Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7)

Taming The Boss

Mallory Crowe

CHAPTER ONE

Cali pushed past the crowds of people as she felt her entire world crumble around her. This

couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not to her.

And not here.

She could see heads turning to stare at her out of the corner of her eye, and she tried to move

faster out of the packed ballroom. This was supposed to be a fun night. She’d put on her brand new

dress, gotten her hair and makeup done, and was going to hobnob with the elite of New York City.

The dress Easson had bought her. The tickets to the party Easson had provided.

Her hands trembled as she finally reached the exit to the ballroom and emerged into the

deserted hallway on the other side.

She turned and fell against the cool wall, staring inside the still open door into the party. All the

people in the ballroom seemed so happy and carefree. She shouldn’t be surprised. The rich and

powerful didn’t have all that many reasons to stress out. She’d been around enough of them to know

their made-up dramas and issues.

It was one of the reasons she liked the Devereaux brothers so much. They mostly avoided the

theatrics of so many other people she’d met in the high-class society. At least until Easson. Easson,

who’d been so careful with her. Who’d been so thoughtful and generous every step of their

relationship.

Easson, who’d apparently been using her to get close to her boss and his family.

Her hands shook even more, and she clenched them into fists in an effort to calm herself. Well,

who was she kidding? There was no calm right now. But she could at least try to appear calm. That

was all that mattered anyway. Even if she was falling apart inside, she’d look put together. So if Luke

or Evelyn or Easson found her in the hall, she wouldn’t be some blubbery mess with eyeliner rolling

down her cheeks.

She rubbed at her temples and started to run her hands through her loose, blonde hair, only to

remember that the curls were carefully held in place by half a can of hairspray.

She didn’t belong here. Luke and Michael might be nice enough to let her fit in, but being here,

realizing exactly how little she meant to everyone she thought cared about her, it was as if she were at

her first day of college all over again. Knowing that she was the one thing not like the others.

After years of transforming into the perfect chameleon that could go anywhere, do anything,

suddenly she was right back on the outside looking in. Literally.

Cali let out a small laugh as she realized how ridiculous she was being. She wasn’t back to the

girl she’d been. She’d spent years building her skills and network with the Devereaux brothers.

Someone started to walk out of the exit and Cali quickly turned and walked away. Great. Now

she was that woman crying outside a party. She was a walking, teary cliché. Fantastic.

She moved around a corner. This hallway also opened into the ballroom as well, but the doors

were all closed. At least now she’d have more privacy. Cali opened her small clutch that was just big

enough to fit a lipstick, phone, and credit cards. She’d arrived in Easson’s private car service, but she

sure as hell wasn’t leaving with him. There was a chance there would be cabs waiting in front of the

building, but she wasn’t taking the chance. She dialed her go-to cab company and they said they’d be

waiting for her in ten minutes.

She put the phone back in her bag and took a deep breath. She’d be home within the hour and

she could figure out her next steps from there. She couldn’t stay after this, could she?

But she’d walked out quickly. Maybe Luke had a reason for keeping her in the dark. Maybe

there was some sort of magical explanation that would make everything go away.

Cali let out another smile to keep from crying. What could Luke say? Even if he had a perfectly

good explanation, she knew he’d been using her. She’d been asking to take on more responsibility for

years and every time, he’d systematically knocked her down for one reason or another. But that ended

now. She wasn’t going to be used by them anymore.

And that meant she’d have to walk away. Leave the only place she’d worked for the past ten

years and start from scratch.

Damn it, the tears started to come back. Why couldn’t they at least wait until she was in the

safety of her own apartment? But they didn’t wait.

Cali covered her face with her hands and just gave in for a moment. One moment where she

didn’t have to fight to be the perfect socialite or assistant or girlfriend.

“Hey there,” said a deep voice from beside her.

The tears were gone in a heartbeat as Cali jumped at the unexpected intrusion. She looked over

at the man who stood only a few feet from her. She hadn’t heard him approach at all, which was

surprising considering how big he was.

The man was in a white shirt, no tie or jacket. He had dark-brown hair with lighter brown

highlights, and his eyes were so dark in the dim lighting of the hall that they almost seemed black. A

carefully trimmed beard covered his jaw, but it was short enough for her to clearly see his strong

features and striking jawline.

So it wasn’t just anyone who caught her bawling her eyes out in the hallway but a really hot guy.

Of course.

Cali took a step back. “How long have you been there?”

He shrugged. “Not long.”

For a few moments, Cali just stood there, too embarrassed to run away or think of anything

intelligent to say. Her only saving grace was the possibility that maybe this guy didn’t know who she

was.

“I should be going,” she finally muttered as she pulled her clutch in closer.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Cali frowned. “Since when do men want to talk about feelings?”

