by Linda Kage
I shrugged. “Who’s to know? It’s just a number from one account to another.”
“That we found in a hidden box, which also contains a hitman’s number,” Gabby reminded me. “Whatever it’s about, it can’t be good.”
“I’m sure,” I agreed dryly. “Except it gives us nothing. Just numbers. No names, no reasons, no explanations. I couldn’t even tell you if the money was moving to her account or from it.”
“Well, how much was the transaction for?”
I shook my head, certain it didn’t matter. It wasn’t any kind of concrete proof of anything. But I crawled out of bed anyway and returned to my office to retrieve the pages we’d printed, since they’d be easier to read than the screen of my phone.
Gabby was still sitting on the bed, naked. I had to pause a moment in the doorway, to appreciate the view. But she shook her hand, insistently asking for the pages, so I ignored the stirring in my body and handed them over before sitting next to her, right next to her, where my flesh pressed against hers, warmth to warmth.
God, she was so soft and smooth and lovely. And she smelled good. I dipped my face to kiss the top of her bare shoulder just as she let out a whistle and shook her head. “This transfer was for twenty grand. I bet you could pay a hitman to do a lot with twenty grand.”
“Or it might not have anything to do with Mad Manny,” I countered, moving on to the side of her neck.
“Could the detective you talked to find out who owned each account?”
“Probably,” I said, sighing and pulling my mouth from her flesh when she remained all business. But she was right. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sure Gutierrez could figure out who owned each account. Hell, I bet the private investigator I’d hired to find Finley could discover such information.
That’s when it struck me what I’d been doing: ignoring the possible importance of that bank receipt because I didn’t want to know what the money transfer was about. I didn’t want to learn anything worse about Lana.
When I glanced at Gabby, I inclined my head at her respectfully for forcing me to face the facts. We could definitely dig deeper.
“I’ll call Gutierrez first thing in the morning,” I said.
Gabby nodded, distracted, still studying the receipt. “Maybe the date can help us narrow down what this was about too. It’s over twenty years old.” She shifted it over for me to see as she pointed out the date. “Do you know if that was close to the time the couple went missing?”
I read the numbers and squinted, thinking back to when Brick and I had been left at the mall. If Lana had just paid off someone to make two people disappear forever then maybe she really had left us there on purpose, hoping we’d never find our way back to her.
I shuddered, repressing the memory, and shook my head. “No,” I said. “This date would be closer to the time that—” When I realized when the transfer had happened, my skin went ice cold. I looked up at Gabby in shock.
“Close to the time that what happened?” she asked in a hushed tone.
With a reluctant sigh, I admitted, “That my father died.”
Gabby’s mouth fell open. It worked a few times before she was able to ask, “And how did he die?”
“Heart attack,” I answered. “Just like Arthur.”
“Oh.” She looked down at the sheet in her hand, then up at me, taking in my expression, and suddenly, she was shuffling the pages together and setting them on the nightstand in a neat, orderly fashion. Once she was done, she turned back to me. “Well, that bank transfer could be about anything.”
Except we were both almost positive it had been about Lana putting twenty grand into Mad Manny’s account in order to pay him off to make my father’s death look like natural causes.
Her smile was tight and forced as she flashed me an encouraging look. “What did you and the detective discuss, anyway? And how did the portfolio presentations go?”
She was trying to distract me. That was sweet. So I let her. I answered her questions about the meeting I’d had with Gutierrez. And I told her how the presentation had been a success. I even told her about the shoe design Kaitlynn had made for my department, and how it had been chosen by Lana without her being the wiser.
In fact, the only person who hadn’t gone away from the presentation satisfied had been Lana herself. She’d been pissed at me for not thinking to destroy the PDF copies Kaitlynn had made for the portfolio. Now she couldn’t sell the designs to our competitors.
What surprised me most was how angry Brick had been with Lana before that, though. He was always the easy-go-lucky kind of guy, nothing ever seemed to bother him. But he’d taken it personally when his department’s portfolio had gone missing. And he’d blamed it on his mother entirely.
