by Ivy Layne
Chase fit right in with the rest of Anna’s children. I could see nothing of William in him. Maybe there wasn’t. Maybe Chase had nothing to do with Anna Winters and William Davis. A DNA test would tell one way or the other.
Sitting at a red light, I pulled out my phone and called Cooper’s direct line. It rang through to a beep, then began to ring again.
A familiar voice answered, “You’ve got Evers.”
“Ev, Aiden. Cooper out?”
“He’s in DC on a job, won’t be back till next week. What’s up?”
“I’m headed to you, Gage too. Do you have time?”
“Depends. I have a meeting, but I can push it out. Something wrong?”
“I may have found Anna’s missing son,” I said, feeling the tug of hesitation as the words left my mouth. Was it wishful thinking? Was I jumping the gun? Maybe, for both. But, I had to know.
“I’ll move my meeting,” Evers said, immediately.
“Thanks. See you in a few.”
A tray of coffee and pastries waited on Evers’s desk when I got there. He had the phone to his ear, but he waved me to a seat and held up one finger. Carefully, I pulled the tissue wrapped comb from my pocket and laid it on the desk before pouring myself a cup of coffee. My thoughts were a whirl. If I was right, if Chase Westbrook was Anna’s missing son, we’d have to be careful.
As things stood now, he hated us. Stealing a man’s company and dismantling it wasn’t the best way to bring him into the family. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t done it on purpose. In the end, Chase had nothing to show for his hard work, and we owned what was left of the company he’d built.
Gage showed up before Evers ended his call and took the seat beside me, helping himself to a cup of coffee. He reached for the tissue wrapped comb on Evers’s desk. My hand shot out to stop him.
“What’s going on?” he asked in a low voice.
“I went to Violet’s.”
“Did you fire her?” Gage interrupted.
I slanted him a look. “Yes, I fired her. I also found out what she was doing at Winters, Inc. in the first place. Her brother is the founder of CD4 Analytics. Harrison scammed him out of his company.”
“Which explains why we couldn’t find him,” Gage said, putting the pieces together. “And she was what? Trying to figure out a way to get the company back?”
“Something like that,” I said.
“Is the brother open to an offer? We could use his help,” Gage said.
I saw him turning the problem over in his head. Before he could get distracted, I said, “He could be triplets with Vance and Annalise.”
Gage gave me a hard stare. I shook my head. “I know what you’re thinking and this has nothing to do with Violet. I’m telling you, Chase Westbrook looks so much like Vance, it’s scary. He has Anna’s eyes, Anna’s hair, Anna’s face.”
“It can’t be that easy,” Gage said. “Not after looking and finding nothing.”
“Sometimes, you get lucky. Anyway, if he is who we’re looking for, this isn’t easy. He thinks we stole his company. And Violet’s parents sound like a nightmare. He may not want anything to do with us.”
“The name Chase is familiar, but there wasn’t a Westbrook associated with CD4,” Gage said.
“The parents disowned him when Violet was in high school. He may be using a different last name.”
Across from us, Evers set the phone down. “I caught most of that. You think your Violet’s older brother is Anna’s missing kid?”
“He looks enough like Anna, like Vance and Annalise, that I think it’s worth checking out.” Nudging the tissue wrapped comb towards Evers I said, “I stole his comb. How long does it take to do a DNA test?”
Carefully, Evers picked up the comb and unwrapped the tissue. Pulling a pair of glasses with magnifying lenses from the top drawer of his desk, he examined the hairs caught in the comb. “Well, you got the roots of the hair. That makes a difference. People think hair is good for DNA, but it’s actually shit unless you get the root.”
“How fast can you tell us?” Gage asked.
“We have a local lab on retainer. A rush will cost you.”
“I don’t care about the cost,” I said.
Evers raised an eyebrow. “You really think this guy is Anna’s son, don’t you?”