He shrugged. “Just offering. You seem like you could use a friend.”

She scoffed. “You have no idea.”

“So you do want to talk about it.”

Cali shook her head and dabbed at the spot under her eyes with the pads of her fingers. “Nope. I

think for the moment, I need to swear off men altogether. Boyfriends, bosses, friendly strangers. The

only man I’m interested in at the moment is the cab driver who should be waiting for me downstairs at

any moment.”

“Well, I hope the cheating scumbag gets whatever’s coming to him.” The stranger stepped aside

to let Cali pass.

“I wish he cheated,” muttered Cali.

“You wish he cheated?” repeated the man.

“I’m just...” She struggled to find the right words. “I’m sick of guys using me for their own

gain.”

“Isn’t that the point of most relationships? One person using another.”

She drew her brows together. “I thought I was supposed to be the pessimistic one here.”

“There’s enough to go around.”

“True story,” she said softly. This entire night was a bust now. “I really need to get going.”

The man nodded, but neither of them moved. She kind of wanted to ask his name but was still

much too embarrassed to give her own, so she stayed quiet.

“For what it’s worth,” the man said, “I think they’re morons.”

Cali couldn’t stop the smile that formed. “The men you’ve never met and know nothing about?”

“I think that you’re the most beautiful woman here tonight and anyone who’s not using you for

your looks and body is a moron. I don’t know you well enough to say if people should be using you

for your mind.” He winked.

Cali rolled her eyes at the unexpected flattery. She had no idea how messed up her makeup was

at the moment, but she had tried so hard to look her best for the evening. The navy blue gown had a

deep v-neck that plummeted dangerously low, but the special bra she bought for the occasion kept too

much cleavage from showing. Easson had thrown out the quick, “you look nice” when he’d picked her

up, but he never looked at her like this man was.

“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but my mind is pretty sexy too,” she said with an unexpected

burst of confidence.

The man laughed and nodded in agreement. “I don’t doubt it.”

“I really do need to get going,” she said as they smiled at each other.

“My loss,” said the man.

Cali frowned as she looked the man up and down. She couldn’t hold back her curiosity any

longer. “Who are you?”

“Just a concerned partygoer,” he insisted. “Can’t stand to see a pretty lady sad.”

A hint of Southern accent emerged in his deep voice and she was even more intrigued. She

wondered whether he knew Luke or Michael but quickly discarded the notion because she was sure

she knew everyone Luke and Michael knew at this point.

“Well, thanks to you, I’m less sad,” she said. “So mission accomplished.”

“Then my job is done here.” He smiled again, but she noticed that it didn’t reach his dark eyes.

She wasn’t the only one having a shitty night apparently.

“What’s throwing your night off?” she asked. The cab was probably waiting for her, but she

couldn’t leave the man who’d cheered her up without repaying the favor.

“Just my family being exactly what I expected them to be.”

Cali knew all too well what it was like to have a family that constantly let you down. “Can’t run

from family, I suppose.”

“Oh, I can. And I do. I thought coming here would give me some sort of closure or maybe even

open closed doors. But I think I’m right back where I was before I came.”

“Sometimes you have to cut ties. Don’t even keep a lifeline. You can’t choose your family, but

you can choose to cut that trouble out.”

“Is that what you did?”

Cali pulled herself up straighter. “My family didn’t deserve me. And if I’d held out waiting for

their support or approval, I’d be running in place for years. Just evaluate whether those connections

push you forward or hold you back. Not that I know anything about your life, but that’s my

experience.”

“I appreciate the advice.”

And she’d done nothing at all to cheer him up. Just blabbered on about her own problems. “I

think I made this all about me again.”

“In your defense, I don’t like talking about myself. I’d much rather talk about you.”

She pointed a finger at him. “You’re way too smooth for me to be dealing with in my condition.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Honest intentions. Promise.”

She ran her eyes over the handsome man once more. “Too bad.” Damn. There was that

overconfidence again. Where was this coming from? Some mixture of her frustration with the evening

and the anonymity of not knowing who he was.

His eyes seemed to get even darker with heat, and she knew that a line had been crossed

somewhere. “You should probably head out to your cab,” he said, his voice husky with desire.

She nodded. “Probably.” She didn’t move.

Then he was there, closing the distance between them and covering her mouth with his. The kiss

was fast and fierce. Cali wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, putting all her

anger and hurt from the night into it.

She ran her hands over his face, feeling the rough texture of his beard, a welcome change from

Easson’s clean-shaven jaw.

The man pushed her up against the wall and she gasped in surprise, opening her mouth in the

process, and he was quick to take advantage, his tongue sliding against hers.

This should be a wake-up call. A sign for her to push him away and tell him that she wasn’t the

type to molest strangers in dark corners.

