Chapter 6

SIX

Jack

Matthew went all out. No surprise there. Nor was it surprising to find him waiting for us in the lobby of our new hotel.

"You didn't have to come personally and deliver things. I know you're busy."

"And miss the opportunity to see my baby brother? No chance." Matthew laughed, then turned to Shannon. "I see my brother is lacking manners again. I'm Matthew, and you are?"

"Shannon."

I didn't like how quiet she was. That wasn't the woman I originally met last night. That woman had been so full of life.

"Leave her alone," I growled at Matthew. The last thing I needed was for Shannon to be uncomfortable. Especially after what she’d shared. I had a feeling she was one foot out the door already. One wrong move and she would be trying to sneak out of my bed a second time in a matter of a few hours.

I grabbed the envelope from my brother and reached inside, then stopped short. "Uh, Matthew? How the hell did you manage to get documents like this so fast?" I looked around the lobby to make sure no one was paying us any attention. This wasn't a matter of my brother booking us a hotel room under one of the many names he used for work. These were real documents with my face but a different name. There was no way he should've been able to get them so quickly.

"In my line of work, it doesn't hurt to have a few extra sets of documents lying around. I figured having one for you might come in handy one day as well. Turns out I was right."

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or be concerned that's how you think."

I knew what Matthew did for a living. I knew who he worked for. I heard the rumors from friends within our circle. Yet I was still surprised.

"Thank me now. Worry about it later. There's a reservation here under that name. Only one room." Matthew shrugged. "Not really sorry about that. I figured if the situation was dire enough that you needed these, then being separated wasn't an option."

I looked at Shannon before I answered. "One room is fine."

Shannon didn't disagree. And I didn’t expect her to. After this morning, I had a strong feeling she didn't want to be alone. Even with fake documents, it would take time to stop looking over her shoulder constantly, if ever.

"So you going to tell me what's going on?"

Subtlety wasn't Matthew's strong suit. Actually, he sucked at it. Our friends used to call him a straight shooter because he asked the hard questions no one else wanted to. This was one time I wish he didn't have that quality.

"Let me get checked in, then Shannon can tell you what's going on if she wants to."

It wasn't my story to tell. I knew without a shadow of a doubt Matthew could help us, but the final decision had to come from Shannon. I wasn't about to break her trust like that. She had enough people against her. I planned to be in her corner instead.

Checking in only took a few minutes and my new identification went through without a problem, of course. Blackguard Security and the people who worked there were efficient. My brother liked to brag that they were the best of the best.

The ride up was quiet once again. I wished I knew Shannon better so I could gauge what was going on in her head, but alas, I was flying blind. Matthew didn't seem to notice the awkwardness, or if he did, he kept his mouth shut about it. I guess there really was a first time for everything.

It wasn't until we got into the room that Shannon finally spoke. But what she said had to do with the room and not the situation they were in.

Fucking Matthew.

"Isn't this a little fancy?"

That was an understatement. The desk clerk mentioned the room would be charged to the card on file. I hadn't bothered to pay attention to the cost. Now I wish I had.

"Nothing but the best for my little brother." Matthew smirked.

"Cut the shit, Matthew. You and I both know we've slept on dirt and survived. You didn't have to book the most expensive room in the place."

My brother just laughed. "We have slept on dirt and I wouldn't recommend it. Plus, why sleep in some shitty room when you can have something nicer? Oh, and it's not the most expensive. That would be the penthouse suite. It was already booked. I asked."

I was going to kill him. Matthew didn't realize Shannon probably had problems with men with money after the shit Davis pulled. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to see where her mind was going.

Fancy wasn't my brother's style, and he knew it wasn't mine, so he was up to something. We certainly didn't grow up poor. Our parents did well for themselves, but they also taught us not to waste money. They would consider this a waste, even if we had it to spare. Which Matthew and I did. We both saved every penny while we served. I invested mine into my business and it was booming, and Matthew landed a job that took very good care of him.

