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Mikey nods his agreement and stands too but Liam remains in his seat and stares at me. “You weren’t actually taken in by any of his bullshit, were you, Jessie?” he asks with a frown.
I frown back at him. It’s not like Liam to be the unreasonable one amongst his brothers. “All I’m saying is there’s a possibility he’s telling the truth.”
“And what if he is?” he snaps.
I blink in confusion. Why does it seem like he’s so pissed at me?
“I don’t know what happens then,” I tell him honestly.
He opens his mouth to speak but Shane puts a hand on his shoulder. “Enough. There’s no point arguing about it until we have more information. Let Jessie do her thing and then we can decide what to do next. All of us.” He turns to me as he says that last part and I know it’s mostly for my benefit, because in the past I have been known to be a little impulsive and make reckless decisions. But that was the old me. I’m much more considered now – at least most of the time anyway.
“Of course,” I agree.
Chapter 17
Jessie
I’ve spent the entire afternoon looking into Hayden and he’s a pretty quick study. I didn’t get a chance to look into him yesterday after he dropped his bombshell and it was probably a good thing because I was so rattled by his revelation I’m not sure I’d have been at my most clearheaded.
I turn the computer off, pick up my notebook and head to the den to meet the guys. We have a group date night once a week, but every four weeks, we stay in the apartment and have a movie or game night – all five of us, with no work and no interruptions. Cell phones are switched off. Laptops, tablets and computers are left untouched and we pretend like there is nobody else in the world but the five of us. It used to almost kill Shane because he’s such a workaholic but I think he looks forward to them more than any of us now.
I walk into the den and drop my notebook onto the coffee table.
“Where have you been, Red?” Mikey says as he reaches out and pulls me onto his lap as he sits on the sofa. “We’re waiting to start the movie.”
“Sorry. I was just finishing up,” I whisper.
We’re all distracted by Liam and Conor as they walk into the room carrying bowls of fresh popcorn. Placing them on the table next to my notebook before they sit on the sofa with Mikey and me. I stretch my legs out over Conor’s lap and he lifts my foot to his lips and presses a soft kiss on my ankle.
Shane sits on his usual spot in the armchair. He holds the TV remote in his hand. “And are you finished?” he asks me.
I roll my lips together. I was hoping he’d ask me that. I know we’re not supposed to talk work tonight, but this isn’t exactly work, is it? “Yes.”
“Finished what?” Conor asks before he tosses some popcorn into his mouth.
“Looking into Hayden,” I reply and I see Liam’s shoulders stiffen.
“And?” Shane asks.
“No work. It’s movie night,” Mikey protests.
Conor frowns at him. “This isn’t work.”
“No. It’s not,” Shane agrees. “We can wait a few minutes to start the movie.”
Mikey groans and rolls his eyes. “Fine. Make it quick, Red,” he says with a wink as his arms tighten around me.
“There wasn’t a lot to find. His story checks out though. His mom moved to the US from Russia when he was three months old. She married some guy from New Jersey called Jon Chambers and he raised Hayden as his own until he died nine years ago of lung cancer. Hayden is smart. He got a scholarship to UCLA, but he dropped out in his second year when his mom got really sick. She died of lung cancer last year too. Just like he said. He lives alone in a tiny apartment in New Jersey. He makes fifteen bucks an hour waiting tables at a bar in Queens. Has a couple of friends from his job. Stays at a girl named Heather’s place in Queens a couple of nights a week, but checking their social media they’re not in a serious relationship. I mean I got plenty of other stuff. I know his favorite food and how often he visits the laundromat too, but I’m pretty sure the movie would be more entertaining than that.”
Shane narrows his eyes at me. “Any red flags at all?”
I suck in a breath. “One,” I admit.
“And that is?”
“He owes over a hundred thousand dollars in unpaid medical bills from when his mom was sick.”
“So he’s after money,” Liam says with a scowl.
