“Like what?”
Dylan stared at Adam with anger in his brown eyes. “I know he murdered Ivan; I just need some evidence.”
Dylan suddenly ducked down as if he planned to cross under the police line.
Adam grabbed him. “Dylan, no, come on. Don’t go in there again. I miss him too, but the place is a scorched shell and us getting in trouble with the police won’t bring Ivan back.”
Dylan stood straight and let out his anger. “Nothing will bring Ivan back! I never knew anything could be this painful. I can’t begin to imagine how mom and dad are feeling. It’s like our world’s been blown apart.”
“I know. But at least we’ve still got our family. We always support each other, right.”
They shared a brotherly smile. Thoughts of Ivan’s funeral assaulted Adam and he looked away. He’d realised something important that day. As he’d been surrounded by his family – all dressed in their designer clothes, arriving in their expensive cars – it’d occurred to him that all the money in the world meant nothing without… dare he say it… love. His parents were wealthy by their own making, but they couldn’t buy back their dead son. Adam’s personal bank statement always proudly declared an almost-infinite total, but he couldn’t use one cent to bring back Ivan. Or to impress the beautiful Amy. His body flushed with a yearning desire for her. He wanted her. But she wasn’t someone to be bought with expensive gifts or financial security. She was the sort of woman who wanted what money couldn’t buy…
He shook himself out of it. Why was he thinking about Amy at a time like this? How had his train of thoughts churned her up, straight after Ivan?
He focused back to Dylan. “Tariq said he was at the office to get what was his. Sounds like he’s determined to get his hands on the blueprints.”
Dylan’s morose mood suddenly surged to action. “We’ve gotta hide them somewhere else. Somewhere safe. And the prototype, too.”
“I agree. Leave the prototype with me – I’ll stash it somewhere secure. And we’ll put the blueprints in the bank vault.”
“Okay. And we’d better protect our other asset, right?”
“Ms Carter?”
“We need to keep Tariq away from her. You seem quite taken with her.”
Adam tugged at his winter coat to keep out the chill. “I don’t wanna involve her in this.”
“She’s already involved. She works for Grafton Techs, which we now practically own.”
“Not yet. Damn Frank’s car crash. If he was here we could’ve sorted this whole thing out right away by getting him to sign.”
“I know. But what was it Ivan always said? This is the situation and we need to deal with it. Take care of Ms Carter – shouldn’t be too much of a hardship for you.”
Dylan winked playfully. Adam refused to show how much he liked her, so he shrugged.
“Tariq Shard saw her, right?” Dylan said. “He’s not stupid – he could find her easily.”
“I know.”
Dylan raised a suggestive eyebrow. “So you gonna guard her?”
Adam kicked a discarded bottle top. The thought of another man going anywhere near Amy caused possessive jealousy to surge through his cock. “Yeah, I will. I’ll take the blueprints to the bank vault, and then pay her a visit. I’ll make sure Tariq stays away.”
“Good. Adam. This isn’t just for the memory of our dead brother; that device could revolutionise humanity. But someone like Tariq Shard – he wants to use it for his own financial gain. We owe it to Ivan to get this out there on our terms.”
“I know, and I agree. I’ll go speak to Ms Carter at her hotel later. But first, I’ll move the prototype and blueprints to a safe place – well out of the reach of Tariq Shard.”
Chapter Five
Amy hated herself for being unable to shake Adam Quinlan out of her mind. She hated him, too – or rather she hated her overwhelming attraction towards him. Amy prided herself on
her professional approach to business and she was here to do a job. If she allowed herself to be distracted by that handsome charmer, she knew she could start making mistakes and miss the finer points of the negotiations. Or maybe that’s exactly what Quinlan Brothers wanted – maybe Adam was their secret weapon against female operatives.
Amy suppressed her ridiculous jealousy as she wondered how many others before her had been in this situation. Adam was arrogant and probably unreliable. So why did her body ache for his touch? It was so primal. The words that had come out his mouth all through the meeting today had been pushy and conceited, but somehow he’d rooted himself into her brain. No, not in her brain, because mentally she wanted nothing to do with him. But physically – how had he managed to get so far under her skin so quickly? Her mind was saying no, but her body just wanted to shout yes from the rooftops.
But she knew she had to resist. In the boardroom, Amy could take on any man and win. But in the bedroom… it would be far too easy to hand her heart over to that charming man. It was obvious what sort of a playboy man-whore Adam was, but Amy found one-night stands unfulfilling and pointless. Her goals relationship-wise were to date men, and to work towards something permanent. The only relationships Adam Quinlan was probably interested in had a time limit of twelve hours – culminating in rolling around in bed with his lucky date. Or dates.