I turned to Shannon. "My brother is just showing off. This isn't normally the kind of place we stay."

She didn't look convinced, and Matthew sighed. The goofy personality he presented around people he didn't know very well slipped away and was replaced with his more serious side. This was the brother I needed. The one who could help.

"How about you tell me what's happening, so the next time my brother calls me for a favor, I know better how to handle it."

Matthew crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the bar. Yes, the room was nice enough that it had a full-sized bar in it.

In typical Shannon fashion, or at least what I was starting to realize was how she responded when nervous, she blurted everything out. "My ex is Davis Jackson. He's not exactly thrilled that I broke up with him. He was threatening me that if I didn’t take him back, he would ruin my father's business. I left after a few other things happened, but last night while I was … spending time with your brother, he broke into my hotel room and trashed the place."

Shannon stopped to take a breath and scratched her head. "Actually, now that I think about it, there was no breaking in. Someone at the hotel gave him my key. Well, not to Davis since God forbid the man does anything himself, but to some punk he hired."

To Matthew's credit, he didn't show a single emotion. Not surprise or doubt. If it weren't for the tic of his jaw, it would appear he didn't give a shit. For those of us who knew him well, we knew that tic was his tell. Matthew was pissed.

"What kind of business does your father run?" he asked.

"He was a mechanic. He left me his shop after he passed away. It was shortly thereafter that I met Davis. He charmed me at first, but it didn't take me long to realize it was an act. When he offered to help me with my father's business, I knew something was off. Davis didn't know the meaning of manual labor and I grew up in my father's shop. I could run it with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back. I didn't need him."

Shannon paused for a moment, a thought flickering across her face, but then she was right back to talking about Davis.

"When I told him as much, he got possessive. Started complaining that I must be sleeping with the guys, my employees, because there was no other way they would follow a woman. He would show up out of the blue and pick fights with them. Threaten them and their families. It was all very bizarre. Nothing at all like the media made him out to be. So I told him we were over. Let's just say that didn't go over very well."

I had to cross my arms over my chest in order to hide my fists. I thought for sure there was no way I could be any angrier than I had been when we first found the hotel room trashed. Turns out I was wrong. One glance at my brother and I knew he felt the same way.

"What did he do to you?"

"Destroyed the shop. Came through the place smashing shit up and leaving it in a similar fashion to my hotel room. Had one of his goons attack my father's best friend who also happened to be his longest-working employee. Sent someone to rough me up, but it was nothing more than some threats and a what would happen next time. They also came with a message that I had two choices. Take Davis back or lose everything. I took a week to get my affairs in order. Gave everyone severance pay and explained the situation. I asked them to give me a few weeks to figure something out and I would be back. Some of them might wait, but others would find other work. Either way, Davis ruined my father's life’s work."

I wasn't just going to make Davis pay, I was going to destroy him and everything he held dear. The bastard deserved to lose everything, just like Shannon did, and if I had any say in it, he would.

"I'll get my team on it. I'm sure we can find something on him. If not, we can figure something else out," Matthew promised.

"I don't want to drag anyone else into my mess. It's bad enough I'm letting Jack help me. I can't get more people involved."

I quickly chimed in. "First of all, you aren't letting me do anything. I make my own choices and I'm more than happy to help. Second of all, as much as I hate to admit it, my brother is right. I've got a few contacts from my military days, but this is what he does for a living. I can protect you, but he's better suited to handle the entire situation than I am."

It killed me to say that to Shannon. I wanted to be the only one who helped her and it sucked that asking Matthew for help was the best choice. I loved my brother, but I would never live this down.

"He's not wrong," Matthew said with a shrug.

I bit my tongue to stop a smart-ass remark from falling from my lips. I needed his help. Pissing him off wasn't a good idea, even if that was my role as a little brother.

Shannon looked like she wanted to disagree but, in the end, nodded her head yes. I reminded myself again it was the best thing for her.