Ryan Reign (New York Ruthless #4)(11)

“Thank you,” Shane says as he steps inside and sits beside me.

I lean close to him and he rests his warm hand on my thigh. I fidget and pull at the hem of my dress, not used to wearing them, and Shane takes hold of my hand to stop me. This dress is one of the ones Conor chose for me. Shane packed it in his suitcase, knowing full well that all I would bring would be jeans and tank tops, which I am much more comfortable in. I’m grateful he did though. I would have felt out of place otherwise.

Erin, as usual, is effortlessly chic and stylish. I have to give her that. She is to clothes what peanut butter is to jelly.

I sit back in the seat and we drive to the venue in almost silence. The air is thick with tension and I feel the frustration seeping into Shane the closer we get to our destination. His fingers flex in my hand and his chest is rigid as we drive through the streets of Belfast. From the little he’s told me, this event today has been put on just for him. A chance for all of his father’s friends and associates to see him after all this time and pay their respects, but mostly to talk business — notably, who is going to take over operations in Ireland now that Patrick is dead.



As soon as we get inside the pub where the gathering is happening, Shane is accosted by a group of men who all offer their condolences and push glasses of whiskey into his hands. They try to usher him into a corner of the room which is full of men in suits drinking and smoking cigars. He looks at me apologetically but I smile at him. “I’ll be fine,” I mouth.

“I’ll look after her,” Erin says coolly.

Shane frowns at her as I almost pass out with shock, but I hide my surprise. “Go,” I say to him and he winks at me before disappearing into the crowd.

“Shall we get a drink?” Erin says as she turns to me.

I look behind me to see if she’s speaking to somebody else, but there is no-one else here. “Umm. Yes, okay,” I say and then I follow her to the bar where she orders us each a whiskey. “I don’t have any money with me,” I whisper as I look around the room for Shane.

She rolls her eyes. “Relax. You don’t need any when you’re with Shane. He takes care of everything,” she says and there is a sadness in her voice. As much as she annoys me, I understand how much it must hurt her to see the two of us together.

The bartender hands us each a whiskey over ice and I raise mine to Erin. “Cheers,” I offer.

“Cheers.” She actually smiles at me and clinks her glass against mine. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to a few people,” she says with a nod of her head and I follow her into the crowd wondering for a second who she is and what the hell she has done with the real Erin.

She makes a beeline for a small group of men standing at a table on the other side of the room.

“Sean?” she says as she reaches them and the man with his back to her turns and smiles.

“Erin McGrath?” he grins at her. “How long has it been?”

“Not long enough, Sean,” she smiles at him and reaches back for me before pulling me to stand beside her. “This is Jessie. Shane’s girlfriend.”

“Hi,” I say, extending my hand and feeling incredibly awkward all of a sudden.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Jessie,” Sean says as he takes my outstretched hand and kisses my knuckles.

“I have to talk to a few people. Can you look after Jessie for me?” Erin flutters her eyelashes.

Sean nods his head in agreement. “Of course. Anything for Shane.” He turns back to me and winks.

“Great. Thanks,” she says before she disappears in a waft of Chanel perfume.

“So, Jessie?” Sean says as he looks me over. “You and Shane Ryan?”

“Yes,” I stammer.

“Me and Shane go way back,” he smiles at me. “I’m glad to see he’s dumped that one.” He indicates his head toward Erin’s retreating back. “She has a stick so far up her arse, it’s a wonder she can sit down.”

I smile and stifle a laugh.

“And she’s a lawyer,” he says quietly behind his hand, pretending to hide what he’s saying. “Do you know what the difference is between a lawyer and God?”

“No,” I frown at him.

“God doesn’t think he’s a lawyer,” he winks at me and I can’t help laughing now. It’s a terrible joke, but that’s what makes it so funny.



I’m walking to the ladies’ room when a strong arm grabs me by the waist, pulling me into a dark corner and pressing me against the wall. I look up into Shane’s fierce glare. He leans down, his breath dancing over my neck and making me shiver. “If you don’t stop flirting with Sean O’Connor, I will take off my belt, along with your panties, and spank your ass in the middle of this room,” he growls.

“What?” I suck in a breath as I look into his eyes to determine whether he is being serious or not. He glares back at me, his green eyes almost black as they smolder like the embers of a fire. “I wasn’t flirting with him.” I try to pull back from his grasp but that only makes him hold me tighter.

“You weren’t?” He narrows his eyes at me. “Because the two of you looked all kinds of friendly over there.”

“Exactly. Friendly. We were just talking. He is friendly,” I start to say but he cuts me off.