Remorseless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 3)

by Mallory Crowe

Alex nodded even as Logan shook his head. “Stay here,” he said. “You already know all of our deepest, darkest secrets. Doesn’t she, Alex?”

  Julie walked over to Logan’s side of the room and decided not to comment on his last remark. She knew a fair amount about the Farrells, but she was willing to bet no one knew all the skeletons in their closets.

  “So...” said Alex. “Julie said you needed help.”

  “I want access to the resources of the company like I’m entitled,” clarified Logan.

  Oh yeah, this was going to go great. “Tell him about the people trying to kill you,” said Julie.

  Alex perked up at that. “There are people trying to kill you?”

  “They tried to kill me years ago. They tried to kill Julie a few days ago. That’s what we should be worried about.”

  “Whoa, whoa.” Alex turned his attention to Julie. “Someone tried to kill you? Why didn’t you tell me about this right away?”

  “He wasn’t trying to kill me. I just got in the way of him following Logan.”

  Alex was noticeably not calmed by the statement. “Tell me everything. Start from the beginning.”

  Julie remained silent while Logan went through the details. From what happened to him while in prison to his search for Alecia, the man who had strangled Julie, and the email they’d received from Alecia with photos of all the interactions between Willis and his mysterious benefactor.

  Afterward, Alex leaned back against the dresser. “Fuck,” was all he said. “You’re convinced it was one of the guys behind Qulex who hired Willis?”

  Logan shrugged. “They have the most motive.” He left out the fact that the brothers had ever been a suspect. “Not to mention that they all had the means. Julie mentioned that we might be able to see if any deposits around the time of Willis’s attack correlated to any of them.”

  “And we can run a search on the email address that was used to communicate with Willis,” said Julie. “At this point, everything is a long shot, but it’s worth a look.”

  Alex nodded. “You’re right. We can take care of all that. In New York.”

  Julie could see the tension creep back into Logan. “What?”

  “We can’t stay. It’s a big city, but there’s too much media presence on their way here. Come home. We have all the resources we need there, and everyone from Qulex is still in or around the city. I can have the jet ready to leave in an hour.”

  The jet? Like, private jet? Julie tried not to get her hopes up and focused on the present.

  Especially considering Logan wasn’t sold on the idea of leaving. “I can’t leave. I just got here.”

  “Willis wasn’t even living there. You were in a prison right outside of New York. If you want to figure this out, we need to go home.”

  Logan shook his head before he strode past Alex and out of the room. Alex started to follow, but Julie stopped him. “I’ll talk to him. Stay here.”

  Julie rushed out the door and looked both ways but didn’t see Logan. She’d made it out quick enough that he wouldn’t have had time to make it to the elevators. That meant he went to the stairwell. After she pushed the door open, she saw him standing on the landing right out of reach of the door. “Lucky the door didn’t hit you on the ass,” she muttered as she shut it behind her.

  The corner of his mouth hooked up but never formed into a full smile.

  “Talk to me, Farrell. What’s on your mind?”

  “You never call me that,” he said. “You always call me Logan.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “I didn’t realize—”

  “You’re distancing yourself. I don’t need to be a shrink to read between the lines there. Alex is here and you’re going to be all cool and professional now.”

  “I’m still your friend, Logan. If you have any concerns, tell me. Whatever you say will stay between the two of us.” He scoffed, but she wasn’t having any of that. “Have I ever told any of your secrets to anyone?”

  “No. You’ve been a hundred percent trustworthy,” he said sarcastically.

  “You can doubt my methods, but you know everything I did was to help you.”

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

  “You’re not going to get it. And if I ever do apologize for something I feel utterly remorseless for, that’s when you should be scared. Now are you going to tell me why you want to stay in Denver or not?”

  He clenched his jaw, and she could practically see him debating whether he should just walk down those stairs and leave her. Finally he spoke. “I haven’t been to the city since my sentencing. I was a different man back then. I don’t know who they want to come back, but I’m not their brother anymore, Julie. I can’t be.”

  Julie felt like such an idiot. She’d never even considered that Logan would be hesitant to go back home. It seemed like Prison Release 101, but he was so self-assured with everything he did. “I hate to break it to you, but ten years is a long time. Yes, you’ve changed. But your brothers aren’t the same guys they were either. And, considering none of them were stand-up guys to begin with, I don’t think anyone can take the moral high ground here. You’re different. They’re different. You’ll figure it out.”

  He let out a bitter laugh. “Figure it out? Julie, you don’t know a damn thing about me.”

  “Um...I’ve been stuck in a car with you for the past week. I think I’ve learned a few things about you since then.”

  “No. You’ve seen the nice side of me. Trust me, the surly son of a bitch you’ve been dealing with is my good side. It’s only a matter of time before the bad side comes out.”

  “Fine. I’ll deal with that asshole too.”

  “Julie, I’ll go back with him. And I’ll pretend that I’m holding it together. But I’m broken and there is no going back for me. The sooner you admit that, the better off we’ll both be.”

