Page 54 of Claiming Pretty

The Hallowstone Adoption Agency.

They had been the same adoption agency who brokered Liath’s adoption to the Byrnes. The same adoption agency who brokered the deals for the other missing girls. The otherdaughters.

My breath hitched. The weight of the discovery settled heavily in my chest.

“That’s the same agency,” I said, my voice almost inaudible. “They placed Liath. And the other girls. They’re working for the Society.”

My words broke the icy standoff between Ty and Ciaran. Both of them turned their attention fully to me, their expressions shifting—Ciaran’s to calculation, Ty’s to something more unreadable.

“We have to get into their records,” I continued, sitting up straighter. “Find out who owns it.”

Ciaran rubbed his hands together, his confidence returning in full force. “That’s where your genius boyfriend comes in. Sit back and watch the master at work.”

He sat down next to me but didn’t stop there—he pulled me onto his lap, making a point to wrap an arm firmly around my waist.

I let out an annoyed yelp, fully aware of his intentions. “Scáth, surely this isn’t comfortable.”

His grip tightened slightly, and he smirked against my ear. “You’re my good luck charm, baby.”

He set a keyboard on my lap and began typing, his arms caging me in as he used the TV as a monitor.

The warmth of his body against mine should have been comforting, but I was hyper-aware of Ty sitting next to us on the couch, his stare boring into me.

Minutes ticked by, Ciaran’s fingers flying across the keys, his focus unbroken, then he let out a humph.

“What?” I straightened. “What doeshumphmean?”

“As far as I can tell, they’re a nonprofit owned by a private company,” he said, his voice tight with concentration. “Ownership records aren’t public.”

His fingers resumed their tapping, but I could feel the tension mounting in his shoulders.

I shifted in his lap, trying to get comfortable.

“You shouldn’t keep doing that,” he warned, his voice low.

“Doing wha—?” And then I felt it.

His cock hardening against my ass.

Oh.

My cheeks flamed hot, and I stilled immediately. “Sorry.”

Ty leaned back on the couch, his arms crossing over his wide chest. “Should I give you two the room?”

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Ciaran said at the same time.

Several tense minutes passed before Ciaran cursed under his breath, his hands falling away from the keyboard.

“I can’t get into their servers,” he admitted. “They must be offline and on-site.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, trying to keep the disappointment from showing in my voice.

“It means,” Ty said, “if we want to find out who owns Hallowstone… we’ve got to break in.”

AVA

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