Craving Shannon (22 page)

Chad watched his father walked half a block up then cross to the left side of the road. He stopped in front of a small, two-story house. He jogged up the steps and reached the top just as a slender young woman, with shoulder-length blonde hair, opened the door.

Chad was surprised to see the girl throw herself into his father’s arms and hold on for dear life. “What the fuck!” he said aloud. He leaned forward and watched the exchange between the two. From the distance, he could tell the girl was upset by the way she put her hand over her mouth.

Although it was too far away for Chad to see her face, something about the girl’s stance was strangely familiar, and caused a flutter in his gut.

His father walked quickly back toward his son.

The young woman stood on the top step of her house, looking down the street in the direction of the car.

Chad exited the BMW and leaned over the top. “Who is she?” he called out when his father was close enough to hear.

Charles didn’t answer until he was right in front of his son. “Her name is Allyssa Mathers,” he exclaimed.

“Allyssa Mathers,” Chad repeated, noting that the name did not ring a bell. He looked back toward the girl and shook his head. “Dad, there’s something…there’s something about her…”

Charles looked deeply into his son’s eyes and nodded once.

“Something about her reminds me of…” he shook his head again.

Some bizarre compulsion had him pushing away from the car and walking toward the girl.

As he grew closer, he realized that the young woman was crying—hysterically. Her eyes were glued to his approach and spilling heavy tears down her pretty face.

And then, he realized that it wasn’t just her stance that was familiar, it was everything about her, everything except…her hair…the hair was all wrong.

Chad stopped short and froze.

No, it couldn’t be…it just couldn’t be. Clearly, he was losing his mind. He was experiencing some sort of illusion. 

His body trembled uncontrollably.

He bent over and put his hands on his knees, trying to calm his breath. He felt faint and wondered if he was about to collapse.

He inhaled deeply and looked back up to see the girl still glaring at him, her hand up to her mouth, her pretty, green eyes still gushing tears.

He put his hand on his forehead and stared back at her, his head swimming. Their eyes locked tight, neither one of them moving.

And then, the word pushed passed his lips, the word that was choking him, clogging up his throat. “Shannon?” he called out.

She scrunched her face and nodded vigorously.

He put both hands on his head and turned in a complete circle. What sick joke was this? What kind of a person would pull an April Fools prank of this nature?

He let out a loud sob and looked back at the strange girl, expecting to see her as she really was. She was still crying, still gazing at him. She still had Shannon’s face!

“Shannon!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. She tore down the steps and ran toward him. She crashed into him full force. He wrapped his arms tightly around her back and fell to his knees, taking her with him. He kissed her face, her head, her hair, over and over, crying along with her.

Charles was suddenly beside him, coaxing him up.

He held on to the girl for dear life as he followed his father.

The next thing he knew, he was sitting in a small living room with Shannon on his lap. His face was buried in her neck as he told her he loved her repeatedly.

He heard his father cough abruptly, a reminder that he was present.

Chad looked over toward the older man with pleading eyes. “Dad, what’s going on?” he asked in a broken voice. “I’m so confused.”

Charles senior sat with his hands folded on his lap, regarding his son carefully. He lifted his head slightly. “Understand, Son,” he began. “The Cartel would never have stopped looking for her unless they believed she was dead.”

“I watched her die,” Chad recalled.

Charles shook his head. “No, you didn’t,” he replied with a rueful expression.

“I…I went to her funeral,” Chad said, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand.

“Empty casket,” Charles mumbled. You were so distraught that you never bothered to wonder why it was a closed casket ceremony. I don’t think you even considered who’d made all the arrangements.”

“Why…why didn’t you tell me this?” he asked in a small voice. “I died along with her. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We had our reasons,” Charles answered.

“Did you do this?” Chad questioned, glaring at the older man. “Did you hide her up here?”

Charles nodded.

“I need to hear it,” Chad said flatly through clenched teeth. “I need to hear what you did. Everything!”

Charles let out a deep sigh. “The night it happened, your mother and I were having dinner nearby when Alex called us to relay the bad news.”

“How did Alex know?” Chad interrupted.

“You spoke with him before getting into the ambulance.”

“I have no memory of that,” Chad replied in a stunned voice.

“I’m not surprised. You were devastated,” Charles said. “Anyway, your mom and I arrived at Lenox Hill a few minutes after you. As it turns out, I have an acquaintance that is a leading surgeon there. I called him from my cell and he agreed immediately to oversee Shannon’s treatment.”

“What did he do?” Chad questioned.

Charles shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. As bad as her wound looked, the bullet passed back out without damaging any major organs. It was evident as soon as they took the dress off that she was in no immediate danger.”

“I saw her face, Dad,” Chad yelled. “She was pure white, there was no color left, and she was so still…”

“She went into severe shock,” Charles explained. “And then she passed out. Her mind shut down to protect itself from the horror of being shot by strangers.”

Chad ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head.

“I can understand why you thought she was critical,” Charles said. “Not only did you think it, so did the doctors when she was first rolled in, and also the FBI agents. When Alex filled me in on the details of Allison Jenkins’ death and her husband’s involvement with the Cartel, I knew immediately what Shannon was up against. It dawned on me that we could use the mistaken severity of her wound to our advantage. I had my friend keep her status secret while I made a few phone calls, called in a few favors. Within twelve hours, Shannon Walsh was officially dead and Allyssa Mathers was alive and well, complete with social security number, driver’s license and passport.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chad said, feeling his temper starting to flare.

