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Chapter Sixteen
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Logan gave his head a shake in an attempt to clear it from the vodka he had been drinking. He had never noticed how it made his head cloudy until recently. Must be age, he thought to himself, while making a mental note to attempt to cut down…tomorrow.
Keeping track of Payton had been more challenging than expected. That girl seemed to always be on the move. It didn’t come as a surprise to find out from Shannon that Jack was staying in the same hotel as Payton. He could taste the victory in his mouth, knowing he would soon have some hard evidence.
He had been watching and stalking those two for weeks now. Shannon had come in handy, he thought to himself. He was a little ashamed he had bullied her into helping him. She looked like a young girl who wanted to please everyone.
He thought back to his conversation with Shannon. “Without your help, you and many other people’s lives could be in danger,” Logan had cautioned. “Jack could be very dangerous if he is guilty, meaning Payton’s life could be in danger. If, of course, she is innocent like you believe, Shannon. Most people are not who you think they are.”
It was shortly after this conversation she had agreed to help him.
The hotel had a cozy sitting area in the front where he waited to see what would unfold. Looking on his monitor he could see Jack’s hotel room through her mini camera. But his earpiece was full of static. “Fucking piece of shit,” he muttered to himself as he took the earpiece out and put it into his pocket. He should have spent the extra money and bought himself some new equipment, but instead he bought one of his many bottles of vodka.
*
Shannon nervously tooka seat outside, looking at the beautiful view. She rarely drank but this whole situation had her stomach in knots. She needed something. Almost as if Jack could read her mind, he handed her a glass of wine.
“This is so nice of you,” Shannon said, gesturing to the fruit platter and wine. The strawberries tasted so good, good and helped to make her lips even redder than her already bright red lipstick. This is a bad idea, she thought to herself.
“I appreciate everything you do,” Jack responded as he stepped closer to Shannon. Something was different about her today, Jack mentally noted. “I was wondering if you would be able to do one more thing for me?”
“And what is that?” Shannon was enjoying her glass of wine with the sun warming her body, but that was short-lived with Jack’s question. What on earth did he want her to do? A feeling of guilt crept into her stomach again.
“Would you mind transferring the money I set up for you to another account for me?” Jack had set up a numbered account in Shannon’s name, and in return he granted her a tiny profit. It was pennies in the bucket.
Shannon had neglected to tell Logan this small piece of information, as she needed the money to finally be able to afford a house without roommates. When she initially agreed to help Logan she had no idea it would mean this. Shannon was hoping that everything was a misunderstanding. She thought she had smelled liquor on his breath but tried not to judge him. But at the same time, all of the effort and time she committed to Payton would go unnoticed to anyone else and she would be unemployed if anything he said was true. She felt she didn’t have any other choice but to help.
Three clicks on her phone banking app and the funds were transferred. For some reason, when Jack had asked her to set up the account, it hadn’t seemed strange to her. At the time she was more than thrilled to help. But now, sitting in his hotel room under her name, she began to feel completely unsettled.
