Derek cast George a puzzled look. It wasn’t the way he would have described Father, but then George had likely spent more time with his old man than he had. “Thank you for welcoming me on such short notice, George. I apologize if I pulled you away from anything important. I’m sure you must be a busy man with a lot of responsibilities.”
“Nothing is as important as you and your brothers, Mr. Devereux. You are the owners.”
As hard as he tried, Derek couldn’t detect anything in the way of sarcasm. He wouldn’t have blamed the man for a lack of respect. His father was the founder of the company—Derek had merely inherited it and used it to fund a playboy lifestyle.
“Tell me, what exactly happens at this office, George? I know the company has a lot of military contracts, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge of the operations. Why do we need a penthouse suite in the tallest building in the city?”
As he asked, Derek studied the rest of the people in the room. Several looked to be executive types like George, with soft hands and graying hair. Each of those people had the same attentive look on their faces as though they were waiters at a fancy restaurant. He didn’t like it at all.
Two of the others looked interchangeable with Cindy. They might be secretaries or administrative assistants for others in the room. Their skirts were just a little tighter than he would have expected, the blouses cut a little lower.
The last remaining man was curious, not because there was anything particularly strange about him at first glance, but because he didn’t match either of the previous two types. He was much younger, likely in his mid-thirties, and in very fit condition. One of his hands was easy at his side while he held the other behind him oddly. Derek met his strangely intense eyes.
“There are several very large, very lucrative clients here in Los Angeles,” George replied. “We find it suits our business interests the best if we can dazzle and treat them in a way our competitors cannot. We do that with more than just the location, but we find it helps open their minds to fresh new ideas. The numbers have been run, Mr. Devereux, and I believe the cost is justified.”
“Are these clients in the military?” Derek asked. He wanted to steer the conversation in a direction that would be more useful to him and the reason he came. “How many of them are there?”
George hesitated. “I’m not sure it would be best if I disclosed that information, Mr. Devereux. It’s confidential, and while you deserve to know what’s going on, we would need to get you clearances, both internally and with the government. Sometimes, I assure you, it’s better if you let us handle what needs to be done in the business and you focus on enjoying yourself like you’ve been doing.”
It was the biggest non-answer Derek had ever been given.
“Tell me, George, if you can—who do we have by way of competitors? Are we doing anything in particular to them they wouldn’t like? Would they try to strike back at us in any way?”
“Oh, no,” George replied. “That’s not how we run our business. In fact, we ensure we are the sole supplier of much of what we do. The majority of our business is so secretive that no one outside the company even knows of the market for half of it. The company is very much safe from outside threats, I assure you.”
Derek was frustrated. George wasn’t telling him anything useful, and his “answers” raised more questions than they answered. If there weren’t any competitors that might want to cripple them, then why was he attacked? He was wary of bringing up the attacks directly—a part of him was convinced the less people who knew the better.
“What about foreign countries or firms, then? If we do military contracts, then there must be people who end up on the other side of whatever we do. If that’s the case, they wouldn’t be very happy with the Onyx Company, would they?”
Again, George shook his head. “No, no. We take complete and utter care that no one even knows we exist. There are a select few people outside of the company who know of it, and they are all American government officials.”
“Tell me, George, how is this even possible? What do we do or make that is worth so much money and yet no one knows about it?” Derek could see why Evan wanted to dip into the company’s affairs. What had Father been up to?
George answered with a pained look on his face. “Mr. Devereux, your father established the Onyx Company with all the care he possessed. We provide a valuable service to the American public, and indeed the world. It must remain secretive to be effective. Please ask no further details I cannot divulge to you. As I mentioned, if you applied for the proper security clearances as your brother Evan has done, then eventually you could access such information. Until then, I’m afraid I can’t say.”
“Very well,” Derek replied. What else could he say? He wanted to get out of there. “I suppose I came for nothing then. Keep me updated on any further developments I should know about.”
He retreated. It didn’t feel like anything less. The meeting hadn’t given him the answers he desired, only filling him with a faint unease.
It had given him a lot to think about.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Sara said. “Why the hell did I agree to this?”
Becky drove—Sara didn’t trust herself not to turn right around when they got too close.
“Because you like the guy, you need to get closer to him for your story, and you have to confront your fears over planes,” Becky said. “Simple. Good reasons.”
“Beck, could you just… Okay?”
The redhead’s mood had been unquenchable ever since the club. The level of interest she’d seen over her dress was the boost she’d needed, but with all the things Sara had to worry about since then it had been impossible to deal with in good spirits. Still, she hadn’t wanted to dampen her friend’s mood, so she suffered in silence as best as she could.
“Sorry roomie, but you aren’t getting off the hook that easily. I want you to feel as good as I do, and the only way that’ll happen is if you finally get some strange, girl!” Becky slapped her thigh, and Sara jumped.
“God, Beck! I’m not a lonely spinster desperate for attention, you know.”
“Could have fooled me, the way you stare at your phone when you’re waiting for a message from Derek.”
