Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

drive back to her apartment.
    Jason had sent Finn back to the compound with his own car and he had folded his large form into the back of Liz’s SUV to stay close to Bella. From the moment she had stepped out of the bar, Jason’s penetrating eyes followed her every move while checking the streets for danger.
    Walking up to the townhouse, Jason’s thoughts drifted back to about a year ago when Tony’s order had come through for the Mac Securities system. He had wondered why Tony wanted such a high-grade system for his apartment building, but didn’t give it a second thought since they handled installations like that all the time.
    Now, dread filled Jason’s stomach as he realized that the need for the security had not been for Tony, but for Bella.
    The four men moved silently into the room, looking each other over with pensive glances, tension high.
    Bella walked right up to the bar at the far end of the room and picked up a bottle of scotch. She poured a large amount into a glass and tossed the entire shot down her throat, welcoming the burning sensation. She picked up the bottle again and had trouble refilling her glass since her hands were shaking so badly. Jason gently reached out to take her hand to stop her, only to have her pull away with the shake of her head.
    She refused to look at him. God, he was so gorgeous. She couldn’t bear to see his beautiful gray eyes now, knowing that they would change once he learned the truth. She knew that before long he would be hiding his disgust behind a veil of sympathy that she just couldn’t take.
    Not from him.
    Not from this man that had touched her so thoroughly, so deeply that he had touched her very soul.
    She was not what he thought she was, and it was only fair that he was told the whole story now while he could still walk away.
    She could already feel her heart breaking.
    Expression stoic, Jason watched her as she moved away from him and settled herself next to Tony on an oversized chair. Jason was uncomfortable with the possessive feeling that came over him as he watched her go sit next to another man, even if that man was her brother. His hands clenched into fists, fighting the urge to grab her and pull her to his side as he sat down in the chair across from her. He felt like a bloody barbarian wanting to snatch her away from the other occupants in the room and spirit her away back to his home. Willing his muscles to relax, he leaned back and waited.
    Lifting her glass in a mock salute, Bella looked over at Sal with a bleak expression, forcing a smile. “Welcome home, Sal. Not exactly the party you expected, huh?”
    Liz had gone to the bar to get everyone drinks, and Sal took a healthy gulp of what was in his hand, not even caring what it was, before bracing his elbows on his knees as he sat forward. He raised his glass again, draining the amber liquid completely. He then slammed his glass down on the coffee table in front of him. “Okay, someone better tell me what the hell is going on. Right now.”
    Tony, Danny, and Liz silently looked at Bella.
    Taking a deep, steadying breath Bella began. “You’ve been gone a long time, Sal. There are things that happened…things that changed. I live back in Chicago now, here on the third floor in the apartment above Tony.”
    Hesitating slightly, she took another deep breath. She made the mistake of looking over at her big brother and felt her throat close up. “I…something…” As hard as she tried, the tears she had held back welled up and threatened to spill. She stole a quick glance at Jason and felt another dream slipping from her fingers. She looked up at Tony and whispered, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
    “It’s all right, sweetheart. Take your time.” Tony put his arm around her. “Do you want me to tell it?”
    “What—” Sal started to ask but was cut off by Danny.
    “For once in your life just shut the fuck up and listen.”
    “No, I have to do this.” Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her cheeks with her hand and began. She steadied herself, looked at Jason. He sat there, patiently, watching her with eyes like dark silver pools she could drown in. The spark between them was electric, and she forced herself to stop being a coward. “I used to be a chef. I think I mentioned it…”
    “I remember,” Jason’s deep voice rumbled, encouraging.
    “Yeah, well, that was before…” Her eyes darted to take a quick look at Sal’s impatient face then back down to her hands. “I