“If you’d been there, you’d understand why I’m so sure. It wasn’t just his eyes and his hair and his bone structure. It was the way he held himself. The way he moved.”
“Find out how fast they can do it,” Gage said. “I want to know what we’re dealing with before Aiden elopes with his sister.”
Evers studied me with sharp eyes. After a lifetime of friendship, I couldn’t hide much. “How sure are you that she’s not playing a game? She hooks you, serves you her brother up on a platter, they get nice and cozy in the Winters family and before you know it—”
“You’re not the only one who thinks something is off with this girl. The brother only makes her more sketchy,” Gage agreed.
Evers shuffled through files on his desk before pulling one out and opening it. “I’ve been looking into Violet Westbrook. Accounting major at University of Tennessee, graduated with honors. Applied to a few master’s programs before taking a job at a family friend’s accounting firm. Worked there for a little over two years before she was fired under questionable circumstances. Parents, Suzanne and Henry Westbrook. Henry is a financial advisor, Suzanne a homemaker.
“As far as we can tell they haven’t had any contact with their daughter since she was fired from the accounting firm. I haven’t tracked down her birth certificate yet. Info on the brother is thin. He went by Chase Westbrook until he dropped out of college to found his first company based off a data mining algorithm he developed while he was in school.
“He’s gone by Chase Brooks for the last few years, but he didn’t formally change his name. Sold the first company for a mint, spent a few years developing the algorithms he’d use as the foundation for CD4 Analytics. And while it looks like the two of you scammed him out of his company, I’m assuming my research missed something, or are you taking the term ‘corporate raider’ to heart these days?”
“We all got scammed by Harrison, the guy who sold us CD4 Analytics. Violet was at Winters, Inc. trying to figure out a way to get her brother’s company back,” I said.
Gage shook his head and studied his coffee before raising his eyes to share a sympathetic glance with Evers. They thought Violet was playing me. Thought I was so wrapped up in her body that I couldn’t see what was right in front of me.
They were wrong. I knew Violet. She’d done something stupid because she thought she was helping her brother. No one understood dedication to family more than I did.
“What makes you so sure you can trust Violet Westbrook?” Evers asked. “My research so far doesn’t raise any warning flags, aside from the situation at her first job, but that doesn’t mean she’s innocent. This could be a scam.”
“I know I can trust her because I know Violet,” I said, ignoring the disbelieving glance Gage threw my way. “And I know what happened with the family friend and the accounting firm. It’s Violet’s story, I’m not telling either of you. She wasn’t at fault. That’s all you need to know.”
“Aiden—” Gage started. I cut him off.
“I get how this looks from where you’re sitting, but you need to back off. Violet doesn’t have a key to the house. She doesn’t have my bank account numbers or my credit card. Violet is not the issue right now. The DNA test is the issue. Let’s get that done, and then we can figure out everything else.”
Evers held up a finger, then picked up his phone. A quick conversation later he had us a guarantee for a quick turn on the DNA. I didn’t even wince at the cost. I needed to know if my gut was right.
“I’m going to send a guy with the sample. He’ll stay until the results are in and personally bring them back. I don’t want any leaks. Everything coded by number, not by name.”
/> “How long?” I asked.
“They can’t guarantee twenty-four hours, but they’re bumping other rush orders to work you in. My guess is by lunch tomorrow you’ll know one way or the other. Does your girl have any idea about this?”
“No. Not what I suspect, not that we’re looking for Anna’s son.”
“Good, keep it that way,” Evers said. “I’ll do some more digging and—”
“Forget about Violet,” I said. “Look into her brother. I want to know everything we can about Chase Westbrook. He and Violet are tight. Her parents kicked her out and cut all contact after she refused to marry a man who tried to assault her. Chase drove across two states in the middle of the night to get her. Gave her a home, found her a job—I thought he was going to deck me when he walked in and found us together.”
“If he’s so protective, what the hell was he doing letting her try to infiltrate Winters, Inc.?” Gage asked.
