Chapter 10

As Jack Mason lay naked in bed beside his new best friend, he couldn’t believe his luck. Getting the goods on Shannon Donovan, a pretty Irish woman in her 30s had been relatively easy, almost too easy. She was a workmate of his and he had long lusted after her tall, slim body that come complete with long red hair and green eyes. Eager to get something he could use to convince her to become his best friend he noticed she often slipped away from the office during noon hour and whenever she returned she was in a dreamy state.

Fuck, she’s high, higher than a kite, Jack swore as he noticed the dilated pupils and the glazed look in her eyes.

The next time she disappeared he followed her and watched as she met a man on a street corner. He witnessed the hurried exchange of crumpled bills and the seller shaking several pills from a vial into her outstretched hands. She immediately popped one into her mouth and washed it down with a swig from the bottle of water she carried. Then Shannon was hurrying back to work.

Jack decided to let her watch several more times but the next time she met her contact he was ready. He used his I phone to take pictures of her meeting with him and then tossing back a pill because he wanted solid evidence of her misdeeds before he confronted her.

“Oh, please don’t tell on me. I need these pills. Most days I feel I’m gonna explode into a million pieces if I don’t take at least one,” Shannon pleaded with tears in her eyes when Jack showed her the photos.

Jack knew she was a pill popping addict but could hardly believe it. She sure didn’t fit into the druggie role at all. At least those pills haven’t marred her beauty yet. He decided she was going to make a great best friend.

Shannon took Jack’s growing silence to mean her tears weren’t enough to convince him to remain silent. Growing concerned she decided to go for broke and offer him what men usually wanted. She could tell it would be easy enough by the way his lust filled eyes raked over her body. Although she didn’t exactly relish giving herself to just anybody she considered herself a practical woman. Which meant that occasionally, when times get tough, like the times she needed money to feed her habit, she wasn’t above crawling into bed with someone if there was a big enough advantage for her. And this, she decided, was one of these times.

“Look.” Shannon smiled invitingly at Jack. “I don’t know how you managed to take these photos but I got an idea of why you did it. You wanted to blackmail me, didn’t you? Well, it worked, except I don’t have any money. So why don’t you meet me tonight after work and I’ll show you how much your silence means to me. I’ll do anything.”

Although Jack was excited at the promise he eyed her warily. Something was wrong because this was far too easy He was expecting some anger and stiff resistance because that’s what Billy and Jeremy had experienced. They said the women put up quite a fight and it wasn’t until they realized their fate was sealed, that they agreed to become best friends, with all the fringe benefits. At first Jack didn’t believe them when they boastfully described the best friend benefits, but then he saw their homemade movies. That was what propelled him to ensnare Shannon. He could barely wait to have a beautiful woman like her doing his bidding. What was even more exciting was the power he would hold over Shannon. Under the threat of her secret becoming known, she would do anything he wanted and more.