Testing The Boss (Billionaires In The City, #5)

by Mallory Crowe

  “Hey, I didn’t know apartment guy was here.” Easson. He knew he didn’t like the sound of that name. “I’m here because Longineu is here tonight and I’m going to bring him, and the entire Thirteen Stars organization, down.”

  “And you were going to tell me this when?”

  “When you became a fucking human being and stopped putting your investigation in front of people’s lives.”

  Rage burned behind Evelyn’s brown eyes and for half a second, Luke thought she would scream at him right then and there.

  But she contained herself and took two deep breaths. “Let’s go talk about this before Easson, or worse, Longineu, spots us.” She turned and made her way for the nearest exit into a long hallway. She glanced at the first few doors they passed before she opened a door to a janitor’s closet and pulled Luke inside.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked as the door closed behind him.

  “I’m talking some sense into you. You can’t go up against Longineu on your own.”

  “That’s no worse than you using one of my friends as bait.”

  “She had an FBI tail all day. As soon as I confirmed that her boyfriend was the one who attacked me, I made sure she was under protection until I had enough backup to take him in. I wasn’t leaving her in the dust, Luke. I promise.”

  He stared her down, trying to decide how much of what she was saying was sincere and how much was just to save her own ass. “What would you do if Easson was in her apartment with her? Alone. What would your FBI tail have done then?”

  “Cali had already been alone with him multiple times. There was no reason for me to believe she was in immediate harm.”

  “A calculated risk. That’s all it was to you.”

  “Yes, it was a calculated risk! After everything these people have done to me. To you. To your family! I took a risk.”

  “Anything to get this over with and back to your precious Texas and the job that almost killed you, right?”

  She shook her head and tears started to well behind her eyes, but she blinked them away. “You idiot. Maybe I did this because I want to protect you. Maybe I—”

  “Yeah, right,” he interrupted.

  “Maybe I did this because I love you, you moron, and I want to protect you. And thank God I’m here, because without me, you’re throwing yourself right in the middle of this.”

  He stared down at her, speechless finally. Had she just said that she loved him? Was that just another ploy? She sure as hell didn’t look like she was joking.

  Evelyn reached out for his tie and pulled him in, kissing him fiercely. Luke was still pissed, but he couldn’t help kissing her back, tangling his tongue with hers.

  It didn’t seem to matter where they were. As long as they were together, he would want her: kitchen, office, fucking janitor’s closet. He still wanted to push her back against the wall, hike up her skirt and wrap her legs around him.

  She let go of his tie and stepped back, but he followed her, not breaking the kiss. If he stopped, they’d go back to fighting, and he didn’t want to deal with that. He just wanted to stay in this sexy cocoon and ignore the reality of where they were and that they were each furious.

  She ran her hands over his shoulders and arms and a strange, plastic noise cut through the silence in the room and Luke suddenly realized he couldn’t move his hand.

  He broke the kiss and looked over where Evelyn had zip tied his wrist to one of the supports in the metal shelf next to them. “What the hell—”

  In a flash, she had his other hand zip tied to the same beam.

  “Are you kidding me?” he snapped.

  Evelyn stepped away and leaned back against the door. “Sorry, Luke. You obviously have a death wish and I’m not going to let you put yourself in any more danger. I have to go and try to apprehend Easson by myself since Cali won’t want anything to do with him anymore and we won’t have a good way to track him after tonight. So it’s now or never. I’ll get you once he’s out of the way.”

  “Evelyn! I am not sitting here doing nothing while you’re out fighting for my life! Now cut these fucking things off me!”

  “I’ll be back soon,” she promised as she opened the door.

  “Wait! Does this mean you lied?”

  She paused. “Lied about what?”

  “You fucking know what.”

  “Stay here.” She walked out, shutting the door and leaving him alone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Evelyn blinked back tears as she tried to keep her walk as straight as possible as she went back to the ballroom. Keep it together. She needed to stay focused. Once Easson knew that Cali was on to him, he’d know she and Luke had found out who he was and he’d slip out of their fingers.

  Arrest Easson. Get him to flip on Longineu. Get Longineu to spill the beans on all of Thirteen Stars. Problem solved and she would be well on her way to not going back to Texas.

  Evelyn pulled out her phone and dialed into headquarters. She’d need backup and support if she was going to bring Easson in. Local police said that it would be about ten minutes before anyone could get there, but Evelyn needed to get eyes on Easson so that they could have some game plan to bring him in once backup got there.

  She reached the ballroom and glanced inside, looking for the man who could put all the pieces together. She frowned as she thought back to the file Hotchins had given her earlier that day. If this guy really was black ops like it said, there was a real chance that he wouldn’t flip once in custody. Those guys could handle an interrogation like no other.

  She’d just have to hope that loyalty wasn’t his strong suit. She scanned the room once more, but there was no sign of Easson.

  Damn it. She headed down the corridor, looking for any sign of him, but nothing. Evelyn reached into her purse to feel the comforting butt of her gun and paused in front of the men’s room. Without giving warning, she pushed the door open. Judging by the lack of curses thrown at her, there was no one there. Just to double-check, she looked inside each of the three stalls, but there was no one there.