  Julie reached for something, anything she could say to make him feel better. This was so far beyond her. Finally she reached out for his hand and held it for a moment. “If you’re broken, that’s fine. You can come back and be broken with the rest of us. Trust me, you’ll fit right in.”

  Logan took a deep gulp of the Scotch as Alex sat across from him in the plush, cream-colored leather seats of the Farrell Enterprises jet. It was different from the plane Logan had been flown around in when he was just starting out working with Walter. Newer. More updated, with a DVD player hooked to every one of the six different seating pods. Because they weren’t simple rows of seats like a normal plane. These were groups of four seats with two on each side facing the other two. This plane was made for working and fucking.

  Even though it was a different plane, the memories of the parties Walter had had in the company jet were coming to the surface easier than Logan ever thought possible.

  “Where did Julie go?” asked Alex.

  “Bathroom,” said Logan, even though the answer was fairly obvious. Where else would she go? But he had a feeling Alex was stretching for conversation, and he didn’t want to shut him down with a smartass answer.

  Alex nodded and was silent. Logan figured he should think of something to say. Small talk. Brotherly talk. Something.

  “So... How have you been?” There. It was shitty, but better than nothing. Julie would be proud.

  “You know. Never a dull moment.”

  Well, at least he wasn’t the only one who sucked at small talk. “I hear Walter’s dead.”

  “You missed the party. Not a wet eye in the entire house.”

  Logan looked at Alex and smiled. Bonding over a common hatred. The oldest trick in the book. It was surreal to be with his brother for the first time in so long. They looked so different now. Back in school, they’d been mistaken for twins on more than one occasion. Now, with Logan’s long hair and tattoos, it was easy enough to tell which one was the bad seed. “No one was too broken down by the news, I take it?”

  “I think the most surprised of all of us was Jean. And that’s because sh
e had no idea she was even related to the bastard.”

  “Jean...” He tried to wrap his head around the idea of a sister. A sister named Jean. That name alone seemed so un-Walter-like. Maybe there was hope for her yet. “What do you think of her?”

  Alex thought about that for a moment. “She’s nice. Too nice. She is going to want to meet you. Jean’s made a point of getting everyone together every few months, which is a lot harder since Robert and Malia started dating.”

  Malia? “So is everyone paired off except me?”

  A flash of something, surprise maybe, crossed over Alex’s face but he quickly hid it. “I’m sure Nathan will always be on his own,” muttered Alex. Then he looked over Logan’s shoulder and grimaced. “Your lifeline has abandoned you.”

  Logan glanced behind him and saw Julie sitting on the other side of the plane. “She probably wants us to bond or some shit.”

  “I’m glad things are working out between the two of you.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “I didn’t get a phone call demanding she leave you alone. I took that as a good sign.”

  “Oh.” For a frantic moment, he’d thought Alex had known exactly how non-platonic the past day had been with Julie. He looked over at her again. Her headphones were in and she stared intently at that damn phone that he was more jealous of than he had any right to be. “She’s been helpful.”

  “And you agreed to the marriage thing? That seemed pretty ballsy, even for Julie. Or was it your idea? The whole thing confused me.”

  It confused him too. Not her reasoning. As much as he hated it, he agreed that for him the marriage story was much better than the scandal that would happen if the press had the details of what happened with Willis. She’d been selfish and fearless, and he was still wavering between pissed off and respect for the ballsy move. But for the sake of her job, he was willing to let his brothers think he’d gone along with it. Otherwise, they’d think the kiss that was now all over the Internet had been real.

  And that was the one thing Julie didn’t want to get out.

  Logan took another drink of his Scotch, but there was only a few drops left in the glass. Damn. It was his second one and it wasn’t smart to start on a third. His tolerance for alcohol wasn’t what it used to be, and he was going to need to keep his wits about him once they landed.

  “You mentioned that you had an apartment ready for me?”

  “Yep. I called and they’re expecting you. They’ll have your key ready at the front desk. It’s one of our luxury apartment towers. The unit isn’t the best in the building, but it’s one of the upgraded units. The shower, counters, and floors are all higher end. The main trade-off is space. This is a four-bedroom and two common area layout. I’ll work on getting you something bigger soon, but this will do temporarily, I hope.”

  “A lot bigger than what I’m used to,” he deadpanned. He looked back at Julie once more before he leaned forward. “Can I ask you something?”

  “I can’t promise I’ll answer.”

  Fine by him. “If I asked Julie out, would that bother you?”

  Alex sat back in surprise and his glance switched between Logan and Julie. “You want to ask the PR consultant out?”

  “She’s attractive and not married. Why is that so hard to believe?”

  Alex shrugged. “It’s not that. It’s more that... Nathan has already been there.”

  “What?” Son of a bitch. She’d told him that nothing had ever—

  “He asked her out immediately after she was hired. His payback at us for trying to corral him was to sleep with or corrupt all of the PR people. Julie was the first one who said no. So you can ask her, but I don’t think it’s going to end well for you.”

  “So she and Nathan never were together.”

  “God no. We probably would’ve fired her if she had.”

  “Because she slept with him?”

  “Because the problem was that he was screwing anything he could.”

