Page 25 of A Temptation Too Great

“I bought it all for you. Saoirse has been my da’s personal assistant for years. I figured you’d need some new things, and I had her use our personal shopper. As my woman, this is what you should expect.”

She turns and wraps her arms around me. “Thank you.”

She kisses me, and I pull her up so I can plunder her lips. When we part, she turns, and I swat her arse.

“Now get dressed before I change my mind and take you into that room with the big bed and shag your brains out.”

Chapter Ten

Moira

Sitting at my desk, I can’t stop thinking about Brody and all he’s done for me. In the last couple of weeks since he showed up at my office, he comes to see me throughout the day, brings me lunch to make sure I eat, and has spent the night with me a couple of times.

We end up making love every time, both of us unable to control ourselves to the point we continually forget to use a condom. I’m not freaked out anymore, but I still know I have to protect him and Fiona. His words of love for me and making sure I’m safe all show how much he cares. Even Niall did the same by putting me up in his building and having his personal assistant check in with me regularly to see if I need anything. These men care more about my safety than their reputations. It’s more than I’ve ever had before.

When my mam was alive, she cared so much for me. But then she was gone, and I was left to take care of the house and deal with my da and brother. She was the epitome of a helicopter mom to me, not to my brother. She had me in dance, private school, and piano lessons. She always told me I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up. She would tell me to love with my whole heart, and that’s what I see Brody doing. He’s always trying to prove how much he cares. Looking back down at the file, I’m shocked by what I’m seeing.

There, in black and white, is a possible suspect for my mam’s murder who was brought in for questioning but never arrested. I flip the pages over to check if the scans have anything on the back. Sometimes officers write their names or notes there, but there is nothing. I need the originals, which I know will be impossible for me to get. Something about all this doesn’t sit right. I need more information. Now.

Turning to the computer, I type in the suspect’s name. Multiple infractions pop up. He was arrested numerous times and was not represented by this firm, but very rarely did his arrests land him in court. That’s either the work of a very good solicitor or a dirty police officer. I continue to scroll through his file, and everything shows that he was arrested by a couple of different officers, but there is one name mentioned more than the others. The name causes my stomach to roll. It can’t be possible.

Did Eoin have our mother killed and protect her murderer? Even if this suspect was an informant, Eoin shouldn’t have protected him and let him go after he murdered our mam. I can’t question him about this because then he’ll know I’m looking into it. Every time in the past when I tried to find out about her murder, he’d shut me down.

My mobile phone vibrates across the desk, and I realize it’s my alarm reminding me to leave so I can make it to campus on time for my study group. I managed to work my schedule here around my university classes. There’s even a tuition reimbursement program, which makes affording school easier now.

After grabbing my messenger bag from the drawer and my jacket from the hook, I head to the front desk to let the receptionist know I’m leaving for the day.

She smiles at me, and in her sickly-sweet voice says, “If your friend happens to stop by, I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

I stop in my tracks. Leaning over her desk, I get close. Today I’m in chunky boots with just enough heel to let me tower above her. “You make a move on my boyfriend,” I say, voice low and steady, “and I won’t claw your eyes out. I’ll break your nose, then kick your arse.”

Her eyes go wide. She jerks back from the desk with a sharp breath, shock etched across her face.

I straighten, turn, and walk toward the elevator. As the doors slide shut, I catch the fear in her eyes, and I smile.

Brody is rubbing off on me.

The car service is stuck in traffic, backed up behind an accident. I glance at my watch. I’m going to be late.

“Jed, I’ll get out here.”

Before he can stop me, I swing the door open and jump out. He shouts my name, but I’m already moving.

I cut across campus, slipping through alleys, heading straight for the library.

A man in all black with a dark hat pulled low walks past me. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

I turn just as a fist comes flying at me. I deflect the blow and drop my bag. My attacker’s face is now masked, with blackout paint around his eyes. He’s tall and wearing gloves. Every inch of him is completely obscured.

He comes at me repeatedly. I counter each move, matching him strike for strike. He’s trained in Taekwondo, like me. Then he does a move I’ve only seen a few people execute, my brother and I among them.

I pause, and the hesitation costs me. He lands a hit.

Everything I’m seeing right now makes me think it’s Eoin fighting me.

I deflect another strike, but I’m weak, still reeling from the massive hit to my chest. And then it clicks. There’s only one way I’m going to get out of this. I have to change it up. This is exactly why I’ve been studying other fighting techniques—to be ready for a moment like this.

As he comes at me again, I shift tactics. I deflect using my Krav Maga training, drive a strike into his ribs, then sweep his leg out from under him. He groans and hits the ground.

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