Page 18 of Forbidden Romeo

I lean as casually as I can against his desk. “I need to run a name,” I say innocently.

Ray’s fingers pause. “What kind of name and where?”

“Schools and colleges here in New York. Anyone around the age of twenty to twenty-five.”

“Jack…” Ray stops altogether and turns to look at me. “I can’t help you. You heard Padraic—whatever you’re planning, I don’t want to be a part of it.”

I nod at this and pretend to give it some thought. “What if I don’t tell you I’m planning anything?”

Ray narrows his eyes at me. “Why schools?”

“I thought you didn’t want to be a part of it.”

“I don’t.”

“Okay, then.”

“Fine.”

There’s another pause, and I wait patiently for Ray to crack. After about a minute, he lets out a deep sigh.

“Even if I help you find a lead.If,” he reiterates with emphasis. “There’s no way you’re getting out of here without anyone noticing. Not without somehow managing to persuade Andy to give you access to the basement so you can–”

I reach into my pocket and dangle the basement keys in front of him.

“You fucker,” Ray gasps.

I smile at him sweetly. “Your discretion would be appreciated.”

“You can’t do this to me. Padraic will have my head.”

“There are two Maguire sisters,” I whisper, and Ray’s eyebrows shoot up. There’s nothing like a valuable piece of information to barter with, and Ray is a connoisseur.

He turns back to his screen and shuts down the windows he was working on. “Two?”

I nod. “The younger one should still be in college.”

“That’s a leap, Jack. How do you know they came back together?”

I shrug, “That’s why I came to you. If it’s nothing, it’s nothing.”

Ray glances around toward the door then back at me. “Fine. But just one look.”

“That’s all I ask.”

He gets to work bringing up all his search engines and plugging in all the school databases he can. In no time at all, he’s typing in “Maguire” and hitting Enter.

157 results for “Maguire.”

Damn it.

Ray gives me a dry smile. “You want me to print you off the full list?”

“Can you filter these?” I say desperately.

“I said one look,” Ray mutters. But he continues to show me the options anyway.

I point at the screen. “There, let’s look at those who enrolled in the last month.”

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