The Trouble With Temptation (Second Service Book 3) (5 page)

Ty froze as a wave of understanding crashed over him.

Morgan Kincaid was trying to protect him.

That’s why she wasn’t saying anything. Sure, she was afraid of the
Bratva
. But the fear wasn’t solely for herself. She was afraid for the people around her. Her brother. The staff. Him.

That’s why she’d gone toe to toe with her brother. She was trying to save Gregg. Not just from Barinov, but from himself.

Just like she was doing now to Ty. She was taking on the risk so no one else had to.

It was brave.

And stupid.

The
Bratva
had put people in the ground—a lot of people—for digging into less. She didn’t have any idea who she was going up against.

And Ty couldn’t tell her.

But now that he had proof his investigation was on the right track, he could kick it into high gear. It sounded like Morgan had found money discrepancies. She might not know the full extent of what was going on inside her club, but Ty was certain that with just a little more digging he and his men could uncover the whole scheme.

The easy thing to do would be to take Morgan in and reveal the whole plan to her. It was obvious that she disliked the
Bratva’s
presence in her club. Ty was fairly certain, with the right coercion, he could get her turn state’s evidence. It wouldn’t take much convincing on his part to get her to see it was the best way for her to protect the people she cared for. Until Barinov was out of business, no one around Morgan would be safe.

But he couldn’t. Not yet. After last night, the
Bratva
had to be watching Morgan. They’d know if he took her in. And then they’d destroy the evidence he was after.

Morgan had her suspicions, and she was on the right trail, but she had no idea what she was getting into.

But Ty could build on what she knew. He was close. A few more days—a week at the most—and the case would be strong enough for him to get a search warrant.

He had little doubt now that one good sweep of Gregg Kincaid’s office would give him everything he needed to take Barinov down.

Until then, Ty would just have to stay by Morgan’s side as much as he could and make sure that she didn’t get herself into any more trouble.

He’d had worse details.

Much worse.

Ty gave himself a mental shake as Morgan jumped down from the bar. Bright red pigtails bobbed at the side of her face.

For someone who was so sharp, she was wrong about one thing.

He wasn’t the one who was adorable.

She was.

She walked up to him, not stopping until she was so close that he had to tilt his head down to look into her sweet brown eyes.

“Promise me,” she said.

“Promise you what?”

“That you’ll stop playing the White Knight and start minding your own business.”

Ty couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corner of his lips.

“Only if you promise me that you won’t do anything stupid,” he said.

“Deal,” she said, and put out her hand.

“Deal.” Ty slid his palm against hers. Her fingers were soft and warm against his skin. He held on to her for a second too long.

She laughed, a sweet, low sound that traveled right through him, making his heart pound a little faster.

“You can stop looking at me like that now,” she said.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re into me.”

“Excuse me?”

A gentle blush lit up her cheeks. She glanced down for a second, making him think that whatever she was talking about, it wasn’t completely unwelcome.

“The soulful stare. The lingering touch. It’s the same bit you gave me the day of your interview, but the audition was over days ago.” She kept talking as she walked away. “Let me give you some advice. Don’t waste your Grade A material on me. Save it for the girls who tip.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ty called out. Except, deep down, he had a terrible feeling that he did.

Chapter Six

Morgan was making the stupidest mistake of her life. She knew it as she crouched down in front of her brother’s office door and slipped the thin metal rod into the lock.

She fiddled with the pin in her hand until she felt it click into place. At least, she thought that she did. She couldn’t be sure. What the hell did she know about lock picking? Everything a couple of hours watching video tutorials on the internet could teach her. Which was to say, not very much. It seemed this was a skill that took a lot of time to master.

Too bad she didn’t have a lot of time.

She had ten minutes…fifteen tops.

The club was busy again tonight. She’d sent everyone out on the floor, some with bogus jobs. But that would only keep the staff busy for so long. Eventually, someone was going to come into the backroom.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry about Gregg. His Russian buddies had come in about a thirty minutes ago. Which meant that her brother would be cozying up to them at their booth for the next few hours.

Morgan pulled the second pick from her mouth. Well, it was a straightened paper clip, technically. But the guy in the video had said it would work in a pinch. And this here was the very definition of a pinch.

She needed to get into her brother’s office and fast. She knew that whatever was going on between her brother and the
Bratva
, the proof was inside Gregg’s office.

Morgan knew her brother too well. There was no way that Gregg wouldn’t keep the books. If there was one thing her brother loved more than expensive toys and powerful friends, it was neat, orderly rows of numbers that all lined up.

There had to be a true ledger.

