it.” He inclined his head back toward his wife.
“I should have known that,” Jordan quipped before crossing the room to where the others were waiting.
Jordan faced the men awaiting him in the parlor of the suite, his gaze narrowed, any amusement or sense of fun that he may have given Tehya evaporating.
Getting the team back together hadn’t been hard. The moment they had known Tehya was in danger they had come running, several of them with their very dangerous wives in tow. Those wives were there now, in full party dress, like goddesses of beauty sent to tempt mortal men.
“What do we have?” He glanced at his nephew, his unofficial second in command.
“Everyone has received their guest lists and everyone’s buzzing. Hell, Jordan, maybe we should socialize more,” Noah reported, his darker eyes amused at the knowledge that others were excited at the prospect of a Malone being in town. A testament to Riordan Malone Sr.’s popularity when he was younger. “The Taites are fairly quiet, though Lauren, Stephen’s wife, has extended a lunch invitation to the Malone party.” His lips quirked mockingly. “Speculation is going wild over the identity of your guest, Teylor Johnson, though. Even the Taites are making inquiries. Within hours, they were aware of the fact that you were indeed the same Jordan Malone that refuses to sell the Malone property in Ireland, that they’re so desperate to acquire.”
Jordan had been aware of that for years. Unfortunately for them, he had no intentions of selling the Malone family properties. Not in Ireland, nor in America.
“And they’re normally the ones to care the least,” Lilly Harrington Caine, the daughter of an English lord spoke up. “The Taites abstain from gossip mongering and concentrate instead on their various charities and on family. To have them asking anything about anyone is a major coup.” There was no sarcasm in the words, simply a statement of fact.
“It’s Jordan’s charm.” Noah grinned. “They simply crave having Jordan tell them ‘No’.”
Jordan almost grinned. The Taites were persistent if nothing else. A trait Tehya had definitely inherited.
“We’ll see if they bring it up face-to-face,” Jordan said. “Perhaps they’ll believe me when I say it isn’t for sale this time.”
“Stephen Taite believes everything is for sale,” Lilly cut in at that point. “He’s quite determined to own that castle, Jordan. He learned Travis perhaps knew you, within hours of his arrival in the states this week. He’s already contacted us again this morning, wondering if we could arrange a meeting for him. We’ve declined, by the way.”
Jordan snorted at her cheeky grin.
“He only wants it because it’s something he’s been refused,” he growled as he moved across the room to the bar.
“You’ve picked up tails here at the hotel.” Nik changed the direction of the conversation. “Tenneyson and Arthur and their backup team are dividing their time between here and the Taites’. We believe they have the Taites’ rented estate bugged, but we’re not certain yet.”
“Of course it’s bugged.” Jordan knew he would have had it bugged if he were Tenneyson and Arthurs. The electronic listening devices would allow the team to easily split their time while still being assured no potential players slipped past them.
“We haven’t learned who’s hired them yet,” Noah said. “We’re still working on it.”
Nodding, Jordan poured himself a stiff drink before knocking it back and relishing the burn in the pit of his stomach. Nothing could sear away the disgust eating at him, though, or the restless anger at the game he was playing with Tehya’s emotions. The excuse that it was for her own good wasn’t helping in the least.
“Find out who these bastards are.” Jordan diluted the furious snap in his voice for the women’s sake.
There was no sense in pissing their husbands off because he knew he was getting in over his head with a woman.
Still, they stared back at him, uncertain why this mission suddenly counted so much more than all the others before it.
“We’re searching, boss.” Micah was the only one brave enough to answer. “Until then, we have Tenneyson and Arthurs covered.”
“Something else seems to have come up, though.” John Vincent had sat silently at the conference table until now. “We have a new player.”
Jordan turned to him with a heavy sigh. “And who might that be?”
“Journey Taite’s boyfriend arrived,” he drawled. “Several years older than she. Beauregard Grant. He’s a third cousin to Andrew and Melissa Grant.”
“And fifth cousin to England’s Lord Lowden Grant,” Lilly added. “He’s considered a black sheep, though.