“Did the suit freak you?”
“Let’s just say it’ll take a bit of getting used to.”
Draco laughed. He picked up his coffee cup and toyed with it while he glanced at the door. “Didn’t think I could get used to wearing a suit, but it happened.”
Sean nodded at him. “I’m glad you’ve got a proper job, proud of you for achieving that.”
“You can do it too. Besides, I only got an opportunity because of your bad self.”
“Why so?”
“Your hacking reputation brought me a job.”
“As long as some good came out of it,” Sean commented, wryly.
Draco nodded then looked around. “It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been here.”
“We spent a lot of time here in our first year in London.”
“It’s like home away from home for me, more than you might imagine.” Draco looked thoughtful. “It was here Lara picked me up, offered me the job.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Had me tracked down.” Draco smiled to himself.
Sean could tell he enjoyed reflecting on it. “Why?”
“Based on the hack we got caught for. She wanted someone knowledgeable to find a mole at her Dad’s company. She figured someone a bit fly might be quicker than a traditional security search and trap.”
Sean was impressed. “Clever girl.”
Draco nodded.
“And that ‘fly’ guy was you.”
“Yup, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“She can’t get rid of you now, is that what you mean?”
Draco chuckled. “Pretty much.”
Sean caught sight of a familiar figure approaching on the street outside. “Okay, time for you to make a move. Delahane’s gopher is on his way in.”
Draco rose to his feet.
The sight of the gopher riled Sean and he rolled his shoulders, limbering up. “One wrong comment and I swear I’ll pulverize him.”
Draco frowned. “Keep your head. Just get the info we need.”
Keep your head? “Easy for you to say.”
“Not really. Rowan is my sister. Remember that. We’re on the same team.”
“Fair point.”
As agreed, Draco exited his seat and headed to the counter, where he claimed a far stool in a place where he could observe. Rory was circling the area outside on his bike, watching the diner to see if the gopher came alone.
The newcomer sat down without saying a word then put a scrappy notepad and a pen on the table between them, turning it to Sean and gesturing with his hand.
Sean lifted in eyebrow in query.
“Write down what you need.”
“I’ve got everything I need right here.” Sean tapped his forehead with one finger. It wasn’t exactly true. He’d have to pull together a new coding kit. Something appropriate for the job. He’d agreed to let Rory and Draco help him with that, so he could get through it faster.
The gopher reluctantly took back the notepad, stuffing it in his inside jacket pocket. He didn’t like it not panning out as he intended.
That pleased Sean, so he took charge. If he derailed this muppet the more openings there would be to break him. “I don’t have all day.” He tapped the table with his fingers. “Give me the background on the job.”
“At the appropriate time you’ll be texted account numbers on the burner phone I gave you. You’ll also be given amounts to transfer and an offshore account designation.”
“I’ll need that on a spreadsheet, not a scrappy text message.” The more solid evidence he could spring the better.
The gopher nodded.
“This is going to be a tough job. Have you even given any thought to internal security?”
“Delahane has a man on the inside, been in situ for sixteen weeks now.”
Bad news. Sean had been hoping they had come at this half-arsed and he could point it out. Delahane had obviously prepared well in advance. He’d been putting in groundwork even while Sean was still inside. It was Delahane’s M.O. and Sean wasn’t really surprised, but the level of prep made him doubt there was a way to scupper the job, as he’d hoped. He couldn’t bring himself to fake a positive response, so he simply nodded.
“He’s advised mid morning, the busiest time of the day, and the inside man will deactivate the firewall for the appropriate block of accounts for a short window of time.”
“Risky business.”
The gopher grinned. “Yeah, you’ll have to work fast to stay out of the clink.”
Sean shot him a warning glance. He was itching to give this guy a good pasting. “Are you done?”
“How long do you need to prepare?”
“At least twenty-four hours.”
“That works for us. Let’s make it Friday morning, eleven. Anything else you need?”
“A neutral location. You sort it.”
“Specifics?”
“It doesn’t have to be close to the target but ideally near the mainframe won’t do this on my home turf.” He would use an obscure I.P address, but if it got out of hand, he didn’t want security or the internet police to zone in on Rory’s home or workshop. Draco had offered the apartment he and his girlfriend lived in, which wasn’t far from the banking district, but Sean turned him down.
The gopher smirked. “Shouldn’t be a big deal. The inside man knows how the mainframe works, he probably doesn’t even need you…but better it’s not an inside guy, right.”
Sean gritted his teeth. Delahane had designated him the patsy, a disposable tool of less value than the inside man.
The gopher rubbed his hands together. “Cool. Cash in the bank for the weekend.”
Another dig. Sean would be the only one not earning. He didn’t give a damn, but this guy was doing his best to rub Sean’s nose in it.
“If you pull it off nice and clean,” he continued, leaning in on Sean, “you and your pretty little Welsh girl will be off the hook.”
Sean wasn’t stupid enough to believe it.
The gopher stood up and headed for the door. As he left, he shouted back over his shoulder. “Just so I’m sure, that kid is yours right…?”
Sean glared at him.
