Page 17 of Lover
Shannon grabbed his arm and he was momentarily taken aback, a zing of static electricity flowing through his veins. “Leave them be. They’re kinda cute, actually.” While he wanted so very much to drag his sister out into the hall and close the door, the soft smile that relaxed Shannon’s features as he watched the two women flirt unabashedly was worth Rand dealing with his annoyance.
When Rory called out to Connie, asking her if she was going to help them with the case or molest Rand’s adorable little sister on top of the desk, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to thank him or strangle him. Shannon, Rory, and Claire stood quietly and listened while he and Connie brought them up to speed on what they’d found thus far. It wasn’t much, but they had a strong link and, when factoring in Shannon’s past, there was a cohesive thread that strung every picture on the board together.
“BB, what’s all this? Are they all—oh God, Rand, what the hell is this case about?” Claire asked as she reached for his arm, pulling him closer.
“There’s something missing from your board.” Shannon pulled the image of him and Taylor out of the pocket inside his coat, walking over and placing it on the board above the year 2010.
“Why 2010?” Rand and Connie asked in unison.
Shannon sounded like a wounded animal when he spoke, Rand nearly forgetting the question he asked. “Because that’s when I got away.”
Chapter Thirteen
Shannon
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The drive back to theapartment was a daze. Shannon sat in the passenger’s seat, staring out the window, feeling lost and overwhelmed. There was some ridiculous, pitiful part of him that screamed,It’s not Bruce.He’s not that cruel. Jesus Christ, he was so fucked up. He knew firsthand exactly how vindictive and violent Bruce Pearson was. Why was his brain having such a hard time believing the man capable of murder? His phone vibrated in the cup holder, but he couldn’t find the energy to lift his arm and pick it up. Thankfully, Rory answered it. Shannon had no idea who it was or what was said; his mind was frazzled, and his head hurt. The next thing he knew, he was in the bath, no memory of arriving home, getting out of the car or walking upstairs, much less getting naked and climbing into the tub.
“Here, babe. Drink this.” Rory kneeled beside the tub, a mug with steam rolling off it in his hand.
“What is it?”
“Just some herbal tea with a little honey.” He took it, taking a sip, not realizing how cold he was until the hot liquid ran down his throat.
Rory smiled, rubbing his cheek before leaning over and kissing him on the temple. “I don’t think I’ve told you today that I love you.”
Shannon chuckled and shook his head. Covering Rory’s hand with his, he squeezed. “Thank you. For the tea, for staying with me last night and this morning, for putting up with my mood that’s slowly leaning toward insanity, but mostly, thank you for believing in me.” Sitting up so he could kiss Rory, the cold air on his damp back made him shiver, but he ignored it and deepened the kiss.
A loud banging made him jump and damn near drop his mug into the tub of water. “That’ll be Taylor and Frank.” Rory stood. “I put some clothes on the counter by the sink for you. Finish your bath and come out when you’re ready.”
Even with the door closed, he could hear Taylor. “Where is he? Shannon!” Murmurs, words he couldn’t make out. “I will not calm down. Fuck you, Landers—get out of my way!” Shannon laughed, climbing out of the tub and getting dressed quickly before his best friend went through Rory to get to him. Or worse, broke down his bathroom door.
The hardwood floor was cold on his bare feet, so he slipped into the bedroom for a pair of socks, padding out into the living room, where he was immediately grabbed and fussed over by Taylor and Frank. “Are you okay? Let me look at you.” Taylor’s eyes roamed from head to toe, turning Shannon to one side then the other, inspecting. It would have been laughable if it wasn’t so goddamn endearing. “When I called earlier, Rory answered your phone and told me what happened last night and this morning, and I was so worried, Shan.” His friend pulled him in for a hug, his head tucked up under Taylor’s chin. Wrapping his arms around Taylor’s waist, Shannon lost it, again. He was so overwhelmed and confused. Learning that he was loved by a man that respected him while simultaneously learning that his ex was quite possibly a murderer with at least four bodies under his belt before he and Shannon got together would drive a sane man to the brink. As they’d already established, he was dangerously close to the edge. Not to mention, his growing infatuation with Rand Davis. But he couldn’t talk about that right now, not with Rory beside him.
“Oh God, Taylor, I don’t know what to do, what to say. I don’t know how I should even feel about this and I’m losing time. Fuck, I really just want to crawl out of my own goddamn skin!” he shouted, unable to keep it bottled up inside any longer.
Rory reached for him but Taylor held on, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him right in the eyes. “You’re not alone in this, Shannon. Not anymore, never again. But you go ahead and do whatever you need to do, scream, cry, shout—the three of us will still be right here beside you when you’re done.”
“Dammit!” he cursed. “Why am I still letting him do this to me? Why can’t I forget and stop feeling worthless for letting him hurt me the way he did over and over and over? I’m still letting him hurt me, Taylor. He’s not even here and it still fucking hurts.”
“Because he convinced you that it was your fault, that somehow you made him do it and you deserved to be punished. He engrained that in your psyche day after day with punishment and pain, only rewarding you with his twisted version of love and kindness when you obeyed.” Rory sighed, plopping down into one of the kitchen chairs.
Sniffling, Shannon turned to his boyfriend, bewildered. “Rory, I don’t...I don’t understand. How can you know exactly what’s in my head when I didn’t?”
“Because I profiled you, Shannon. It’s my job, and it’s something I promised myself I would never do to you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Shannon walked over and kneeled in front of him, placing a finger over Rory’s lips. There was so much sadness in his eyes and it cut deep, to think he was the cause of that. He could hear Frank and Taylor whispering, Frank saying they’d be in the living room, their footsteps retreating.
Rory ducked his head, looking away. “Hey, look at me, Rory. It’s okay. I’m not upset, and I don’t really care what you just did, because you’re right. I’ve never been able to put my feelings into words before, but you just did.” Leaning forward until their lips met, Shannon grabbed a handful of the shirt Rory was wearing and he fell, the two of them landing in a heap on the floor, both of them laughing, exchanging another kiss. “I do so love you, Agent Landers.”
“You do now, do you?” Rory waggled his eyebrows.
“Yeah, we’re still here, jackass!” Frank shouted from the other side of the large space.
“I really do. Now, get up. We have company.” Shannon stood, pulling Rory up with him, swatting his boyfriend on the arm when Rory smacked him on the ass.
Taylor and Frank stayed until midnight, the four of them passing time playing cards, ordering pizza, and watching slasher flicks until they all passed out in front of the TV, bellies full. When they climbed into bed at one in the morning, he sighed happily as Rory curled up behind him, pulling him close. Within minutes he was softly snoring, but it took Shannon awhile longer to fall asleep. Lying there with the man he loved wrapped around him, skin tingling from the connection, he felt safe in Rory’s arms. For the first time in his life, Shannon was completely at ease.
Chapter Fourteen
