The Temptation of Sean MacNeill by Virginia Kantra

Author:Virginia Kantra [Kantra, Virginia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 9

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Sean watched Rachel walk away. Nice view. He wasn't getting any, but that wasn't what made him grind his molars in frustration. For the first time since Trina, he was involved with a woman who wanted less of him than he was prepared to give, and he hated it.

He hated that Rachel didn't trust him to handle things. But then, what had he done to earn her trust? Bringing her kids home had forced her to confide in him. So she would talk to him now, but she wouldn't listen to his advice. She wouldn't accept his help.

He rubbed his unshaven jaw.

Define the problem. His brother Con, the smart one, the one who went to Harvard, said that all the time.

Know your enemy. Patrick said that.

Maybe Sean wasn't the man Rachel needed or wanted, maybe he didn't have Con's brains or Patrick's military know-how, but he figured he had one advantage over his brothers. He waited until the screen door had closed behind Rachel's shapely butt and prickly pride. And then, picking up the phone, he dialed a girl he used to know in Boston.

"Mary Ann O'Riley," came crisply through the receiver.

"Hi, gorgeous."

"Sean MacNeill!" Genuine pleasure lightened the voice on the other end of the line. "I never thought I'd hear from you again."

"It's nice to hear you, too, Mary Ann." He shifted the phone to his other ear. "Listen, something came up down here I was hoping you could help me with."

"The FBI doesn't fix speeding tickets, boyo." Sean grinned. He'd always liked Mary Ann's sense of humor. But she had a ticklish sense of honor, too, that could be difficult to work around. "Now you know I wouldn't bother you for something like that. This is more a matter of information."

"Sean, we dated for six months and I never could get you to say the three little words that were important to me. What makes you think I'd risk my job telling you anything now?"

"I only need one word, Mary Ann. Just one." She sniffed, but she didn't hang up. "And what would that be?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes or no?"

"You asking me for a date?"

Hell. "I would love to see you again, but what I really need is more like background information."

"A background check? No way."

"No, not a background check. Just a word, like I said. I'm seeing this woman—"

"And you had to call to tell me."

"This is someone special. And she's in trouble. It would help me out a lot if I knew how bad the trouble was."

The line hummed. "What kind of trouble?" Mary Ann asked at last.

Sean released his breath. He had her. "That's what I don't know. Family trouble, maybe." He paused. "Maybe one of those big Italian families. Could you tell me that? If I gave you a name? Just yes or no."

"I could do that, I guess," she said slowly. "What's the name?"

"Bilotti. Frank or Carmine."

"That's two names."

"Pick one," Sean said, trusting Mary Ann wouldn't rest until she'd run a check on them both.

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