His Addiction (The Unforgettable #3)
Chapter 1
Shannon
Shrill whinnies and powerful snorts of horses echoed through the yard.
An unmistakable whip crack startled crows into flight from the nearby trees. Their black wings flapped like jagged shadows, as if they too could sense the storm of Niall’s anger.
Shannon’s worn Dubarry field boots thudded against the dirt as she marched toward him, flyaway strands of her dark hair drifting across her face in the bitter wind.
Knots twisted tight in her chest.
She didn’t need to see him to know what was happening. Niall’s booming voice told her everything.
“Stupid fuckin’ animal. I’m the boss here, not you.”
His booted leg lashed out, striking the chestnut gelding in the ribs. The horse flinched, its movement hampered by the lead rope taut in his gloved hand.
Niall yanked the rope, wrenching the horse’s head lower with a hard tug .
When it skittered sideways, its muscles trembling, he lost control.
With a snap of his wrist, he flicked the rope like a whip; the end slicing through the air. The horse panicked, eyes wide in terror, as it fought against him.
Shannon came to an abrupt stop just behind him, her stomach churning.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded. Niall lashed out again, and the edges of her vision dimmed to black. “Stop it, Niall.”
The horse’s nostrils flared, its coat slick with sweat.
Niall stood firm, legs planted wide, his posture a twisted monument of self-assurance and anger.
The deep creases of his scowl made him seem less a man and more a looming threat, a storm about to break.
“Trust you to stick your fucking nose in where it doesn’t belong,” he spat, glaring over his shoulder. “Back off, Shannon. This horse needs to know who’s the boss.”
His eyes locked onto hers. “And so do you, apparently. Want me to fuck you against the fence after I teach this thing manners?”
Asshole.
Her pulse hammered in her throat, the anger inside her seething. She fought the urge to tear the rope from his hand and shove him away from the mare, but she stayed still.
She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of a confrontation. The horse wasn’t the only one under Niall’s control.
“We all know you’re the boss, Niall. Now let me take her.” The lie tasted like acid in her mouth .
In truth, he was nothing more than a spoiled, arrogant bully. But she wasn’t na?ve enough to challenge him again.
“Get back to work, Shannon. I’ve got this under control,” he snapped.
“What the hell?” a gravelly voice barked from behind her.
The yard manager joined them, his broad shoulders rigid with tension. His dark eyes scanned the scene, fists clenched tight at his sides.
“You beat that horse again, boy, and I’ll shove my fist so far down your throat it’ll meet your ass.”
Niall staggered back, still tugging the lead rope. A smirk twisted his lips, his arrogance unbothered. “Yeah, and I’ll fire you, Bucky.”
“That’ll be hard to do when you’re breathing out of a fucking tube,” Bucky shot back, walking slowly toward the horse.
“I’ve worked with Harry for over thirty years, long before you were born. Your daddy ,” he mocked, “will cut off your allowance if he hears about this. Now, give me the fucking horse.”
When the mare surged again, Bucky yanked the rope from Niall’s hands.
“Go on. Get the fuck out of here, Niall,” he snarled. “Find something useful to do that isn’t abusing prime event horses.”
Niall glared back at him as the horse bolted forward, scattering everyone in its path.
“You see what I mean?” Niall sneered, voice dripping with superiority. “It’s not so funny when the fucker’s trying to hurt you, Bucky.”
He turned toward Shannon, his breath holding the faintest trace of liquor. His gloved finger hovered just inches from her cheek.
“If that thing kicks me again,” he muttered, “I’ll shoot it between the eyes.”
Shannon’s blood boiled. Niall didn’t just threaten; sometimes he acted first, and she’d worn the bruises to prove it.
“Real tough-guy move, Niall.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You’d shoot a defenceless horse just because it doesn’t bow to you?”
He smirked, eyes narrowing as he took a step closer, crowding her personal space.
“It’s none of your business what I do,” he said, low and cold. “We aren’t together anymore. Your opinions mean fuck-all to anyone.”
He shot Bucky one last unimpressed look before stalking past Shannon, bumping into her shoulder as though she were nothing more than a shadow in his path.