“No wonder why he hadn’t been able to keep her distracted and out of the apartment for over five minutes tonight,” Gabby mused. “He probably confronted her about it.”
“Just think what he’d do if he knew I’d been the one to take it,” I murmured in a hollow, guilt-stricken voice.
She stroked my arm in a comforting fashion. “If he knew the whole story, he’d understand. Hell, he probably would’ve helped you trick her into thinking you were stealing the portfolio.”
I glanced at her. “Except I didn’t tell him. And if he found out now, he might never forgive me. And honestly…” I shook my head before lifting a helpless hand. “I wouldn’t blame him.”
“Oh, bullshit,” Gabby insisted, clutching my face and forcing me to look at her. “From the way you talk about him, he’s the most important person in your life. He didn’t get that way from not trusting you as much as you trust him. He would understand. Hell, you’re doing most of this for him anyway, to help free him from Lana too. Who could just shrug that off?”
I gulped before lowering my face. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” Then she preened and straightened her back. “I mean, I usually am, so you might as well just get used to me always being right, anyway.”
I sniffed out an amused smile. When I met her gaze, her smug grin softened into a sympathetic one. “Come here,” she whispered, opening her arms to me.
Going to her eagerly, I burrowed my face into her hair as she hugged me and murmured into my ear, “Everything will be okay. Promise.”
Believing her, I spent the rest of the night right there against her, either making love to her or dreaming with her in my arms.
Chapter 27
Gabby
When I opened my eyes the next morning, I found myself staring at a stranger.
As I blinked at him, trying to figure out if he was real or not, he grinned pleasantly. “Well, hello there, gorgeous.”
“Oh my God!” I shrieked.
He was definitely real.
Lurching upright, only for the sheet that had been covering me to slip down, I gasped out another yelp and scrambled to catch it before I showed off all my bits.
Who the hell was this guy?
Once I had the covers firmly tucked up under my armpits and had shoved dark locks out of my face, I focused on the man who hadn’t moved a muscle, except maybe to widen his devilish, handsome grin as he watched me fumble about.
Waving his fingers, he added, “Good morning to you too.”
I glanced around the room. Hayden was nowhere to be found, but this guy had no qualms about being in his room apparently.
“Who’re you?” I said, coming back around to blink at him.
“What a coincidence.” With a delighted chuckle, he plopped onto the bed beside me, still fully clothed, and stretched out—with his shoes on and everything—before rolling onto his side to face me as he rested his chin on his hand. “I was going to ask you that very same question.”
“Where’s Hayden?” I countered.
The stranger shrugged. “No idea.” He was wickedly handsome, the wicked part seemed to be because he knew how he looked and maximized on it shamelessly. “But when he returns, I’m going to have to compliment the hell out
of him. It seems my brother’s taste has finally reached a cap because, holy damn.” Shaking his head, he ran his gaze along the sheet covering me. “You are simply stunning.”
“Oh!” I blurted, suddenly realizing, “You must be Brick.”
“I am indeed.” Features brightening with pleasure, he leaned closer. “And this must mean he talks about me nonstop. Says he wishes he could be just like me, I bet.” Lowering his voice, he whispered, “He hasn’t asked you to call out my name when you come, has he?”
“Um, no. He hasn’t.”
Brick shook his head and sighed out a sad, tsking sound. “So he hasn’t even been able to bring you to orgasm yet. Pity.”
What?
I studied Hayden’s brother a moment longer, my amazement growing thicker with each second. This man was cheerful, optimistic, an outrageous flirt, and he didn’t seem to have a single serious bone in his body. Which made me wonder, “How the hell are you two brothers?”
With a broad grin, Brick answered, “Genetics. How the hell have I not even heard about you yet? He’s hiding you away from me because he’s insecure and knows he can’t compare, isn’t he? Not that I blame him. I mean, let’s be real. How could anyone expect you to want to stay with him other than out of pity after meeting all this?”
