Craving Shannon

by E. D. Brady

  “What do you mean?” Chad questioned.

  “You go from ‘I don’t believe in love’ to flat-out, head-over-heels in a matter of twenty-four hours.”

  “Not really,” Chad responded. “It’s been longer than a day. I’ve just been in denial for the past few weeks. Looking back now, I realize I loved her the second I laid eyes on her.”

  “Does she know?” Derek pushed.

  “I haven’t gotten around to telling her just yet,” he replied. “But she will soon.”

  ⃰ ⃰ ⃰

  The following evening, they stood among the crowds of people in Rockefeller Center, listening to an American Idol runner-up sing We Three Kings. Chad released Shannon’s gloved hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. He looked down into her lovely face and noted the rosy glow on her cheeks. “You cold?” he asked.

  “A little, but I’m fine. I’m so glad to be here,” she answered.

  She was like a Christmas angel, beautiful in her new white coat and matching hat. Chad wondered if he’d ever tire of looking at her.

  When the giant tree finally sprung to life with thousands of twinkling lights, Shannon turned to him and smiled, her eyes swimming with tears. She looked forward and wiped a tear with her forefinger. Overwhelmed by her innocence and awe, he bent his head and put his mouth near her ear. “I love you,” he murmured.

  Her head whipped around. “What?” she asked, shock evident on her features.

  “I’m in love with you,” he said, louder.

  “How?” she questioned loudly, over the sound of the crowd.

  “Is there more than one way?” he asked, knitting his eyebrows in confusion.

  “I mean, I thought you didn’t believe in that,” she accused.

  “That was merely the mad ramblings of a foolish idiot,” he responded impishly. “I didn’t believe in love because I’d never met you before.”

  She continued to stare into his face for a long moment as though dumbfounded by his revelation. “Oh,” she replied with a deadpan look. She turned back around and looked toward the tree. She shook her head and turned back to face Chad. “I love you, too,” she added, then turned to the tree once more. Slowly she turned back to Chad again. “And, the minute we get home, we’re having mad, crazy sex.” she added a split second after the music died, causing a moment of silence that lasted just long enough for the people in their vicinity to overhear Shannon’s declaration. She buried her face in her hands while Chad laughed uncontrollably.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her head. “I love you so much,” he chuckled, feeling as though his heart would burst from the weight of so much happiness.

  ⃰ ⃰ ⃰

  The following days were the happiest of Chad’s life. His feet barely touched the ground once. He and Shannon were rarely apart, and when they were, she was front and center on his mind. He held her hand everywhere they went, relenting to the nagging compulsion to touch her constantly.

  By the end of their first official week and a half as a couple, they had settled into a comfortable pattern. Every morning, he woke up thanking heaven to find her lying in his arms. He’d wake her by pushing her hair back and kissing her on the lips until her eyes opened, and then she would snuggle closer to him and return the kiss with enthusiasm. Before things got out of hand, Chad would jump up, rush to the bathroom and turn on the shower. Shannon caught on quickly that the only way she’d get more kisses in the morning was to get into the shower and under the water. Only when her hair was shampooed and conditioned, would he let his hands roam all over her while kissing her deeply. Then, for ten days in a row, he would turn her around, push her up against the wall and enter her from behind, sometimes slow and steady, sometimes hard and fast—the sound of the water drowning out her screams of pleasure.

  The evenings were not so structured, but whether they ate in, went to a restaurant, hung out with the guys at McDermott’s for a while, one thing was a certainty, they ended the night naked and wrapped around one another somewhere in their apartment. The coffee table, the kitchen table, kneeling over the back of the couch, up against the refrigerator, no surface was off limits.

  Chad could not believe that such happiness, such euphoria was even possible. He wanted nothing more than to spread it to the world, to embrace all of humanity.

  He worshipped her utterly. He craved her constantly. He was sure no man had ever loved in such a manner. For her, there was nothing he wouldn’t do, no sacrifice he wouldn’t make. She was his entire life, his reason for living.

