Page 3 of Consequences

“Look, it’s not safe for you to have me here,” she says. “Once I shower, I’ll be on my way, okay?”

He opens his mouth to object, but Colt surprises him by beating him to the punch. “No can do, Shannon. You came looking for Psycho to help you, and while we aren’t him, we are his brothers. Who are you running from, sweetheart?”

The last thing Beckett expected was Shannon bursting into tears, and he looks around in panic when she does. Her hands fly to her face, but she shrugs off his advance when he reaches out to comfort her.

“Look, I’m not proud of the things I have to do, okay? I know what it makes me, but sometimes it’s all you can do to survive.”

“No one’s judging you, darlin,’” Jennings says.

Shaking her head, she sniffles and wipes at her eyes. “You are. I know you are, and I don’t blame you. Hell, I judge myself. I just never quite found my footing, you know? And then this rich guy comes around, and it seems like my luck’s changing. And it did for a couple of weeks, but then he changed.”

“Changed?” Colt asks.

“He scared me. The things… I tried to end it, but he refuses. He won’t me leave me alone, and last night, he told me that I eitherbelong to him, or I’m dead. I took off when he fell asleep and never looked back.”

“We won’t let him get to you. What’s his name?”

She sniffles, and her lip trembles. “He only gave me the name Kiefer. I know it’s not his real name, and we only ever stay in the hotel. He’s rich, and he’s powerful. And he really likes me, for some reason.”

“Let’s get you a shower and some food,” Beckett says. “We’ll look into this guy.”

She just nods and follows him back to his apartment. Felicity meets them, and she gives a small smile as she hands him a pair of shorts and T-shirt. “Here. If you need anything else, let me know. I’ll take care of it.”

His resolve to hate the woman melts away. “Thanks.”

“I’ll get something to eat and bring it by.”

He just smiles, thankful he doesn’t have to worry about how he’ll make sure Shannon doesn’t disappear out the back door while he goes to find her something to eat. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry,” Shannon says once the door closes behind them, “I won’t try and suck your cock in the shower again.”

The memory of her warm mouth around him makes him half-hard, but this isn’t the time or the place. “Shannon,” he says, following her into the shower.

“You want a free show?” she asks, stripping down with no hesitation or modesty.

The bruises on so many areas of her skin make him forget whatever he’d planned to say to her. Her face, it turns out, is only the tip of the iceberg, and he takes in the full extent of her injuries.

“What did he do to you?” he whispers.

“I’m tougher than I look,” she says before stepping into the shower. “This is nothing. He’s done worse.”

Time disappears on him as Beckett stands there, lost in his own world. She steps out and grabs a towel, and he has to know. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No?”

“You’re not into me. It’s fine. But I felt like gum on the bottom of your shoe the last time we saw each other.”

Sighing, he leans against the wall. “That’s not it at all. I want you more than you know, and I’ve wanted you for longer than I probably should have. It felt like you offered yourself up as payment, and that cut deep. That’s not how I wanted to have you for the first time.”

Shannon stops and stares into his eyes. Her mouth opens and shuts a couple of times before she bursts into tears again. “I don’t know how I got here, Beckett. How did I let my life turn out this way?”

He wraps her up in his arms, and he just holds her, letting her sob. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you. It’s all going to be just fine.”

Chapter Two

Griffin’s Beach

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