Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4

by Mallory Crowe

  “Because I have a hunch and she can help me. You’re welcome to come with us if you want,” said Carter, as though daring the old man to take him up on the offer.

  Rourke studied Walter Farrell’s face, looking for some sort of reaction. The tone from Carter was challenging. Not what he expected to hear from a subordinate, but Farrell didn’t seem to mind. It made him wonder what exactly their relationship was. Obviously they were more than employer and employee, and there was a lot of communication going on between the words they spoke.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” Farrell backed down. “I trust that you know what you’re doing. You know how important this is to me.”

  “I’m aware,” Carter said simply before Farrell smiled slightly.

  “Thank you for your help, Ms. Carson.” He turned away to leave without saying good-bye to Rourke, and he had the idea that Farrell didn’t know who he was. It would make sense considering they’d never been formally introduced.

  The joy of flying under the radar. “So are we going to do this or not?” asked Rourke, ready to be done with the whole mess.

  Cali inched closer to Rourke in the back of the limo. Of course they wouldn’t be in anything as normal as a cab. Especially not when they were on some sort of important mission for Walter Farrell. One of the few people more powerful than Luke and Michael, she’d never spent much time around the man. He’d met with Luke a few times for informal lunches, but the real estate business didn’t intersect with software all that often. The only reason she’d been at the Farrell party that week was because Easson had invited her.

  And she had the unrelenting feeling this entire trip would be a huge waste of time, but if it would get whoever this Colin Carter guy was out of her hair, she’d do it.

  She studied him as the car stopped at a light. He had more in common with Rourke than any of the other people in the city probably. A hint of wild that was covered with the pretense of fitting in.

  He didn’t say anything on the drive across Manhattan to Easson’s apartment, and Cali didn’t bother trying to spark conversation. Judging by the way Rourke had been eyeing Colin before, all it would take was the tiniest spark to ignite an explosion.

  The heat of Rourke’s body gave her comfort through the awkward situation, and she reached over to hold his hand. Soon enough, they pulled in front of the elegant apartment complex Easson had lived in.

  She remembered when he’d first taken her here. She’d been so impressed at the place he’d been able to afford. Sure, it might make her shallow, but she’d appreciated that he was a self-sufficient man. She just never thought he was self-sufficient through dirty means.

  And now that she’d never need a man to support her ever again, she was in love with Rourke Devereaux.

  Her eyes widened as the stray thought popped into her head. In love? Where the hell had that come from? Almost subconsciously, her hand tugged free from his. She knew she felt...something for him. Something stronger than she’d ever felt for anyone before.

  Thinking back over their time together, there had always been some strange pull between them. Even that first night when she’d kissed him for everything she was worth. She’d never met a man like Rourke Devereaux before and probably never would again. Even though he drove her crazy and half the time she was fairly certain they would strangle each other, she couldn’t imagine them going their separate ways and never seeing each other again.

  She never felt that way about Easson. Even when he was perfect and saying all the right things, there’d always been some level of detachment between the two. And now that she’d been with Rourke, even the sex with Easson paled in comparison. Even before she knew what a disgusting slime ball he was and realized exactly how much he’d been deceiving her, there hadn’t really been a spark.

  She just hadn’t realized it until Rourke had set her on fire.

  Carter opened the door to the limo and Cali pulled herself out of her thoughts. In love or not, this was no time to have her head in the clouds. Rourke, closest to the door, pushed it open before the driver could hop around. He held a hand out to her and she took it, not sure whether he was being more chivalrous or possessive. Either way, she could use the support.

  “He’s on the fourth-floor apartment.” She looked up. “Or at least he was. I’m sure he hasn’t been back since.”

  Colin nodded and moved past her to the door to the building. The place had a high-tech electronic keypad to get in and he stood next to it. He held up a black box and pressed a button before he pulled the door open without a problem.

  “We’re breaking in?” squeaked out Cali. It wasn’t as though she’d thought Colin was a saint, but she’d assumed he was going to leave her out of the more illegal side of his job.

  “I want you to take me to his place,” said Colin. “Walk me through the motions. Would he stop to pick up his mail? Say hello to anyone? Everything.”

  Cali eyed the man, trying to figure out what he was getting at. “Umm...he took me to the elevator and we went upstairs.” There wasn’t anything special about it.

  Even so, Colin held out a hand to signal her to lead the way. In the lobby, he stopped her at the mailboxes. “Did he check the mail?”

  She thought back to the times she’d been to his place during their short relationship. “He got the mail once for his place.”

  “Which box?”

  Cali glanced over her shoulder and met Rourke’s eyes, trying to see whether he thought this whole thing was as strange as she did.

  He nodded reassuringly. “The sooner we’re done with this the better.”

  “Fine.” Pointing to the box that corresponded to the apartment number, Cali gave Colin an annoyed look.

  He nodded, not seeming to notice the monotony of his questions. Leaning in close, he studied the keyhole to the box before he pulled out his phone and took a picture. “Okay. Now what?”

