“See what you can do to hide the information. I need to clean off my desk so I can get the hell out of here.”

* * *

“Belle, we need to talk.”

Because it was exactly what she’d meant to say to Jared when he walked through the door of the shop later that afternoon, it threw her for a second.

The smile that’d curved her lips when she’d first seen him froze before fading.

Some emotion passed through his eyes. Regret, remorse. She couldn’t tell.

And her lungs seized into a tight ball of anxiety. He knew.

He took a deep breath. “Is anyone here?”

She shook her head, feeling a deadly cold chill encase her body. “The store’s empty for now. What’s wrong, Jared? Did something happen?”

He paused and took a deep breath. “I know who you are, Belle. I know who your parents were.”

She actually felt like he’d kicked her in the gut. Even though she’d suspected it was coming, it still hurt like hell. “I don’t know what you mean.”

But she did. She knew exactly what he meant.

“You’re Graceanna O’Malley, the daughter of Peter and Catrina O’Malley.”

She hadn’t heard anyone speak her real name to her face in years, and now it felt like tiny daggers in her heart to hear it coming out of his mouth. She wanted to feel a sense of relief that he knew her secret, wanted to be relieved that he knew. That she didn’t have to tell him.

The relief never came. Only that ice-cold chill in her blood.

She didn’t bother to deny it. Why should she, when she’d thought about telling him herself?

“How did you find out?”

His eyebrows lifted for a brief second, as if he hadn’t expected her to admit it. As if he thought she’d at least put up a fight. Then he took another deep breath before saying, “Dane.”

She understood what he wasn’t saying. He’d had her investigated.

Okay, she’d known this was a very real possibility. She’d known Jared was smart enough to figure or at least wonder why she had so many O’Malleys in her collection. He’d seen the portrait of her mother.

So why did she feel so betrayed?

Her chin lifted. “How long have you known?”

“Since this morning. I left soon after he told me. Belle—”

“How long has he been investigating me?”

Jared paused now and she knew again what he was going to say.

“Since I saw the O’Malleys upstairs.”

Her lips curved but it couldn’t be considered a smile. “They’re not for sale.”

He straightened as if she’d offended him but he shook his head, his expression carefully neutral. “I’m not asking. I would never ask you to sell them. Listen, Belle, I know what you must think about me right now, and I probably deserve it but there’s something else.”

He moved closer and she took one step back. If he touched her, she might shatter. That ice was moving out of her blood and into the rest of her body.

Jared’s mouth tightened then, the only outward sign that he’d noted her response. “Dane said he had trouble accessing the information but it wasn’t impossible. Whoever hid you…You’re no longer safe.”

She wanted to laugh but could barely breathe. “I’ll pass on that information. Thank you for letting me know. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

He moved close enough to touch and she couldn’t move fast enough to get away. He froze for a brief second before his expression hardened with determination. “Don’t. Don’t pull away. I know you’re pissed at me and you have every right to be. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you. God damn it, Belle, I care about you.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to say those three little words. The three little words that might make this all better.

But he didn’t.

“We work well together. And I’m not ready to give this up yet. Let me make sure the information about your parents gets buried right this time. I’ll make it all go away. No one will ever know who you are.”

And his reputation would safe. No one would ever known he’d dated the daughter of one of America’s most scandalous affairs.

Goose bumps covered her skin, the chill turning to a gut-churning, teeth-aching cold that encased her from head to toe. “I want you to leave.”

“No way. We’re going to figure this out, Belle. We’re going to get past this.”

Get past this to where? For what purpose? Did he want more than a sexual relationship with her? Or was his reputation more important? So far he hadn’t said anything that led her to believe otherwise.

“There’s nothing to figure out. Thank you for the information. I’ll be sure to tell my lawyer. Please close the door behind you.”

“Annabelle, we can—”

“There’s no we, Jared. You made that perfectly clear at the beginning of this affair. No ties, no…” No love. “I look forward to continuing our business relationship but I’m sure you can understand if I’d like to work with Tyler from here on out. That might be better for both of us.”

