“Are you Ivan Quinlan?” one of the men asked in a thick accent.
Ivan folded his arms across his chest. “Who wants to know?”
The man who’d spoken leaned in. He smelled of expensive cologne. “We know what you’re doing. And you need to stop now, before someone gets hurt. Like you, for example.”
Ivan bristled. “Are you threatening me?”
“Yes, Mr Quinlan. Hand over your research or you’re dead.”
Ivan’s fury rushed up. He’d never enjoyed witty negotiations like his silver-tongued brother Adam. Instead, he preferred to get his message across in a more physical way. He reached out and grabbed the man who’d been doing all the talking. “Look, whoever you are, I don’t care what you think you know, but you need to get off our property right now, before I pummel your face into next year, you hear me?”
The man didn’t flinch. “This is a friendly warning to you and Tariq Shard. We will return to collect your blueprints later with some of our more persuasive friends. If you don’t do as we say, you will bring the consequences upon yourselves.”
The man pulled away from Ivan’s grip, dusted himself down, and spoke to his colleague in a language Ivan didn’t understand.
The two men nodded, then turned to leave. Ivan refrained from chasing after them and getting violent. And besides, he was glued to the doorstep in shock – someone bad knew about the project. Shit. But they’d been so careful.
A few feet away, the man who’d so far been silent turned back to Ivan. “By the way, Mr Quinlan, the people you were expecting to visit you today; they won’t be coming. Don’t try to contact them.”
The men walked away, leaving Ivan reeling. He slammed the door, then kicked it a few times. “Shit!”
Tariq stood by his desk. “What happened? Who were they?”
“I’m not sure,” Ivan said. “But someone knows about the project, and we need to move everything out of here before they come back.” He studied Tariq’s worried face. “They said someone might get hurt if we don’t give up our research. We need to be careful…”
Tariq’s expression surged to fearful. “Samira…”
“Jesus, yeah, I’ll go check on her. You start looking for a new office – you know this area better than I do. But one thing’s for sure – no one’s stealing our research or stopping us from finishing this goddamn project. No one.”
Chapter Seven
Samira adored the UCLA campus where she was studying. Her lectures were interesting and her fellow students were friendly enough, but it was the location that made coming to college each day a joy. The campus was such a welcome contrast to the dry, dilapidated country she’d come from. The redbrick buildings here were old and proud – like cathedrals of education – rather than the featureless concrete boxes back home. The lush grounds were sprinkled with ancient trees and emerald lawns, and the bright-blue sky was infinite above, making Samira feel massive and connected with nature. The sunshine today smelled of her childhood back in Iran – but before her parents had died. It was a refreshing smell. Lemony and sweet. Like freedom.
She said goodbye to a few of the girls she was friends with and strolled towards the exit gate, clutching her books against her chest. She frowned. What the hell had that lecture been about? She’d been totally consumed by thoughts of Ivan all day. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t usually one to become infatuated – the guys tended to become enamoured with her.
But Ivan was a total dreamboat. So handsome and dominating, yet so kind and attentive. Samira knew she was a strong woman with a fiery personality. A ‘nice guy’ just wouldn’t be able to handle her. Had she finally met her match with Ivan Quinlan? Obviously Tariq didn’t think so, but it was none of his business. All she knew was, she’d never felt such an overwhelming attraction to a man before – and she didn’t just mean physically, although he was gorgeous. But he seemed to care about what she said and what she was passionate about. They shared a fighting spirit.
Yes, there was something captivating about Ivan Quinlan... He’d captured her attention – and Samira knew it wouldn’t be long before he captured her heart. Although of course she wasn’t stupid – there was the ten-year age gap and the fact that they lived in opposite corners of the country, which probably meant he only wanted some fun. But that was okay. Samira could handle a bit of heartbreak. Nothing could ever hurt her as much as what had happened to her parents – and she’d managed to survive that and come out fighting. So she knew she could enjoy Ivan while he was around, and if she started to fall for him, then she’d brush herself off and continue life as normal once he left.
? Also By Julie Farrell
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