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The expression on his face splashed cold reality all over her silly fantasies.  That s
pretty low, even for a reporter, using my sister.
 Hold it right there, Officer Longstreet. Your sister is a friend of mine and she has no
problem with my job. What s going on anyway? Is your investigation so secret you couldn t
even tell your sister about it?
 Where d you get that idea?
 I m right aren t I? Regan doesn t know a thing about this case . If she knew there was
an active investigation going on then she would have warned me to keep away. She tilted her
chin, determined not to let his highhanded manner rattle her.
 You ve got a smart mouth. You should try shutting it now and then, Zach growled.
 Thanks for the tip. Give me my hundred back, you & .
Her fine vocabulary deserted her. All she could think of was cad not nearly strong
enough. A golf ball sized lump lodged in her throat. She d blown her chance for a story. And
she couldn t even pay him to be interested in her.
 J-j-just & . She swallowed. Damn she hated to stutter. She d conquered that problem
in Junior High. Not even one of her father s rants made her lose control to that extent.
Angry, she lashed out to hide how much he had rattled her.  Why didn t you let me go
with the cowboy if you weren t up to the job?
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.
 I want my money back. Ciara met his stare, shaking inside.
 No. I m not giving your money back. He met her gaze with hard flat eyes.  I m
going to earn it.
DANGEROUS SURRENDER Evanne Lorraine 29
Chapter five
The second attempt to hack into the system happened the next day, in the early evening.
He called Sam at work.
The kid took an early lunch, came over to the condo, and then tracked the breach back to
the Seattle Daily News. The trail led all the way to Angus Donovan, the owner.
 Some geek could be using the big man s computer without his knowledge or
permission, Sam pointed out.
 It is possible, he conceded. However, he doubted it.
He preferred the sure thing, and he had a flair for stacking the odds in his favor. His
talents hadn t changed, but his goals had. Now he wanted the kind of life he d never been able
to offer Mattie. Years of working for law and order had meant nothing. A worthless piece of
scum, who wasn t fit to kiss the ground under her feet, had killed his wife. That single act had
squeezed the kindness out of him. There was no way to get even. All he had now was getting
rich.
Staying calm, he kept the irritation off his face and waited until Sam left before
disinfecting the keyboard with alcohol wipes.
The secret to getting away with any crime was planning, discipline, and attention to
detail. He had to assume the old newshound was sniffing after his well-hidden trail. Clearly,
Donovan didn t have enough evidence to put his suspicions on the front page. Yet.
So what was the old bastard s next logical move? Confirmation. But how? His
manager, Tony, vetted every club employee. No junior reporter was going to infiltrate his
organization. He dismissed the possibility and then revisited his assumption. Arrogance didn t
serve him well in this case. Better not to assume. Better to double check.
He dialed Tony s direct line. The manager picked up after two rings. The fat fucker was
always sitting around the office.
 I need you to fax over the applications for any employees you ve hired in the last
month. He snapped at Tony.
 Is there a problem, Boss?
He heard the manager opening the bottle of antacid. Tony carried the medicine as if it
were a lucky charm that warded off evil.
This was another grating thing with Tony he was a nervous man. All of Tony s
mannerisms irritated him. His pulse rate increased in direct response to the stress of dealing with
the club manager.
 Fax the records. While you re at it, send over the paperwork on any new members, and
the guest log for the past thirty days, he issued the orders with enough bite to keep Tony from
asking more idiotic questions.
Tony crunched down on a tablet, right in his ear.  Right Boss, employees, members, and
guest log. Is there anything else I can help with?
Rudely severing the connection gave him a moment of satisfaction. He paid Tony
DANGEROUS SURRENDER Evanne Lorraine 30
enough that he didn t have to be nice to him.
There would be no sitting around the fax machine waiting for Tony s transmission. He
had other business to take care of first. A couple of hours went by before he had a chance to
check the home fax machine. Nothing.
Loosening his tie, he sat in his office chair. The buttery leather failed to soothe him. He
called Tony again. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]