“We didn’t know how much the Cartel knew, if they knew about your relationship. We couldn’t take any chances in case they were watching you. We needed you to be convincing during the funeral. I know how terrible you suffered, Son, but understand, we were trying to keep not only Shannon safe, but also you.”

Chad nodded reluctantly. Regardless of his pain and anger, he saw the logic in his father’s words.

“We were going to tell you eventually, once we thought things had died down.”

“So why didn’t you?” Chad asked in an anxious voice. He noticed his father and Shannon share a look before his father answered.

“I came up here on a regular basis to check on her. About six weeks ago, I told her I thought it was time.”

“Time for what?” Chad asked in a hesitant tone.

“Time that you knew.”

“So why didn’t you—”

“I told him not to tell you,” Shannon admitted.

Chad felt his body stiffen. Why would she want to keep that from him? Why wouldn’t she want to see him? Did she not want him anymore? He turned to look into her face apprehensively. “Why?” he demanded.

Her lip quivered. “I was ashamed of my life. I had already gotten you mixed up in my white trash drama. I thought you’d be better off without me.”

Chad stared at her blankly for a second or two. “I love you,” he said in a disbelieving tone. “I have suffered pain unimaginable without you. How could you do that to me?”

“I’m so sorry,” she cried.

Chad picked her up off his lap and set her on the couch. He walked over to the mantel, leaned both hands on it and hung his head between his arms. “How could you, Shannon?” he asked through gritted teeth, not bothering to look in her direction.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

Chad turned to face her, anger coursing through him. “I told you I loved you!” he yelled. “Why would you doubt me?”

Shannon put her hand up to her mouth and cringed.

“Go easy, Son,” Charles butted in. “She was very concerned for your safety. She really did labor under the delusion that you would be happier without her. Plus, she’s been through her fair share of heartache. She was just as devastated as you were by the separation. I called her earlier today to tell her that enough was enough. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch you both suffer any longer. I think I finally convinced her that she was being foolish.”

Chad glared at Shannon. Then, as quickly as it came, the anger evaporated, and he was left with the astonishing reality that she was really there, that she was really alive.

He rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms once more. He held on to her tightly, silently rejoicing in the feel of her perfect body in his arms once again.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried into his shoulder.

“Silly girl,” he whispered into her ear. “You silly, beautiful girl.”

Charles cleared his throat again. “I’m going to head back home,” he announced, looking a little uncomfortable with his third wheel status. “Give your mother and me a call when you’ve made plans.”

“What do you mean?” Chad asked.

“I’m leaving you here for the time being,” Charles announced.

“No,” Chad responded, shaking his head. “I don’t need to make plans; I’m taking Shannon home right away.”

Charles glared at his only child incredulously. “This is serious, Chad,” he stressed. “Shannon is dead. She has to remain so. There is no going back for her.”

“I’m not living without her,” Chad argued.

“I realized that,” Charles countered. “You’re going to have to start over with Allyssa here. Here or somewhere else, but not Manhattan, at least not for a while.”

He knew his father was right. The life he had was over; it had to be for Shannon’s sake, for love’s sake.

Within four weeks, Chad had given in his notice at work, which was somewhat amusing considering he hadn’t shown up there for over three months. The only reason he was still on the payroll was due to the Bazarov deal. He put his apartment on the market and found a five-bedroom house on two acres of land in Scranton.

On the very last day of April, he sat facing a beautiful young woman in his new favorite restaurant.

He reached inside his pocket and played with a certain little black box.

When the waiter cleared their table, Chad got down on his knees in the midst of the crowded restaurant. Then, pulling the black box out of his pocket, he begged Allyssa Mathers to be his wife.

~ ~ ~ ~

Allyssa kissed her husband on the nose and jumped up. “Come on,” she coaxed. “Let’s go eat.”

“Okay,” he agreed. He hopped off the bed, stood up and picked his pants off the floor. “Oh, yeah, there’s something I forgot to tell you,” he said as he slid his legs into his pants. “Alex called before. He and Julie are coming up next weekend.”

“Are they bringing the kids?” Allyssa asked.

“I guess so,” Chad replied.

“Good,” she responded. “What about Derek and Sofia?”

“Derek’s not sure if they can make it.” He noticed his wife pout slightly. “It’s okay. We’re all going to be together next month for my sixtieth birthday cruise.” He rolled his eyes at the prospect of hitting such a milestone.

“True,” she mumbled, nodding. She pulled her new dress up to her chest then turned her back to her husband. “Can you zip me up?” she asked.

He brushed her hair out of the way and felt an electric current as his hand slid over her shoulder. He pulled up her zipper then kissed the back of her neck. “Thank you,” he murmured against her skin.

“For what?” she questioned.

“For agreeing to marry me all those years ago,” he responded, “for loving me.”

She turned to face him and gazed up into his eyes. “That was never a choice,” she uttered. “Loving you is just who I am.”

He let his eyes fall down over her beautiful body. “Y’know,” he began, his tongue grazing his lip, “you look so good in that dress that I’m thinking maybe we don’t need to go eat right away. I have the room for the whole night.”

“Seriously?” she screeched. “We just had sex for three straight hours. You couldn’t possibly want to again.”

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

“You’re too much,” she said, laughing.

“You see, that’s the problem right there,” he stated, “
You’re
not. You never have been. Heaven knows I’ve been trying my damnedest to get my fill of you for the past twenty-five years. I just can’t seem to get enough of your gorgeous body, but I think tonight might be the night.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.