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“Yea, both were turned off,” he said, his jaw clenched tight.

Everyone in the organization knew how Cian got when he couldn’t find the information he wanted. The fact that burner phones were virtually untraceable pissed him off.

His frustration with backdoor technology kept the others from noticing the tension between us. Except Mac. He knew us both well enough to know something was going on but wouldn’t let on.

We would deal with it privately, when we got home.

“Ok, let’s go talk to this shitbag. Oscar, you’re up.” The young man smiled and grabbed the two-foot pipe wrench that had been laying against the wall.

Oscar Brady was unhinged. It was the only way to describe him. Another kid whose father used his fists as tools for discipline. Oscar was a good kid, loyal. But something had disconnected in his brain from being beaten one too many times. Either that or he’d been that way from the start.

It worked well for us. Oscar didn’t have a conscience. The things he did for the family didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

I followed Callum into the walk-in freezer where he had Garritt Mahoney strung up like a side of beef.

“Cal, I told you. It wasn’t me.”

Callum grabbed Garritt by the chin, yelling in his face. “Then tell me who it was, Garritt? Tyran didn’t disappear into thin air. His ass is too fuckin’ big for that!”

Chapter Thirteen

Freyja

I watched as Duncan walked out of the suite to attend to his business. I didn’t ask what kind of business. New York wasn’t his city, and given the way he was chasing the man yesterday, I didn’t imagine it was good.

There were decisions that needed to be made.

The first most pressing one was, would I be here when Duncan came back?

That was the one I was having trouble deciding. I looked longingly at the food. He took the time to order. The least I could do was eat.

After breakfast, I slipped into last night’s dress, sans panties, since those were ruined. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I thought about him tearing them from my body.

Sliding my arms into my coat, I gathered up my purse, made a quick phone call, and left the hotel. I didn’t stop at the desk, as I hadn’t decided yet if I was coming back.

My head held high, my back straight, I walked out onto the street and climbed into the car that waited for me.

“Good morning, Miss Malpas.”

“Good morning, Jeffrey.”

That was the sum of our conversation. Jeffrey didn’t ask how my evening was. And knowing that he knew what I had done somehow felt a little shameful.

I was a grown woman. Able to make my own decisions and mistakes. Jeffrey would never judge; neither would my parents.Dimeter would, but it would be more about riling me up rather than actually judging me.

I just couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow I was cheating on the man the universe had chosen for me.

Breathing a heavy sigh, I looked out the window and watched the city pass by.

“Everything ok, Miss?”

A moment passed before I spoke. “Can I ask you a question, Jeffrey?”

“Of course, Miss.”

Jeffrey glanced in the mirror at me before returning his eyes to the road. Traffic was heavy this morning. It always was.

Giving thought to the best way to word my question, I asked, “If we lived in a time when marriages were arranged, and you were scheduled to meet your partner in a few weeks, would dating someone else, knowing it could never go anywhere, be considered cheating?”