“Would be such a shame to lose her.”
Blind rage descended. Sean was on his feet in a heartbeat.
The sound of crashing crockery barely reached him, only Draco’s voice shouting: “No, Sean. Don’t do it.”
But it was too late.
Sean dragged the guy by the scruff of his neck, out the door and into the nearby alleyway. He flattened him against the wall, one hand against his chest. With the other fist, he took that look off his face once and for all, closing his eyes, turning his smirking face away with a fierce blow to his temple.
When the gopher buckled, Sean reacted fast, ducked and delivered a left hook blow under the rib cage, pushing him back up the wall with all his might.
His adversary doubled over.
Small but wiry, he came back up fighting.
Blows were exchanged. Sean’s heart hammered against the wall of his chest.
He ducked a blow but it caught the side of his nose.
He felt dampness on his lips.
Then Draco was behind him. “Leave it, Sean!”
His face was still clenched but Draco was right. Anything he did to these guys might come back on his kin.
He covered his clenched fist with his other hand, and eyeballed the guy, jerking his head. “Get up and get out of my sight.”
“Until we meet again.” The gopher pointed at him. “I’ll be staying with you right through the job, to make sure you don’t go chicken on me and do a runner.”
“Suits me fine.” Sean smacked his open palm against his clenched fist. “We can finish this then.”
Sean watched as his adversary strolled off. The guy was limping and holding his side. “He’ll be lucky if he can fuckin’ walk at all when I’m done with him on Friday.”
Draco reacted, his exp
ression thunderous. “You said this goon knows where Rowan and Pixie are, don’t antagonize him.”
The comment only added fuel to Sean’s raging anger. Draco was right.
Sean turned and punched the wall. Pain shot up through his hand, but it wasn’t enough. The deeper he got into this, the darker things got, Rowan and Pixie’s images growing more distant.
Draco shoved his hands though his hair, his eyes wild. “Who the fuck does he think he is, this Delahane?”
“It’s the way he works. He uses prison as a recruitment center. He sources people’s weaknesses, as well as their skills.”
Rory zoomed in on his bike, back from where he’d parked up on a street corner a block away. Sean had sent him there to keep him out of the way, under the pretence of watching to see if the gopher came alone.
Rory pulled off his helmet. “He wasn’t alone. Got into a four-wheel drive with two, maybe three other guys inside. It was difficult to be sure, blacked out windows.”
“Okay.” Sean had hoped the gopher was working alone. There’d have been more chance to dupe him. Nothing seemed to be going his way. Again, he hit the wall.
“Sean!” Rory looked at him, alarmed. “You aren’t going to be any good to anyone if you can’t even fuckin’ use a keyboard. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Sean wasn’t done punching the wall, but Rory was right, and it wasn’t doing him any good. Besides, his head had started pounding. He took the helmet Rory held out to him, and then wiped his face with his T shirt before he pulled on the helmet.
He climbed up behind his brother, riding pillion.
“Catch you back at the house later,” Draco called out, while he pulled his phone form his pocket.
Rory lifted his hand to Draco, revved the bike, and shot off into the traffic, weaving through the crowded streets of London like a local. Sean was impressed. They’d all three learned their way around before he was banged up, but not like this. Rory was riding like a courier on a mission.
Sean closed his mind off to the traffic and noise, working through the instructions, trying to figure a way out, his thoughts dark and brooding.
Chapter Fifteen
Brooding on it wasn’t helping.
By the time they got back to the house, Sean decided there was no way out—not if he was to protect Rowan and Pixie. When they dismounted, Rory opened the hidden gate and pushed the bike up the path to the storage unit
“Sorry, bro,” he offered, once Rory stowed the bike securely. “You were right. I can’t get out of it.”
“You just got to do it.” Rory’s serious expression showed he’d been thinking about it too. “As far as I can tell, the big worry is if they want more out of you afterward.”
Sean sighed. “Yeah, it’s about fixing it for good, done and dusted. Walk away.”
“Maybe Draco will come up with an idea.” Rory reached out to squeeze Sean’s shoulder.
It didn’t help. Sean still felt like taking another wall out.
A voice from the house interrupted.
Sky stood in the kitchen doorway, hands on hips. “When you’re done bonding, get your arses inside. Rowan’s here.”
Rowan? WTF?
Sean glanced over just in time to glimpse Rowan behind Sky. She turned on her heel and stomped away into the kitchen. Not before he caught the ferocious look on her face. He figured it mirrored his own. He was livid too.
Rory’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, fuck.”
“Jesus Christ that woman will be the death of me.” The pit he was in got a bit deeper. Grabbing the front of his T-shirt he pulled it up and wiped his face on it before dropping it back into place. “I told her to stay put.”
Even so, there was a deep, instinctive pleasure in the sight of her, even if it was the last thing he wanted in right now.
“She’s stubborn,” Rory replied, “They all are, even Draco. It’s a family trait.”
“You try to keep a woman safe...she ignored everything I said.” Sean felt sheer frustration, then he thought about holding her close, and he took a deep breath. “Better get it over with.”
