WARNING! This part contains subject matter that some readers might find offensive. Please read with caution.

Nick decided against dinner and headed to LU and the locker room. A couple of the guys from he team were there, working out for the next day's game. Nick spun the combination on his locker.

"Still look beat, Messina," Ethan said, just coming back from his run.

"Yeah, well that garbage you gave me almost put me in the ground." Nick swung the door open.

"Hey, lower your voice." Ethan countered. "We can get into some serious trouble."

Nick pulled out a pair of track pants and slammed the door shut. "Tell me something Ethan. How bad do you want to start before the end of the season? Bad enough that you'd watch me die?"

"What the hell are you talking about Messina?" Ethan said honestly. "We didn't try to kill you. We tried to help."

Nick sighed. "Whatever. I gotta do some sprints, clear my head."

"You coming to the meeting later.?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna run, shower... then I'll meet you at the house."

"Don't keep us waiting too long. We're tapping one tonight."

"Great," Nick said, but sighed inwardly. The last thing he really wanted to do was get drunk that night. He would just roll with it. "I'll see you guys later."

>>>>>>

Shannon had managed to make her way to John's room at the hotel. She knocked loudly, furiously, but John didn't answer. He was obviously not at home. Shannon sank down on the floor, trying to catch her breath, her mind racing as she stared forward in a trance.

The coughing coming from the next room shook Shannon to the core. She was worried and scared, but she didn't cry. She had to be strong. Shannon sat on her bed, her radio playing softly.

The front door slammed loudly and Shannon heard the jingle of keys and then the thud of the handgun as it hit the table by the doorway. She was used to the sound by now. Living with a cop did that. He was intimidating. He was a handsome man, but he could strike fear into even the toughest of criminals. That's what made him such a great cop. But Shannon froze every time the door opened and she heard that thud on the table. Because Aidan McBain wasn't only intimidating to the bad guys, he struck fear into his family as well. He had a blind rage that would strike out of nowhere and he didn't hesitate to take it out on whoever was in his path.

Shannon was terrified to even make a sound, because once he realized she was home and her mother sick in bed, a whole new nightmare would start. As if suffering through his rage wasn't enough, she was much more horrified of having to endure more than that.

Shannon's heart froze as she heard the foot steps coming down the hallway towards her room. She had told herself so many times that she was going to pack her bags and take off, but she would always stop, thinking of her mother. Her mother was ill and Shannon couldn't leave her for her monster of a father to take advantage of. Shannon would much rather have taken the abuse herself than to have her mother suffer another minute. So Shannon stayed.

The doorknob turned slowly and Shannon had already managed to click the radio off and slither under the bedsheets. Maybe if he thought she was already asleep he would leave her alone. But Shannon heard the heavy footsteps draw closer and she squeezed her eyes tighter, praying to herself, to anyone that could hear her to make him stop.

But he didn't stop. He didn't even say a word, but he let his hand fall onto her lower back, sliding it around and then down under the waistband of her pajamas. She whimpered uncomfortably, afraid to fight him, afraid to pull away, afraid of what might happen to her if she did.

Shannon was shaking. She had to stop thinking about it. She had to forget it had happened. Shannon took a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment trying to collect herself. She couldn't stay in front of John's room, she had to get back to the cottage, try to sleep, forget about this. She stood, quickly headed down the stairs and out the door.