Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4

by Mallory Crowe

  “Oh, I’m up for it. But I have a request for next time.”

  “Anything.” At this point, she could’ve asked for his share in DevX and he probably would’ve said yes.

  She tugged at his shirt. “Next time, can you get at least partially naked?”

  Lori’s phone rang and she had to do a double take at the caller ID. Michael never called her. The few times they actually interacted in the office was through the work chat or their cell phones.

  She hesitantly picked up the phone and held it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “I need you to come upstairs, Lori.”

  She glanced around her, half convinced she was in trouble. “This really isn’t a good time.” As much fun as a quickie in the office sounded, she had a pile of updates that needed to be done by the end of the day.

  “You need to come up here right now.” There wasn’t any hint of flirtation or teasing in his voice.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right up.” She didn’t remember the last time he’d been that serious around her. They’d spent all Sunday together watching movies, talking, and, most memorably, making love all over his apartment.

  Making love? Well, whatever they were doing, it felt like more than just sex. It was still strange enough to think of him as her boyfriend. When they were together, it made perfect sense. They just fit. But once she was back in her apartment or at her desk, she would remember that her boyfriend wasn’t just Michael. He was Michael Devereaux.

  But she wasn’t going to let herself get scared away from this. If he was crazy enough to want her, she wasn’t going to let her fear get in the way and ruin it. She forced herself to remain optimistic the entire elevator ride and on the walk to Michael’s office, but all her optimism flew away as she opened his office door to see him sitting somberly behind his desk and a striking woman standing in the middle of the office.

  The woman had dark, curly hair that fell just past her shoulders. She wore slacks and a blazer, but she didn’t scream investor or anything to Lori. She looked more like a cop... “Evelyn, I’m guessing,” said Lori.

  “Why don’t you have a seat?” said Evelyn.

  Lori glanced over to Michael, and he still wore the same somber expression. Okay... She took a seat and looked between the two of them. “Am I in trouble or something?”

  “Have you talked to Grayson since Saturday?” asked Michael.

  “Umm... Considering he told me to stay away from you and all your friends, and I was with you until ten last night, no. I haven’t talked to him.” Michael and she had been together until it was absolutely necessary she got back to her apartment to actually get some sleep and to where she kept her work clothes and badge. Judging from the grave mood in the room, something bad went down with Grayson sometime between Saturday night and now. “What happened?”

  Evelyn looked as though she was about to speak, but Michael shook his head and leaned forward. “Grayson jumped off the roof of his apartment building at three o’clock this morning.”

  The blood drained from Lori’s face. “What?” she asked weakly, even though she heard them perfectly fine.

  Evelyn crossed the office and leaned her hip on the desk. “The police were called at three ten this morning to the scene of an apparent suicide. There were no signs of struggle and a note was found.”

  “Apparent? Does that mean you think it might’ve been murder? Was this before or after you asked him to turn on his bosses?”

  Evelyn tightened her lips. “We approached him yesterday afternoon. He was taking a day to think over our offer.”

  Lori ran a hand through her hair and thought back to the lively, albeit angry, man she’d met. “Apparently he didn’t need a day.” What had happened? Had he been too overwhelmed by the very idea of turning on the men who had probably made him rich and hate himself at the same time? Or had they somehow found out about his plans to turn on them so soon... “Is there going to be an investigation?”

  “I can’t authorize that. If the FBI is crawling all over a clear-cut suicide, it will make them suspicious, and that’s the last thing we need.”

  “It’s only clear-cut because that’s what they want you to think! Doesn’t he at least deserve someone to try to find out what happened?”

  Evelyn moved in a bit closer, almost blocking her view of Michael. “We can’t get close without causing trouble. But you can.”

  Michael stood and slammed his palms on the desk. “Hey,” he warned.

  Evelyn kept her gaze firmly on Lori. “If you start asking around, hanging around, it won’t raise eyebrows. Everyone knows you were his niece after you went to the party on Saturday. It would only be natural that you would want to learn more about your uncle.”

  “Learn more about her uncle from the people who may have killed him, you mean,” added Michael. “She’s not a fucking cop, Evelyn. She’s not going undercover for you to interrogate people.”

  “You’re not a cop either,” said Evelyn. “That didn’t stop you from going into the danger zone when your family was in trouble. What makes her different?”

  “My cousin is still alive. There is no saving Grayson. In fact, he’d probably still be alive if it weren’t for you people.”

  “I’m trying to help you,” snapped Evelyn. “Every moment that you’re dealing with them, talking with them, laughing with them, you’re in danger. Every moment they walk free, innocent people are losing their life savings while these entitled assholes think that they run this city and that they don’t have to face the consequences that us normal people do. Now, you might not understand that, Mr. Devereaux, but I’m guessing Lori does.”

  “Excuse me.” Lori pushed herself out of the chair and staggered to the door. She couldn’t sit around for one more second and watch Evelyn and Michael argue over what she was supposed to do. She didn’t even know the answer. Hell, she wasn’t even sure whether she should be “going steady” with Michael, let alone whether she should work with the FBI to take down a shady investment ring.

