Chapter 46
Shannon
“Before you offer me your heartfelt condolences,” Niall said. “I already know my dad wanted to hand this place over to his little protégé. The great fucking Shannon Colter.”
A slithery smile split his lips, his eyes flicking from her mouth to her chest with a deliberate, lecherous pause.
“It’s a shame he never got the chance to update his will,” he added, stepping closer. “But don’t worry—I’ve got an idea.”
She didn’t move, not yet. Not while he advanced like a predator drunk on his own poison.
The dark crescents beneath his bloodshot eyes pulsed with something feral. His lips were cracked, bleeding at the corners, and a fine dusting of white powder clung to the wiry hair in his nostrils.
“You run the yard for me,” he said, almost brightly, “and I’ll let you stay. You can be with Trixie on one condition. ”
His pupils twitched, flickering with every blink. One hand trembled at his side.
“Tell Jamie McGrath to fuck off. I don’t want to see him around here again, and you won’t run off to his place either. You work here. You live here. My rules.”
The silence stretched. Shannon inched back, spine brushing the sharp edge of the open drawers behind her.
“No fucking chance,” she ground out, jaw locked.
He moved fast and one long stride, he was in her space. Inches from her face. His breath stank of chemicals and ego. She had nowhere to go.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Get the fuck off my property. And if you go near Trixie, I’ll break your fucking hands.”
That sleek smirk fuelled a fire in her chest so hot it made her vision blur.
She shoved him hard, every ounce of strength she could muster behind it. He stumbled back a few short steps, unsteady.
“I can’t believe a man like Harry ended up with a waste of skin like you for a son,” she snarled.
His mouth flattened, eyes switching to flat and dark like steel. He jammed the bag of powder back into his jeans like he was stuffing down his rage.
“My da thought I was a loser, Shannon,” he said, quieter, dangerous. “He never looked at me like he looked at you. You were everything I wasn’t. Every time he saw me, he saw her . That bitch who left him.”
He sniffed hard, wiping his nose with the heel of his hand, eyes veined red.
“I hated the horses. Always did. But I tried. I pretended. Year after year, like it would matter. But you know what?”
He leaned in again, voice laced with venom.
“I really fucking hate horses. Just like I fucking hate you. I’m glad he’s dead. And I’m going to sell this shithole and walk away.”
The words struck like a thousand wasp stings, swarming her head, her ears, her chest. The yard had been Harry’s soul. His life.
The idea of Trixie sold to the highest bidder made her heart fold in on itself.
“I wish Harry thought you were a loser,” she spat. “Then maybe he wouldn’t have funded your addiction or left this place to rot in your hands.”
Without thinking, she lunged, shoulder-first ramming into his chest. He toppled, ungraceful and stunned, landing hard on the floor with a grunt.
“I hate you!” she screamed, her voice raw, primal, fractured. “I’m taking Trixie, and you can’t stop me.”
And then he laughed.
“Do you want to play rough, little Shannon?”
He pushed up on one elbow, eyes gleaming, teeth bared like a feral animal. That mocking laugh lingered in the air and still, Jamie had no idea she needed him.
She didn’t hesitate. While Niall was down, she threw her boot straight into his ribs, into the very place she’d seen him kick horses without a flicker of remorse.
He lurched forward with a howl, and she followed, fists flying, fury overriding fear.
Distracted by anger, his fists crashed into the back of her knees.
Her legs buckled.
The floor slammed into her, her head smacking the edge of the open drawer on the way down. Pain exploded behind her eyes.
Everything blurred.
Grunting and swearing, Niall scrambled on top of her. She punched his chest, fought to shove him off, but his weight settled across her hips, trapping her.
Her body thrashed beneath him, but her strength was fading fast.
Then came the slap across her cheek, her head snapping sideways.
“Don’t make me mark the places people can see,” he hissed. “Play nice, or I’ll go out there now and put that fucking horse in the ground.”