  Life, love, happiness, it all boiled down to only one thing—Shannon.

  Chapter 24

  Chad picked up the landline in his office and buzzed reception. Sarah answered and immediately understood the nature of his call. “You want Shannon?” she guessed.

  “Could you ask her to come to my office, please?” he replied.

  Shannon knocked once then walked in, wearing a somber expression. Chad took one look at her and chuckled. “Honestly, Sweet Girl, I’m only going to be gone a week,” he said.

  “Eight days,” she corrected him.

  “The time will fly,” he promised. He placed both hands on either side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. “Believe me, Shannon, it’s going to be torture for me also.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she mumbled sadly.

  “Just spend the time deciding what you want to do over our Christmas break,” he suggested. “Anything you want, any place you want to go, we’ll do it.”

  “I thought we were going to your parent’s,” she countered.

  “Just for two nights,” he replied. “Then we still have five days off work.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, smiling. “I’ll think about it.”

  “And I’ll see you at the Christmas party,” he added.

  “What if your flight is delayed and you miss it.”

  “Enough!” he scolded. “Stop worrying about silly things. I’ll be there, I promise.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “If you need anything while I’m gone, call Alex or Derek. I programmed their numbers into your cell. They may be calling to check on you from time to time, or to invite you out for a beer or a bite to eat. They have been instructed to deliver you to the apartment door if you go out with them, so you are not to put them off. If I find out you were out late and one of them didn’t take you home, there will be hell to pay. Do you understand?”

  She nodded obediently.

  “Also, there is two thousand dollars in twenties under a red towel in the linen closet. Use however much of it you need,” he added.

  Shannon rolled her eyes. “You already gave me money,” she reminded him.

  “That was for you to buy a formal dress for the Christmas party,” he countered.

  Feeling a vibration against his leg, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the front. “My car service is here. I have to go.” He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. “I love you so much,” he exclaimed. She began to answer him, but he didn’t need to hear the words, he knew her heart thoroughly; he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her deeply for a long moment then pulled away.

  “I’m going to miss you,” she said, her green eyes filled with gloom.

  “I know,” he replied, smiling sadly. He reached out and ran his knuckle down her cheek. “Bye, Sweet Girl,” he added, and then walked out the door.

  By the time the town car reached JFK, Chad felt hollow, a feeling that only deepened as the hours went by.

  His days in Tel Aviv were a whirlwind of meetings, client dinners and cocktails. Mikhail Bazarov had an unquenchable thirst for Alcohol, and on more than a few occasions, Chad found himself slightly buzzed by noon. Bazarov was a pleasant man with a great sense of humor. He managed to charm Danya Lovitz so much that Chad was convinced the woman had the hots for him. All in all, it was a huge success, and in the end, no thanks to Chad. Bazarov and Lovitz hit it off so well
that a deal was a given. Thankfully, Chad’s company was set to receive a hefty commission regardless of the circumstances.

  His nights in a lonely hotel room were not so successful, however. He yearned for Shannon with every fiber of his being. He longed to feel her safe and warm beneath him, to kiss her beautiful mouth, to run his hands over every inch of her perfect body, to feel her little hands on him, teaching him the meaning of Heaven. But more than all of that, he missed her smile, missed the way she lay in his arms every evening, missed having her around to talk to. One thing dawned on him with certainty—he could never go back to a life without her. He had to find a way to keep her forever.

  Finally, Chad sat in a business class seat on his way to Istanbul for a two-hour stop over before boarding a different flight to JFK.