When he splayed a hand over his body, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m Gabby,” I said, carefully keeping my blanket tucked around me before I held out a hand to shake with him.
“Gabby,” he said smoothly, only to take my fingers into a short, professional shake before letting go. “Short for Gabriella?”
I nodded and returned my hand back to the blanket in order to keep myself fully covered. “Of course. And Hayden and I are fairly new, so there hasn’t really been much time for him to…”
When I struggled to come up with the appropriate phrase, Brick filled in the blanks for me. “Share all the juicy details with me yet?”
“Basically,” I agreed. “We just met last Saturday.”
“Last Saturday?” Brick’s eyebrows shot up in surprise before he let out a low, impressed whistle. “And he’d already gotten you into bed? Wow. Big brother must have some moves hidden up his sleeve after all.”
“Hell yes, he does.” I shivered and purred out a sound of pleasure just thinking about some of those moves.
Brick threw his head back and barked out a ready laugh. “Holy shit, I like you,” he decided. “We’re going to be best friends; I can already tell.”
I wrinkled my face with doubt and sent him a leery glance. “I don’t know, bud. Any best friend of mine is going to have to listen to me bitch about Hayden’s more annoying traits, a lot, and his little brother just doesn’t quite seem like the right choice.”
Brick’s mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me?” he exploded. “Sister, I am the first place you come to bitch about Hayden. I’ve had to put up with that overbearing ass for thirty years now. I mean, come on. Who better would understand his pompous, highbrow—”
“Cruelly sarcastic,” I put in.
“Knows better than anyone,” Brick added.
“Always has to have the last word.”
He pointed at me for coming up with a good one, and then came up with his own. “Purposely says the one thing he knows will piss you off.”
“Asshole,” I finished.
We nodded to each other, only to burst out laughing together.
“Damn, you already know him well,” Brick decided.
I shrugged. “Well, he doesn’t exactly hide his negative side.”
Brick snorted. “No. He’s too busy hiding his good one.”
That made me smile and realize Hayden’s brother had him pegged exactly the same way I did.
“Yeah,” I said softly, remembering all the good things I’d caught glimpses of over the past few days, things I was seeing more and more the closer Hayden and I grew. “He is, isn’t he?”
Watching me curiously as if he wanted to know what I was thinking, Brick finally turned serious. “Just don’t fuck him over, ’kay? He hasn’t had the best track record with women.”
I sent Brick a soft smile. “I know,” I said. “And I won’t. I swear. His mother couldn’t pay me enough to go away.”
As Brick lifted his eyebrows, as if surprised to learn I knew all about his mother paying off Hayden’s past women, I held up a finger. “Because one of these days, I swear, I’m finally going to have the last word with that man, and I’m not going anywhere until I get it.”
Brick threw his head back and laughed.
“Good,” he murmured, nodding his approval. “You keep fighting until you get that word.”
With a pleased sigh, he held out a fist for me to bump. As soon as we stamped our knuckles together, he turned into all-jokes and flirty-brother again. “So, about this sex,” he said, leaning in confidentially closer. “I gotta know what he does that you—”
I cut him off with my laughter, hollering so loud that I had to throw my head back to let it all out. The man really was a man-whore, wasn’t he?
Before I could answer, a voice from the doorway dryly asked, “Am I interrupting?”
With a gasp, I zipped my face toward the entrance of the room to find a fully dressed Hayden leaning against the doorjamb, watching me laugh naked on his bed with his brother. A to-go bag hung from one hand, telling me he must’ve popped out to get us breakfast.
Damn, he could be the sweetest thing. And now my stomach was growling as I wondered what was in the bag.
Next to me, Brick answered, “Yes. I haven’t even gotten her to drop the sheet yet. Give us at least another thirty seconds, will you, bro?”
