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“Not yet.” He frowns at me. “I assumed you had more self-control, Conor.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Ordinarily, Shane’s bad moods don’t get to me. It’s just a part of who he is. It’s the way he deals with the constant pressure he's under. A way to keep the world at bay when everybody seems to want a piece of him. But, he has touched a nerve.
“Well, you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” I snarl at him before I walk out of his office.
I feel like shit about what I just said. Shane is only four years older than me, but he’s always been more like a father to me and the twins. Much more than our actual bastard of a father ever was, anyway. I know what he’s given up for us, and the sacrifices he’s made. He even left Ireland for us. It was for the twins mostly. Even though he never wanted to. He would have been happy to live and die in the Emerald Isle. He never asked for any of this, but he took it on anyway. And he's fucking good at it. He made his way straight to the top and brought us along with him. I owe him so much. We all do.
But that doesn’t mean he gets to preach to us about our life choices. Jessie is the best thing to have happened to me and my brothers in a long time. And she could be good for Shane too—if only he would let her in.
Chapter
Twenty
JESSIE
The apartment is quiet as I walk along the hallway. It’s after midnight but I can’t sleep. My brain won’t seem to switch off lately. I’m not used to having so little to occupy my time. Seeing the light in Shane’s office, I wander along and knock lightly on the open door.
“What is it, Hacker?” he asks with a scowl as he looks up from his computer screen.
“I was wondering if Conor or the twins were around, that’s all. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
He runs a hand over his strong jaw as he glares at me. “They’re working. That’s what most of us do around here.”
“Well, I’d like to be working myself if you’d just let me. I’m bored out of my mind here. Isn’t there anything I can help you with?” I ask. So far, Shane has barely given me anything to do and I suspect it’s because he doesn’t yet trust me fully.
“I’m not sure the kind of work we’re doing tonight is up your street, Hacker. Go back to bed.”
I don’t move. Instead, I stand in the doorway and stare at him. He’s so damn prickly, but sometimes I enjoy trying to push his buttons. He’s hot when he’s angry. “Surely there must be something I can do for you?” I arch an eyebrow at him.
He pushes back his chair so fast that I take a step back in surprise. He stalks across the office toward me. “What do you think this is, Hacker? You think that my brothers are your friends, your fuck-buddies? You have no idea who we are, or what we're capable of. I suggest you remember that the next time you walk around here in the middle of the night looking for trouble,” he growls as he pushes his face close to mine.
I tilt my chin up and stare at him. There is no way I’m going to allow him to intimidate me. “I think I have a pretty good idea of who you and your brothers really are.”
“Oh, really?” he snarls.
“Yes. Really.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Fine. You want to work for us, Hacker, then it’s time you discover what kind of work we really do,” he snarls as he straightens his jacket. “Come with me.”
I glance down at my bare feet. “Are we going out?”
“We’re not leaving the building. You’re fine. Let’s go.”
I follow him to the elevator and we wait in silence for it to arrive. I step in first and lean against the wall while he stands opposite me. For a few painful moments, we wait in complete silence with the air in the small space thick with tension. I steal sideways glances at him as he stands there looking good enough to eat in his exquisitely tailored suit and expensive leather shoes. He wears a distinctive cologne. It’s fresh and masculine, and while it’s never overpowering, it lingers in the air and makes my mouth water.
When the elevator stops, I let out the breath I’ve been holding in and he steps out before me, holding the doors open. We’re in the basement. The sound of music from the club above and directly next to us thumps through the concrete space. I follow Shane past the line of expensive cars and notice a room that I’ve never seen before. As we approach, Liam and Mikey are standing outside. They frown at us as we draw near.
“What’s up?” Mikey asks as we reach them and he moves to stand directly in front of the door. There’s a muffled scream coming from the room, and I look between Mikey and Shane. What the hell is going on here?
“I’ve come to show Jessie exactly what kind of line of business we’re in, boys. Now step aside.”
Mikey blinks at him in surprise. “But you know he won’t want that. He won’t want Jessie to see him in there.”
“He’s right, Shane,” Liam adds.
“It’s time she learned the truth. Now step away from the fucking door,” Shane snaps and Mikey does so with no further hesitation or resistance.
My heart hammers in my chest as Shane’s fingers curl around the metal handle, because whatever is going on behind that door is something that Conor or the twins obviously don’t want me to witness. The fact that Shane does makes me wonder exactly what his agenda is.