  “Lori,” called Michael.

  She heard his footsteps come closer and she held out a shaky hand. “No. I need to take a walk. Or go back to work. I need to not be here.”

  “Will you think over my offer?” Evelyn still leaned against the desk.

  Lori nodded weakly. “How can I get a hold of you?”

  “I sent my number to your phone already.”

  Lori nodded again and realized she probably looked like a bobblehead. Damn. She walked out of the office and headed toward the elevator, but she didn’t make it. Her breaths came harder and faster as her feet moved until the all-encompassing need to breathe took over. She ducked into the executive bathroom and fell against the door as she closed it, sliding down until the floor caught her.

  When was the last time she’d had a panic attack? Oh yeah... clubbing with Quinn. She remembered the embarrassing incident all too well. The swirling in her head. The knowledge that nothing was impairing her breathing, but still not being able to take in air.

  How could Grayson be dead? She’d just seen him. Just talked to him. He’d been lively and angry and had seemed to genuinely care for her well-being. Now he was gone. She should’ve spent more time with him. Maybe if they’d gone to lunch or had coffee, things would’ve been different. It was much harder to force a suicide on someone who had loving family.

  And if it wasn’t murder? If he actually killed himself? What if her brush-off had pushed him over the edge?

  She squeezed her eyes shut. No. She couldn’t have done anything differently. She hadn’t known him well enough to tell him that she already knew why that crowd had been so dangerous. Hadn’t been able to tell him that Michael was safe because he was working with the FBI.

  But there was something she could do now. She was his closest living family and lived in the city. No one would probably even want to come to the funeral from home. She’d need to organize things and sell his apartment and clean out his office. Did he even have an office or did he work from home
?

  No matter what she decided, she’d still probably find herself around Grayson’s shady clients and, if he was murdered, his murderer. She was the only family around to arrange things. So if she happened to keep her nose and ears to the ground and report back to Evelyn, what difference would it make?

  And Michael had no right to be upset with her. He was doing the exact same thing. Actually, what he was doing was even worse because he sought the Thirteen Stars out. Lori just fell into this, and she’d have to deal with them no matter what. And suicide or not, these people killed Grayson. He’d been completely isolated from his family for years, and it made total sense now that she knew what he did for a living. Who would want to come home for Christmas when every other answer you gave would be a lie? When everything you wanted to brag about was earned through means that would make your sisters drop their heads in shame?

  Even if Grayson jumped off that building himself, he might as well have been pushed.

  As clarity settled in Lori’s mind, her breaths came easier. She didn’t feel as lost and confused anymore.

  She finally lifted her head to look at the fancy, cold tile beneath her and the stainless steel fixtures. Hopefully the bathroom was as clean as it looked. She pushed herself up, trying not to think about all the germs.

  The panic attack had her so overwhelmed that she hadn’t been able to think straight. Rationally. If she was going to work with Evelyn, she’d have to keep control of herself. To separate herself from the anger, rage, and despair of what had been taken from her.

  She opened the door to the bathroom and made her way to the elevator bay and then back to her cubicle. They had made things personal, and she wasn’t about to let them push her around. Michael was fighting to protect his family, and she was going to protect hers.

  She picked up her cell phone from the charger and saw Evelyn’s text message waiting, just as she’d promised. Lori typed in two simple words: I’m in.

  “This place is...”

  “Nice,” finished Lori as she looked around her uncle’s apartment.

  Michael’s high-end penthouse was modern and sleek, but Grayson’s was much more old-fashioned. Every piece of furniture seemed antique and as if it had decades’ worth of stories to tell.

  The floorplan was open and spacious. Whereas Michael’s apartment was modern and seemed as if someone had come in and decorated, Grayson’s place appeared lived in. As though he’d collected each piece of furniture over years of travels and experiences.

  It was a shame she didn’t get to keep anything. He’d named a handful of charities as the beneficiaries of his will, so all she was allowed to do was organize. Normally she wouldn’t be asked to do it at all. It would be the trustee of his estate. But Evelyn had coached her on exactly what to say to the lawyers involved to get her access to Grayson’s apartment.

  What was his time like here? Did he pass the time reading? Watching TV? Or maybe he was the type of person who spent all his time working. Maybe if she spent enough time sorting through everything, she would have a better idea.

  Except the idea of digging through a dead man’s things sent chills up her spine. No, not a dead man, she reminded herself. A dead family member.

  “I don’t even know where to start,” she murmured as she stared around her at the large living room. She was getting rather tired of being in rooms bigger than her apartment.

  “Just start with small stuff. Remember to separate the documents and work-related items, since we’ll have to send those off to whoever his clients hire to take over their finances.”

  Michael gave her a look that implied that he really meant to put anything she found aside for Evelyn to go through. The tragedy happened so quickly after Evelyn approached him, so they had to assume that there could be a listening device in the apartment somewhere.