At least it would be for her. She’d already done the absolute worst thing she could have done by falling for Jared. To have to work with him now, after this…

She snapped her mouth shut to stop any other words that might escape. Or at least to hide the hurt she heard in her voice.

“Belle—”

She walked toward the door, her steps careful, but he caught her upper arm before she could get there. The heat of his hand began to seep through the cold but not enough. Her first reaction was to rip her arm out of his grasp but she refused to give him the satisfaction.

And he leaned closer to speak into her ear. “Go ahead. Get pissed off at me. I deserve it. Hell, I understand what you’re feeling. The betrayal. It burns like hell. But I’m not going to burn you. Never, Annabelle. I would rather cut off my right arm than see you hurt again. I know this is my fault. Just give me the opportunity to fix it.”

He couldn’t. She could think of nothing he could do to erase the betrayal she felt over his investigation. Not unless he took that final step and told her he loved her.

He didn’t.

She forced herself to look him in the eyes. “I want you to leave, Jared. I don’t think we should see each other again. If I find out my personal information has been revealed, I’ll call my law—”

He covered her mouth with his and kissed her. Hard.

She tasted his regret. And the heat of his passion.

She wanted to respond. But she felt only cold.

She pushed at his chest until he released her, withdrew her arm from his hand, and forced herself to walk, not run, to the door. Opening it, she turned to stare back at him.

For a second, she thought he wouldn’t go, that he’d force her to break that icy shell surrounding her and scream at him to leave.

His stony expression made the beautiful lines of his face stand out in stark relief. Such a beautiful face. But she saw no love.

Only determination to keep her by his side.

And she wanted more.

“This isn’t finished, Belle. This breach in your security needs to be taken care of. Let me have Dane fix it.”

“I think Dane’s fixed enough, thank you. And so have you.”

“You’re not safe.”

She wanted to laugh in his face. “I know that. Now.”

A tiny muscle in his jaw began to tic. “Belle—”

“You need to leave. Just go, Jared. I can’t—You have to go.”

He paused again but he must have seen something in her eyes that convinced him to give up the fight.

“I’ll go. For now. I’ll check back in a few days.”

She didn’t tell him not to bother. She didn’t know what to think, how to feel. Everything was such a mess right.

“Don’t hide, Belle. You’ll solve nothing by hiding.”

Her fingers itched to reach for him but she couldn’t seem to get beyond the fact that he’d had her investigated behind her back. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I’m not hiding. I just need you to go.”

He didn’t move and the tension in her body drew her muscles into tight, painful bunches.

His hand lifted from his side and she flinched away from him. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t know what she’d do if he touched her.

Probably break apart. And she’d done that once in her life. She didn’t know if she could live through another.

He must have seen something in her eyes because he didn’t touch her.

“Make sure the security system’s set at night, Belle.”

Her heart twisted at the concern in his voice but she didn’t have anything to say.

When he finally shook his head and stalked out the door, she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her weight. Flipping the open sign to closed, she forced herself up the stairs to her bedroom, closed the door, and let herself fall apart.

* * *

“I’m not giving her up.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think that’s your choice, Jed. You screwed this one up good.”

Jared considered flipping his brother the finger but knew it was an exercise in futility. And he didn’t know if he’d get the right finger anyway.

His companion of the last several hours, Jack Daniels, had finally called it quits.

The empty bottle lay on its side, like a fallen soldier, on the floor of the Salon. Jared slumped on a chaise, figuring he’d be joining the bottle soon enough. The chaise seemed to have developed a definite angle that threatened to land him on the floor.

Of course, that could just be the Jack. Everything was off kilter. Or maybe that was just him.

Tyler sat at the piano, playing something slow and quiet that didn’t grate on Jared’s nerves. Tyler had found him holed up here about an hour ago. He’d poured himself a drink and hadn’t said more than a few words.