moment to think about it before I rejected the idea. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I can't further involve you. Plus, Davis probably already knows your name."

There was no probably about it. Davis would know his name, know that I didn't spend the night in my room, and he would now be gunning for Jack. He was a possessive bastard like that, even though we hadn't been “together” in nearly six months.

"I can get us a hotel without it being under either of our names."

I looked at him skeptically, and in response, Jack sighed. "I stepped outside to call my brother. He's going to get us hooked up with a place that won't tie back to either of us."

It was too good to be true. "Just like that. No questions asked?"

Jack laughed and the sound went right through me, in a good way. The best way actually.

"Oh, he'll have questions. How much we tell him is up to you. But keep in mind, he could probably help."

I thought about what he said last night, about what his brother did for a living. It wasn't that I wouldn't appreciate the help, but I didn't want to bring anyone else into my mess of a life. It was bad enough that I was even considering allowing Jack to help me.

But what choice did I have? Yes, I could pull out cash, but Jack wasn't wrong. The only places that accepted cash and wouldn't require me to hand over my license were seedy at best. Some were probably worse. Would I even be able to sleep in a place like that? Probably not, and there was no telling what diseases I would pick up. I could handle pretty much anything life threw at me but even I had my limitations.

"And if I agree to let you and your brother help me, what's in it for you?"

I knew how bad the question sounded as soon as it came out of my mouth. I couldn't take it back though. I was sick of being taken advantage of. Davis did it and left a bad taste in my mouth.

"I don't want anything from you and neither does my brother. I'm doing it because it pisses me off that someone is taking advantage of a woman and doesn't understand the word no. I don't give a flying fuck how much money the guy has or how great everyone thinks he is. No means no. End of story."

I was stunned, and for anyone who knew me, that didn't happen often. Actually, it was pretty damn rare. But that’s what Jack's speech did to me. It left me speechless and with the tiniest hope that maybe there were still some good men left in the world, like my father and his friends.

Maybe that didn't disappear with his generation.

"Okay, I believe you."

And if it turned out I was wrong, then I would have a backup plan in place this time. I would take out enough money and disappear. Seedy motels be damned.

"Did you pack everything?"

I looked around the trashed hotel room. "I think so, but at this point, it's hard to tell with everything tossed around."

"Do you want me to help you look?"

Damn, this man was too good for me, but I was too selfish to give him up. He offered to help and, despite wishing I could do things on my own, maybe it was time I stopped being stubborn and let someone in.

"Thanks, I think this is it. Everything that was important to me was locked in a safe-deposit box before I left home. All I brought with me on this trip was clothes."

Jack snatched the duffel off the ground and placed his palm out. I stared at it for a moment before giving in. I said I believed he could help me, and I wasn't about to back out now.

With our fingers laced together, we walked out of my hotel room and left that part of my life behind.

The elevator ride back down was quiet, much like the ride up had been. The only difference was the silence was comfortable, unlike before. The awkwardness of the walk of shame was gone and replaced with hope.

Hope that this was the start of something better. I didn't meet Jack under the best of conditions but that didn't mean it couldn't end up being something great.

Don't get ahead of yourself.

My father’s voice echoed in my head. He was a bit of a cynic. After my mother walked out of his life, he was convinced love wasn't real. It was something told in fairy tales to make people think anyone could have it. Growing up, I believed him. The opposite sex was nothing more than tools for a good time. It didn't matter if they were male or female.

It wasn't until my father died that I let myself consider something more. I like to blame it on the grief. Temporary insanity, if you will. Either way, I hadn't found love like I thought. I found a man who wanted to control me, who took my feelings and twisted them for his own benefit. I wouldn't be making that mistake again.

So, no. Whatever was happening between Jack and me couldn't be anything serious. I would accept his help because I wasn't an idiot. I could admit when I was in over my head. But it could never be more than a good time.

The door slamming shut in Jack's hotel room startled me. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize we’d gotten off the elevator. My body moved of its own accord and I was functioning on autopilot.

"Shannon?"

"What?!" I jumped at the sound of my name.

"What has you thinking so hard? I called your name three times."

Whoops. My jaunt down memory lane was more intense than I realized.

"I was thinking about my father and what he used to say to me," I blurted out. "Maybe if I had listened to him more, I wouldn't be in the situation I am right now."

"Care to share?" Jack quirked his brow at me. It was a damn shame the man was so sexy. I'm sure he would make beautiful babies with someone, someday.

And where the hell did that thought come from?

Beautiful babies. Really? I wasn't the kind of woman who thought about kids. Let alone babies. Pretty sure my mother knocked all sense of that from my head at a very young age.

"My father didn't believe in love." There I went, blurting shit out again. My mouth had a mind of its own today. "After my mother left him, when I was young, he swore off love. I should've listened to him. The first time I went and fell for a man, look what happened."

Jack scoffed. "Not all men are assholes like Davis. I'm not saying he's the exception to the rule. I know plenty of men who took love for granted and either cheated on their wives or were cheated on themselves, but there are a few good men in the world."

"Are you one of them?"

Jack didn't answer at first. He appeared to be thinking his answer over. "A good man? Yeah, I consider myself one. My parents are still together after forty years and they have what I would consider a once-in-a-lifetime love, but does that mean I believe everyone gets that kind of life? Hell no. They had to work for it, and still, there were hard days. I think it takes two very special kinds of people to have that."

For the briefest of seconds, I wondered if he thought he was that kind of person. He never said he was, but that didn't mean he didn't think it. There was a chance he just didn't want to say it to me. Which was fine. I wasn't delusional enough to think that’s where this was going.

Jack's phone beeping stopped the conversation. He took it out of his pocket and only gave it a cursory glance before shoving it back.

"That was my brother. He got us a new hotel. Give me a minute to pack and then we can get out of here."

I sat on the bed and waited. The room still smelled like sex, of happier times. When I let myself have one night of not caring. No worries. Was that really just the night before? It felt like I aged ten years in less than twenty-four hours. What I wouldn't do to go back to that night.

"I'm ready," Jack announced a few minutes later.

I wish I could say the same. I plastered a fake smile on my face and followed him out the door. Here went nothing.