“Apparently, he was working a consulting job out of town and had no idea what she was up to. Violet said he was furious when he found out.”
“Well, that’s something,” Gage muttered under his breath. Like me, Gage was no stranger to being an overprotective older brother. He might be suspicious of Violet and Chase, but he could respect Chase looking out for his little sister.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep your distance from the sister until we know what we’re dealing with,” Evers said.
Gage barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Good luck with that. I’ve been trying to get this moron to stay away from her for weeks. One whiff of her perfume and all he can think about is—”
“Don’t say another fucking word,” I said. “I’m taking Violet out for dinner tonight. I am not keeping my distance. You’re both wrong about her. I don’t care. Violet doesn’t have to prove anything to you. The only person she needs to worry about is me.”
“Shit, man, does this girl have a golden pussy? I’ve never seen you so stupid over a woman. You’re in deep with her after one weekend in Vegas. I heard all about that from Axel. For what it’s worth, he likes her.”
I leaned forward and pinned Evers with my eyes. “We’ve been friends since you were in diapers, and because of that, I’m going to cut you some slack. But if you ever talk about Violet like that again, I will beat you down until you can’t walk for a week. Are we clear?”
Evers went still for a long moment as he studied my face. He nodded once and said, “We’re clear. And just so you know, if she’s fucking with you, if they turn this around on you, none of us will rest until we end them both.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Gage interrupted. “Axel liked her?”
“Axel and Dylan both liked her,” Evers said shooting me a cautious look. “Axel said she looked a little shy. A little overwhelmed. But all about Aiden.”
“She reminds me of Elizabeth,” Gage said. “When I get close all I see is ice.”
“Maybe that’s because every time you’ve talked to her you’ve been a complete asshole,” I put in.
“Not a complete asshole,” Gage murmured.
“Close enough,” I said.
Evers shoved his chair back from his desk and stood. “As much fun as it is to watch the two of you bicker, I have a rescheduled meeting to get to. Don’t sign the family silver away to your girlfriend or her brother until we get the tests back. The second we have them, I’ll call. For now, all you can do is wait.”
Twenty-four hours had never seemed so long. By this time tomorrow, we’d know if we’d found Anna’s missing child.
We thought we wanted answers.
We thought we needed the truth.
We should have learned by now, when you went digging for the truth, in the end sometimes all you wanted was the comfort of familiar lies.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Violet
Chase was there when Aiden picked me up for our date, lurking by the front door, glaring at both of us. He’d asked—no, demanded—that I call Aiden and cancel. I’d refused.
I wanted to see where this thing with Aiden could go. I’d never truly thought there could be something real between us. Even if I could put aside his stealing Chase’s company, my lies held us apart. But Aiden hadn’t stolen Chase’s company and he understood why I’d lied to get a job with Winters, Inc. Everything keeping us apart was gone, and all I wanted was Aiden.
True to his word, he didn’t take me anywhere fancy. He showed up at my door in jeans and an untucked, white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. I’d only seen him dressed casually once, at breakfast in our hotel suite in Vegas, and we hadn’t been dressed for very long. Even on the plane home, he wore a suit.
Aiden in jeans—jeans that showed off his ass to perfection—with rolled up sleeves… Yum. I could spend all night just staring at his forearms.
I thought about jeans myself, but for a first date, I just couldn’t do it. And this was our first real date. Vegas didn’t count. Everything that came before was just a prelude. I didn’t have to hide the truth anymore and that changed everything.
I chose a linen wrap dress in cherry red. Simple, stylish, but the color was fun. It didn’t hurt that the wrap style emphasized my curves and made my waist look tiny. I paired it with matching red wedges and pulled one side of my hair back with a pin adorned with a red silk poppy. The rest I left down. I’d noticed in Vegas that Aiden liked my hair down.
The only awkward part about our date was getting through the front door under Chase’s disapproving glare. I love my big brother. Adore him.
