Shannon by Shara Azod

Funny, Jean-Paul suddenly looked ill.
    “I think we might have a misunderstanding.” Junior smiled an oily kind of smile. It was the only thing he got to say before Fionn opened fire. One bullet to the head and that problem was over. Before he hit the ground, two more shots rang out. Again from Fionn’s gun. That left Jean-Paul and one other cop. Fionn looked like he might have let the last bastard live, but the dumbass just had to go and draw his weapon. Which left only Jean-Paul.
    “I have to take him back,” D’Andre told Shay softly. “But no one says he has to go back whole.”
    Yeah she knew that. And she’d actually had time to think about it despite how fast the situation had just gone down. “Fionn? May I have your gun?”
    His brother said nothing, just turned over the weapon without blinking an eye. Just as efficiently, Shay aimed and shot Jean-Paul dead in the crotch. Jean-Paul seemed stunned at what had just happened, then in agony. Unable even to scream, he cupped his now ruined groin as if trying to hold in the blood and intestines spilling from him as he crumpled to the floor.
    “I would rather have died than to ever be with you.” Her voice was a lot calmer than she’d thought it would be. But tears flowed freely. All this for what? Because some sick bastard had the hots for her?
    D’Andre lugged a howling Jean-Paul out of the house.
    “I’ll take care of the cleanup,” Conall offered quietly.
    “The bodies will be gone and the men were never here,” Kieran stated before making a quick call.
    “I think I am going to escort that poor dickless bastard and D’Andre back to Mattapan,” Fionn said cheerfully. “I want to make sure it’s done.”
    Shay didn’t have a chance to see anything else. Shannon picked her up and carried her up the stairs.
    “I should at least clean the floor.” Yeah, she didn’t really want to do that. She just wasn’t sure she could process this. Jean-Paul was suffering, soon to be dead. Junior was gone. Her brother was avenged. And she was left with…
    Oh God, she was left with Shannon.
    That was a hell of a thing. Up until now she’d been able to at least partially convince herself staying was a necessity. But what D’Andre said was true. She could’ve gone back. Jesse’s men would be loyal to her, and Lord knows she knew as much about the business as any of them—more than most, even. But she didn’t want to do that. She wanted to stay with the slightly insane Irishman who liked to bare-knuckle box, provided a home he actually called Home to disenfranchised kids of any race, and loved her like she was the sexiest, most precious woman on earth.
    And oh yeah, Shannon loved her. There was no doubt about it. Not once since she first walked into his office at Sugar Babies had she slept alone; not one day had been spent without him. He took her on business, allowed her to handle the non-physical things, told her stories about his childhood that made her want to cry, and she’d seen some shit so she wasn’t moved to tears easily.
    More than that, she knew he needed her love. He didn’t even known how much he craved a soft touch against his skin, but Shay knew. She saw it in those emerald eyes every time she touched him. It was just that, now there was no other thing left to hide behind, it left her vulnerable in a way she’d never been before. She wasn’t really sure what to do with all these… feelings .
    “Baby, look at me.”
    Shay immediately raised her eyes to meet his fierce gaze. God, he was beautiful in a terrifying, brutal kind of way. God, that was sexy.
    “It is over.” Using his thumb he brushed away a tear that had been hanging off her chin. Shit, she was crying. “I will never allow anything to threaten you, not ever.”
    “I know.” And she did. Shannon would always be there for her. She knew it in her soul. And that scared the shit out of her. No one should be this certain about another human being.
    “Let me show you?” Setting