No Strings Attached

Chapter Six

The following Saturday the girls drove over to Manchester for their shopping trip. Jayden had argued ... and argued ... about how dangerous it could be, and how vulnerable they would be in the city alone after everything that was going down with Tourniquet, but Tori was adamant.

Armed with a rape alarm, and a can of MACE, as well as Nate’s suspiciously pliant approval, they finally made it to Shannon’s Audi TT with a sullen, moody Jayden begrudgingly kissing Tori goodbye at the door.

Davies met them at Tori’s old apartment, as per the orders of Mr. Caine, and followed them into the city centre.

Shannon had to chuckle watching him follow them around the shopping centre. Walking no more than four steps behind them inconspicuously, his face was an absolute picture of boredom, so when Tori popped over to the Chemist for a little new make-up, she took a little pity.

“You look sooooo bored,” she drawled, leaning up against the glass store front next to him.

“My God, I am!” he smiled over at her, his full lips drawing back into a cheeky grin showing off a set of Hollywood white teeth. He really was an incredibly attractive man - bulk and physical brawn offset beautifully with his golden tan, and short dirty blonde hair so that he became such an open, honest face – so much more approachable than other men of his size ... like Nate, who was all strength and shadows. “I can’t even stand shopping with my wife,” he grimaced, “It’s just not for me. I’m working though, I need to be aware of that, it’s just that truthfully ... I can’t see any threat just at this moment.”

Shannon chuckled, “Amen to that! Jayden’s just over protective, we had to argue to high Heaven just to get here in the first place! And I’ll let you in on a secret ...” looking around the room as though on guard, she whispered, “She’s even armed!”

He chuckled lightly, “No sense not being protected, I guess,” he shrugged his broad shoulders – the tight black fabric of his t shirt hugging the flesh so that each ripple in the corded muscle could be tracked, “But, uh, it was actually Nate that put the call in. He has to pop over to Asylum later, anyway, so he’ll be in town.”

Nate was going to be in the city? Was that a coincidence? No wonder he’d agreed so readily to their trip.

Shannon turned her head away from Brett, suddenly feeling ... ashamed to have been checking him out. This stuff with Nate was addling her brain! Why the hell should she feel guilty for that? She was free and single! Okay, he wasn’t, but she wasn’t even window shopping! She was making polite conversation with an attractive man ... while ogling his muscles.

“So what time will you be babysitting until?” she muttered, unconsciously bitter, as she didn’t really step out of her thoughts to ask the question.

Truth was, everything aside, she envied Tori. She always had.

She envied the love she inspired, not only in Jayden, but in Nate as well – unconditional, all consuming – the forever kind of love. Tori would never be alone – she would never face anything without Nate and  Jayden at her side – and just watching them all together only served to remind her how isolated and alone she really was in the world.

Davies watched her brooding, silent for long moments before he put her out of her misery, knowing that Tori would be leaving early to go on home to Jayden, while Shannon had booked into a hotel for yet another early meeting she’d planned with the fashion distributor, “I’ll be around for the entire night, and then driving you back tomorrow.”

Raising her hazel eyes from the gleam of the precinct floor, she looked at him from underneath one lifted manicured brow, and the razor cut fringe that shaded her eyes, “Pardon?”