Page 58 of Desperate Needs

Truth was, I had no idea what we were going to do.

The plan was to take down Sigma. Make their clients feel unsafe and pick them off one at a time.

Now, I was thinking bigger.

See, the cyber security software I’d just completed the patenting process on would only get renown if I could sell it to someone with eyes on them. But who?

“So, have you, uh, used the bug to see what your lady’s been doing?” Balor asked, and my gaze flicked to his mismatched one.

Balor was the brains behind the software. Sure, he was muscle. Family, too. I had some good hacking skills, but his were far better.

I knew this prick would only bring it up if he already started looking through Clementine’s computer.

I narrowed my eyes at Balor, but he just raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly.

“Not yet. Why?”

“Nothing. Should ask her about Andrew, though.”

Every nerve-ending in my body seemed to send out signals of rage and pain.

I fucking shook with it.

Maybe it was because I was still amped up from punching my asshole uncle’s face in.

Or maybe it was simply because I hadn’t seen or heard from Clementine in almost ten hours.

“Who?” I asked, barely hanging on to my sanity.

Balor shook his head and stood up to leave.

Probably a good idea.

I grabbed my laptop and fired it up, fingers itching to search for whoever the fuck this Andrew person was.

No, we’d made no vows and said nothing about commitment. But still. Clementine was fucking mine.

If that maddeningly beautiful little minx thought for one minute that she could carry on with some other man while I was fucking her, she was out of her goddamn mind!

“Gonna set you straight, Darlin’. But first, who the fuck is Andrew?” I growled and started searching.

Chapter 25-Clementine

All day long, my thoughts had been on seeing Connor tonight. The girls hung out all afternoon, and Shelly made a surprise visit since she was scoping out places to rent in Hoboken.

Ironically, it was faster for her to live in New Jersey and hop on the PATH train to get to the hospital she worked at in order to finish out her residency, than it was for her to rent a place in the city and take two buses and a subway to get there.

It was great to see her and my sisters and cousins. We had holiday music on, discussed Christmas plans, and yes, we talked about boys, too.

Apparently, age gap romance was a thing, and Shelly fully supported my choice to be with Connor.

But was I with him? Before she left, Shelly turned to me and asked me something that stunned me. I mean, the girls were ribbing me about taking it easy on the old man, and I took it with good humor. But I just had no idea how to reply to her.

“Are you happy, Clem?” Shelly asked, her intense brown eyes staring me down.

“What?”

“Are you happy with Connor, I mean?” she repeated.

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