She was pretty sure that it’s what he’d been working on when she’d confronted him that evening. Now, she could only hope that he had left it out on the desk and not tucked it back into his
secret
wall safe…the one everyone knew about.

It was a long shot, Morgan knew, but it was a risk she had to take. She needed something…anything that would prove that Gregg was lying to her. That he’d gotten himself in way over his head. If the ledger was locked away, perhaps she could find something else just as damning. At least, that’s what she was praying for.

That only left the question of what she was going to do when she found the evidence. She’d been trying to figure that out from the moment she’d stormed out of his office earlier.

Well, that wasn’t totally true. There was that amazing few seconds when she was distracted by the heavenly feel of Ty’s skin against hers. And how that wicked sparkle in his eye made her feel all giggly inside.

She had to admit, the guy was a special kind of amazing. Something about him made her tingle all the way down to the tips of her toes.

She was only half serious when she’d told him to stop wasting his attentions on her. A big part of her didn’t care if it was all an act. She just wanted to sit back and lap it up.

But she had bigger things to worry about right now.

She could only hope the man kept his side of the bargain and stayed out of her way so she wouldn’t have to worry about him.

Just like she was keeping to her side…

But her situation was different. She couldn’t go to the police until she had evidence. They’d only ask questions and then Gregg would destroy whatever he was hiding. And she’d be right back where she started.

That wasn’t completely true. She’d be in a hell of a lot more trouble.

The way Morgan saw it, she didn’t have any choice but to break the deal.

She’d tried to talk sense into Gregg today, but he’d refused to listen. Not only that, but she’d actually thought he might get violent. She’d never seen him like that before. Sure, she’d known her brother to pitch a fit, but he’d never thrown anything at her.

She honestly couldn’t say what would have happened if Ty hadn’t come in when he did.

She couldn’t think about it right now. Not Gregg. Not Ty. She needed to concentrate.

Morgan slipped the paper clip inside the lock and pushed it around, waiting to feel the click the little internet thief had been talking about. She twirled it around the compact space. Waiting for the click. The release of pressure.

Nothing.

She twirled again.

Damn the video guy. He’d said this was easy. Nothing to it. Just a little jiggle here. A little poke there. And open sesame. What hope was there for the world when you couldn’t trust an anonymous internet thief?

Morgan glanced at the clock. Five minutes had already gone by. She only had another five.

If she was lucky.

She closed her eyes. Drew in a deep breath. And tried again.

Click.

There it was. Thank God.

Snap.

The paper clip snapped in half.

Shit.

Morgan’s jaw fell open. She stared at the broken piece of metal pinched between her fingers. The other scraggly half was poking out of the jagged slot.

She dropped the half in her hands and grasped the other end. She tugged at it, but it didn’t move.

No.
No, no, no
.

She pulled harder but it didn’t give. Not a fraction of an inch. The damned thing was well and truly stuck in there. She dug at it with the pin in her other hand, but it refused to budge.

Her legs were starting to shake under the strain of holding the squat, but she tried again. True, it would be awkward as hell to be caught by someone in this ridiculous position, but it would be near impossible to talk her way out of why there was a snarled sliver of metal sticking out of Gregg’s lock.

She had to get it out of there. She had to.

A door hinge creaked behind her. Someone was coming. She had time for one more try.

Morgan tightened her grip and pulled with all her might. Her fingers slipped off the end just as the bottoms of her canvas shoes slid against the slick linoleum floors. She waved her arms in frantic circles at her side for a half second before her legs gave out underneath her and she crashed down hard onto her ass.

She stared at the rows of fluorescent lights above her, just in time to see Ty step into view.

Double shit
.

His mouth was a tight line. He didn’t look amused, but he still extended his hand toward her.

“You want to tell me what you’re doing?”

“Nothing stupid,” she said, as she took it.

“Of course not.” He effortlessly pulled her off the floor.

“You’re supposed to be working. What are you doing back here?” She gave deflection a try.

“Minding my own business.”

“Really?”

“You’re just lucky that lock picking is part of my business.”

“Who said anything about lock picking?”

“The question is who the hell told you to use a paper clip?” he said, narrowing his eyes as he examined Gregg’s doorknob. “Of course it broke. It’s way too thin.”

“Wait,” Morgan said, shaking some sense back into her head. “You know how to pick locks?”

He smiled, and she fought back the wobble in her knees.

“We all have secret talents,” he said.

“I obviously need to do better background checks.”

“You have no idea.”

“What does that me—”

The hinge behind her creaked again.

Morgan didn’t have time to turn around. She didn’t have time to think.

