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“I left him the code.” I slid from the counter, my bare feet hitting the heated stone floor. “But it might take him a while to find it.”
“You feeling better, Em?” Shannon asked, sweeping into her master bathroom. She wore satin pajamas and a matching robe. Her hair was piled up high in a bun. It was ten o’clock and, by the sound of it, Charlotte had just gone down.
“Emma locked Jack in the panic room.”
Shannon let out a bark of a laugh, then covered her mouth with three fingers. “I’m sorry, but that just made my day. Oh, I’d pay anything to see the look on his face when he wakes up.”
“I left him food and water,” I clarified, glaring at Mick for ratting on me. “I plan on releasing him tomorrow, but I figured he needed a timeout.”
Shannon bent over, her arm wrapped across her middle, and laughed so hard I thought she might cry. Upon seeing her reaction, Mick chuckled.
Eoghan sauntered through the archway, confused. He looked between Shannon and Mick, then at me with question. “Why are they giggling?”
“I locked Jack in the panic room earlier today.”
Eoghan’s face split into a wide grin. “You didn’t!”
I shrugged, feeling giddy myself. I was exhausted in every way—physically, mentally, emotionally—but seeing Shannon and Mick in fits made the corners of my mouth twitch.
“Oh, Em, I fucking love you.” Shannon resurfaced, wiping tears from her red cheeks. “Now, everyone with a dick between their legs get out. I need to clean her up.”
Mick clapped Eoghan on his shoulder and they promptly left the room. Eoghan glanced back to make sure I was okay and I nodded once. I was as okay as I ever would be given the strange, violent night I was having.
“Sit,” Shannon ordered, the humor gone from her voice. She pointed to the closed toilet seat, then grabbed a washcloth from a cabinet and wetted it. It was warm and soothing when she applied it to my forehead, careful as she wiped away the excess blood. “What happened with Jack?”
“I told you. I locked him in the panic room.”
“Not that. I mean before. I heard he was in a fight at MVR and that he got pretty messed up. The next morning, he’s AWOL and no one can reach either of you. What the actual fuck?”
The fight at the Moscow Vodka Room had occurred five days prior, but it felt like Jack had been missing five months. The agony and sleepless nights had made the time stretch on endlessly.
“We got into an argument,” I admitted. This was something I could talk with Shannon about. After all, she’d seen it coming. “And kind of…broke up.”
She dabbed at my wound. “Why?”
I curled my nails into my palm. “He told me he cheated on me in Ireland.”
Shannon scoffed and I looked up to catch her rolling her eyes. “And you believed him? I told you he would do this, Em.”
“I didn’t know he was going to say he cheated on me!” I defended. It wasn’t like Shannon to be angry with me.
She set the washcloth on the counter with a huff. “He only told you he cheated to get you to leave. He would know there wasn’t any other way.”
“Yeah, Mick said the same thing.” I winced, heat pooling in my cheeks. “I went feral on Jack. I told him to never touch me again.”
“Oh, Em.” Shannon sighed, a frown puckering her lips. “Jack knows how to hurt people, to identify and utilize their weaknesses. He’s an asshole and you shouldn’t take him back.”
“He’s not asking me to.”
“He will once he realizes what a huge mistake he’s made. The man cannot function without you. He was just getting by before. Going through the motions. He has a purpose with you in his life. I mean, look what happened the second you left him! He went Rambo and practically drank himself to death in the process. Five days without you, girl! And he spiraled quicker than even I thought possible. You did good locking him up. He needs some time to think about what he’s done. Especially to you.”
Shannon eyed me with curiosity, her brow furrowed. I stood and put my hands on my hips, looking away. Shit. It was too late. She’d seen something in my expression.
“There’s more…” She trailed off, taking a few steps until she faced me again. Shannon was shorter than me, but I felt small in comparison. She was such a strong person. I hoped I had just a sliver of her strength to get through this. “What aren’t you telling me?”
I looked down at my hands, gripping my hips until I knew I’d leave bruises. My teeth were clenched so hard that my jaw fired with pain. The throbbing on my forehead returned despite the pain medication.
“I—” My voice was cracked, hoarse. “I killed…the Babau.”
