Ryan Reign (New York Ruthless #4)(33)

Paul kicks him in the stomach and Sean retches onto the pavement.

“Enough.” I put my hand on his arm and he scowls at me. I hate Sean O’Connor as much as anyone, but he won’t be able to talk if he’s too busy puking.

I crouch down on the floor and glare at him. “Have you seen Jessie?”

“Who?” he blinks at me in what appears to be genuine confusion.

“Jessie. My girl?” I snarl. “The one you couldn’t keep your filthy hands off the other day.”

“Of course I haven’t,” he spits.

I grab his head by his hair and tip it back so I can look into his eyes. “Are you fucking lying to me?”

“What would I want with your whore?” he hisses.

I take his head and smash it onto the pavement and he cries out in pain. When I look up, Paul has pulled out a gun and has it aimed at Sean’s head.

“What the fuck are you doing, Pol?” I frown at him. “We’re in the middle of the fucking street. Kids live around here.”

“He took your girl,” he snarls at me, “and then he called her a whore.”

I put my hand on his forearm, forcing it down so he lowers his weapon. “He didn’t take her.”

“Then who did?”

“It’s a long story. Come on. Let’s go.”

I walk toward the car and he follows me. The sun is coming up and I feel completely lost and hopeless. My brothers’ plane will be landing soon and I only hope that their arrival will spark something in me that gives us a new lead to chase.

The hotel’s security has been entirely useless and nobody seems to have saw or heard anything. How a grown woman can just disappear from a hotel suite without a trace is beyond me.

“We will find your Jessica,” Paul says as he falls into step beside me.

The name slices through me like ice, sending a shiver down my spine. For once in my life I am grateful to my cold hearted bastard of a father, whose cruelty taught me nerves of steel. Despite my insides churning and my heart racing, I don't miss a beat.

“Yeah.”

We stop next to the car and Paul pulls at his collar as he steps closer to me. It’s then that I see the scratch on his neck. I’ve been so distracted looking for Sean, I forgot to look for the Wolf. “You been fighting with some cats, Pol?” I grind the words out with a smile while my insides boil with rage.

He runs his finger over it and the hint of a smile plays on his lips. “Not exactly,” he murmurs.

My fists clench at my sides as my heart races in my chest. My cell phone vibrating in my pocket is a welcome interruption. Glancing at the screen, I see it’s Conor calling.

“I have to take this,” I say to Paul as I step away from the car and speak to my brother.





Chapter 23





Conor





By the time we land at Belfast airport almost eleven hours later it’s the early hours of the morning, local time. I turn on my cell as soon as we land and call Shane who takes longer than expected to answer.

“Hey,” he breathes.

“You found her yet?”

“No,” he says and my heart sinks in my chest. I shake my head to Liam and Mikey who sit watching my face for clues. “It’s a shame Liam couldn’t make it, but he needs his rest, and I suppose someone needs to look after things back home.”

I frown as I turn to Liam sitting beside. He is right here and Shane knows that he boarded this plane with me. So what the fuck is going on?

I press a finger to my lips indicating he should stay quiet before I answer. “Yeah, a damn shame.”

“I’m heading back to the hotel with Paul. Can you and Mikey come straight there and we can plan our next move?”

“Of course we will. See you in an hour, bro.”

I end the call and put my cell back into my pocket.

“What was that about?” Liam asks.

“For some reason, Shane wanted whoever he was with to think that you stayed back home,” I say to Liam.

“Why?” he frowns at me.

“Because then you’re our secret weapon,” Mikey suggests. “If nobody knows you’re here then…” he shrugs. He doesn’t need to finish the sentence for us to know what he means. An invisible man is an asset.

“You know who he was with?” Liam asks.

“No. Except for Paul, I think.”

“Uncle Paul?” Mikey asks.

“Yeah. Shane said he was going to ask him to help. But I wonder who else was with them?”

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon,” Liam says. “So, what I shall I do? Stay in the car?”

I nod. “In the car and out of sight. I’ll fill you in on the plan as soon as I know what it is.”

“Maybe he knows something that he couldn’t say?” Liam offers, his face full of hope and I feel a flicker of it too.

“I certainly fucking hope so.”





Chapter 24





Shane





I slip my cell into my pocket and turn back to Paul who is hovering close by. I wonder how much of my conversation with Conor he just heard. It is taking every ounce of willpower I have not to tie that fucker up right now and torture the truth from him. But he never caved under torture when he was in the army or after he left, and I can’t risk him dying before I find out the truth. Besides, I have a plan now, and thankfully Conor knows me so well he responded exactly how I’d hoped he would.