  If he wasn’t in the ballroom and wasn’t in the bathroom, where the hell had he gone? She’d need to go back to check on Luke to make sure he was still secure, and then she’d do another loop around the building.

  She did one quick look through the women’s room before going back to the janitorial closet. Her stomach flipped when she saw that the door hung open. Did Easson already get to Luke?

  She ran over and her fears were confirmed when she saw the cut remains of the zip ties and no Luke. “No,” she breathed.

  Evelyn twisted around and ran straight into a hard chest. “Luke! I was worr—”

  Nope. Not Luke.

  She stepped back as she looked up into Easson’s dark eyes.

  ~~~~~

  Luke rubbed at his sore wrists as he snuck into the ballroom, making sure Evelyn was nowhere around. He would’ve been in there for ages if the metal shelving beam he was hooked to hadn’t rusted enough to become sharp and jagged. Just enough for him to work away at the zip tie. But he knew it was only a matter of time before Evelyn realized he was gone and came after him.

  He needed to make sure he got his point across to Longineu.

  Colin Carter stood in the back corner of the room and met Luke’s gaze, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment. Luke nodded in response and took out his phone, dialing Longineu’s number.

  “I wondered when I’d hear from you,” said the cocky bastard when he answered.

  “Where are you?” he bit out, scanning the room.

  “I’m enjoying some choice cigars with some of my friends, far away from you. How can I help you?”

  “I know about Bella.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line and he knew he’d hit a mark. “What?”

  “I’m at the Farrell party. I know you’re here too. Now do you want to talk to me or do you want me to let the entire city know just how much of a scumbag you are?” He turned in a cir
cle, looking for any sign of the man.

  “You don’t have any proof,” said Longineu, the fear evident in his voice.

  “I have everything I need. Now come and face me, you son of a bitch.”

  There was another pause before Longineu said, “Come out on the terrace, back corner. We’ll have some privacy.” Then the line was dead.

  Luke tried to keep his nerves under control. He only had one chance at this. He’d thought that he’d be able to talk reason into Evelyn once she was here and there was no time for her to back out. That wasn’t going to happen now. So he’d have to go in alone.

  The memory of Evelyn shutting the door on him cut like a knife. That was how she saw him: A hindrance. In the way of her getting what she wanted.

  But she was right about one thing. These people had fucked with his life for the last time, and he was going to show them exactly what happened when you messed with a Devereaux.

  Ken Kemmerling had taken the coward’s way out and jumped off a building rather than face the repercussions from the leaders of this group. He had a feeling Longineu wasn’t as afraid of them. He was a good ol’ boy. Too close to the heads to ever think they’d hurt him. Luke had a feeling Longineu himself was one of the leaders.

  So in order to get him to turn on his friends, and himself, Luke needed leverage. Leverage like Joslyn had discovered.

  Luke found the balcony and slid open the door. The large open area wrapped around the entire side of the luxury hotel, but it was easy enough to see where the cluster of men smoking cigars was. Luke put his hands in his pockets and walked over casually, getting angrier with each step. Angry at Longineu. Angry at Evelyn. Angry at himself.

  The men around Longineu noticed his arrival and moved to form a barrier between Luke and their boss. Luke smirked at them. “I think we need our privacy for this one.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “Bring your pepper spray today?” Evelyn wrapped her fingers around the butt of her gun in her purse.

  His mouth twisted into a cruel smile as he took a step forward and backed her into the closet. “I have lots of other toys I could use on you.” His eyes glanced around the room at the various chemicals and supplies that lined the shelves behind her. “I’m assuming you’re the reason my date bailed on me?”

  “I’m the reason she realized you were just using her.”

  Easson tsked at her with his tongue. “I underestimated you. Again. That won’t happen this time.”

  Damn. She was kind of counting on that whole underestimating thing. She pulled out her gun and aimed it at him. “Don’t come any closer,” she warned. Backup had to be close. All she had to do was keep him busy for a few minutes. Which was difficult, considering she was dealing with a guy who could kill in seconds.

  “I’ve looked into you, you know.” He took a step closer.

  She inched back, but there was only about six inches between her and the shelving unit behind her. If she got cornered, she’d have no room to fight if she needed to. “Find out anything interesting?”

  “I figured out how you got the drop on me the last time we danced.”

  “Never assume a woman can’t fight.”

  “I never thought someone who had so little respect for herself that she’d sleep with a mark could be trained. My mistake.”

  “Says the guy who had to pepper spray me in order to run away.” What if she shot? He was right in front of her. She could aim at the head and get one clean shot. But then they’d have nothing on Longineu and be back at square one. He was only a few feet away and guns weren’t best for close combat. Damn it, nothing about this room was good for close combat. But at least Easson had the same disadvantages as her. And she was the only one pointing a gun.

  “I think that the two of us are going to have some fun together.” Easson took one more step forward and started to push the door shut.

  Nope. She wasn’t going to wait for him to make a move. Without waiting any longer, Evelyn fired off a round, but Easson charged her. He was on her in a flash, shoving her back against the shelves. She tried to aim the gun at him, but he slammed her head back into the metal beam Luke had just been tied to.

  As bright lights flashed behind her eyes, Easson twisted the gun out of her hand, ejecting the clip and letting both clatter to the floor. Evelyn gritted her teeth and tried to get ready to go at him again, but he punched her full on in the face before she could move.

  This time, the lights flashed brighter as unconsciousness tried to take over.