Hayden pushed away from the door and nonchalantly strolled our way. “I doubt you could figure out how to get her to drop that sheet in thirty years. Gabriella’s a complicated one.” His gaze warmed when he turned his attention to me and stopped next to the bed in order to lovingly stroke his hand over my hair.
“Bonding with my brother?” he guessed.
I fluttered my lashes at him and answered, “Yes. So far, we agree about every single bad habit you have.”
He smiled as if he truly enjoyed hearing that. Then his expression dropped as he sent Brick an unimpressed glance. “And you couldn’t even let her put her clothes on first?”
Brick looked truly confused when he answered, “Why would I want her to put her clothes on?”
Hayden reached over me to smack him on the side of the head. “Get out. Gabby wants to get dressed now.”
“Um, excuse me?” I growled, scowling up at him. “I don’t remember saying that.”
When he sent me a telling glance, I huffed and rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. I do want to get dressed. But I can speak for myself, you know.”
“And there he goes with two more of his irritating habits right there,” Brick pointed out. “Speaking for you when you can damn well speak for yourself, and then sending you those maddening glances that either makes you confess everything or obey on command. It’s like Jedi mind control, I swear.”
I nodded. “Doesn’t it just piss you the fuck off?”
“Truly,” Brick agreed, only to roll his eyes and mumble, “Okay, okay. I’m going,” when Hayden transferred that very look to him without saying a word.
“And shut the door behind you,” Hayden added.
Brick obeyed, grumbling the entire way across the room before he sent me one last wink over his shoulder. “At least find something slinky to wear, will you, Gabs?”
Hayden turned back to me and didn’t take his eyes off me, even after he heard the door shut behind him. As he continued to gaze down at me, he set the to-go bag on the nightstand and crossed his arms over his chest like some kind of disappointed father.
But all he said was, “Morning.”
My mouth went dry. Under the sheets, my nipples perked to attention. Heat and moisture collected between my legs. I kind of really wanted to squirm under his intense stare but I didn’t want him t
o realize how much the way he merely looked at me affected my girl parts.
“I was hoping to return before you woke,” he added softly, watching me as if he knew exactly what he was stirring up inside me, anyway.
“You probably would have,” I answered. “But someone else woke me first.”
“Broderick.” He sighed in disgust, even though he didn’t look disgusted at all as his gaze slid over the curves I made under his sheets. “I apologize for his intrusion. I had no idea he’d be stopping by this morning.”
“It’s fine,” I said, my breaths coming a little heavier. “He’s pretty entertaining, actually.”
“He’s pretty annoying, you mean.” Still focused on the sheet, Hayden reached out to slowly trace my lines through the cloth, only to come to a stop when he reached the top-most swell of my hip.
I smiled and closed my eyes, enjoying the heat of his touch through the thin material. “The same could be said about you, you know.”
“But I’m an entirely different kind of annoying.”
I sighed and stretched, wanting more. “True.”
When I heard something drop dully to the floor, I opened my eyes to realize he was toeing off his shoes. My gaze met his as he took his hand off me in order to reach for the buckle of his belt.
Oh, damn. My stomach pitched with excitement.
Since it went against my very moral fiber to give in too easily to anything, even if I wanted it desperately, I arched an eyebrow and said, “I suppose you think you know how to get me to drop this sheet, huh?”
He smiled. “Oh, you’d never willingly drop that sheet for anyone. That’s what I know.”
I nodded. “Smart boy.”
“If you did that, you’d essentially be admitting how much you want me right now, and that’s not your style, which is why no amount of Brick’s smiles or charms or schmoozing could ever convince you to let go of that cloth.” Removing his belt, he tossed it to the side. “But me? I don’t charm. I just take.”
Reaching out, he gathered a fistful of the sheet and then slowly pulled it off me without asking.
“Fuck,” he breathed once I was exposed to him, fully nude. “I knew they’d be as hard as berries. You’re already completely ready for me, aren’t you?” He began to crawl onto the bed.