He’d barely stepped through the door when she started on him.
“Look at the fucking state of you.” Her scathing expression took him in from head to toe, the mucky T-shirt, the grazed knuckles and blood stains. Her eyes blazed.
She looked so hot. His own rage dissipated, leaving only frustration. “Why the hell are you here, Rowan? I told you to stay at home, where you are safe.”
Sky and Rory stood by the sink, exchanged a couple of whispers, then strolled out of the room together, leaving them to it.
Meanwhile, Rowan was in full flow. “You bastard, you walked out on me. The ink had barely dried on your meaningless promises.”
Growling under his breath, he stared her down. “Tell me you didn’t bring Pixie with you.”
“No, I bloody didn’t. She doesn’t deserve any of this.” She lifted her hands in despair. Her eyes glistened with anger and unshed tears. “Three days out of jail and look at the mess you’re in.”
Sean couldn’t think straight. The overriding urge to calm her, to hold her, was the only thing guiding his actions. He attempted to move closer, reaching out to her. “Let me explain.”
She held up her hands, warning him off. “Don’t you come near me.”
“I just want to talk.” That wasn’t true. He wanted to hold her, to love her.
“Nothing you could say can make this better. I only dragged myself here to fuckin’ Narnia because I wanted to give you a piece of my mind.”
Narnia? Trust her to come up with that one. It was apt. However, frustration and concern bit deep into Sean. “Give it to me. Then you can get straight back on the train and get the hell out of Narnia, as you call it.”
Her mouth opened. “You bastard. You’d like that wouldn’t you. Shuffle me off out of the way. Well, no. You won’t get it so easy, Sean Rattigan. I listened to you, I believed you. All those empty promises. Then you walked out. How do you expect me to feel?”
For a silent moment he gritted his teeth, closing his eyes to contain his emotions. “They weren’t meaningless promises. And I want you to go home to keep you safe, you silly bint.”
She stared at him, fuming, her mouth pursed, then she stomped over and beat her fists against his chest.
He took each blow, letting her work off her head of steam.
“How dare you talk to me like that!”
She was close now, right up against him. He bided his time.
Thump. Thump. “Treating me like a fool to get a quick lay, well it won’t ever happen again, believe me!”
Thump. She buckled, her lashes growing damper.
“That’s quite a punch you’ve got there.” Taking his chance, he grabbed her around both wrists, locking her in place, taking control of her.
She struggled and flexed, pivoting back on one heel and kicking at his shins with the other foot.
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“Rowan. You came here to say your piece. I’ll explain if you let me.”
“No.”
Still she kicked, and it was really starting to tick him off. He was on a short fuse, and this was the last thing he needed.
Turning her around, he clasped her around the waist with one arm, and clamped his hand over her mouth with the other.
Instantly she stilled, her body reclining against his.
Was that a moan he heard, a pleasured moan? He smiled, a sense of victory coursing in his veins. He ducked his head, whispering close to her ear. “That’s better. Now listen.”
She turned her face away.
It exposed the soft skin on her neck.
He kissed her there.
A soft moan escaped her.
When she struggled against him, he grazed her skin with his teeth, just a teasing nip, but enough to still her again.
“Good girl.” He loosened his hold.
Growling, she pulled away.
/> Sean instantly regretted letting her go. Grabbing her back against him, he closed her mouth with a punishing kiss.
For a moment she went rigid in his arms, then he felt her relinquishment.
His kiss deepened, the feeling of her softness in his arms taking over, desire forging its own path.
She pulled away, breaking the kiss.
He saw the hurt in her eyes, the tears falling.
“Rowan…”
She shook her head. “This was a mistake, all of it. It’s my own stupid fault for falling in love with my own stepbrother,”
“You don’t mean it. We weren’t a mistake.”
“Look at the mess you’re in, Sean. I can’t get involved. I have responsibilities now.”
“That’s why I tried to shield you.”
“You can’t shield me. I’m not yours.”
That hurt. Badly. “I never meant for any of this to happen,” he stated.
She understood, he sensed that, but she was far from happy.
She folded her arms across her chest, tightly. “That bloke you were talking to on the beach in Rhyl. He was something to do with this stupid hacking gig, doesn’t he?”
It was pointless denying it. It would only give her more to complain about. “Yes.”
“Pixie was there. I’ll never forgive you if you put Pixie in danger.” Her voice was scarcely above a whisper.
“I’ll never forgive myself.”
Her eyes widened.
“I’m only doing this job to keep you all safe, to protect you.”
Explaining was not helping. Her expression told him that much.
He stepped after her.
She backed away, shaking her head. “Don’t you dare come near me.”
He reached out, he couldn’t help himself.
But she’d turned on her heel and was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
Rowan darted up the stairs to the bedroom Sky had shown her earlier in the evening, and when she got inside she went to lock the door. There was no key.
Grumbling in frustration she stood with her back against it, silently cursing Sean Rattigan, daring him to try to get in. If he did, she’d kick his sorry butt all the way to Wales and back.
Sean: A Stepbrother Romance (Coded for Love Book 3) Page 11