by Dawn Brower
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sullivan sat back in his car and closed his eyes. The past twenty-four hours had been exhausting. Finding Wilson dead had kicked him harder than he would ever have imagined. The part of him that believed he could have prevented it wouldn’t let the guilt go. He hadn’t slept—hadn’t even tried. There was too much to do, and his mind wouldn’t stop racing.
Instead of going into the office though, he’d worked from the corporate apartment on the top floor of Brady Blue’s condominium complex. The penthouse had been more his home than the family mansion lately, and he’d basically moved into it. Originally, it had been built as a place to allow company guests to stay while they were in town. Sullivan decided a long time ago not to extend that invitation to anyone else. He needed the space to get away from everything and find some measure of peace.
He should get out of the car and go into the restaurant. Ali was meeting him for a working lunch. She’d insisted on it when he tried to beg off. He didn’t have an appetite to speak of, and the idea of eating made his stomach turn. No matter what, he did he couldn’t get the images of Wilson’s dead body out of his head, and his failure to make it to a damn meeting on time. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Sitting in the car and basically feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to solve anything. It was time to suck it up and go inside. No one ever promised him that running Brady Blue would be easy. He’d accepted the responsibility, and it was time for him to stop acting like a weakling.
With that resolution in place, he opened the car door and stepped out. A flash of blue and red surrounded his vision. His gaze drifted toward the direction, and his stomach jolted as if he’d been sucker punched. Lana was standing outside the restaurant dressed in a decadent blue dress that hugged all of her curves. He started to gravitate toward her his body on autopilot. When he noticed who she was talking to he stopped short. That guy looked familiar... He searched his memory, trying to place him and then it hit him. That was her boyfriend from college. The one that she’d been dating when she worked as a bartender—the one she’d left with instead of him that night. Sullivan had hated the guy for that alone.
Sullivan had wanted more from Lana than he ever believed he deserved. So he’d stayed away. There wasn’t a chance in hell he would do that now. He intended to be the one she turned to, the one she needed, and more importantly, the one she loved more than anything. Perhaps that was a bit conceited on his part, but he loved her and always had. He could hope that the smallest ounce of her heart held a similar feeling for him. If this old boyfriend was around, that might derail his plan to win her.
Sullivan headed toward the restaurant. The way to stake his claim was to do it as publically as possible. The other guy would take a step back if he realized who Lana belonged with. As he neared the entrance, Lana took a step away from the man. It was then that he noticed Jessica was there too. At least that meant Lana wasn’t on a date. It must be some random chance encounter. He could work with that.
He reached them as Lana placed her hand on the door to open it. “Are you waiting for me?” he asked and leaned down to kiss her lips before she could reply.
“I didn’t...” Lana stammered and stared at him with a confused expression.
“I doubt we need you here for the wedding plans,” Jessica said. She tilted her head and studied him. “We can handle this.”
Sullivan grinned. Jessica, the bitch, had given him some help and didn’t realize it. If they were there about a wedding, it had to be about his sister. There was no way they could dismiss him that easily.
“Do I need to remind you that you’re the one with the crazy sister,” Sullivan said. “Mine is more than happy to see me.”
Jessica snorted. “In your imagination... Dani probably wishes you’d disappear in a hole or something more nefarious on a regular basis.”
Lana’s ex stared at them as if they’d lost their mind or something. Sullivan didn’t give a damn either way. “It was nice seeing you, Lana.” He backed away. “We’ll talk again some other time.” With those words, he left without looking back. Good riddance.
“Stop,” Lana said. “I don’t have enough patience to listen to you snipe at each other.” She rubbed her chest absentmindedly.
Sullivan immediately placed his hand over hers and asked with concern, “Are you in pain. Did you take your medicine?”
Damn it. Why was she even out and about? She got out of the hospital the day before. She should be resting, and instead she was having lunch with his sister and Jessica of all people. Perhaps he should pick her up and carry her to his car. He could have her home before she thought to protest.
Lana glared at him. “Don’t,” she warned.
“What?” he said innocently. Surely she didn’t have a clue what he had been contemplating. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“You’re not fooling me, Sully. I see right through you,” she replied. “I’m fine. I don’t need a caretaker.”
Lana pushed his hand off of her and headed inside the restaurant. Jessica followed behind her, leaving Sullivan on his own outside. He might have made a mistake insinuating something more between them, but Lana hadn’t reacted to his kiss at all. He wasn’t sure if he was pleased or irritated with that. It appeared as if that was perfectly normal, and she was used to him kissing her. Anyone who knew them though would realize it was far from normal for that to happen. He had a feeling when they were alone, she was going to let him have it. The sick and twisted side of him was rather looking forward to it too.
He walked inside and headed toward the hostess station. He had kept Ali waiting long enough. Later, he’d go see Lana and have a talk with her. It was past time he laid it out and let her know what he wanted. She deserved the truth. It was the only way they would ever have a chance.
“Sully,” a female said. “It’s been a while.”
He turned at the sound of his name and frowned. “Victoria,” he said smoothly. “Too long. How’ve you been?”