  And Lori tried her best to not let that thought freak her out. So someone might be listening to or watching their every move. Perfectly normal and non-creepy thing...

  “I’ll make sure that his clients have everything they need as quickly as possible.” She sat at his desk.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here?” Michael took another turn around the room. He was on edge, and she could hardly blame him. She wasn’t completely comfortable either.

  “Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I’ll be fine here for a few hours. This will take a while.”

  He checked his watch. “I can have Luke here in an hour.”

  “Just go to your meeting, Michael. I’ll be fine here.” He had a meeting with the international sales team in an hour and had been trying to cancel it ever since she had agreed to clean out her uncle’s place and feed Evelyn information.

  In fact, he’d been downright surly ever since she’d made her deal. It might be nice to get a few minutes alone to think, since the second she’d told him her plans, he hadn’t given her a moment of peace.

  She took a seat on Grayson’s plush sofa, as if to prove how fine she was. “Go, Michael. I promise I’m not afraid to be alone in a dead man’s apartment.” Or one where he might’ve just been murdered and the killers could be listening to her every move.

  He checked his watch again. “Fine. But you call me if you hear anything that spooks you. Or see anything that spooks you. Or if you just want to talk.”

  “Your number is the first one on my speed dial,” she promised. “Now go. I can’t focus with you hovering over me.”

  He still didn’t look pleased about it, but he nodded. “I’ll be back in three hours.” He leaned in for a kiss.

  She kissed him back, but ended it quickly, unsure whether anyone was watching. As he pulled back, she handed him her other key to Grayson’s apartment. “Here you go.”

  “What is this for?” he asked.

  “I can’t keep both. Knowing me, I’ll lose it.”

  He shot her a questioning look, but Lori knew herself too well. She and keys did not mix. She’d already had to call Quinn twice in the few months she’d been in the city to let her into the apartment.

  “And here I thought it was just because you wanted me to have a key to your place.” He said it in a joking tone, but she could sense a more serious undercurrent to his words. Did he really want a key to her place already? On one hand, it seemed way too fast to be giving out keys, but she wouldn’t mind coming home to Michael after a long day at work.

  Though, considering the difference in their apartments, if anyone should be getting a key, it was her.

  But before she could overthink it, Michael turned away. She watched him cross to the door and admired the play of his muscles from beneath his suit jacket. “Good luck at the meeting.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her before he opened the door. “Remember, if anything at all possibly concerns you....”

  “Call you. Got it.”

  He gave one last concerned look before he finally left.

  Lori let out a nervous breath when she was alone in Grayson’s apartment. Time to get down to business. She stood from the couch and made her way down the hallway. There was the master suite, a spare bathroom, another bedroom, and...bingo. The office.

  She slid into the chair and powered up the laptop on the desk. As it started, she turned on the Wi-Fi card that Evelyn had given her. She didn’t want to use strange Internet for the digging she was about to do.

  Once the laptop was on, she used the same password cracking software she’d used during that first meeting with Michael and the Thirteen Stars. Grayson’s password must’ve been extremely basic, as it was cracked in only half an hour.

  Now that she had full access, she was able to dig around in all his files. But after she opened a few random spreadsheets, she was convinced that even if she found something important, she wouldn’t know.

  She pulled the USB drive out of her bag and started the process to transfer all the files over. While that ran in the background, she scrolled through his Internet history one by one, documenting the names of the websites for Eve
lyn and digging around anything with a saved password.

  There were a lot of banking sites, but the passwords weren’t saved on any of them. She could hack them if she wanted to, but Evelyn had warned her against being too blatant with her skills. It was easy enough to believe that she had found his laptop password, but defense attorneys, especially the good, expensive ones these guys would be able to afford, would look for any reason to throw out evidence.

  Evelyn and her people would have to go the legal route to get the banking information online.

  But if she happened to find some papers lying around, that was fair game. She dug through the files in the office and made piles: one for bills, one for financial-looking statements and one for other miscellaneous. After an hour, she was surrounded by paperwork. She had no idea whether any of it would help with anything, but there was nothing else she could think to do.

  Lori checked the computer and verified that the files finished transferring. She’d need to come back with some boxes to organize the documents, but that would have to wait for another day. She was already using one vacation day to sort through his things and would need another one for the funeral.

  Grayson had made most of the arrangements for himself, or so his lawyer had told her. All she had to do was clear out the apartment and make an appearance at the funeral. Evelyn wanted Lori to go and shake everyone’s hand and then report back to her everyone who attended.

  It all seemed so simple and so overwhelming at the same time. Instead of having a chance to grieve, she was on a mission.

  But that seemed selfish. Who was she to grieve him? She should be grieving the wasted opportunity. This was the one family member she might be able to relate to. Struck out on his own to the city to make his living. Made a success of himself, even if it was by ill-gotten means.

  Though judging from their one brief interaction, they weren’t going to be best friends or anything. But it would’ve been nice to have the opportunity.

  Her phone buzzed and she saw the text from Michael. He was on his way to pick her up. Good. She needed to get out of here.