Chapter Three
Claire climbed out of the car and made her way to the office doors. She glanced down the darkened road. Nothing stood out, but her eyesight wasn’t the best at night. It was stupid to not bring something with her, at least some pepper spray. Just because Anna was inside didn’t really mean anything. It’s not like they could take down a big thug.
She raced up the walkway. Anna swung open the door, a look of shame written all over her face.
“He just called and said he’s on his way,” she said.
Claire frowned. “What happened?”
Anna shrugged as she walked in and locked the door. “He said they were having to work late on a new last minute case. Guess it’s a big one.”
They walked back to the office, and Claire was glad to be in the light.
“Well, I’m not leaving until he gets here,” she said and sat on the over-sized couch.
Anna flopped down next to her.
“I’m glad.” She smiled weakly. “I’ve been freaking myself out with noises.”
Claire stilled.
“Noises?” She turned and looked at the Polish beauty. “What sort of noises?”
Anna waved a hand. “Nothing to worry about. Just little things, and then some cats got into it behind the building.”
Claire relaxed a little. She was really letting everything get to her. They needed to stay on their guard, but this was crazy. There wasn’t any reason to come after her. She wasn’t even a part of the city council yet. Then again, she’d help take down Harriet, and her former boss was obviously doing favors for some unsavory sorts.
“Went over all the reports,” Anna said, before looking out the window to the road. “Things are still off thanks to Harriet, but I think I’m making headway on it.” She looked over to Claire. “You’re going to have to be right on target with your bookkeeping. They are going to watch you like a hawk. There are more than a few rumors that you just burned Harriet to save yourself. Sure, it's crap, but in politics perception's more important than truth.”
Claire nodded. It had already crossed her mind that there might be some trouble with her previous affiliation with Harriet, but since she was the one to turn her in, it had helped somewhat, but apparently the cloud wouldn't truly go away for some time.
“Not going to be a problem,” she said. “Last thing I want is to be mixed up with all that shit. I just want to do some good and make a difference in the world.”
Anna gave a hard laugh. “It’s almost naive, it’s so wholesome. We can use that. Voters will want that after Harriet.”
Claire gave a knowing smile. “Wholesome and naive. Not something I get called often.”
The two shared a look. They both knew what kind of comments typically came out about her. She wasn’t one to complain, but her association with her family had caused more than a little drama in her life.
“What the fuck!” Anna jumped up.
Claire turned to see the shadow of a man near the window. Spurred into action, she stood and walked swiftly to her desk. Not even thinking, she ripped out the long, thin drawer and reached inside the back. She was not going down without a fight.
“What are you doing?” Anna whispered, still backing away from the window.
Claire gripped the solid metal she sought and pulled it out. “Getting my gun.”
“You have a fucking gun?” Anna stared at her in shock, as Claire pulled out the magazines in the back of the hole.
“My family is in a line of work where people end up dead.” She glanced over to Anna and slapped the mag in the pistol. “And I may have pissed off some bad people by taking Harriet down. So, yeah, I have multiple guns.”
She walked with purpose to Anna and placed her hands on the woman's shoulders.
“Listen to me,” Claire said and waited until Anna looked her in the eye. “You’re going to crawl under that desk.” She shoved her cell into Anna’s hand. “I’m not back in five, or you hear gunfire, you call Finn and sneak out that window.”
“What about the police?” Anna asked.
“We can’t be sure the cops who show up aren’t on the take,” Claire said.
“What about you?” Anna shook as she spoke.
Claire was surprised by her own calmness. Maybe being in this family had done more for her than she thought.
“I’m just going to check,” she said. “It’s likely that they just want to chat. A little friendy discussion.”
Anna placed a hand on her arm and squeezed. “The kind of discussion that takes bullets?”
Claire shook off the tight grip. “I’m Irish.” She grinned. “If we’re not using our hands to eat, we’re using them as weapons.”
“You better hope those aren’t your last words,” Anna called to her as she raced to the door. Claire couldn’t help but laugh. She could see Anna insisting on putting that on her tombstone. Here lies Claire. She should have stuck to eating.
As she made her way to the door, her mind cleared of all thoughts but one, finding out who the hell was outside.
She turned the knob and stepped out the door, her heart pounding. She debated shutting the door, but decided it might be best to just leave it open in case she needed to run like hell back into her office, where at least there was some cover should bullets start flying.
She wasn’t planning on lurking outside in the dark all night. Either the shadow would show himself, or she’d go back in and call her cousin.
Claire crept along the side of the building, keeping mostly to the darkest parts of the shadows. Her eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the darkness, and the last thing she wanted was to be surprised, especially as it might end with her dying shortly after.
Something at the far end of the building moved, and she stilled. Whoever was out there wasn’t doing that great a job trying to keep their presence undetected. She moved a little closer, and the person stopped. Claire brought her gun up. The creep wasn’t going to stand a chance.
“Don’t—” she started but stopped as the air rushed out of her lungs.
In almost the blink of an eye, he had closed on her like it was nothing. Her gun lay just out of reach, and his body covered hers. She gasped for breath, and the edges of her vision started to rim with a black tunnel. She wondered if she really should have stuck to eating.
“Claire?” the man said.
She still couldn’t see him, despite how close he was now. Although she was still gasping for breath, air seemed to make its way in but only in small amounts.
