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“He fucked you too?” he says, and I flinch at the ease at which he asks me that question.
“Sometimes,” I admit. This is the truth, at least.
“And you were okay with that?” He tilts his head to one side as he stares at me.
“Again. He is a hard man to refuse. So, I didn’t,” I say with a shrug as I glare back at him. I won’t allow him to use my body and my choices to intimidate me.
His green eyes roam over my body, reminding me of a panther sizing up its prey. But something about the way he looks at me has the heat searing between my thighs. The truth is, Nikolai Semenov made my skin crawl, and I hated every moment of his hands or his lips on my skin. But I needed him, and I’m not against using any means at my disposal to get what I want—or to simply survive. The prospect of Shane Ryan, or any of his hot brothers demanding anything from my body, however, makes me shiver in an altogether different way.
He clears his throat. “Rest assured, there is no expectation that you provide those services around here,” he finally says.
I nod at him and experience an unexpected twinge of disappointment. That would certainly make my time here more interesting.
“That’s not to say my brothers won’t try,” he adds with the flicker of a grin. “But you’re under no obligation to agree. They were raised right. So, don’t feel bad about turning them down. They can have their pick of any woman from our club downstairs.”
I nod again, and it takes all of my effort not to scowl at him. He’s just made me feel completely worthless, and incredibly small, and I expect he knows it. I wonder if that was his intention. From the little I’ve managed to find out about the Ryan brothers, they're all business and little pleasure. I know that can’t be completely true. Men like these have to blow off steam sometimes, but whatever they do, they're discreet about it. No relationships to speak of. No scorned exes waiting to dish the dirt. No jilted one-night stands who are desperate for revenge.
The Ryan brothers have many business enemies for obvious reasons, but very few people who seem to hold a grudge for any personal ones. At least, none that I could find. I’ve hardly been able to dig up anything at all on their personal lives, other than the fact that they moved to New York about ten years ago, quickly rising through the ranks until they became the undisputed heads of the Irish Mafia. Their reign has been challenged many times, but never successfully. Perhaps Shane Ryan is worried that if I get too close to his brothers, I might get too close to him.
I sit up straighter in my chair. “That’s good to know. Thank you,” I say with a forced smile.
He rubs a hand over his jaw and his tongue darts out to lick his lower lip. An image of him using that tongue somewhere else on my body forces itself into my mind and I squeeze my thighs together to stem the rush of heat there. Behave yourself, Jessie!
Shane picks up a brown folder from his desk and hands it to me. “I want you to get access to this man’s life. Bank accounts. Medical records. College. High School. Employment. I want to know everything about him.”
Taking the folder from his hand, I resist the urge to peer inside. “Who is he?”
“Someone I am very interested in,” he replies coolly. “Do you have what you need?”
“I have my laptop, so I can get what you need. But I could do it faster with access to a desktop too,” I reply as my eyes flicker to the computer on his desk.
“I’ll arrange for a desktop to be delivered for you tomorrow. You can set it up in the library.”
“Okay. When do you need this information by?”
The noise of his cell phone ringing interrupts our conversation, and he pulls it from his pocket, frowning as he glances at the screen. “As soon as possible,” he snaps. “I need to take this.”
I realize I am being dismissed and stand up with the folder in my hand. “There’s no rush for the desktop. I’ll have the information to you by tomorrow,” I say before turning and walking out of his office with a deliberate sway of my hips. This is my chance to show Shane Ryan exactly what I’m made of and prove to him I can be an indispensable asset to him and his brothers. It offers me the perfect cover while I continue my true goal in life, to find the man responsible for murdering my entire family.
Chapter
Ten
JESSIE
Ifinish writing the last page of notes and snap my laptop closed. Stretching my arms above my head, I stifle a yawn and check the time on my watch. It’s a little after 3 a.m. I’ve been in the library looking into Shane’s mystery man for the past six hours. Although he made it clear there was no urgency to his request, I want to get it to him as quickly as possible. I sense that he has the last word on whether I get to stick around here, and I want to prove my usefulness. Strangely, I want to impress him too. I’m not usually driven by my ego, but something about Shane Ryan and his brothers makes me want to show off my talents.
Closing my notebook too, I pick up my laptop and head out of the library toward my temporary bedroom. As I pass Shane’s office, I notice the light is still on. I pop my head through the door. He’s sitting at his desk and the soft glow of the computer screen illuminates his handsome face.
I clear my throat to announce my presence, and his head snaps up. He frowns. “Hacker?”
“Hey. You never told me that guy was in Ireland,” I say with a tilt of my head.
“Take a few more days if you need to,” he says with a shrug.
“Oh, I have your information. I was just surprised to find he doesn’t live in the States. I was surprised by a lot of things actually.” I arch one eyebrow at him.
“You have the information already?” He leans back and rubs a hand across his jaw.
