by Sarah Bale
“You know I’m not though. Did you tell him?”
“I told him you left that night and a hot guy followed you. Believe me, that didn’t go over any better.”
“I hope you haven’t caught any hell because of this.”
“Nah, I can take care of myself.” Molly looked around. “Just out of curiosity…are you with the hottie from the other night? You seemed to know him.”
Shannon’s face flushed. “I do know him. We dated in high school.”
“No shit! He’s the pro fighter you’re always talking about isn’t he? What’s his name?” She snapped her fingers. “Devlin James! I knew he looked familiar.”
Shannon shushed her friend. “Keep it down. Yes, his name is Devlin.”
Molly whistled. “Not too shabby, girl. It’s not every day your best friend is rescued by a real life badass.”
She laughed. “It’s not what you think, believe me.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get out of here. I’ll call you later. I promise.”
She waved goodbye to her friend and made her way back to the first floor. Adam intercepted her, a worried look on his face.
“You need to go. Just got word the boss is on his way in. He must have seen you on the cameras.”
“Thanks, Adam. I’ll see you around.”
She all but ran from the club and down the street. As she made her way to Dev’s SUV, she kept looking over her shoulder. Johnny knew all sorts of people and she wouldn’t put it past him to have someone follow her.
She got into the SUV and locked the doors as fast as she could. People walked down the sidewalk, going about their everyday business, but she still felt as if she was being watched.
She started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. For good measure she decided to take the long way back to Dev’s house. If anyone was following her, hopefully she could throw them off her trail.
Twenty long minutes later she pulled into Dev’s driveway and parked the car. He was standing on the porch with his arms crossed. Shit. She knew that look and it wasn’t a good one.
“Good morning,” she said as she got out of the car and walked toward him.
“Where in the hell have you been? And why didn’t you take your cell phone with you?” He held up her phone.
She felt faint for a moment. “I must have left it by accident.”
God…good thing she hadn’t needed it!
She smiled, trying to hide her nervousness. “I wasn’t gone long, Dev. No need to overreact.”
His eyebrows lifted and he took a step toward her. “I heard you withdrew some of the money already, Shannon. I figured you were bailing on me.”
Something about his admission made her heart ache. She reached the top of the porch and stood so close to him she could feel the heat coming from his body.
“I wouldn’t do that, Dev. I’m not the one who runs.” She took a step back and added, “You are.”
She walked through the front door before he could say anything else.
Chapter Twelve
I’m not the one who runs. You are.
The look in her eyes spoke louder than her words did. He saw anger and pain but what surprised him was the regret clouding her blue eyes. How dare she be mad at him for leaving her back then? He wasn’t the one who betrayed their relationship.
He thought about following her but decided against it. He was already in a foul mood and talking to her about the day he left would only make his mood worse. Instead he waited a few moments and then went upstairs to his room.
His room was one of the only places he could relax and unwind, one of the reasons he’d assigned Shannon to a guestroom on the opposite end of the house. He sat down in the black leather recliner and sighed.
Why did things have to be so complicated where she was concerned? This was supposed to be fun…and a way for him to finally get her out of his system. But it felt as if she was lodged deeper inside than he had realized.
His cell rang and he answered it. “What did you find out, Marco?”
“She took half of the money and got a cashier’s check with it.”
“Do we know who it was for or where she took it?”
“No, the investigator is still working on it. Did she come back?”
Dev laughed. “Yeah she’s here. I pissed her off when she got back so she’s sulking in her room.”
“Where are you?”
“In my room. Sulking.”
Marco laughed. “I see… I need to go. I’ll see you at the airport tonight.”
Dev set his phone down. He was sulking, he realized. He took in a deep breath and decided to smooth things over with Shannon before they left town.
Shannon stood in the closet, not knowing what to pack since Dev hadn’t even told her they were leaving.
She heard a knock on her door and called out, “Come in!”
Mrs. Ingram was supposed to be on her way to help with the packing.
“I think I have it narrowed down but I want your advice,” she said as she walked out of the closet carrying two cocktail dresses.
She stopped in her tracks. Dev sat at the foot of her bed. Her face flushed as she recalled last night, specifically being tied up in the same spot.
“What are you doing in here?”
“You invited me in.”
“I thought you were Mrs. Ingram,” she said in an accusing tone.
He held up his hands. “Look, I didn’t come in here to fight. I came to say I was sorry for jumping on you earlier. It’s already been one of those days and I guess I was taking it out on you.”
Wow. She couldn’t remember ever hearing Dev apologize for anything.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, just a bad morning of training.” He glanced at the dresses in her hands. “I’m assuming Mrs. Ingram informed you we’re leaving town tonight. I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it.”
Another apology…
She licked her lips. “Don’t worry about it. I just wasn’t sure what I should pack. Mrs. Ingram said you would probably want to go out for a nice dinner or something like that.”