“Claire!” she could hear Anna scream. “If you hurt her, I’ll claw your eyes out,” Anna yelled. It was hollow in her head and seemed to echo.
“Anna?” Claire wheezed out. “Run.”
“Relax,” the man shouted. “I’m a part of the family.”
Claire tried to make him out. Something was familiar, but she just couldn’t pinpoint it. The sounds around her turned fuzzy. The darkness threatened to swallow her.
“Help me get her inside,” the man grunted.
His warm thick arms pulled her up, and she relaxed. This felt safe.
* * *
Conor paced the office as he watched Claire’s limp form on the couch. He hadn’t meant to hurt her when he landed on her. In the dark, her bent over form could have been anyone. She was about the last person he expected to meet, as odd as that sounded, while lurking around outside her building. He realized that was pretty stupid in retrospect. It wasn’t exactly the best way to reenter her life.
Actually, he expected to see Boris. He drove past the office, debating if he should just leave a message or post a note, when he saw the black-tinted Bronco sitting in the shadows. It was the sadistic bastard's favorite choice, since he could fit his tools in the back. Knowing that chilled Conor in a way that nothing else did.
“How is she?” Conor asked.
Anna, or so he had heard her called, glared at him from her position from the floor near Claire.
“She’s going to be fine,” she said and turned her attention back to Claire. He watched as she ran a cool cloth over Claire’s forehead. “Pretty sure she just had the wind knocked out of her and fainted. Thanks a lot, asshole.”
Conor swallowed hard. He deserved the insult. He still wasn’t so sure he hadn’t cracked her rib or something worse.
He shifted nervously.
“She’ll be fine,” Anna said. She kept her eyes fixed on Claire, but the malice from before was gone.
Anna turned to look at him. This time, she watched him with such scrutiny that he burned under her gaze.
“I’ve met quite a few of the family,” she said. “It’s funny that I’ve never met you.”
Conor glanced away. “I’m more family by association,” he mumbled.
“Conor,” Claire called weakly.
He rushed to her side. It was the closest he had been to her in years, and yet, she was just as beautiful as always. He blinked. It hadn't registered before, but his appreciation of her was heightened by the fact she was in a tank and tight yoga pants, not exactly office wear. He tried to clear his thoughts. It wasn't the time to get distracted.
She turned her light green eyes on him, and he was rejuvenated by her fresh color. She stared at him with the intensity that always came from her spark.
“Conor,” she said again and closed her eyes.
He leaned forward. “I’m here, Claire.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she whispered.
Her eyes snapped open. Everything came back to her. The hurt of losing him. The pain of these last few years as she struggled to get past what they had once shared.
For one small moment, she nearly dreamed that things were back to the way they used to be. That he was leaning over her to whisper all the sweet words she missed hearing. Her heart had kicked up, and all the love she felt came rushing back, only to be swept away by the realization that this was not the man she used to love. This was a man that lurked outside in the dark and sold his family out for a bit of money. A traitor.
“I’m here to apply for a job,” he said, his light brown eyes betraying no hint of a lie.
She turned to stare at him, the shock clearly written on her face.
“A what?” she said. The words barely formed in her mouth before she spit them out. He might as well have come asking her to have their love child. She would have received it with about the same amount of warmth.
“Claire,” Anna said from beside her. She turned to look at the worried woman. All of this must have been a shock to her.
Claire placed a hand on Anna’s arm and patted it. “I’m fine,” she said. Claire pulled her hand away and moved up on the couch into a sitting position.
The room spun for a moment then righted itself.
“Do you know him?” Anna whispered.
Claire looked at Conor. Tall and handsome as ever, the sandy brown-haired man still made her insides quiver with need. There was never any question in that department.
“I used to,” she whispered.
Jason cleared his throat, and for the first time, she noticed that Anna’s husband was in the room.
Conor glanced up, a brief look of confusion crossing his face.
“Your ride is here,” Claire said, looking back to Anna.
She glanced back to her husband, who was shifting impatiently from foot to foot, and then to Claire.
“I just want to make sure it’s...” She paused for a moment and nodded in Conor’s direction. “That it’s safe to leave.”
Claire smiled. She had made the right choice in hiring Anna. There weren’t many people that would stick by a person like that, especially if they thought they were connected.
“He’s safe,” she said and looked up to Conor. It was hard not to raise a brow at him or question if he really was safe. It would be so easy for him to burn her and leave.
“Well,” Jason clapped his hand in front of himself, “now that that’s settled, let’s get going.”
Anna turned to glare at her husband. “Why don’t you go wait in the car?”
They stared hard at one another, and Claire couldn’t help but think the conversation would only get started when Anna made her way to the car.
Jason huffed and slammed out the door. Despite herself, she was fairly sure Conor had whispered, “Prick,” on Jason’s way out, and she was more than apt to agree. Excessively late and rude. Two things Claire hated.
“Need me to drive you home?” Anna asked.
Claire shook her head. “I just need to get on my feet and move around a bit.”
Anna stood back and held out her hand. The grip was firm, and Claire was a bit surprised to find her stronger than expected.
“I can stay,” Anna whispered.
Claire smiled and steadied herself. It was nice to have someone there for her.
“I’m good,” she whispered back.
Anna moved to the side as Claire stretched.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” Conor said.
Anna gathered her things slowly and eyed him. Claire might have found the whole thing funny if she wasn’t suspicious as well.
She watched them walk to the office door and disappear. Soon, she’d have her answers.