When she spat in his face, his hand jumped to her throat, his fingers squeezing.
Her scream died in her chest, strangled beneath his grip.
In the back of her mind, nails tapped on the floorboards, and a steady growl came.
Jackson .
The dog skidded into the room, teeth bared, a warning snarl rumbling into savage, furious barks. The noise split through her head like a siren.
Then she saw him.
Jamie .
He charged into the bedroom, eyes locked on Niall with a murderous glint that made her heart jump.
His presence changed the atmosphere, charging it with violence and fury.
The calm, composed, dominant man she knew had vanished, unveiling a terrifying version of himself.
In one brutal move, he grabbed Niall by the armpits and ripped him off her like he weighed nothing. The crash of Niall’s back slamming into the wall shook the furniture.
Jamie pinned him there, arm across his throat, eyes wild.
The crack that followed smashed Niall’s nose. Bone gave way with a wet, sickening crunch.
“I’ve finally got the motherfucker who hurt my woman,” Jamie snarled. “Twenty-three fucking bruises on her perfect body. You remember that?”
He threw another punch, harder this time, ramming knuckles into cartilage.
“Well, guess what, asshole… I’m breaking twenty-three of your fucking bones. One down. Twenty-two to go.”
Blood gushed from Niall’s nose, dripping down his chin and onto his shirt. He coughed, spit red on the floor—and smiled.
A cracked, twisted smile.
“Wait,” he growled, breath heaving. “You think I’m scared of you? I’ve screwed with worse men than you. You’re just another rich fuck in a fancy suit. ”
Jamie didn’t flinch. His body barely moved, but the tension in his jaw was seismic.
“I’ll give her the horse…” Niall continued, pushing against Jamie’s arm with what little strength he had. “You want her so bad? Fine. Give me a million and I’ll let you take the fucking nag before you fuck off.”
“You think you can bargain your way out after what you did to her?” Jamie’s voice dropped lower, quieter, but grittier.
“You think throwing scraps makes you the bigger dog? I’ll buy Shannon everything she could ever want.
Pay a million for whatever she needs, no fucking problem. But I’ll never give you a penny.”
Niall let out a low laugh, breath rattling.
“Shannon was mine first, you know,” he hissed. “You’re just the guy fucking my sloppy seconds.”
Jamie’s fist shot out, slamming into Niall’s gut, hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs.
He gasped, folded, and Jamie yanked him upright again like he was nothing but a rag doll.
“Don’t say her name. Don’t even look in her direction,” Jamie seethed, voice trembling with the restraint it took not to break him entirely. “I don’t give a fuck about what you thought you had with her. She belongs to me now. Her safety, her life, her horse, her body—mine.”
Niall groaned, sagging against the wall as Jamie’s grip tightened.
“You’re not in control here, Ross,” Jamie continued, eyes blazing. “You lost that the second you laid a finger on her.”
He slammed Niall back into the wall one more time. A picture frame crashed to the floor beside them.
“I’ll give you one chance. Walk the fuck away from this yard. Leave it to Shannon like Harry wanted.”
“And if I don’t?” Niall wheezed.
Jamie leaned in, his mouth near Niall’s ear. “Then I’ll make sure you spend the next few months in a body cast.”
That’s when Niall broke. The bravado cracked, his eyes wide with genuine fear now.
“Jamie…” Shannon’s voice cracked as she forced herself onto her knees, swaying as she pushed forward, reaching for him. “Please— please. Let him go. He’s not worth the trouble.”
Jamie’s chest heaved. His jaw clenched. He didn’t turn to her at first, just stared down Niall like he wanted to drive him through the wall. “I wanna hear how sorry this fucker is for hurting you.”
“She deserved it…” Niall laughed.
Before Niall’s smug laugh had even died, Jamie moved.
One brutal precise punch cracked across Niall’s jaw, sending him crashing sideways into the chest of drawers. The laughter stopped and blood spattered.