  “Now the elevator.” She led the way. If he wanted a step-by-step recreation, she supposed she’d humor him. Pressing the button to call the elevator, she glanced at Colin. “You said you were only doing your job, but what were you hoping to gain by breaking into my apartment?”

  Colin didn’t look the slightest bit ashamed of what he’d done. “I was seeing if you were hiding Harper at your place.”

  “Seriously?” She managed to hold in her laughter. “I’m the last person who’d be protecting him.”

  “I believe you now.” He aimed a pointed glare at Rourke. “But before I knew about him, I couldn’t be sure. People tend to be...unpredictable when relationships are involved.” The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. “Now, think carefully here—did Harper ever press a button besides four when you stepped on here?”

  “Why the hell would...” Cali trailed off as the tiniest snippet of a memory came to her. “He did hit five one night. Why is this important?”

  A muscle in Rourke’s jaw ticked. “You think he’s still here, don’t you? Just in another apartment.”

  Colin gave a small nod of acknowledgment. “We received a call from him yesterday and were able to confirm that it came from this building.”

  “So now you need to know where.” The elevator doors opened on level five and Cali was hit with the sudden fear that Easson would be there, right in front of her, just waiting to mess up her life once more.

  Except there was nothing but empty hallway.

  “Stay here,” ordered Colin as he moved past and started to study the doors on the ten apartments, five doors on each side.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered at him. If anyone chose now to wander out, the cops would probably be here in record time, and she really didn’t want to combine the day she got two million dollars with the day she was arrested for the first time.

  “I’m looking for...” He trailed off as he stopped in front of another door. “This.” Colin dropped to his knees and started to work on the locks.

  “We don’t need to be here for this.” Rourke took Cal
i’s hand in his.

  “I’d think you two would want to see this more than most.” Letting out a satisfied grunt, Colin managed to get the door unlocked and pushed it was open.

  “The inside of some poor person’s broken into home?” asked Cali. “I’m good out here.”

  “Not some random person.” Colin walked in, leaving Cali and Rourke alone in the hall. “This is Easson Harper’s other apartment. His real one.”

  Cali stared, speechless, for a moment at the now empty doorway. “Wh...What?” she managed to croak out as she followed Colin to stand in the entryway, not ready to step any farther into the strange place.

  “Walter Farrell was contacted by Easson Harper after the whole debacle last week. He said he’d give over some...sensitive materials in exchange for a meeting with Walter. I’m looking for that information.”

  “And why would you think he’d be storing it at the building under FBI surveillance?”

  “Because the phone call came from a landline in here. If he really was using you like you say, then he wouldn’t take you to his true home. Too risky that you’d discover something you shouldn’t and, if he was found out, lead the wrong people there. So I’ve scouted out the building for three days and looked through the records of all the renters, but nothing stood out. But I noticed the scratch pattern around the lock to his mailbox and matched it to this place.”

  “What makes you think this is Harper’s place?” asked Rourke. He’d passed Cali and entered into the living area. The entire place wasn’t much to look at. The floors and walls were all the same high-quality wood in the apartment that Easson had taken her to. But the furnishings were sparse and nothing really went together.

  “I’d say this is a good clue,” said Colin from around the corner.

  Cali glanced at the elevator and back to the inside of the apartment. Damn it. She shook her head and entered the apartment, shutting the door softly behind her. When she rounded the corner, she cursed a very different word. “This can’t be real.”

  In front of her was a closet full of firearms: handguns, shotguns, and a whole mess of other weapons she couldn’t name. She made it a point to avoid guns as much as possible. Apparently Easson didn’t share in her distaste.

  “I think it’s safe to say we’re in the right place,” said Colin.

  Rourke bit out a curse. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Why bring me here then?” asked Cali. “You could’ve compared mailboxes and lock scratches, or whatever, without me.”

  “I brought you here because I wanted to see your face when we found this place.”

  Realization dawned on her. “I’m not working with Easson! Would everyone please stop doubting me! I’ve been with Rourke for the past week. He’s the closest thing to a boss or coworker or anything for the moment.”

  Colin shrugged. “Well, I believe you now.”

  Cali shot him a look that told him exactly how she felt about his belated affirmation.

  “I think it’s time to go.” Rourke stepped between the two of them.

  Finally, someone was saying something that made sense.

  “Where are you going to go?” asked Colin.

  Cali narrowed her eyes at him. “Back to my apartment, where you’re no longer invited.”

  “As long as Easson’s not there.”

  Not again. “I thought we just went over this. Easson. And. I. Aren’t. A. Thing.” Hopefully she said it slow enough that he’d listen to her now.

  Colin shrugged. “Not according to the pictures we have of him leaving your place last night.”

  Rourke set Cali’s bag on the bed as she looked on, the same forlorn look she’d been wearing since they’d spoken to Colin firmly in place.

  “Don’t worry,” he said for the tenth time. “Colin is looking all over for Harper and he won’t have any idea where we are.” He’d brought enough cash with him to last a few days, and Colin had given them a few empty phones for them to use.