She stood still, inhaling to keep her anger in check, unwilling to let him get the better of her while Bucky struggled with the panicked horse, trying to steady it.
“Eassssssy,” he murmured, the gruffness in his tone now tempered with a gentle calmness. “I’m gonna beat the shit out of that wee prick one of these days.”
He glanced at Shannon, frustration etched into his weathered face. “Get the sedatives, Shan.”
“Yeah… Okay. ”
Shannon spun toward the yard, ready to leave, when Bucky called out to her.
“Wait! You’ll need the key to the cabinet.”
She cursed under her breath, her teeth grinding together as she moved to Bucky’s side and reached for the keys hanging from his belt, the metal clinking against her fingers.
The horse was thrashing now, its glossy coat damp, its hooves scraping dangerously close to Bucky’s chest.
“Quick, Shan. Grab them,” he urged, his voice strained. “I don’t know what you ever saw in Niall.”
“Neither do I,” she muttered, unhooking the metal clasp and yanking the keys free. “He’s changed.”
She backed up and turned toward the stables again, catching a shadow at the edge of the yard as she ran.
Niall always lingered too close and appeared when no one else was around.
The awareness of his gaze never left her as she darted toward the staff room, where the emergency veterinary supplies were stored.
Her pulse thundered in her ears as she unlocked the cabinet, grabbed the sedative and shot out into the daylight again.
And there he was, staring at her with her arms folded and his t-shirt untucked.
You can tell when someone’s unhinged by the shift in their eyes, a flicker of darkness beneath the surface.
It’s in the way they move or speak, like something’s always lurking beneath the mask, waiting to be revealed.
That was Niall Ross .
He was dangerous in a way that most people couldn’t see, but Shannon had experienced it firsthand, and she’d never let him touch her again.
“You really think you’re better than me?” He stepped closer, almost daring her to respond. “You think you can undermine me?”
Shannon’s pulse quickened, but she didn’t flinch. The anger and frustration inside her simmered, threatening to spill over.
She wanted to shout, to make him feel the depth of her hatred, but she knew better than to risk everything on a throat punch and a knee to the balls.
Because every penny she earned at Meadow Dawn yard was a step closer to her dream. A dream that had been hers to build since she was a kid.
Niall’s eyes roamed over her before he leaned in, his smirk spreading as if he still held some kind of power over her.
“You look pretty today, Shan,” he said, his voice too smooth, like he was trying to push buttons he thought he still could.
Shannon fought the immediate surge of disgust. She forced a small, icy laugh, eyes never leaving him.
“Oh, I’m sure the smell of manure must be so irresistible for a guy like you.”
Niall’s smirk didn’t falter, but his eyes narrowed.
“You know, if you don’t stop burying your head in horseshit and actually live a little, you’ll end up an old maid. No man will want you, Shan.”
Shannon’s gaze cut through him like a knife. She wasn’t flustered. Not even a little. In fact, the longer he stood there, the more repulsed she became.
“Lucky for me, I have zero interest in distractions. I’d rather be a lonely old maid than stuck with a guy like you,” she shot back, her voice laced with venom. “You don’t scare me anymore, Niall.”
His jaw tightened, but he quickly masked it with a scoff. “You think you’ve got it all figured out, huh? All this work, pretending like it’ll get you somewhere.”
Shannon’s breath caught, but only in the way someone might brace themselves for a punch.
“I’m building something for myself, Niall.” She glared back at him, squaring her shoulders. “No man’s going to get in the way of that.”
She could see it all in her mind and didn’t need a guy who’d squash her life goals by demanding babies and marriage. That wasn’t her path.
Niall wasn’t the man he used to be, and she had changed, too.
“Are you waiting for me to take you back, Shan?” Niall thumbed his bottom lip. “Still hoping I’d fuck you in the barn again?”
Shannon laughed and took a sideways step.
“You put me off relationships for life.” She squeezed the small bottle in her hand. “The only thing I’m waiting for is my savings account to hit the magic number.”
A dark shadow passed behind his eyes.
“Watch yourself, Shannon. I could ruin your life in a fucking heartbeat, and all that saving will have been for nothing.”