Sara blushed. She may have got a little too hooked on the short texts they exchanged. But that was because she had to plan the rest of her day around when she could get close to her primary source of information. At least, that was her excuse, which she didn’t bother wasting on her roommate.
“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”
The rumble of an engine roared by overhead, and Sara felt her gag reflex hit her hard, enough that she almost couldn’t choke it back.
Becky threw on her turn signal to get into the airport’s parking lot. It was sparsely populated—Derek had said the place only filled up on race days, although there were almost always a few spectators out to watch the pilots go through their paces, even if it was only coaches or family and friends.
Several bleachers were positioned by the parking lot, rough facilities for practices and for those who couldn’t afford to buy a ticket into the air-conditioned lounges used during races by the well-to-do patrons of the sport. A handful of people sat there, watching as the planes looped through the gates and pulled daring maneuvers. Sara kept her eyes on those people, careful not to look over to where she might see a plane cartwheeling through the air, crashing to its doom.
This is awful. Her phobia had grown to ridiculous proportions. All because Michael…
“Let’s go, Sara. I want to see if we can spot Derek’s plane. Do you remember what he said his colors are?” Becky skipped across the grass, nonchalant and not a care in the world. Sara wished that she could share the same enthusiasm.
Derek had extended the invitation, framed as a way to help her get over her fear of heights without having to face any herself. It was a valiant goal, but she couldn’t see it working. If anything, it would give her a heart at
tack. Aerobatic flying was a whole different breed, and she had trouble even thinking about a passenger plane doing a standard takeoff or landing.
“He said his brother would be here, right?” Becky asked. “I need to get me a Devereux man of my very own. We could be sisters-in-law! How amazing would that be?”
Sara choked back laughter. “Us? Sisters-in-law? Can you imagine?” It was funny to think about. Family gatherings would be an insane affair if they were together. It was a good thing the Devereux brothers had no parents who could disapprove. “Anyway, I’m only seeing Derek to gather research for the story, and you are way too old for Gary. Unless you’ve taken up cradle-robbing.”
“For him? I would rob the shit out of that cradle. Besides, he’s twenty-three, that’s plenty old enough.”
Sara treated her roommate to a long, disapproving stare as though she were Becky’s great aunt Meryl. “Hollywood’s changed you. You’re a hit at one party, and suddenly I don’t know you anymore.”
“Oh, shut up,” Becky laughed. “Oh, look! There he is!”
With her heart pounding in her chest, Sara turned. Despite the subject of their conversation, she expected to see Derek’s statuesque face, immaculately put together as usual. Instead she saw a younger, scruffy version wearing faded jeans and a band t-shirt. It was surreal, like she glimpsed what Derek might have looked like as a youth. She’d never seen him in anything other than buttoned up shirts and slacks, usually with a jacket. He would look amazing in the morning with nothing but sweat pants and a t-shirt.
Gary Devereux turned in their direction and caught them staring. He gave a wave. “Ladies. I presume you are the much talked about Sara and her friend, Becky?”
“That’s us, hot stuff,” Becky said. “Your brother told you about us?”
He flashed a brilliant smile. The good looks ran in the family. It wasn’t fair.
“Of course. How else was I supposed to recognize who I should sit with?”
“Well, we’d recognize you.” Becky sat down on the bench to his side. “Although I have to say you look even better in person than you do in your pictures, and that’s saying a lot.”
Oh, dear. She really is trying to rob that cradle. Can’t say I blame her too much. He’s very attractive and as wealthy as his brother. If I hadn’t already seen Derek and kissed him, I might have been tempted to make a fool of myself.
Instead of taking a jab at her friend, Sara sat down beside her and let the redhead embarrass herself, if that was what she wanted to do.
“You didn’t have a problem finding the place, I take it?” Gary asked. “It’s not too bad to get to, although Derek loves to race down the back roads on the way here from his place. I swear I’ve almost worn through the handles in his car from trying to keep myself in the seat.”
“No, not that bad. Except for Sara trying to convince me to turn around.”
“Beck!” Sara exclaimed. “I didn’t do that!”
“No, but I could tell you wanted to. Don’t even pretend like you didn’t.”
She stared at her friend. There wasn’t anything she could say to that.
“Derek told me a little about your problem,” Gary said. “I can’t even imagine what you are going through, I want you to know you are brave coming out here like you are. I know it looks like these guys are inches from disaster, but they are the best in the world at what they do. Derek likes to push himself, but you’ve met him. I know no one who has greater control and mastery over himself and what he’s doing than my brother.”
Now on the bleachers, it was more difficult for Sara to ignore the planes taking turns dipping and swirling through the course laid out in front of them. She kept her eyes on Gary and Becky, but let her focus drift more and more to her peripheral and the gracefully rising and falling shapes that hovered at the edges of her vision.
“Thank you, Gary. I’m not sure how much Derek told you, but it’s not something I’m proud of. I want to get over it, but…” She held out her arms to the side, feeling helpless. “It’s just so overwhelming.”