  ~~~~~

  Longineu jerked his head to the side, signaling the men around him to clear out, far enough away to give him and Luke some privacy but close enough to let Luke know he wasn’t in the clear.

  “So why don’t you tell me what you think you know?”

  “I know that you’re a bad, bad man.” Luke looked over the man he was about to bring down. Longineu had taken off his suit jacket somewhere and was in a blue button-down and black trousers. The sleeves were rolled up and top few buttons undone, as though he were lounging at home instead of trying to wrangle another investor into the Thirteen Stars. “Had a rough day?”

  “The old Farrell bastard effectively shot me down.” Longineu crossed his arms over his chest. “So I’m excited to hear how you plan to ruin my night so I can tell you exactly how you’ll fail.”

  “Well, I know about Bella.”

  Longineu was stone-faced. “I got that from your delightful phone call. But to be honest, I couldn’t care less about what you know. Exactly how much can you prove?”

  “It was suspicious, you know. That Joslyn had something on you that petrified you into paying whatever she demanded and then was mum once she got into prison. And we threw everything we could legally throw at her. The best interrogators, all of our family visited her and yet she didn’t give one word about what she had to blackmail you.”

  “As your delightful cousin, Emma, informed my people, Joslyn was full of shit. Like I suspect you are.”

  “The electronic copy of the birth certificate she claimed she had didn’t exist,” said Luke.

  Longineu narrowed his eyes. “So you got Joslyn to talk?”

  “Well, once we exhausted all the legal options, I tried some illegal ones.” And Colin Carter had plenty of resources for Luke to use. “It wasn’t too hard to find a guard who would help with scaring the hell out of her.”

  “You have a strange way of treating your family.”

  “I’d do anything for my family. But Joslyn separated herself from us years ago. You, on the other hand, have gone pretty far out of the way to hurt your family, haven’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Prison isn’t nice to people who hurt children, you know.”

  “And I’m still waiting for that proof.”

  “Bear Creek.” Stark fear covered Longineu’s features and Luke knew he had struck a nerve.

  “Where did you hear that from?”

  “From a long line of gardeners, landscapers, nannies, old police files, and various other associates of yours who you’ve managed to piss off since then.”

  “What do you want me to do? The people I work with aren’t going to just let you and your girlfriend walk free.”

  “This isn’t about me walking free. I’m going to be getting out of this no matter what. This conversation is about your future.”

  Longineu strode up to Luke and shoved his finger in Luke’s chest; it took everything in Luke to hold off from punching him in the face.

  “No,” said Longineu. “I’m going to tell you how this conversation is going to go. You’re going to turn around and walk away and I’ll pretend you were never here, or you can keep talking and I’ll have my men throw you off the balcony.”

  Luke glanced down at Longineu’s hand, still pressed against his chest, and backed up. “Before you throw me off the balcony, do you want me to show you the exact spot you buried the daughter you murdered? Or do you want to keep on
thinking I’m bluffing?

  “So let me tell you what’s going to happen.” Luke grabbed Longineu’s hand and twisted it off his chest, making sure to add enough pressure to make the grip painful. “You’re going to turn yourself in and you’re going to tell the FBI everything they want to know.”

  “You’re crazy if you think I’d agree to that.”

  “And in exchange, I won’t tell them that you murdered Bella. You know, white-collar crime prison is much nicer than child-killer prison. And you also know I’m angry enough to do it.”

  “Give me one good reason not to kill you right here. Surrounded by people and no one would see me do it. I promise you that.”

  “Two words: Automated. Email. Kill me, and all the proof the government will need to fry you will be sent over at a time I’ve already chosen and you don’t get to fucking know. So make up your mind.”

  “Boss,” called one of the men from behind Luke.

  “I’m busy!” called Longineu.

  “Harper is with the FBI chick right now. Says he has her contained.”

  Longineu pulled his hand out of Luke’s grip. “Your move, Devereaux.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Evelyn opened her eyes right as Easson kicked her in the ribs. She let out a pained cough as she took in any possible weapon before he struck again. Thinking straight was too hard and her eyes refused to focus.

  Just hang on. Backup would be here soon and someone had to have heard the gunshot.

  He started to rear back for another kick, and all Evelyn could do was brace herself until the electronic sound of a ringing phone cut through her pained gasps for breath.

  “Hold on, love.” He pulled out his phone. It must have been a text, because he didn’t answer. “Damn. I really wanted to make this last, too...” He typed something into the phone.

  The brief interlude was enough for Evelyn to get some of her senses back. There it was. One-quart paint cans right within reach. She snatched the closest one up and slammed it into his leg. He grunted in pain and she swung again, hitting his ankle, throwing him off balance.