“He said he’ll give me Trixie.” She got to her feet, her voice shaking. “That’s all I want. If you hurt him, you’ll get into trouble. Please.”
When he finally looked at her, his eyes were wild, but something in them softened. Only for her. The buzz under her skin intensified. Not from fear…from pure devotion .
“No fucking way, Shannon.” Jamie stalked closer to Niall, sank to his haunches and grabbed a fistful of Niall’s blood-slicked jumper. “He hurt you. He threatened my father. I can’t let him walk out of here.”
“You heard her, McGrath,” Niall slurred, grinning through a broken tooth. “You lay another finger on me, and that fucking horse she loves will die. And I’ll go straight to social media to publicly destroy you.”
He smirked, his eyes bright with the sick satisfaction of a man who thought he still held the cards.
For a second, Jamie’s grip loosened.
Niall slumped down the wall like a discarded puppet, blood blooming across the front of his shirt. He groaned, then shoved off the floor, staggering upright with a wobble in his knees.
Still, somehow, he managed to steady himself, just enough to limp toward the front door, one foot dragging behind the other.
Every breath rattled, every step a pathetic display of ego trying to outrun consequence.
He turned at the threshold, spat a thick glob of blood onto the floor, and chuckled. “The horse won’t survive the night. And you, McGrath? You can’t do a fucking thing about it.”
Jamie’s shoulders snapped tight, muscles coiled, breath jagged. His jaw flexed.
“Fucking asshole,” he growled, and moved.
In a single stride, he tore through the doorway, boots pounding against the floorboards.
“Wait… Jamie…” Shannon shot after him, her vision swimming. “Jamie, please…don’t! He’s not worth it!”
But he was already gone.
The cold slapped her skin as she staggered outside, freezing at the top step while at the bottom, chaos unfolded.
Jamie tackled Niall like a beast unchained, dragging him to the cobblestones and striking his face.
Niall kicked out, landing a heel into Jamie’s back, but it only ignited him further.
Jamie surged up, drew back his arm and struck back harder.
The loaded punch cracked across Niall’s jaw, spinning him sideways. His body folded.
Air whooshed from his lungs in one broken gasp, and he crashed to the ground hard, his knees buckling beneath him and his head snacking against the stone.
He tried to crawl away, coughing, spitting blood and gravel.
“Touch her again—fucking look at her again—and I’ll bury you,” Jamie snarled, fisting his collar.
“Jamie, stop!” Shannon sobbed, her voice ripped from her throat. “Don’t risk everything to get back at him. Please…”
Niall collapsed onto his side, eyes unfocused, chest heaving.
He gasped, tried to speak, then his body seized, and his limbs shook.
After a beat, he went still.
Silence moved in with the bitter wind. Bucky appeared, his boots crunching across the gravel pathway. He knelt beside Niall, fingers to his throat.
His head shook once.
Twice.
“Jamie,” Bucky said, his voice hollow. “He’s dead.”
Jamie stood motionless, his hands rising to the crown of his head, elbows flared as he stared down at the body.
Blood covered his grazed knuckles and spattered his t-shirt, the breath heaving from his lungs like he’d just sprinted through hell.
“I killed him,” he murmured, disbelief crashing over him.
Shannon leant into the wall at the top of the steps, her body shaking, her vision feathered at the edges as the sky broke open.
Chopper blades cut through the silence and men with earpieces materialised out of the shadows.
Jamie’s security team swarmed the yard as he climbed the steps two at a time to reach her.
“I’m sorry, Shannon,” he said, taking her shaky hands. His voice drifted into the surrounding noise, lost beneath the shouts and orders barking through radios.
She blinked hard, trying to focus, trying to hold on. But the black spots creeping across her vision multiplied, blooming like ink in water.
Her knees buckled. The world tilted.
The last thing she registered was the distant echo of her name, then the ground rushed up to meet her, and everything went black.