Page 26 of Their Virgins Secret

“Who is she and why does she have this number? I thought no one had it. ” The chilliness of the question made Burke repress a smile.

“Our assistant. She’s been running the office in our absence. She procures all the phones we keep around the place, and she has the numbers in case of emergency. Dex picked them up when he got the hard drives. It’s fine. ” He swiped his hand across the phone, answering it. “This is Burke. ”

Cole stood over Jessa. “Are you hungry? I’ll get you something. ”

Burke stepped away as Jessa replied, confident his brother would take care of her while he dealt with Hilary. For some reason, Cole and Hilary didn’t communicate well. Then again, Cole didn’t communicate well with a lot of people. Hilary was competent and punctual. She always did exactly as asked. Burke simply made sure he was the one who dealt with her, just as he dealt with most of their clients. They were reassured by Burke’s affable manner. Cole’s snarling…not so much.

“Burke. I’m so glad you’re here. You are back in the country, right?” Hilary’s voice was tremulous.

“Yes, we’re both here. ”

She sighed with relief. “I’m glad you’re back. Something strange happened. A man came into the office asking all sorts of questions about you and Cole. ”

Marco or one of his henchmen. Burke’s blood ran cold. While Burke wasn’t terribly surprised the bastard would question Hilary, he hadn’t expected Marco to do it so openly. So brazenly. Marco would only do it if he felt entirely confident he could win this game.

“Don’t talk to anyone. I can’t say more, but you need to close the office and work out of the Black Oak building for now. Tell Dex James I said to put you up in a hotel. ”

Marco hadn’t said a word about going after anyone besides Jessa, but Burke didn’t need any more guilt if the fucker changed his mind.

“I don’t understand. Please, Burke. Can you just come back and tell me what’s going on? I need to see you. You’ve been gone so long, and I need your signature on about a hundred documents. I don’t want to work from Black Oak. Dex James was here earlier today, and he was very rude. ”

Dex? Rude? Yeah, not a shock. If Hilary had given Dex the slightest bit of grief, he would have steamrolled right over the petite blonde. Dex got things done. He didn’t let little things like procedure or protocol stop him. Procedure and protocol were two of Hilary’s favorite words. “I’m sorry about that, Hilary, but Dex had to move fast. ”

“Why didn’t you just call me? I would have gotten you whatever you needed. I run this office. I didn’t need some brute to come in and take over. ”

He sighed. This was the trouble with Hilary. She sometimes sounded like a fainting Southern belle. And sometimes she protected her territory like a rabid pit bull. He didn’t need this shit, but he’d left her a lot to deal with.

Much like Jessa.

“I’m sorry, Hilary. We had to move quickly. ”

“I don’t even know what he took. He simply detached a couple of the computer things. He even demanded that I give up my laptop. I barely managed to convince him to let me get my CD out. It was rather like a burglary. He should be happy I didn’t call the police. ”

He could practically see her frown. Hilary Stevens was only thirty-two, but sometimes her disapproval made her seem much older. She really should have been a school teacher since she often made those around her feel like naughty children. “It’s a good thing you didn’t. I don’t think Dex would have taken well to that. ”

“At least his brothers are polite. I don’t see how brothers can be so very different, but you and Cole are proof, I suppose. Anyway, why don’t you come into the office? Or I can meet you. I don’t know what’s going on, but it sounds dangerous. It’s best if we stick together. ”

Yeah, that would be great. Adding a woman with a perpetual stick up her ass and a little crush on him to the mix would be awesome. No. Marco’s target was Jessa, and Burke had to concentrate on her. “No. We’re involved in something bad, and I’m worried that anyone close to us will be hurt. Do you remember Mick Landry?”

“Isn’t he the investigator you hired to keep track of that woman in New York?”

“Jessa, yes. ”

He could practically see her shrug. “What does Mr. Landry have to do with any of this? He was supposed to submit a report two days ago. He’s late and won’t answer my calls. Do you see what I’ve had to deal with?”

“He was murdered. ”

That shut her up. “I-I had no idea. ”

“So call Gavin James. Get to a hotel. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. And don’t call again unless it’s an emergency. ” He flicked the phone off.

“I only had to hear half that conversation to know that Hilary sounds an awful lot like a jealous girlfriend. ” Jessa watched him, her feet curved under her as she reclined on the bed.

“Hilary has a thing for Burke. She can’t stand me. ” Cole looked up from his work. He had wires going everywhere. “I’m a caveman. I shouldn’t be allowed in polite society. ”

Again, that tiny hint of a smile. “So she’s met you, then. ”

“Many times. ”

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