As far as he was concerned he would rather never see her again. They hadn’t parted on the best of terms. She had always been rather waspish toward Lana, and he hadn’t liked it. He didn’t fully understand it then, but he’d always been protective of her. Lana had been a teenager when he’d dated Victoria. If she’d been kinder, maybe they would have lasted longer. Unfortunately, Victoria was only concerned about herself. She did have a killer body and understood how to present it to the best advantage. His younger self couldn’t be blamed for reacting with his dick.
“I’m good,” she said and lifted her lips upward, then took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “I could be better though.”
At another time, he might have taken her up on that blatant invitation. It was refreshing to realize he didn’t feel anything for her other than disgust. “As tempting as that is...” He tried not to choke on the words. “I have a prior engagement.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said and trailed her fingers down his chest. “I’ll call you.”
She sashayed away from him. He did not look back. No, his interest was solely focused on the redhead that was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. Lana had noticed the interaction between him and Victoria. She would make him pay for it, of that he had no doubt.
He lifted his lips into a smile and tried to coax her down a little bit. It didn’t help one bit. She narrowed her gaze and her expression darkened to a whole new level. Lana was good and truly pissed. Why had Victoria’s presence brought out her hostile attitude? Did she hate the other woman that much? He’d find a way to make it up to her. He had to. There was no reason for her to be mad, and she wouldn’t be when she realized he didn’t want any woman other than her. He was willing to do anything to prove it.
“Sully?”
Sullivan snapped out of his own thoughts and turned toward the male who’d said his name. He smiled when he recognized him. “Aaron, how are you doing?”
Sullivan had been a bad friend and hadn’t cal
led him in a while. After he settled things with Lana, he’d try to do better. Sienna, now his wife, worked in the Brady Blue foundation, and still he didn’t see much of Aaron. She headed the public relations part of the foundation while Colleen O’Callaghan was in charge of it all.
“Good,” he said. “Sienna and I were having lunch. She left a little bit ago. Said the building was in chaos. Was someone really murdered in your office?”
And just like that, Sullivan’s mood darkened. He didn’t like the reminder of the hell he’d gone through in the past several hours. Things were supposed to be getting better, not worse. His sister, the one they thought they’d lost, had returned. He was finally going to tell Lana he loved her. Brady Blue should be going strong. But this was Aaron. If he couldn’t tell him about his troubles, who could he rely on?
“Yeah,” Sully said. “I don’t know much other than he worked in accounting.” The detectives had warned him not to share any information about the case. They wanted to keep every detail they could under wraps so they could ferret out the killer. Everyone believed it was all tied to the missing money Wilson had discovered in the accounting. He owed it to Wilson to at least keep his mouth shut.
“Man, that sucks,” Aaron said. “Your office must be all taped up, right? It being a crime scene and all.”
Sullivan furrowed his eyebrows. Why was Aaron asking so many questions? “I don’t know what they’re doing with it. I haven’t been to work today.” Best to play dumb, but Aaron was correct. He couldn’t enter his office until the detectives cleared him too.
“Can’t say I blame you. I’d avoid my office too if someone had been murdered in it.”
“Do you fear your fellow architects will decide to stab you with a pencil or something?” Sullivan attempted to lighten the mood. Aaron was damn good at his job and had started his own architectural firm. As far as he was aware, it was thriving.
“Ha ha,” he said. “We use more than pencils.”
“Pick your weapon then,” Sullivan replied. “What do you want them to do you in with?”
Sullivan couldn’t believe the things that were coming out of his mouth. What the hell was wrong with him? Aaron’s questions had stirred something inside of him. The dark part of his soul that questioned everything, and now he was looking at his best friend and wondering if he could have information pertinent to Wilson’s death.
Aaron shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder about you. It was nice seeing you, but I have to get back to the office. I have an important meeting this afternoon I need to prepare for.”
“Call me when you have time,” Sullivan said. “We can have dinner or something. It’s been too long since we talked.”
“Will do,” Aaron said and headed out.
Sullivan watched him go and then turned back toward the hostess station. He had to find Ali and get out of the restaurant before he ran into someone else he didn’t want to see. He found her at a corner table frowning at her phone. That meant one thing—lunch was not going to improve his mood. He took a fortifying breath and prepared for the worst.
“Do I want to know?” he asked, gesturing toward her phone.
She set it face down on the table and shook her head. “Probably not,” she replied. “The local news is ripping Brady Blue apart.”
Sullivan swore under his breath and pulled out a chair. He’d have preferred to have this meeting less publically, but his office was still off-limits. Plus, he needed to eat, even if food tasted like sawdust. There had to be a way to get out from under this mess.
“Any luck locating what Wilson called me about?”
She shook her head. “It might be in your office, but the detectives and the CSI team didn’t discover it. I suspect he put it someplace he deemed safe.”
Ali picked up a glass of water. Her hand shook a little as she raised it to her mouth and took a sip. Sullivan had never seen her shaky about anything. He’d taken it for granted she was all right after finding Wilson’s dead body. She’d seemed cool and in control like always. He sat back and really looked at her. Her blonde hair wasn’t pulled back in its usual neat fashion. In fact, everything about her was a bit disheveled. “How are you doing?”