  “So if I started something with her, she wouldn’t lose her job?”

  “If you were happy with her and got along better with the family, I’d probably give her a raise.” Alex frowned. “Not paying her for sleeping with you. Paying her for—fuck. You know what I mean.”

  “I got it.” Logan leaned back in his seat. This was progress. One thing she was worried about that wouldn’t be an obstacle. He started to get up and Alex held out a hand.

  “You’re not doing it now, are you?”

  No, because Alex didn’t know that he’d already asked Julie out and been shot down. But because he brought it up, he asked, “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Because we’re going to be stuck in the air together for another hour and a half. Try not to piss her off until we’re on the ground, okay, brother?”

  “Gotcha. I’ll play nice. Promise.”

  He made his way to the back side of the plane and sat next to Julie. He could’ve taken the more conservative choice to sit across from her, but he figured to hell with it and went for proximity. “I see you ran away from me,” he said as she took her headphones out.

  “I was giving you and Alex some time to talk. I can’t help but feel like a human shield you’re throwing between the two of you.”

  He smirked at the comparison he couldn’t really deny. “What can I say? I like spending time with you more.”

  She rolled her eyes as she set her phone away, which he considered a moderate victory right there. “Did you want to try to find a movie to watch? We might have just enough time to finish a comedy before landing.”

  “Or we could, you know, talk.”

  She raised a brow in surprise. “A man who actually wants to talk? Call me cynical, but I’m guessing this has more to do with sex.”

  She’d said it in a low enough voice that he knew Alex hadn’t heard, but he still looked over his shoulder to make sure his brother was out of earshot. “How does Alex seem to you?” he asked.

  “Uhh...” Julie bent forward to glance over at Alex and then back to Logan. “He looks like a stressed-out guy who jumped on a plane to go see the brother he hasn’t seen in years and now is on a plane going back home. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I feel like he was trying to say something back there but he didn’t.”

  “Did you ask him about it?”

  “Of course not. That would be too normal.”

  She gave him an incredulous look and swatted his shoulder. “Sorry for thinking logically.”

  “If he has something he wants to tell me, he’ll tell me in his own time. I’m the last person to be pressuring anyone.”

  “That’s the truth,” said Julie.

  “Alex was telling me about my new place. It’s supposed to be pretty fancy.”

  “Are you excited?”

  Excited? Not exactly the word he’d use. “It’s a place to sleep.”

  “A big place to sleep. You can pick when you wake up, when you go to bed, what you eat. And it will be nicer than any of the hotels or motels we stayed at. Doesn’t that elicit some form of excitement?”

  “I can choose who sleeps in the room with me. I’m pretty excited about that.”

  “I knew you were going back to the sex thing.”

  He wanted to bring up that Alex had given their relationship an all-clear, but he stopped himself. Alex was right. Now wasn’t the time. “Once we land, what will you be doing?”

  “I’ll probably go home. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed.”

  “So we’re done.”

  “No. I’m still going to be around. I told you I’d help and I was serious. Besides, the press will still be keeping an eye out for you. If you get cornered anywhere, I know the best ways to get out of every corner of the city. This is my home turf. You’re in better hands now than ever.”

  Logan tried to contain the victorious smile. She wasn’t leaving him just yet. He’d have time to convince her to hang around even after the job was done. “We’re not parading
around as a married couple?”

  “A rich guy marries a woman in a fit of passion and it turns out to be a mistake? Shocking. Besides, it looks like we might have a lead on your guy. The firm Alex hired to look into it has identified some suspicious deposits into Willis’s account. They’re going to look into them and might have a name for us by tomorrow.”

  Logan frowned. “They found something before we even got on the plane?”

  “No. I got an email from them about fifteen minutes ago. Just saw it now.”

  “What happened to phones not being allowed on planes?”

  “The plane has Wi-Fi.” He frowned again, and Julie just laughed as she patted his knee. “It’s a whole new world, Logan.”

  Before she could move her hand, he caught it and pushed his fingers between hers. She started to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “Can’t I have this?” he whispered.

  “You know it’s not a good idea,” she said softly.

  “Have I ever once seemed like I cared if something was a good idea?”

  She let her head fall back against the seat before she rolled her neck to look at him. “You’re going to drive me insane, Logan.”

  “Maybe then we’ll be on equal ground.”

  He could see her struggle to keep a straight face, but soon enough a smile curved her lips. “I’m starting to think that we’re already on equal ground.”

  Good. Because if she was crazy as he was, that would mean he could actually stand a chance with her.

  Julie was more refreshed than she had been in a week, but the idea of going into that elevator still filled her with a totally unexpected sense of dread. She’d had a pretty comfortable childhood in the suburbs of Connecticut, but it had been easy to differentiate herself from the Farrells. But her time on the road with Logan had been different. It wasn’t a her-and-them mentality. It was the two of them together.

  Now that was going to change. She was going to walk up into his impeccably furnished apartment that he didn’t have to pay a dime for. This was what she had been working for since she had first met Logan outside the prison. He was back home and reunited with at least one member of his family. This was her job, and she was getting it done.