Page 93 of Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires 3)
Worry blooms in Ford’s eyes, but he waves me on.
I point for Hop to stay in place, then slowly approach his favorite RICO agent.
“Agent Hughes. Fancy seeing you here.”
The good agent lets a curse fly, and his shoulders drop.
“Don’t feel bad—Hopper recognized you by the way you tie your shoes.”
Hughes lets his head fall back on a frustrated sigh. After a few moments, he levels me with a glare.
“It’s not like I’m crashing. I’m on the invite list,” he says, scanning the room.
“Yes. Hopper made sure of it,” I say, moving us to an empty hallway off the side of the entrance.
“Why did he do that? Why did he put me on the list?”
“He thinks you’re pretty.” I step back, noting his suit. It’s not his usual ill-fitting affair. “Is this Yves Saint Laurent?”
Ford would be so proud of me.
Hughes shifts uncomfortably. Sidestepping the conversation, he says, “The Byrne brothers’ representative walked in ahead of me tonight. I was surprised to see him here. Less surprised that his boyfriend decided to string along.”
“Wait. O’Shea and Byrne…?”Fuck.
How long has that cocksucker Fallon been feeding updates to his boyfriend about Ford and me? And how thefuckdid we miss that?I fucking should have killed him the second we got back from Italy.
Shaking his head, Hughes answers, “Look, I didn’t say anything to you about this. But those two are a dangerous combination.”
“You’re telling me. Not a huge fan of either of them.”
Agent Hughes snorts inelegantly. “At least Ford is in way better hands with you.”
I stare at his profile but can’t read his expression behind the mask. “You’ve done your homework.”
“You could say that. Anyway, I came by to warn you that there’s some shifting going on in the Byrne organization.”
That’s not the only reason he came tonight. This is a recon mission, plain and simple. But I do appreciate information wherever I can get it.
“What kind of shifting?”
“Not sure. They’ve been suspiciously lucky lately, beyond what we spoke about in our last conversation. Dominick just walked on some charges that should’ve stuck, and despite the fact that their meth trade is still going strong—growing, even—all of their stool pigeons are still singing your name. Like they’ve got some kind of vendetta against you.”
Motherfucking uncouth bastards.We had a deal.My lawyers have continued swatting down the baseless accusations, but that doesn’t mean I’m not worried that one of these times, something’s gonna stick.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Fallon and Ford’s history and once again squash the desire to remove the man’s head from his fucking body.
This is for charity. Do not start a blood war with Byrne and his boyfriend in the middle of the ball.
Fine, but that shit’s definitely on tomorrow’s agenda.
I must’ve been quiet for too long because he continues.
“Look, I—fuck. I am not supposed to be here.”
“No shit.”
He clenches his jaw. “I’m trying to give you a fucking heads-up here. Based on fucking inside sources, you feel me?”
