by Shayla Black
minutes. He’s got to head back to DC tomorrow. I say we corner him and find out what the hell’s going on. Roman has always been an excellent liar, but we know his tells. If he’s hiding something, we’ll figure it out.”
“And do what?” The mystery man’s words haunted Everly. He’d said they would cut her loose to protect their own. How did she know they wouldn’t do that and leave her without knowing what had happened to her brother?
“We’ll figure it out,” Connor assured.
“Zack wouldn’t do anything criminal,” Dax insisted.
“But he might cover up for someone.” Gabriel stroked his chin.
“Who?” Connor asked.
Gabriel simply shrugged. “Maybe he thinks I’m guilty. I don’t know. And what about Roman? You know he would have done anything to get Zack elected, especially after Joy’s death.”
So maybe he’d cover up for another one of his dear friends, too?
A grimness settled around the room at the mention of the president’s late wife. Everly remembered the news coverage of her taking a bullet meant for Zack Hayes at a campaign rally days before the election. Zack had covered his wife’s body with his own in the ensuing chaos but it had been too late. An image of the young, handsome politician covered in blood had been in every newspaper, on every TV.
Of course, she’d never met the president, just seen images of a serious, even grim executive officer whose smiles were so rare they caused flashbulbs to burst. She didn’t know him or how ruthless he might be. But she had met Roman Calder and had a very good idea the lengths he’d go to for a cause he embraced.
Gabe sighed. “If Zack wanted something swept under the rug, Roman would cover for him. Hell, he’d arrange it.”
Connor paced. “We need to talk to him. I don’t see the connections. I’ve looked all damn day and I don’t see anything in this whole clusterfuck beyond the fact that Zack’s father was the ambassador to Russia for years and the Bratva seem to be involved. Zack hasn’t been back to Moscow in decades. Maybe Roman knows something.”
“And he’s not telling us?” Dax demanded.
Connor slammed his laptop shut and shrugged. “Maybe. And it gets worse because the only person we might have been able to talk to died in jail about an hour ago.”
The whole room seemed to still. “Valerie is dead?”
“Yep. The police found her unconscious in her cell, and she flatlined on the way to the hospital. They’re theorizing she had drugs in her system when she was arrested and it took that long for them to work. The officers said she seemed a little out of it when they brought her in,” Connor explained.
“Or someone dosed her in jail because they didn’t want her to talk,” Everly mused.
Connor’s eyes met hers over the table. “Or that. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a needle mark somewhere on her body. It would be easy enough to do at any point in the process. God knows the Bratva owns a couple of cops.”
“So we’re right back where we started.” Something dangerous was still lurking out there and they were a step behind.
Gabriel approached, taking her hands in his. She didn’t pull away this time. “Everly, I know this is frustrating, but I swear I’ll do anything I can. For now, you can’t go home alone.”
As if she would do that. “I’m not fighting you on this, Gabriel. There’s a real threat. We have a whole bunch of dead bodies piling up. I didn’t tell you about Deep Throat because I didn’t want to scare him away and I knew you’d balk at me going to that meeting.”
“True enough,” he conceded. “If he calls again, I’ll let you manage it. You dealt well with him today, but you didn’t handle the car that nearly killed you. I’ll agree to let you meet with him if you agree to let me watch over you.”
He was trying. She could, too. “Okay.”
Maybe they could work out their differences after all.
Connor nodded. “All right, then. I’ve got to get dressed for a ten-thousand-dollar-a-plate dinner. Gabe, I grabbed your tux a little while ago. It’s upstairs.”
“How did you get in my place? You don’t have keys.”
The man simply smiled. “You need to come with me to this shindig. Everly is your cause, and you need to have this out with Roman. Dax can stay behind and guard her.”
“He doesn’t have to fight my battles,” Everly pointed out. “Let me go. I’ll do it.”
Gabriel squeezed her hand, then glanced at Connor. “She’s got a point. I’ll call a shopper and get a dress sent up here right away. It won’t take more than an hour.”
Of course. She couldn’t go dressed as she was. They weren’t trying to block her out, just get the ball rolling. At some point she had to decide if she trusted Gabriel Bond or not. If he loved her, as he said he did, she had to believe he would talk to Roman and wouldn’t screw her over.
“Go,” she assured him. “Dax and I will be fine here. I might do a little hacking of my own if someone will loan me a computer. Gabriel made me leave mine behind. I think it’s time I looked into the foundation.”
“Good. I’ve spent all day digging into Crawford. The foundation was my next stop,” Connor admitted. “I’ve got a system you can use.”
