Page 20 of One Weekend in Boston

I gave her what she asked for, and then immediately wished I hadn't. In front of me was no longer the strong woman I met in a bar. Tears poured down Shannon's cheeks and her entire body shook with sobs. I thought hearing my brother tell me about the shop had shattered my heart, but I was wrong. Watching Shannon fall apart did it instead.

I gathered her in my arms and set her on my lap. I gave her my strength and whispered promises to make him pay. I didn't have to say his name. We both knew who did it. I should've expected something like this to happen after we hid Shannon away, but I foolishly thought there would be time before Davis acted out. I wouldn't be making the same mistake twice. I would give my brother and his team twenty-four hours to locate Davisand then I was going hunting myself. I might no longer be special ops but that didn't mean I lost my edge. Matthew made sure of that.

"I've ruined everything." The words slipped out between sobs.

Her head was buried into my shoulder, so it was more mumbled, but I understood what she said. And it only made me want to lash out at someone. That someone being Davis.

"You've done no such thing," I said with as much conviction as I could muster. I was trying my best to keep the anger out of my tone. Shannon didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else.

"I brought Davis into their lives. Most of my father's employees have been with him since I was a little girl and look how I repaid them."

I tilted her chin up until I had her beautiful blue eyes looking at me. "I doubt there's a single one of them who would blame you." And if they did, they would have to deal with me. I wasn't going to let anyone make this worse for her.

"I need to go back home. I need to see the damage he's done."

It was the moment I dreaded. I found pretty quickly that I wanted to give this woman the world, but this was one time I wouldn't be able to do it.

"We can't do that." I tried to minimize the blow as much as possible, but it was no use. The newfound fire in Shannon's eyes confirmed she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"I wasn't asking your permission."

I took a deep breath. It wouldn't help for both of us to be angry. Shannon had every right to be, which meant I was stuck being the levelheaded one.

"I know you weren't but hear me out. Davis did this on purpose. Moving to this hotel under a false name revoked hisaccess to you. He wants it back and he struck out in the one way he knew would get your attention."

Shannon climbed out of my lap and off the bed. I missed her touch immediately, but this wasn't about me. She clearly needed space and I had to give it to her.

"Damn right, he got my attention." Anger was rolling off her in waves. "He burned down my father's legacy like a toddler in the middle of a damn temper tantrum!"

I climbed off the bed so we were on equal footing. "Exactly. He's throwing a tantrum in hopes that you react without thinking. You can't give him what he wants."

Shannon deflated right in front of me, and it killed me. "I can't let my employees think I abandoned them. I told them to give me a few weeks and now there's nothing for them to come back to."

Option after option floated through my mind. As a business owner, I felt the same sense of responsibility for my employees. I would move heaven and earth to take care of them.

"Matthew's already there or at least on his way." I hoped so at least. "Let him communicate with them for you."

Even as I said the words, I knew better. If I couldn't live with that solution, I couldn’t expect Shannon to.

She shook her head no, just as I expected she would. Then it hit me.

"How many of your employees do you trust?"

Shannon scoffed at the question. "Almost all of them, but there are a few I would trust with my life. Ones my father would trust with my life."

The more she spoke, the better the idea sounded in my head. "Would you be willing to meet with just them? Not necessarily travel back but video conference? That way we aren't playing right into Davis' hands."

I watched as Shannon chewed on the side of her lip. I gave her time to think about it without adding anything more. I couldn't persuade her either way. The decision had to be made solely by her. Otherwise, she would resent me later and that wasn't how I wanted to start my relationship with her.

Because whether Shannon realized it or not, that was where this was heading. Nothing I learned was going to change that.

"That could work but I need to know they’re protected. If Davis is willing to burn down my father's place to get my attention, then who knows what else he's willing to do? I won't have my people hurt while I hide here."

"Done." I thumbed out a message to my brother setting everything up. It would take more resources from Blackguard Security, but I was sure Matthew's boss wouldn't mind. I had met the man a few times when I visited, and he was fiercely protective of those who worked for him. That extended to family as well. "Do you have the names of the employees and their families? I know Matthew's team can probably find the information, but it would be faster if you gave it to them."

And it would give Shannon something to focus on other than the situation at hand.

Shannon nodded her head eagerly. She found a notepad and pen on the large desk. Sitting down in the chair, she got to work.

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