  He reached his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket and fingered a tiny velvet box. It was an impulsive decision, but one that he didn’t regret. The previous day, feeling like a third wheel, he decided to leave Bazarov and Lovitz to their own devices and do a little shopping. His intention was to buy Shannon a Christmas present, surmising that she would like a piece of jewelry from Israel, but the minute he walked into the jewelers and spotted the two and a half carat engagement ring, he knew he had to have it. A more logical part of his mind reminded him that they had only been officially dating for two and a half weeks, that he was moving way to fast and that Shannon was very young and may not be ready, but his heart told a different tale—he wanted nothing more than to see that ring on her finger. And anyway, an engagement didn’t necessarily mean a marriage anytime soon.

  He chuckled at the irony, remembering how his father had asked him if he would be buying an engagement ring for Christmas, and how sure he was that he wouldn’t be. It’s funny how life works sometimes.

  He mulled around Istanbul Atatürk Airport, killing time until his next flight.

  Pulling out his phone to check the time, he noticed that he had three voicemails. Strange, he hadn’t felt his phone buzz. All three were messages from Alex. The first one was just a request for Chad to call him when he had time. In the second message, left two hours later, Alex sounded a little stressed, and by the third, left early that morning, Alex was desperate to talk to him. He asked Chad to call him the minute he received the message, regardless of the time.

  Feeling uneasiness well up, Chad quickly calculated the time difference. It was ten minutes past five in the morning, New York time. He tapped on Alex’s name, hoping he’d be up.

  “Hello,” Alex said into the phone. Chad could tell he was barely awake.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Oh, man, Chad, thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you since last night,” Alex answered.

  “Is everything alright?” Chad questioned.

  “Yeah…no…not really,” Alex replied. “Listen, Buddy, Tony called. He had information on Shannon’s stepfather.”

  “What about him?” Chad queried, feeling a knot form in his stomach.

  “Well, as I’m sure you already figured out, Miami PD were reluctant to tie up too many resources investigating the murder of a couple of junkies…sorry…” he mumbled.

  “It’s okay,” Chad replied, understanding that Alex felt bad for being disrespectful toward Shannon’s family. “Does that mean that Bill is dead also?”

  “Yeah,” Alex responded. “It would appear so.”

  “How?” Chad probed.

  “I’m getting to that,” Alex replied. “Anyway, Tony made a collar a few nights ago, some punk-ass meth-head with a record as long as your arm. The guy didn’t want to go down, so he starts trying to plead out, claims he had information on a double murder a few months back at the Norwood Trailer Park.”

  “Right,” Chad butted in, nodding, confirming the name of Shannon’s former home.

  “Normally, Tony wouldn’t have taken the bait, but he remembered me asking about that particular murder, so he decided to play it out,” Alex explained.

  “Go on,” Chad coaxed, sensing reluctance in Alex.

  “This guy claimed he has a business associate who was one of two people that carried out the hit. If this guy is telling the truth, and it would appear he is, then Bill Jenkins was dealing for the Cartel.”

  “Oh shit,” Chad moaned.

  “It gets worse, I’m afraid,” Alex said somberly. “It turns out that they know Allison Jenkins daughter was hiding in the home during the attack.”

  “How?” Chad asked, leaning on the wall for support. He felt the blood drain from his body.

  “After they beat Allison to death, they left, but only went three miles before there was a change in the plans. They were told to go back to Bill’s place and wait for him. When they returned, they saw the doors to the cabinet under the kitchen sink opened, so unless Allison’s corpse opened them, someone else had to have been there, hiding. Apparently, there were a few strands of long, dark hair twisted around the hinge, as though someone had rested their head up against the doors.”

  “Fuck!’ Chad moaned, his heart beating faster.

  “As soon as Bill returned home and saw his wife’s battered body, he knew what was in store for him. They managed to get Shannon’s name before he met the same fate as Allison,” Alex explained. “Tony told me that the Cartel is looking for a girl named Shannon Walsh and that they now believe she boarded a Greyhound for New York City that same day.”

  “What do they want her for?” Chad questioned, hoping it was something other than the obvious.

  “You really need me to answer that?” Alex asked.

  Chad felt weak all over. Bile crept up his throat.

