Page 75 of Hunt

I exhaled and paused several beats until my heart and breath slowed. “I overheard a conversation,” I whispered again.

He leaned forward and spoke in that leveled soothing voice, “Riley, you don’t need to whisper. What did they say?”

“Um, rats,” I blurted, and he nodded in understanding.

“What about rats?” he asked, testing my knowledge while acting like it wasn’t an issue.

“I overheard two people, although I didn’t see them talking in the locker room, and one person said they called the press about the rats,” I explained as my breath kept hitching, making breathing difficult. Then, I cupped my hands together to stop them from shaking. I needed a steady hand to plant the device without him knowing.

“Really? And what was their role in the rat situation?” he asked casually as his finger tapped irritably on the desk. He was trying to minimize the topic, so I didn’t view it as a big deal or try to convince me that there was nothing in it.

“It sounded as though they were involved in it,” I told him as I unclasped my hands, slid my right hand into my pant pocket, and fingered the small camera. “What was the rat situation anyway?”

He shook his head dismissively. “Oh, it was nothing. A rumor. And you didn’t see who they were?”

“I’m sorry, no.” I was about to tell him that one of the voices sounded like Betty, but I didn’t want to get into trouble if it wasn’t her. “I know it’s not much, but I can confidently say that people not on your side are working for you.”

“Okay, is that all you’ve got?” he asked as I took the device out of my pocket, nestled inside my fist.

“Um,” I moved my fist under the desk, but my fist refused to open. It was impossible for me to betray Ronan Byrne, the man, my Simmering Summer. The feelings I had for him were becoming harder to ignore, and if I did this one thing, choose the Bitchtective over him, I wouldn’t forgive myself. “No. Sorry, it wasn’t much. But at least you know you’re on the right track.”

“Yeah. Good work, anyway, Riley. But listening in to staff conversations,” he championed me. “We need to get an identity on them.”

I slid my hand back into my pant pocket and released the device before standing to leave. Like the gentleman he was, he followed me to the door so he could open it for me. “I know this is unprofessional,” I said in a hushed voice, “but,” I stood on the tips of my toes to kiss his cheek, but he knew what I was doing and turned his head, slamming his lips against mine. His hands ran down to the small of my back as his tongue tussled with mine, longingly, achingly.

He broke the kiss first, then apologized, shaking his head in dismay at his naughty behavior. “I shouldn’t have done that here.”

“Don’t worry,” I smirked, “it’s my little secret.” I squeezed his hand before opening the door, glancing back at his gorgeous chuffed face one more time, then I remembered. “Oh. They said a name.”

Anticipation washed across his face as he licked the taste of me off his lip.

“Vlad…ah, um, what was it?”

A black scowl cast across his face, changing his entire demeanor. “Not, Vladimir?”

“Yes, that’s it, Vladimir.” I smiled, but he had grown distant, then swore under his breath. “Is everything okay, Ronan?”

“Yeah,” he lied. “Everything is fine. Head back to work and we’ll talk later.”

As I walked away, he stepped out of his office, went to Mr. Kaiser’s office next door, and knocked solidly. A shiver slid down my spine at his reaction as my stomach turned. Maybe I did the wrong thing by snitching because I felt like I just kicked the lid off a wasp’s nest, and the worst was yet to come.

29

Mikky had a strange look on his face as I walked into his office. he was holding his phone in his hand. “She’s collaborating with an Ivanov.”

“Who?” I questioned him, noticing the stress wearing him down, so what I was about to tell him would only make that worse.

He pointed his finger toward the club floor, “Her. The girl. Gunner just messaged me. The friend. Her friend is the granddaughter of Akim, Akim Ivanov.”

“Fuck,” I groaned, combing my fingers through mt hair, feeling like a dick for believing her. So, did she lie to me? “Well, I just had her in my office and she told me a few things that are quite concerning, but now I’m wondering if she was…”

“Stringing you along.” He looked disappointed in me. “It doesn’t take much for you to be fooled. A Plain Jane wiggles her arse and you become mush, like a fucking dog on a leash.”

“Hear me out, Mikky,” I argued, because she still dropped some interesting info. I sat down opposite him at eye level to assert a rational conversation. “She overheard two staff talking about the rats…”

Mikky rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, where else would she have heard about it. I hadn’t mentioned it to her, nor had Gunner. And I could tell she knew very little about the rat situation.”

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