One second, she was standing an arm’s length away from Ty as he examined her bungled attempts at petty burglary, and the next she was crushed up against his chest. His arm wrapped around her back as his back thumped against Gregg’s door. Fingers snaked through her hair, holding her close as Ty’s lips crashed against hers.

Her mouth fell open in surprise, and his tongue swept across her lower lip. She drew in a sharp breath. Cool air rushed over the spot, making her shiver. But not for long. A heartbeat later, he deepened the kiss.

She closed her eyes, and pressed against him. His body was solid—his chest, his arms, his core. She felt the energy roiling off of him. All that strength. It was so easy to lose herself in the passion of his kiss. Morgan’s head swam.

Several hard footsteps sounded behind her, and Morgan came back to herself in a flash.

Her eyes popped open. She tried to pull away, but Ty’s arm was wrapped around her like a band of steel, holding her to him.

A cough echoed off the walls. A familiar cough.

Gregg.

The heat that had pooled just moments before drained away in a flash. If Gregg was there, then Morgan was willing to bet she knew who the other footsteps belonged to.

Panic swelled inside her. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.

Morgan glanced up at Ty’s face hoping she could express how sorry she was that she’d pulled him into this mess, but there was only calm in his grey-green eyes.

Well, that, and maybe just a pinch of desire.

He gave her an almost imperceptible nod before he loosened his hold. Morgan arched her brows in question. What the hell did he think he was doing?

Ty lifted his head and looked over at their uninvited audience.

Well, if he could be shameless, she didn’t see why she couldn’t give it a try. She spun around on her heel. Ty kept his arm around her, only now it was slung across her chest like a bandolier.

She immediately wished that she’d stayed with her face buried in his embrace. A line of five faces stared at her. Her brother was on the edge of the group, gaping at her with a mixture of disbelief and cruel amusement. The other four showed no emotion, just blank, cold stares that quickly chilled all the heat that Ty had stirred moments before.

Barinov stood in the center of the group. His icy blue eyes stared unflinchingly into hers. Morgan had the feeling it wasn’t because he found her public display of affection distasteful.

This guy didn’t just dislike her. The cold realization sliced through her. He wanted to hurt her. He was just looking for a reason.

And unfortunately, she had a feeling that one hell of a reason was currently sticking out of her brother’s doorknob.

“What the hell is going on, Morgan?” Gregg said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had descended in the hallway.

Morgan opened her mouth, but the mixture of terror and embarrassment paralyzed her tongue.

“What does it look like?” Ty said, his voice thick with attitude. Apparently, he wasn’t suffering from the same affliction.

“It looks like my sister is whoring around with the staff.”

Morgan stiffened. Ty’s arm tightened around her. Her back pressed into his hard body. She felt a rumble go through his chest that almost frightened her.

“You sure do find your backbone when your friends are around, don’t you?” Ty said. Morgan couldn’t see his face, but the anger in his voice was unmistakable.

“Enough of this,” Barinov said. His tone was just as cold as his stare. “Move, Miss Kincaid.”

“E-excuse me?”

“Move.” He waved his hand for emphasis.

“We need to go in to my office.” Gregg added. “You know, if you’re done making out in front of it.”

“Why?” Morgan balled her hands and cocked them on her hips.

She didn’t want a showdown. She really didn’t. Especially not with Ty around. But if she moved, everyone would see what she’d been trying to do.

“Private business,” Barinov said.

“Whatever goes on in this club
is
my business.” Her voice was coming back to her. It still shook, but at least now she could pass it off as indignation. “I thought I made that clear a couple of nights ago.”

The Russian narrowed his eyes until they were nothing more than glacial slivers. “Not this.”

“Come on, Morgan,” Ty said, trying to pull her to the side.

She planted her feet. What was Ty thinking? She couldn’t move. He knew that. Sure, this was bad, but moving would be much worse.

“I demand to know what’s going on here,” she said, desperate to buy herself a little more time.

“No, you don’t.” Ty curled his hands around her shoulders and tugged her to the side. Morgan’s eyes went wide as she was wrenched across the hall.

God, no
.

She risked a glance at Gregg’s door.

Nothing. The paper clip was gone.

Morgan sucked in a breath through a clenched jaw. How?

“Come on, Morgan,” Ty said, behind her. “Let’s get back to work.”

“There’s an idea.” Gregg pulled out his key and unlocked his office door. It opened without a hitch.

Ty slipped his hand into hers and she felt a cold, hard scrap of metal press against her palm.

Morgan snapped her head toward him. He winked down at her as he led her back out toward the bar.

Winked
, for God’s sake.