Neck & Neck Read Online Free PDF

offer you can’t refuse.”
    He arched a brow at that, but not because of her Mafia esque announcement. “You know my name,” he said.
    “I do,” she concurred. “And I know what service you perform for Mr. Mulholland.”
    Not that it took a genius to conclude he worked a security detail for Russell after the piece and photo in yesterday’s paper, but his name hadn’t been included in the article, nor had he been designated as a bodyguard. And although it wasn’t impossible to find out who headed up security for Russell Mulholland, both Finn and his employer took great pains to keep as many of their security guards’ names as private as possible. It was just another way to add an extra layer to the Mulhollands’ safety. But even beyond all that, it bothered Finn that Natalie Beckett had learned his name before he learned hers. It made him feel like he wasn’t doing his job.
    “You’re Finnian Michael Guthrie,” she said, jarring him even more. Almost no one knew his full name. “And you work as head of security for Russell Mulholland. You both grew up in Seattle, so I assume your paths crossed there somewhere at some point.” She smiled coyly, and something inside Finn twisted tight . . . though not necessarily in a bad way. “I assume that,” she said, “because, well . . .” She smiled again. “Beyond the things I just revealed, it gets a little murky trying to learn more about the two of you.”
    She leaned in a little closer than Finn liked, and not just because it enabled him to fill his lungs with the sweet, clean scent of her, either. “I did manage to dig up a few interesting tidbits, though,” she whispered conspiratorially. She leaned back again and added in her normal—husky, sexy—voice, “I must say, though, you and Mr. Mulholland have managed to keep buried just about everything that ever happened to either of you pre-Mulholland Games, Inc. It was only after the GameViper came out that you start showing up regularly on Google. What’s really interesting is that you are almost every bit as Googleable as Mr. Mulholland, even though he is by far the bigger celebrity.”
    As she spoke, one by one, every alarm in Finn’s ample arsenal began to go off. Russell paid an exorbitant amount of money to keep any references to himself pre-Mulholland Games, Inc., off the Internet. Had the guy realized how successful the company would someday be, he doubtless would have changed his name a long time ago. But it was what it was, and they’d had to make do. Thankfully, there were people out there whose life’s work was keeping outrageously wealthy people outrageously hidden in cyberspace, as long as those people paid an outrageously large amount of money for the service.
    Somehow, Finn managed to keep his own voice mild and conversational when he asked, “Are you a reporter? Or writing a book about Mr. Mulholland or something?”
    She laughed lightly at that, the sort of laugh that normally made a man think he was about to pay a lot more for dinner than he had planned to spend on a first date. Clearly she was beginning to feel more comfortable with the situation. Whatever that situation was. Which was ironic, because Finn was growing more uneasy with every passing second.
    “No,” she told him. “I’m an event planner.”
    He relaxed at her admission. Some. Russell had been inundated with requests for personal appearances since his arrival in town had been discovered. Hopefully, this would be just one more thing to decline, and then Ms. Natalie Beckett, who may or may not have an engagement ring on her finger, would be on her merry way.
    He and Russell had done their best to keep the Mulhollands’ arrival in Louisville under wraps for as long as possible, just as they did whenever Russell and his son traveled together or when Russell traveled alone. Whenever either Mulholland had gone out, they’d done so with a bare minimum of security—at least, until the other day—and they’d all