“She is correct.”
His reply didn’t really answer anything so she took in a deep breath. “Look, I’m just going to lay everything out in the open. I don’t know what to expect when we are in Vegas. I’ve never even been to a MMA fight…”
His lips lifted into a smile and it took years off his face.
“Well the fact that you know it’s MMA is a plus. A lot of people confuse MMA with boxing, which it’s not.”
“How did you even get involved in fighting? Was it something you discovered you were naturally good at?”
He shrugged. “Hell, you know what I was like at eighteen, Shannon. I was fighting all the time and we all know where I was headed. After I left Texas I met a man who taught Judo to rich kids. He must have seen something in me that no one else saw because he agreed to teach me too.”
“Dev, you don’t give yourself enough credit. I always knew there was something special about you.”
He looked away. “Well not everyone is as kind as you were. Master Khan trained me in the art of Judo and I absorbed as much as I could. That led to me wanting to pursue Muay Thai on my own.”
“What about the submission wrestling?”
He turned his head and looked at her and she blushed.
“I read in an article that you also use submission wrestling,” she explained.
There she went, putting her foot into her mouth but she had kept up with his career ever since she saw him on the cover of People magazine.
“Part of Judo is learning submission moves. I apply that and what I learned when I did amateur wrestling in high school.”
She thought back to their school days. The wrestling coach had yelled in excitement when Dev agreed to join the team, saying it was about damn time. Of course he agreed as part of a plea deal with a judge but the coach didn’t care. All he ca
red about was Dev’s potential.
She mused. “It seems you were destined to be a fighter. Why did you stop doing fights with the UFC?”
Dev fought with the UFC—the Ultimate Fighting Championship—and even won the Heavyweight Championship. Then one day out of the blue, he announced he was leaving the company. His announcement had come as a shock to everyone in the MMA world.
“There wasn’t anything left for me to achieve there. I won the Heavyweight Championship and beat everyone in my weight range.”
“So now you fight wherever you want?”
He nodded. “I made good money with UFC and my investments have allowed me the luxury of choosing the fights I think are the most lucrative.”
She hesitated before asking, “Don’t you ever get tired of it? I saw your last fight on PPV. You were so bloody and I just can’t imagine going through all that more than once…”
He smiled. “You watched my last fight?” Before she could reply he went on. “It looked worse than it was. I broke the other guy’s nose and he jabbed at me in defense.”
She shook her head. “It seems so dangerous.”
“Most fighters don’t compete for long. I have actually been thinking about retiring in a year or so and opening my own training facility.”
Her heart ached at the thought of him a year from now. By then she would be long gone and he wouldn’t give her a second thought. And she would be alone…again.
She blinked away the tears she felt building. “That would be great, Dev. You should do it!” Time to change the subject to something a little less intense. She held up the dresses. “Which one should I bring?”
He seemed surprised at her sudden change of subject but said, “Bring them both. We’re going to be there around a week. If you need more, we can always just buy something. Oh, be sure to bring a bathing suit. The room we’re staying in has a private infinity pool.”
She remembered hearing of a room like that on TV and exclaimed, “Holy cow. Are we staying at MGM Grand?”
He laughed. “You’re just full of surprises today, Shannon. Yes, that’s where we’re staying.”
Blushing, she said, “There’s a TV at the diner playing 24/7 so I see all sorts of things I normally wouldn’t watch, like travel shows.”
Thinking of the diner, she smacked her forehead. “Shit! I forgot I was going to check up on Joe.” She saw the look on Dev’s face and added, “He’s the one I was helping, remember?”
Dev glanced at his wrist watch. “If you can finish packing within the next five minutes, we can check up on him before we go to the airport.”
“I’m not really sure where he went. I gave him some money to check into a motel and told him I would call him.”
Dev handed her cell phone back. “Give him a call then. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
His small act of trust sent a warm feeling throughout her body. She waited until he was gone and looked at her phone. She had two missed calls and she could guess who they were from. Dialing her voicemail, she prepared herself for what she would hear.
You mother-fucking whore! How dare you just walk into my club and leave me a goddamned check? Who in the fuck do you think you are?
Johnny paused to catch his breath and she could imagine how red his face was from screaming.
Did you really think the money was going to fix everything? I could care less about the money! It’s you that mattered. This isn’t over, you bitch.
Shannon realized she was trembling and was about to hang up when he began speaking again.
You tell your pretty boy to watch out. I would hate for something to happen to him at his fight in Vegas.
Her heart slammed against her chest. No! He couldn’t know she was with Dev! She remembered Molly asking Dev’s name. Oh my god. Molly must have snitched on her to Johnny! That bitch.
She sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to cry. She needed a plan and she needed one fast. Telling Dev was out of the question. That would lead to things she wasn’t ready to face, like Dev finding out how closely she was associated to that piece of scum, Johnny. She couldn’t tell Adam either. He needed his job at the club to support his kids.
