Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
I pull up a seat and toss the file into his lap. He opens it up, his eyes scanning the reports and soaking it all in. He doesn’t bother to say anything as he hands the file back. There isn’t need for that, and Ronan’s never been one for words anyway.
“Ivan is gunning for her,” I explain further. “Alexei assured Viktor we’d keep her on a leash until they flush out the rat.”
Understanding shines through his eyes as he gives me a stiff nod. I’ve made it clear now why he’s here. Why he needs to watch her and the reason for me being so cagey.
“I need to pay Niall a visit,” I tell him. “I can’t put it off any longer.”
“You best get to it then,” he says. “I’m not going anywhere.”
***
Niall doesn’t do business at his house. It’s almost always done at Slainte or one of his other businesses. He likes to keep his family separate from this life, and I don’t blame him. In these early morning hours, I meet him at a diner that his sister runs.
Scarcely a minute passes after I slide into the leather booth before I’m greeted with a full Irish breakfast. The oul one loves his Irish breakfasts.
“I don’t fancy being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.” He folds his hands on the table and watches me carefully. “This better be important, Lachlan.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t,” I tell him.
I pull the file from my coat and he shakes his head, making a gesture with his hand. “Eat first.”
We do. The place is quiet, and there are only a handful of customers seated in other sections. I’m not even hungry, but when Niall says eat, you fucking eat.
When I finish, I slide my plate away and wait for him in silence.
Finally, he tosses his napkin onto the plate and pushes it away.
“Alright, lad. Now you can fuck up my day.”
I smile, only because Niall knows me well. If I’ve requested this meeting, it can’t be anything good. He’s on alert already because of what happened with the Armenians trying to steal our cash. That was no coincidence. This, though… this is going to wreck him. Niall doesn’t take to betrayal lightly. And the few grainy shots Alexei managed to gather from our security system proved something I never wanted to be right about. There has to be a rat in our outfit as well, seeming as the Armenians managed to get the code for the safe.
I slide the photos across to him and watch him as he scans over them. He doesn’t make a sound. He doesn’t even twitch. That’s why Niall’s the boss. He’s always in control of himself. It’s only because I know him so well that I notice the redness taking over his ears.
He tucks the file into his jacket and then folds his hands across the laminate table.
“Tonight.”
He gets up out of the booth and leaves.
Chapter Nineteen
Mackenzie
I’m sitting in the bathroom applying my makeup when Lach’s cell phone rings in the next room. He answers it, and being the nosy investigator I am, I listen in. The conversation is one sided, and muffled through the door, so I press my ear against the wood to hear better.
Mostly, I only get a whole lot of muffled affirmatives before he hangs up. I brush it off as a lost cause, but then a moment later I hear the distinctive clip of Ronan’s shoes followed by his voice.
“Sean get a hold of you?” Ronan asks.
“Aye, Niall wants a meeting. Seven o’clock.”
“What are we gonna’ do about her?” Ronan grunts.
A sigh from Lachlan. “Chrissakes, she can’t come to the club. I’ll get Conor to watch her.”
There’s a beat of silence, and I can almost imagine the scowl on Ronan’s face. He doesn’t trust me, and Conor is one of their newest recruits. Which, incidentally, will probably work out in my favor. Because there’s no way in hell I’m missing that meeting tonight. This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.
“You mind if I head off now then?” Ronan asks. “I’ve got some business to tend to.”
“Ah sure,” Lachlan says. “Tell Conor to get his arse over here.”
The front door slams a moment later, and then Lachlan’s banging on the bathroom door, nearly scaring me half to death.
“Ye alright in there, sweetheart?”
I grab my lipstick tube and open the door with my best doe-eyed expression. “Yeah, just putting on my makeup.”
“Ye’re not going anywhere.”
“I know.” I scowl. “I’m just bored, Jesus, give me a break, will ya?”
He pushes his way into the bathroom and sandwiches me between his body and the counter.
“I’ve a cure for that,” he says.
I bite my lip and look up at him, only to be pulled into his crushing grip while he kisses the hell out of me. The tension in my body melts away almost immediately. I don’t know how he does that. Any other guy tries to manhandle me like this I’d be kneeing him in the nuts.
Lachlan’s breathing grows rougher as he wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tight. His erection is pressed up against my stomach, and there’s no doubt in my mind what he wants. We haven’t had any time over the last few days since he’s always coming or going, but I knew he’d want to pick up where he left off. A part of me wants it too.
I reach up and run my fingers through his hair and down his neck, making him groan. It’s such a masculine sound, and I want to make him do it again and again.
Then his ringtone blares, completely ruining the moment.
“Fecking hell,” he curses into the phone as he pulls back. “What now?”
I can’t hear what the other voice is saying on the line, but whatever it is makes Lachlan tense. He bites out a few more syllables and then hangs up.
“Always with the interruptions.” He reaches down and adjusts himself. “Ye better be ready for me tonight, sweetheart. I’ll be finishing this.”