“Me?” she asked, a little surprised. “I’m fine, honestly.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s perfectly normal if you aren’t.” He had his own issues with finding Wilson dead. Why shouldn’t she be upset too? Perhaps he should recommend she seek counseling. How to approach it without offending her though?
A brittle laugh escaped from her. “There’s nothing normal about this situation.” She brushed a stray lock behind her ear. “I feel...” She sucked in a breath, blew it out, and then continued, “It’s like there’s this barrier separating myself from the—event.” She’d struggled on that last word as if having trouble saying death. “I’m me, but not me. I don’t know if I can work in or near that office ever again.”
“I understand,” he said quietly. What else could he say? He couldn’t really blame her. He wasn’t entirely sure he could work in that office again. “If you want to put in notice—”
“No,” she interrupted him. “I don’t. I made an appointment with a therapist. I’ll work through this. I have to.”
He nodded. “Take some time off and figure yourself out.”
“My movements, vocal responses, hell, every reaction is borderline robotic. I’m quite competent, but not that efficient.” Her voice wobbled as she spoke, “It wasn’t until I woke this morning that it all hit me. If you don’t mind, I’ll work remotely from home and keep you informed of my progress.”
“Of course,” he said easily. He didn’t want to lose her, and he realized she must have been under a lot of stress after the incident. “Can you handle the media?”
“I’ve already reached out to my contact at the news station,” she replied. “They want an interview.”
“Don’t they always?” He rolled his eyes. “They’re bloodsuckers. Tell them I can’t in good conscience agree to an interview and impede the investigation. Once an arrest is made, I’ll schedule one. In the meantime, have public relations release a benign statement to appease them.”
Ali picked up her phone and typed a few things into it. Probably notes for what he wanted. She might think she wasn’t that efficient, but he disagreed. She was the best damn assistant he’d ever had. She glanced up and asked, “Anything else?”
“No,” he replied. “Once that is done, take care of yourself. If something pops up that requires my attention, forward it to my e-mail. I’ll handle as much as I can while you recover.” Sullivan stood and buttoned his jacket. His appetite was completely gone now. “Order yourself something to eat and charge it to the corporate account. I just remembered something I need to take care of.”
“Would you like me to send something to your apartment later?” she asked. “You still need to eat.”
“No,” he told her. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home. I’ll be fine, Ali. Don’t worry about me.”
She smiled softly. “Not likely to happen. We’ve worked closely for too long for me to shut that off entirely. I’ll text you when I have the chance. Don’t forget to eat.”
His lips twitched slightly. “I won’t”
Sullivan exited the restaurant and headed to his car. He had a lot to think about and no answers to speak of. He truly did hope Ali would be all right. She was a good person, and he hated that she suffered. Why did all hell have to break loose? When would peace find its way into his life? Sometimes he wondered if he was paying a steep price for all of his misdeeds and wild ways. If so, he had many years of chaos ahead of him.
CHAPTER NINE
Lana managed to disappear from the world for a week without anyone bothering her. Not having a cell phone helped. Her pain was down to tolerable levels, but she still exhausted easily. Her home had become her sanctuary and allowed her to forget other, irritating, people existed. It also gave her too much time to dwell on one rather exasperating person.
She didn’t want to think about him, but couldn’t seem to stop herself. He’d kissed her. Again. Acted like he had the right to whenever he pleased. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, so that made things even more beguiling. Each time it was a simple peck and rather sweet—then he would smile in that cocky way of his and go about as if nothing monumental had happened. The next time she saw Sullivan, she was going to make him explain himself. She kept saying she would, but somehow, whenever she did encounter him, she forgot her resolve. Instead, her mind traveled down a little back road of decadent images best not seen in the light of day.
Sullivan was her weakness. Always had been.
The question she had to ask herself was if she wanted to change that, and if she did, how would she go about accomplishing it. Her heart always beat a little faster when he was around, and sometimes without realizing it, she even became a little breathless. She hated herself for it. He’d always bounced around from female to female as if they were as discardable as paper napkins. They were Sullied and no longer desirable to him. Once and done was his motto and he stuck to it—at least mostly. There were a few he dated over a span of a couple weeks, but they never lasted. Sully was the type of man women wanted to tame yet realized too late he wasn’t capable of submitting to any female.
Gah. She had to stop thinking about him.
The doorbell chimed, causing her to groan. She should’ve known she couldn’t hide indefinitely. It was probably Jessica. If she didn’t answer the door, she’d barge in to check on her like last time. She really did need to retrieve her key from her. What if she brought a guy home and Jessica was worried enough to charge in and find them naked on her couch? That would be embarrassing. But not as mortifying as the image of her and Sullivan naked, rolling around in her front room.
Lana liked that a little too much. Her skin heated, and she feared if she glanced in a mirror she would find a flushed face. There was no time to cool off before she answered the door. She sighed and headed to see who was there to disturb her. Would it be too much to ask that it be a pizza delivery guy? She could use something to eat.