Read Love and Shamrocks: Ballybeg, Book 5 for Free Online

man took—and I’ve been out of the
business
for far too long to be of any use to you on that score.”
    “All right,” he said smoothly. “I’ll get to the point. I want you to acquire a valuable antique for me.”
    The words hit her like a punch to the kidneys. She’d been expecting this. Of course she had. She wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d let her wriggle out of his clutches without making her squirm, but she hadn’t expected him to hit her up with an indecent proposal
tonight
.
    “I haven’t done a job in years. To say I’m rusty is an understatement. Why can’t you find someone with more recent experience?”
In other words, someone skilled at cracking modern alarm systems.
    “Because you have easy access to the item in question.” He paused as if to give his next words the appropriate gravitas. “Your mother’s thirteenth-century leopard aquamanile. I want it.”
    “My mother’s
what
?”
    “Oh, Clio,” he mocked. “Your mother went on a spending spree at a Sotheby’s auction last week, didn’t she?”
    “She mentioned an auction, but I still don’t know what item you’re referring to.”
    “Tsk,” Ray said. “That’s what you get for dropping out of school. The name is self-explanatory.
Aqua
and
manos
. A vessel used to carry water for washing hands.”
    She heard, if not saw, the smirk. If the condescending little creep were in front of her, she’d be tempted to slap him. “Whatever that thing is, I don’t know where to find it.”
    His laugh was a cackle, high-pitched and nasal. “I suggest you start looking. The piece is worth a quarter of a million euros.”
    A quarter of a million? Holy hell.
She knew her mother was wealthy, but she’d no idea she was rich enough to drop that kind of cash on an ornament. “How do we do this?” Her fingers were numb around the phone. No way in hell would she go through with it. She needed to buy herself time, string him along until she figured out a way to fix this problem.
    “You locate the antique and give us access to your mother’s new house.”
    Icy-sharp cold spread through Clio’s limbs, the sensation as sudden as a dive into a freezing plunge pool. This could not be happening. “If you only want one antique, why do you need to…” She trailed off, conscious of her surroundings.
    “I never said I was only interested in
one
antique.” She could visualize his smug smirk spreading across his wide face. “Apparently, your mother has quite the collection.”
    Clio gripped her mobile phone tight. Helen did have a lot of ornaments, but were they worth so much money? Well, Clio had never claimed to be an art expert, had she? “Right,” she said, desperately needing to end the conversation before she lost the remaining vestiges of self-control. “I’ll be in touch when I’ve found it.”
    “You’ll be in touch by Sunday evening.”
    Ray was enjoying this. Clio could picture him sitting behind his enormous desk, smug and self-satisfied in a pinstripe suit and loafers. She wanted to scream. She wanted to rant and rave. She wanted to tell him he was a despicable weasel. But she couldn’t. He held the power cards, and they both knew it.
    “Fine. Talk to you soon.” She cut the connection and stared blankly at the display screen. The cacophony in her ears grew louder. How was she going to get out of this pickle? Replacing the money was child’s play in comparison to warding off this disaster. Shaking, she returned to her barstool.
    “You still going to tell me there’s nothing wrong?” Concern creased the corners of Seán’s intense blue eyes. He’d rolled back his shirtsleeves, exposing strong forearms sprinkled with dark hair. He looked solid, dependable. The sort of guy Clio would consider boyfriend material if she were in a position to date.
    Tears stung her eyes. For a crazy moment, she debated confessing all. Instead, she grabbed the G&T she’d ordered earlier and brought it to her mouth.
    In the milliseconds