Stripped Bare by Susan Mac Nicol Read Free Book Online Page B

climbing under the covers. He ponged like a well-worn rent boy. Tomorrow he’d need to test the waters, see if the flirting they’d started came to anything else. He was rather looking forward to that.
    His phone rang later that day around one. He was already up, showered and dressed, and ready to leave to go home.
    Matthew’s voice was strained. “Walter has made us persona non grata , I’m afraid. He’s given explicit instructions to let neither of us in, and he’s even got a personal bodyguard outside David’s room. So I’m afraid we won’t be seeing him any time soon. One good thing though: He’s regained consciousness and seems fine. That’s all I could get out of the nurse.”
    Shane was relieved his friend was okay but disappointed that he wouldn’t be seeing Matthew today. “At least he’s all right. I suppose that’s it then. We’ll have to wait until he’s out and about to make contact with him.” He hesitated. “How are you? Did you manage to get a decent sleep?”
    The lawyer sighed. “I slept enough. I need to spend this afternoon looking for another job. I’ll have some time as Walter still owes me quite a bit of money, but it won’t last long.” He stopped. “Sorry, that’s probably more information than you needed. It’s my problem, not yours.”
    “Are you always this self-sufficient?” Shane asked. “I don’t mind if you share things.”
    The line was quiet. “We don’t know each other that well,” was the soft reply. “I’m used to managing things on my own. But thanks anyway.”
    Yes you are, and that’s half your problem, mate.
    Shane took the plunge. “Do you want to get together for a beer or something sometime? I know a great little Dutch pub in Soho with a bit of atmosphere.”
    Again there was silence. Shane stared at his mobile in frustration, wishing he could reach through and shake the man’s self-sustaining attitude out of him.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m going to be pretty busy finding work and getting things sorted out.” Matthew sighed. “I’ve never been unemployed before. It’s a bit of a novelty and a bit scary. So I need to focus.”
    Shane felt a pang of disappointment. “Oh, okay. Well, you have my number. If you change your mind give me a call.”
    “I’ll do that. Thanks for this morning and stay safe, Shane. Be seeing you.” The line went dead. Shane glared at his phone.
    Well, that was a bloody total loss. That had so not gone the way he wanted. He kicked the bed leg sulkily. Now what was he supposed to do? He glared around the hotel room as he puffed his cheeks out in a sigh. He supposed he’d better be getting off to his own home. He was already an hour overdue on his check-out time, and they’d be kicking him out sooner or later. He gathered up his belongings, packed Bushwhacker into his case, and slung his computer satchel over his shoulder. When he got home he thought he’d do a bit of digging on Mr. Matthew Langer. See what made him tick.
    Despite his usual respect for corporate companies and their systems, leaving them alone for the most part, Shane didn’t apply the same philosophy to people. He had an unfortunate tendency to disregard it when it came to them. He believed it was his God-given right to use the talents he had to pry into people’s affairs. After all, the internet was nothing more than a huge data dump of information, and he was an expert at mining it. It was knowing where to look that was the key. Shane smiled in satisfaction as he left the hotel to walk back to his flat.
    Two hours later Shane took a sip of his red wine and leaned back in his office chair. His eyes were gritty and tired from staring at his computer screen. He frowned at the images in front of him, populating his screen like wall tiles.
    He’d managed to find out quite a bit about the man, to the extent that he now had his very own folder on his computer. Nothing earth-shattering, but at least it gave him a clue as to who