“Don’t believe him,” Dax said with a mischievous grin. “He’s spent a good portion of his day flirting with Lara Armstrong over the Internet.”
Connor actually flushed a bit. “It wasn’t flirting. I’m building a relationship with her so I can find out what she’s doing.”
Boy, did she have some scoop for him. “Lara Armstrong is the one person Deep Throat told me I can trust. He says she has information.”
“Really?” A predatory smile lit Connor’s face, and she suddenly felt bad for Lara Armstrong.
“He also said he sent me information and I haven’t found it. I need to comb through my e-mail again to look for it. I suppose he could be lying.” She didn’t think so, but she had to look at every angle.
“Not about Lara’s involvement. She’s up to her pretty blue eyes in this mess, and I’m going to find out what she knows. I’ll be ready in fifteen.” Connor stalked toward his bedroom.
“Someone needs to pray for that woman,” Dax said under his breath.
Everly agreed. Connor looked like a hungry wolf when he talked about Lara Armstrong.
“He’s either going to fuck her or kill her,” Gabriel murmured, staring after Connor. “I’m leaning toward the former.”
“I don’t think he’ll kill her.” Dax shrugged. “I hope.”
Gabriel smiled down at Everly. “You sure you’re okay staying? I really will take you with me.”
His earnest attempt at including her did wonders to settle her concerns. “It’s okay. And if you need Dax, I will promise not to leave this condo.”
“Neither of us will be leaving.” Dax had his arms crossed over his massive, hard chest.
“I could stay with her.” Gabriel looked reluctant to go.
“Gabe, you know Connor’s right. Get a move on. I’ll watch after your girl. How tight do you want the leash?” Dax asked, completely ignoring her.
Gabe looked down at her, reaching for her other hand. “I shouldn’t be gone too long, but if something happens, shadow her. She’s good. She knows what she’s doing. I want her to have backup.” He leaned over and brushed her lips with his. “I love you, Everly.”
Those words threatened to break her. And all she could manage was a breathy, “Thank you.”
He sighed, and his hands tightened on hers before he stepped away. “Be good.”
As Gabriel mounted the stairs, she felt more hollow with every step between them.
“Thank you? He says I love you and you thank him?” Dax shook his head, obviously disgusted. “I need a beer.”
He walked away, and she was pretty sure she’d lost him as an ally.
Rubbing at her forehead, Everly wandered back into the living room. The big bay windows showed the beauty of the Upper West Side and the Hudson in the dista
nce.
What was she going to do? She knew what she wanted—Gabriel. She merely wasn’t sure she should keep him. She’d made her decision to trust him. Despite what Deep Throat had told her, she’d given all her information up. She’d told Gabriel and his friends everything because she trusted him.
When he came back down, he was dressed in a tuxedo that made him look even more like a Hollywood star on his way to a red carpet premiere. Should she judge him on his looks? Should she be afraid because he was so beautiful? Or should she remember that he was a human being who needed the same things everyone did—love and affection? She could be the woman who provided them if she’d open herself up.
“I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her gently as though slightly afraid to deepen the contact, despite all their intimacies.
She wanted to kiss him back, wanted to promise him everything would be fine, but all she could manage was a nod.
Everly wanted to say a lot more, but Connor entered, glancing at his watch with impatience.
With a nod, he and Gabriel left. She hoped Connor had some food in the place because she was a little afraid Dax would let her starve.
“I’m ordering pizza. You like mushrooms?” Dax’s big body took up most of the entryway.
“If you slap some pepperoni on it, too.”
An hour and one pepperoni and mushroom with extra sauce later, she pulled up the three photos she’d managed to download and turned the screen toward Dax. She’d used the system Connor had left for her to remote dial the laptop in her safe. It was connected to the small network of computers she kept for her use. Now that she’d accessed her system, she could see the pictures. She kind of wished she’d left the SD card in its slot. She might have been able to find a way to view the others without downloading them.
He frowned down. “And someone sent these to you. Any chance Deep Throat was referring to them?”
She had to shrug. “I don’t know. It’s not exactly information, is it? I hate to think there’s more than one creepy stalker following my every move, but I don’t see how it fits. Deep Throat is a conspiracy theorist. He was talking about Mad’s death being bigger than we realize. So why would he send pictures of me and Maddox?”
“No idea. This looks like it was taken from the building across from yours.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “The building across from mine has roof access so I assume that’s where the photographer was.”
“He had a nice telephoto lens on that thing.” Dax stared at the screen. “And you said there are more of these?”
