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Sitting back down in my chair, I put my head in my hands and sigh. What the fuck am I supposed to do? How do I protect my family when a pint-sized siren has my fucking heart and my balls in her vise-like grip and she doesn’t even know it.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
JESSIE
Iwalk along the hallway toward the gym with my heart pounding in my chest. After I left Shane’s office, I headed to my room and packed my small backpack.
Always be prepared to run, Jessie! Another of my father’s lessons.
How will Conor, Mikey, and Liam react to the news that I’ve been lying to them? I don’t know why Conor hates the Russians, but Shane was keen to remind me of that fact. The sound of footsteps behind makes me spin around as I reach the door.
Shane!
I frown at him. “You making sure I tell them the truth?” I snipe.
He smirks at me before reaching in front of me and grabbing hold of the door handle. His hand brushes mine and I bristle at the touch of his skin as goosebumps prickle along my forearm.
“After you, Hacker,” he says as he opens the door wide.
I step inside. The music is loud in my ears now that we’re inside the soundproof room. Conor is spotting Mikey on the bench press, while Liam does pull-ups in front of the mirror. The three of them are shirtless. Their hard, muscular bodies covered in a thin film of sweat. My ovaries ache in response to the testosterone and pure sex confined in this room. The thumping bass of Snoop Dog’s Sweat pounds in my ears and the three of them move as though they're perfectly in tune with the music. I swallow as I try to focus on the reason I’ve come in here.
Suddenly, the music stops, and I realize Shane has turned it off. His brothers turn to us in surprise.
“What’s up?” Liam asks as he lowers himself to the ground and wipes the sweat from his eyes with a nearby towel.
“Our little hacker has something she’d like to get off her chest,” Shane says as he sits on one of the nearby weight benches and stares at me.
Conor frowns and walks toward me. “What is it?”
I look at Shane and then back at his brothers before I take a deep breath. “My name is not Jessie Heaton. It’s Jessica Romanov,” I blurt out the words.
Conor frowns at me for a few seconds until he realizes why he knows that name. “No,” he shakes his head. “She’s dead.”
“Definitely not,” I say as I look down at myself. “I’m right here.”
“Who the fuck is Jessica Romanov?” Mikey asks.
I swallow hard and the tears spring to my eyes. I’d assumed they’d all know, and I wouldn’t have to explain. Closing my eyes, I’m preparing to tell them my story when Shane answers for me. I smile at him, grateful for his intervention.
“Jessica Romanov is the daughter of Peter Romanov. There were some rumors he was former KGB. Some said he was the head of the Russian mob. But what is known, is that he was one of the best hackers in the world. Ten years ago, him, his wife and two sons were slaughtered in their home, and their sixteen-year-old daughter, Jessica, disappeared, presumed dead. The case was all over the news and there was a nationwide manhunt for Jessica, but she was never found. You two were only sixteen yourselves at the time, and you paid even less attention to the news back then than you do now. It’s well known, in our circles at least, that an assassin named the Wolf carried out the attacks. He is, or he was, the Bratva’s finest and most experienced hitman. The hit fitted his MO. But he disappeared afterwards. And as no-one had ever met him and lived to talk about it, he was impossible to find. Whoever paid him and ordered the hit, and why, has never been revealed.”
“Fuck!” Mikey says.
“And you’re her? The missing daughter?” Liam asks.
“Yes,” I nod.
“How did you disappear? Where have you been? Are you working for the Russians?” Conor scowls at me as he bombards me with questions.
“The Wolf was supposed to kill me too, but he kidnapped me instead. He kept me prisoner for nearly two years until I almost killed him and escaped. No, I am definitely not working for the Russians. But I want to find out who paid for the hit on my family and why, and I want to finish the Wolf for good.”
Liam walks over to me and wraps me in his arms. “Fuck, baby, you really are a warrior,” he says as he plants a kiss on my temple.
“You’re safe here with us, Red,” Mikey adds. “We’ll help you find who was responsible. Won’t we, Conor?”
I look up at Conor who frowns at me. “I fucking hate the Russians,” he spits. “Present company excluded.”