  He really didn’t like relying on the type of man who had untraceable phones just lying around, but Colin Carter was proving to be damn convenient when he wasn’t being a pain in his ass.

  Cali wrapped her arms around herself as though it was cold, but Rourke knew the room was a few degrees too warm already. “Colin said he’d have all the surveillance of my place over in fifteen minutes. I’ll feel better after I see it.”

  Rourke had to bite his tongue. She’d insisted on seeing what Colin was talking about, but Rourke knew it wouldn’t make her feel any better. If anything, seeing the concrete proof of someone she hated so much invading her space would make her even more paranoid. Nothing was worse than justifiable paranoia.

  “Tomorrow we can head back to Maine.” He checked his new phone to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “And you can stay with me until we figure all this out.”

  She frowned and Rourke cursed under his breath. That was the wrong thing to say. “Or you can stay as long as you want. Whatever works.”

  “You want me to come back to Maine with you?”

  Well, now that she said it out loud, it seemed a bit more strange. He’d wanted to get her out of the city so he could protect her, but he didn’t mind her coming to stay with him for as long as she wanted. Maybe a lot longer. “I have plenty of room for you.”

  She let out a bitter laugh. “The first time anyone’s ever asked me to move in with them. Strange. I thought it would be more romantic than this.”

  “Would you rather stay in a hotel until this is all over?” he bit out.

  “I’d rather not have to deal with any of this at all,” she snapped. “I break up with Easson and leave; he finds someone to shoot out my tires. I find out that he was only doing that to throw the FBI off his trail, start to calm down, and apparently he’s been in my apartment at some point. Every time I start feeling the slightest bit secure, suddenly I’m right back to being screwed.”

  “Then come back with me. We can put this behind us, and Colin, Luke, and everyone else can deal with this. We’ll go on living our lives just how we want to.”

  Cali shook her head as she paced across the room. “I can’t just go and hide away with you. I need to be doing something. I need to fight this. You have guns, right? I need a gun.”

  Rourke struggled to keep the disbelief from his face. “A gun?”

  “Yes. A metal contraption that has a small explosion that propels a piece of metal into the face of whoever is trying to kill you.”

  “Have you ever fired a gun in your life?”

  “I’m sure I can figure it out. You just pull the trigger, right?”

  “I think you should leave the shooting to me.”

  “I tried to leave it to other people! That’s not working though, is it? I need to figure this out.”

  Rourke approached carefully, trying to think of the right thing to say. But everything he wanted to tell her didn’t work. He wanted to promise that she’d never need a gun. He wanted to promise that he’d always be there.

  But the words wouldn’t come. Even if he promised her forever, she was already halfway to running from him. From everything. She had the money and means to go anywhere at this point. He’d be more than happy to go with her, but he was more than aware of how quickly things had moved between them.

  He’d resisted Cali at first. Too surprised by their connection on that first night to think it was anything special. But he’d tried to push her out of his mind countless times, and still he kept coming back to her.

  If she hopped on a plane tomorrow and didn’t tell him she was leaving, he didn’t think he’d ever stop looking for her. At this point, he didn’t even care where she went. As long as he was with her and knew she was safe.

  “I’m going to keep you safe,” insisted Rourke as he moved closer, standing in front of Cali so her pacing would stop.

  “You’re going to keep me safe?” she asked incredulously. “Against some military-trained guy who’s evaded the FBI and whatever the hell Colin Carter is?”r />
  “Cali, look at me.” When she started to roll her eyes, he caught her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. “If anyone, anyone, tries to hurt you, they’ll have to go through me. Do you understand?”

  “No.”

  He was taken aback for a moment. “No?”

  “I’m not letting you put yourself at risk for me. Especially not after everything you’ve done for me already.”

  The corner of his mouth twisted up. “You protecting me now?”

  “I’m doing what I have to do.”

  He nodded as he closed in on her. “I don’t think you understand how this is going to go.”

  A flash of unease came over her features. “What do you mean?”

  He continued his approach until the back of the bed collided with her thighs. “I mean that I’m going to stay with you no matter what. When I said you were under my protection, I was serious. Now you can fight me or accept it. What’s it going to be?”

  “Fi...Fight it?” stuttered out Cali.

  Rourke set a hand on her waist and leaned in until his lips just about touched hers. “Or accept it.” His hand roamed from her hip to the small of her back, pressing her against the bulge of his erection. “Let me take care of you.”

  Cali’s eyes drifted shut and he knew he almost had her. “There’s been so much going on...” She trailed off as his other hand reached around to cup her face.

  “There’s nothing going on now,” he insisted. “Just you and me behind a locked, bolted door. Let me distract you.”

  He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss against the side of her neck. There was a lot he couldn’t do at the moment, but he could give her this. He could make her forget for just a few moments and give her the release he knew she craved.

  A knock on the door and Cali bolted from Rourke’s arms and ran for the door. “It’s Colin,” she said as she pulled it open.

  Rourke stayed quiet as he tried to hold himself back from throwing Carter out and continuing his...conversation with Cali.

  “You wanted to see the photos?” Carter held up a large manila envelope.