But when his voice chased me down the hall with, “I’ll be waiting up,” I only rolled my eyes. He could wait up all he wanted. I didn’t have a curfew and the only person I answered to was me.
In the elevator, I turned to Aiden and said, “Sorry about that. He’s protective.”
Aiden pressed a fingertip to my shoulder, trailing it down my bare arm until he reached my hand and tangled his fingers with mine. Tugging me a few steps closer he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of my head.
“Don’t apologize,” he said, unsuccessfully hiding a laugh, “I have a baby sister and a younger cousin. Be grateful you’ve only got the one brother. Both Charlie and Annalise had all of us ganging up on their dates.”
“How many of you are there?” I knew his family was big, and I knew parts of their backgrounds.
Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows about the Winters family. But I didn’t know any of them personally except for Aiden and Gage. After our last confrontation, I’d be happy to go the rest of my life without seeing Gage again.
On the short drive to the restaurant, Aiden filled me in.
“On my side, there’s me, the oldest. Then Jacob—he runs his own real estate company. Then Holden, he’s a partner in WGC. Winters Gaming Corp. And Charlie—Charlotte—is the baby. On my aunt and uncle’s side, Gage is the oldest. Then Vance and Annalise—they’re twins. Tate is the youngest. He’s the other partner in WGC. Jacob owns Winters House in Buckhead.”
“The historic building that has the art gallery and the coffee shop on the first floor?” I’d gotten coffee there once or twice before.
“That’s the one. He named it Winters House to mess with me since our family home is also called Winters House. He has the penthouse. He shares it with his fiancée Abigail. Holden and Tate each have half a floor. Tate married his girlfriend Emily on New Year’s Eve. She’s a game designer and works at WGC with them. Holden is engaged to his girlfriend, Jo, and she lives with him. Vance is married and has a toddler. Rosalie. You know Gage got married to Sophie not long ago, and Annalise and her fiancé Riley get married at the end of the month.”
“What about your little sister? Are you two the only Winters who haven’t paired off?”
Aiden pulled his car into a tiny parking lot behind a small building that looked like a cottage nestled between high-rise condo complexes much like my own. Amazing scents
drifted out the back door. Curry and coconut. My stomach rumbled.
“Are you okay with Indian?” Aiden asked, sliding his arm around me and guiding me through the parking lot.
“I love it. I’ve seen this place, but I’ve never eaten here before.”
“Their naan is amazing.”
“I could eat naan all day,” I said, my mouth watering at the thought of the light, fluffy, Indian flatbread I loved. I wasn’t kidding. If we got a basket before our meals, Aiden would have to fight me for every bite.
The restaurant was small, filled with artfully arranged booths separated by vibrantly colored silk curtains. The dim lights and flickering candles combined with the privacy of the booths left me feeling as if Aiden and I were the only two people in the restaurant despite the dinner crowd.
When Aiden slid in beside me instead of taking the seat opposite, I didn’t complain. The truth was, I’d missed him. I hadn’t liked waking up alone either. One weekend away together and already I was used to him. Too used to him.
He didn’t answer my question about his sister until we’d ordered drinks and had menus in front of us.
“Charlie?” I asked, curious. He’d mentioned more than once that he was overprotective, and I wanted to know if she’d managed to fall in love despite Aiden scaring away all her potential suitors.
“Charlie fell in love with her husband while we were estranged, which is the only way Lucas Jackson got within fifty feet of her. He was not what I had in mind for my baby sister.”
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”
Aiden flipped his menu shut and stared at the cover before he answered. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong with Lucas Jackson. He runs a division at Sinclair Security. He’s smart as hell, tough as nails, and if anyone so much as looks at Charlie the wrong way he’ll beat the hell out of him. But he’s also a little rough. Tattoos, motorcycle. He went private after the army and his résumé has a lot of blank spaces. Dangerous blank spaces. The first time he crossed our paths he was working undercover as the president of the Raptors motorcycle club.”