  “The police want her for questioning also,” Alex added. “It’s never really a good idea to flee the scene of a crime.”

  “What was she supposed to do?” Chad yelled down the line. “She ran for that very reason, she was scared for her own safety.”

  “I completely understand,” Alex said defensively. “I’m just telling you the facts.”

  “Fuck!” Chad bellowed. His whole body was weak with fear.

  “You alright?” Alex asked.

  “No,” Chad answered. “What the fuck am I going to do? I swear, if anything happens to her…” he trailed off, feeling himself lose control.

  “We’ll figure this out when you get back,” Alex said encouragingly. “Where are you? When will you be back?”

  “I’m in Turkey. My flight is boarding in a couple of minutes,” Chad answered in a labored voice.

  “Try not to go insane on the journey back,” Alex pleaded. “Is Shannon working today? Should I call her and tell her to stay home?”

  “I don’t know,” Chad responded, unable to think straight. “She will be terrified if…if…I just…I don’t know.” Before Chad could reason out a short-term plan, the intercom system announced that his flight was boarding. “I have to go now,” he added numbly.

  “Okay, try not to worry,” Alex blurted out before Chad disconnected the call.

  It was eleven hours of pure torture.

  He had never felt so trapped, so claustrophobic, so helpless in his entire life. He wanted nothing more than to bribe the pilot into getting them to New York faster, somehow. Despite Alex’s request for him to stay sane, Chad knew that he was slowly losing it. If he didn’t rein himself in, there was no doubt he’d be taken off the flight in a straightjacket.

  When the flight attendant requested that they fasten their seat belts for landing, Chad nearly cried tears of relief.

  As soon as his feet touched the bridge outside the plane door, his phone was at his ear. “Hello,” he heard her say down the line.

  “Shannon,” he breathed, relief flooding him. “Where are you?”

  “I went over to the hotel early with Sarah. She had some stuff to set up,” she replied. “Where are you?” she asked.

  “JFK,” he answered. “Hopefully I’ll be there within the hour.”

  “Chad, wait until you see this banquet hall. It’s absolutely go
rgeous,” she gushed.

  “I bet it’s not a patch on you,” he said, stepping on the downward escalator. Her sweet giggle sent his heart fluttering. “I love you so much,” he added.

  “Oh, baby, I love you too. It was horrible without you,” she replied.

  “I can’t wait to see you,” he said.

  “Call me when you’re outside the hotel,” she requested. “I’d prefer to be somewhat alone when I see you for the first time. I don’t want to make a scene in front of the whole office.”

  “Okay, Sweet Girl.” He laughed at her enthusiasm.

  It seemed to take forever to get through customs, grab his bag and hail a cab, but finally he was heading over the bridge, on his way to his company Christmas party at a hotel on 56th and 6th Avenue.

  Midtown Manhattan was always thick with traffic, but around the holidays, it was virtually impossible to move. The cab had barely passed 5th Avenue when Chad decided it would be quicker to walk.

  He quickly texted Shannon to let her know he was less than five minutes away. He pulled his suitcase with his left hand, his right he tucked into the inside pocket of his jacket and stroked the velvet box.

  Still without a decent plan to keep Shannon safe, he wondered if it was best to take her straight to the police. First thing the following morning, he was going to call a good lawyer. He played with the idea of going to his dad, but decided he didn’t want to involve his parents in this mess. A lawyer not related to him would be a better option.

  Abruptly, he spotted her standing outside the hotel’s main door. He stopped short, his breath hitched in his throat. She was a vision in a long, tight red dress with spaghetti straps, a back that plunged nearly all the way to her waist, and a front that showed just the right amount of cleavage—sexy as hell without being cheap. A slit in the side of the dress ran all the way up to her thigh and revealed a pair of five inched heels in matching red. Chad knew that he’d never again witness anything so gorgeous.

  It was a mild evening for the middle of December, but not that mild. Chad walked faster, eager to get to Shannon before she froze.