He nodded, eyes gentle. “I get it. I do. Derek and I have always been close, more so than with either of our other brothers. I don’t know why, but he’s always had a death wish. Ever since we were young, he would seek the hardest, most difficult things he could, just to prove he could do it. Back then it was rock climbing and cliff jumping, but as he got older, the stunts got more sophisticated. He’s just hardwired to seek that thrill, the adrenaline. I don’t think it’ll ever go away.”
Sara nodded. She’d already gotten a sense of that from him. He was so precise and controlled, and it extended to everything he did. It made sense the precision was born out of necessity. He couldn’t do the things he did without being spot on in the execution. She liked hearing more about him and how he grew up—it would be a lot more difficult getting him to talk with the same openness and honesty about his past and upbringing.
“I’m afraid Derek hasn’t told me much about when he was younger. He’d mentioned your mother dying when you were all young, and how your father became enveloped in his work after that, but he didn’t go into details.”
Gary’s face grew whiter. “Ah, yes. Well, none of us like talking about that, to be honest. I don’t know if you still have both your parents, but it’s not the most comfortable subject in the world.”
Sara felt like an ass. How could she be so insensitive? They were Gary’s parents as well. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have brought it up. Please forgive me.”
“No, I understand the desire to learn more about Derek. He doesn’t make it easy on people,” Gary said. “The truth is our mother died… well, she died giving birth to me.”
She hadn’t thought she could have her foot more thoroughly inserted in her mouth, but she’d been wrong. “Oh, Gary! I’m so sorry. That must be a tremendous burden to bear!”
Becky mumbled her own sentiments and dropped a hand to pat his knee.
“I’ve gotten used to it,” he said wryly. “And I’m the only one of us who didn’t know her, although Stephen was only four when she passed away. Father never forgave me for taking Mother away from him. I didn’t have the best relationship with him growing up. Not that any of us did, but it was like a business transaction every time we spoke. I proved I did well in my studies, and he passed judgment on whether it was good enough.”
“That sounds horrible,” Becky said. “I don’t mean to criticize your dad, but what a terrible way to treat his own son! It’s not like you can be blamed for it!”
He shrugged. “It’s in the past. It’s all I knew growing up, and while we had each other, we didn’t have the chance to make many other friends, so I didn’t know any better.” Gary shook his head. “I’m sorry, I was supposed to tell you about Derek when he was little, and I only talked about myself. That was selfish of me.”
He is way too polite for his own good. Sara couldn’t imagine Derek apologizing for talking about himself. He wouldn’t talk about himself in the first place.
“No, Gary, it was good to hear. Please, talk about whatever you want.”
He leaned forward in his seat then, gaze on the air strip. “Oh, it looks like Derek’s about to take off!”
“You mean he wasn’t in the air this whole time?” Despite herself, Sara turned to look out over the runway.
A blue and black plane had lined up and accelerated down the tarmac.
I’ll only watch until it lifts off the ground, and then I’ll look away before it gets too much.
It rolled faster and faster, the plane roaring as the capable engines pushed it along the length of the paved runway. Sooner than she expected, the wheels lifted off the tarmac and the plane took a sharp bend upwards.
“Oh!” She was caught by surprise and watched as the plane’s upward progress continued.
The plane rolled a few times almost immediately, the wings seemingly almost brushing the ground although it was already at least fifty feet in the air.
“Wow!” B
ecky said. “That is crazy!”
The plane finished its roll upside-down and rushed back toward the ground. Sara’s heart jumped into her throat but she couldn’t turn away, drawn with one of the most human of reactions: morbid curiosity.
Derek, no!
Just as the plane was about to crash into the ground, it leveled out in a turn maneuver, buzzing the grass before it climbed again. The precision and confidence it took to pull off such a move was mind-boggling, and Sara couldn’t help but be so impressed that she almost forgot to be terrified. It was like she wasn’t watching a normal plane, but rather an insane special effect stunt reel that couldn’t be real.
Gary whistled. “He’s gotten better since the last time I watched him. More daring, at least. I wonder if that’s because he knows that he has a special audience.”
A spot of warmth grew in Sara’s chest at being called a special audience by Derek’s little brother. She liked Gary—he was similar to his brother, but a little more accessible, less likely to play games and much less intimidating.
Sara’s hand found Becky’s, and she squeezed it every time Derek’s plane pulled a sharp turn or twist. When he started his run through the tall gates set up along the ground, she was fascinated.
“How can they even do things like that?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem like it should be possible to fly like he does.”
“Practice,” Gary replied. “And specific planes designed to make those kinds of moves. You wouldn’t be able to pull that off in an old bushwhacker Cessna, I’ll tell you that much.”
All too soon, Derek’s blue and black plane landed back on the tarmac, and Sara realized that she hadn’t looked away once. She had forgotten to feel sick, despite watching the plane soar through the air the entire time. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
Gary took the girls down to Derek’s hangar and let them run ahead to meet his brother as he hopped out of his plane. It had been a good run, very impressive. He took so many chances when there was such danger hanging around him.
Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) Page 9