“Yes,” she replied, but something Dax had said made her stop. “I’m having trouble with my laptop. I’ve had issues for about a week. Something’s wrong with my hard drive so my storage capacity is screwed up. I need to strip the thing down, but every time I try someone attempts to kill me. Sorry, it’s been a rough few days. The camera I received didn’t have a telephoto lens. It’s one of those little digital things.”
He shook his head. “This was taken with a telephoto lens. No question.”
Everly’s cell trilled. She looked down, hoping it was Gabriel.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Gabriel’s name that popped up on her screen but Scott’s. He usually called her at least once a day and twice on the weekends.
“I need to take this.” She rose from her plush chair.
Dax nodded her way. “I’m going to look through these if you’re okay with it.”
“Sure.” She wouldn’t have been yesterday, but she was rapidly coming to like Gabriel’s friends. She’d had a nice dinner with Dax. The navy captain had regaled her with hilarious stories about his childhood and some of the trouble he and Gabe and the rest of the gang had gotten into. Sitting and talking to Dax had made her realize that, for all their wealth and privilege, they had been little boys alone in the world. Now, they were men. Like any other man, Gabriel could leave her. He could walk away, the same way her mother had. Any man could do that, but Gabriel might be the one man worth risking her heart over.
Everly dashed from the living room into the kitchen and swiped her thumb across the screen. “Hey, Scott. How are you?”
“Are you okay, Everly? I’m a little scared.” His voice was low, almost a whisper.
“I’m fine. What’s going on?” She headed back to the living room.
“I looked through those records you asked me to. Did you know that for a couple of years there was a secondary sponsor for the foundation fundraiser?”
There were always secondary sponsors. There was a whole list of corporations who donated money to the foundation. “Of course.”
“Everly, I talked to Tavia a few minutes ago and we’re both scared for you. She didn’t bring it up at the time, but after what happened to Valerie . . . I don’t want him to hurt you. Please, you have to get to safety.”
He was being awfully dramatic. “What are you talking about?”
“Gabriel Bond is in this up to his eyebrows. Bond Aeronautics handled the catering two years ago, and I found some e-mails between Valerie and Gabe Bond. They were lovers, running some kind of scam together and embezzling from Crawford. You have to meet me at my apartment so I can show you the evidence.”
A little chill swept through her.
Gabriel involved with Valerie? She’d been an attractive woman, and he’d never once given the impression that he knew her. On the other hand, Valerie might not have been smart enough to plot and execute a plane crash, but Gabriel certainly was. In fact, that was right up his alley.
But if they’d been in some sort of scam together, why would he have brought the receipts for the foundation galas to her attention? Why would he have saved her from Valerie’s homicidal madness? If they were involved, Everly couldn’t picture him allowing Val to be arrested if he had any suspicion she’d die in jail.
“I don’t know, Scott. I probably shouldn’t. Maybe I can get away tomorrow.”
“You have to come now,” he argued. “Bond could hurt you. He’s the one behind this. You realize that, right? God, Everly . . . Valerie wasn’t my pal or anything, but I think he set her up to take the fall for everything. Get away while you can.” He hesitated, and his voice dropped again. “Tell me you’re not with him right now.”
That was an easy one. “No. He’s gone.”
“Then leave. Right now. Come to my apartment, and we’ll figure out what to do, how to keep you safe.”
Indecision twisted in her gut. Maybe Scott had read everything wrong, misunderstood, but she hated to worry him. Besides, if she didn’t say yes, he’d only keep calling. “All right. I’ll grab my bags and I’ll be there in an hour.”
“So you’ll be here by eight?” Scott asked, insistence in his tone. “Promise?”
Her grip on the phone tightened. “Yes.”
“All right. I’ll be waiting. He’s a criminal mastermind who doesn’t balk at murder. Be careful.”
She hung up the phone with a stunned frown and paced.
What was going on? Who the hell could she trust? She only had two choices: Gabriel or Scott.
Her friend was prone to a bit of drama and embellishment, but calling Gabriel a criminal mastermind? That didn’t sound like the man she was falling for at all. And Scott had been so insistent that she come to see him right now. If he really thought she was in danger, why didn’t he come to rescue her? Or even ask where she was?
On the other hand, was Gabriel telling her that he loved her his ultimate lie simply to control her? Was she a sitting duck in Connor’s apartment?
Trying to bury emotion and sift through facts, she trekked the hall and stopped in the living room where the laptop screen illuminated Dax’s harsh features.
“I have a question.”
He didn’t look at her, but kept his eyes on the screen. “Shoot.”
“Did Gabriel know Val?”
“Who?” Dax reached for his soda.
“Valerie. You know, the would-be murderess who died in lockup a couple of hours ago? Any chance Gabri
el knew her before this week and had been doing her?”