Page 97 of Vengeance

“Is it okay that I’m here?”

Beckett gapes at her. When he knew her, she was the little girl who lived next door to his parents, who was six years younger than him. He came home after his first deployment and saw the beautiful woman she was becoming, but she was still too young. Not that it stopped her from trying to entice him.

“Beckett?”

“Uh, yeah,” he says, pulling away from his memories. “Where did you plan to have her stay?”

Jennings shrugs. “We were just discussing that.”

“She’ll stay with me.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

“You’ll stay with me. I have an apartment here, and it has a shower. I’ve been awake for the better part of forty-eight hours, and we both need sleep.”

“Okay,” she says.

Psycho walks over to her and looks like a protective older brother. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? We have other rooms you can stay in.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve known Beckett since I was five,” she says.

“Finish your cheeseburger,” he orders. “I’ll wait.”

Rolling her eyes, Shannon sits back down. “Always so bossy.”

He watches her quickly finish the fast-food burger, and he makes a note to take her out somewhere decent once this shit with the Slashers gets figured out. Until then, she’ll stay here with him where he knows she’s safe.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she says and grabs the bottle of soda. “Is it okay if I bring this with me?”

“Of course.” He takes her hand, and they walk to his apartment. He unlocks the door and lets her walk inside first. “It’s not huge, but it works for me.”

She looks around and laughs. “Yeah, you can totally tell you’re an Army dude.”

“You can shower first,” he says. “I’ll grab you some clothes to wear.”

“You know, the last time we were in the same bed together, I tried to give myself to you. You turned me down.”

“You were fourteen, Shannon. I was almost twenty.”

Her eyebrow lifts as he hands her a t-shirt and boxers. “So?”

“It was illegal.”

“It’s not illegal now,” she says.

“Go take a shower, Shannon.”

Nodding, she chuckles. “I’ll be quick. You look dead on your feet.”

“I am, but I also feel like I just saw a ghost. The last person I expected to see sitting at the bar of my clubhouse eating fast food was you.”

“Glad I could surprise you.”

She walks into the bathroom, and he sits down on his bed and lies back. He’ll rest his eyes for just a moment...

“Beckett,” Shannon says, shaking him. “Beckett, wake up.”

Beckett’s eyes pop open. “What?”

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