No, the only solution was to call Johnny and try to reason with him. She walked to the door and closed it in case Dev or Mrs. Ingram came back. She dialed Johnny’s number and he answered on the first ring.
“Shannon,” he practically purred. “I was just talking about the upcoming fight in Vegas. A friend asked who I thought they should bet on and I said anyone but Devlin James.”
She closed her eyes, counted to ten and said, “Leave him out of this. He hasn’t done anything to you.”
“This is true but he has something that belongs to me. Tell me, does he know why you paid me? I assume you got the money from him.”
“Johnny, leave him alone!”
There was a moment of silence and then Johnny told whoever was in his office to leave.
“Listen to me, you little cunt-whore…”
Shannon flinched at the insult.
“You do not tell me what to do. Do you understand? I am the one in charge here and you better not forget it.”
Panic such as she had never known before welled in her throat. “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized. “I…I know you’re in charge, Johnny.”
“Good girl.” His voice was velvet but laced in danger. “Since you have come to your senses then I give you my word your fighter-boy won’t be harmed in Vegas.”
Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh of relief but the peace was short-lived.
“Hear me out, Shannon. I won’t have him hurt in Vegas but you are going to do something for me in return.”
“W-what do you want me to do?” She hated that she stuttered but she had a hard time getting her words out correctly when she was stressed—like now.
“Your boy has a fight in three weeks in Colorado and you’re going to help me make sure he doesn’t win.”
Several thoughts flashed through her mind and she said, “I’m not going to hurt Dev!”
“Aww,” he said mockingly. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to have you do something that could be traced back to me? No, you aren’t going to physically hurt him but you will hurt him in other ways.
“I want you to have him so emotionally fucked up he won’t be able to focus. Keep him away from his training sessions. Do whatever it takes to keep him in bed.”
She felt as if she was going to be sick. “What makes you think he will give up training to sleep with me?”
“Oh I have my ways. You should know this better than anyone.” He took in a deep breath. “So do we have an agreement? His safety in Vegas in return for a guaranteed loss in Colorado?”
“Johnny, please…”
“You know I could tell him everything, if I wanted to. What kind of emotional state would he be in if I did that? Or I could have him hurt so bad that only a machine would keep him alive. It’s your choice how this plays out.”
He wasn’t bluffing and she knew it. He knew all her secrets and if Dev found out…she couldn’t even think about what would happen.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
“I thought you might.”
She was just about to hang up when he spoke again.
“By the way, Shannon, I hope you are using protection. I would hate for another unwanted child to be conceived.”
“Asshole,” she shouted as she ended the call and threw her phone on the bed.
Sobs racked her body and she put her hand over her mouth. Would she ever pay enough for the sins of her past? Her heart ached for the baby she never knew and suddenly she felt as if the world was spinning around her and the walls were crashing in.
Oh god, she was having a panic attack. Her chest tightened painfully and her heart pounded against her constricted rib cage. Closing her eyes, she focused on breathing through her nose. Slow, deep breaths. In and out. Everything would be fine. In and out. She could do this. In and out
.
Her eyes opened and she prayed she could make it through the next month with her soul intact.
Chapter Thirteen
Dev glanced at Shannon as the limo took them to the airport. She had been quiet since coming down from her room. When he asked if she talked to her customer, she had looked confused for a moment before saying she hadn’t been able to get a hold of him.
The limo came to a stop on the airstrip. His jet sat waiting and Marco was already on board. The door opened and he got out first.
When she didn’t move he said, “We’re here, Shannon.”
She blinked at him. “Oh. Okay. Sorry.”
She got out of the limo and followed him to the jet. Once on board she sat in a seat near the back, away from him. Marco raised his eyebrows at Dev and he shrugged as he sat down.
“Is she okay? She looks pale.”
He had noticed how white she looked too.
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “I’m not sure. She was fine and then she made a phone call. When she came downstairs she was acting like that.”
“Want me to have her phone records pulled?”
Sometimes it scared him how Marco’s mind worked. Dev thought about it and then nodded.
“Yeah, she’s supposed to be checking up on a customer who’s going to AA meetings. Might not be a bad idea to know where this guy is in case he tries anything funny.”
“Consider it done.”
Dev sighed and picked up the book he had brought along. Hell, he hadn’t actually intended on reading it. He thought he and Shannon might be doing other things in the bedroom at the back of the jet. Even playing a card game would be better than her sitting alone.
The plane took off without a problem and when it was safe to move he decided to go sit next to her. He unbuckled and walked toward her. She sat with her head bent over a notebook, drawing. He stopped and watched her for a moment, remembering how she used to sketch all the time when they were younger. It was a good memory from his youth and those were hard to come by.