But all she could do was wrap her hands around the nape of his neck, pulling him in close as

her tongue teased his, and she playfully nipped his bottom lip with her teeth. He groaned against her

mouth as his hips pressed into hers, the evidence of his arousal hard against the softness of her

stomach. His hands roamed down her side, over the curve of her waist and along her hips before

moving back up to her ass and pulling her more fully against him, parting her legs with one of his feet

as he started to trail kisses down her neck.

Cali let her eyes drift shut as the sensations overtook her. All of her problems, cares, and

concerns flew away until there was only her and this man and the things he was doing to her. As long

as she was here, nothing could touch her.

Until the sound of voices broke into their sensual haze and Cali’s eyes shot open. Someone was

coming.

The man must’ve heard them too, as he gave her neck one last kiss and stroked it ever so gently

with the tip of his tongue before he straightened and held her in is arms, as though he would shield her

with his body if the voices got any closer.

As the two men approached, Cali gripped the man’s shoulders, the nerves snaking through her.

What would be worse? Caught crying in the hallway alone or caught undressing one of the guests?

Considering how handsome the man in her arms was, she couldn’t say she’d be too ashamed, but the

corporate world wasn’t exactly all that forward-thinking. If people thought she had loose morals,

there would be talk.

And considering that she was probably going to be floating job applications in the near future,

she didn’t need that kind of talk.

But then the men were leaving and she and the stranger were alone again. She let out a pent-up

breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. Bullet dodged. “That was close,” she whispered.

“That,” the man bent his head toward hers, “was bad timing.” He kissed the top of her forehead

and took a deep breath, as though inhaling her scent. “Come back to my room with me.”

Cali took a nervous swallow. “Um...you have a room here?” That meant he wasn’t a local. If

she was going to have a one-night stand with someone, she might as well do it with someone who

wasn’t going to be in the city to make things awkward.

“A very nice room. Plenty of room for two people.” He pulled back and those dark eyes met

hers, and for a moment, she was completely caught in his spell. Who wouldn’t want to spend the night

with this beautiful creature?

“I shouldn’t,” she breathed. Cali knew that with everything going on she probably wasn’t

thinking clearly. And as much as she was obviously attracted to this man, she knew nothing about him.

She was all for free love, but she made it a point not to go home with serial killers. And there was a

good chance this guy could be absolutely crazy.

Though, now that she thought about it, Easson might be a serial killer from the way that Luke

and Evelyn made it sound. She felt the blood rush to her face as she realized exactly how much she’d

done with Easson over the past few weeks.

“I, um, I need to leave.” She firmly put her hands on the man’s hard chest and pushed him away

from her. “Thank you for, um, talking with me. I needed it.” Without waiting another second, she held

her clutch close to her chest and practically ran from the man and to the elevator. Sure, she made an

ass of herself, but at this point, there wasn’t much left to lose.

CHAPTER TWO

Rourke watched the pretty blonde run down the hall and let out a curse. That wasn’t part of the

plan. He’d followed Luke’s receptionist out here, hoping to pry information out of her about what his

brothers were up to, but instead things had gotten…derailed. Derailed in the best way possible, he

supposed.

He glanced down to his still hard erection. Well, he supposed things could’ve gone better. But if

he’d taken her back to his room, he would’ve had to give her a name, and he didn’t know whether he

wanted anyone to know he was back in town. And the idea of giving her a fake name before sleeping

with her sounded skeevy, even to him.

Cali didn’t seem like the woman he’d expected to meet. From all accounts, the famed assistant

to his brothers was cold and calculating. She might’ve looked like an ice princess with her crystal-

blue eyes, light blonde hair, and blue dress that hung to all her curves like a lover, but she’d felt like

fire in his arms.

“You know you need an invitation to be here,” said a voice from behind him.

Rourke straightened and glared at the newcomer. He wasn’t sure how long this man had been

there, but he wasn’t used to people sneaking up on him. “I have an invitation,” he said. It was

conveniently located in his jacket, which he’d left on the back of a chair in the overheated ballroom,

but he did have one.

The man came closer. He was tall with short, light-brown hair and the muscular build of

someone who didn’t work behind a desk all day. And judging from the bulge in his jacket, he was

packing some sort of firearm. “I have seen the guest list. You’re not on it, Mr. Devereaux.”

Rourke glared at the man and tried to size up the threat. The man was imposing and carrying, but

it wasn’t the first time Rourke had faced those odds. Even so, he’d rather avoid a fight. “I’m not here

to start anything.”

“Funny. I’m here to make sure you don’t start anything.”

“Did Luke and Michael send you? I thought they’d be man enough to face me themselves.”

“I work for Walter Farrell, and I’m here to try to make sure his party goes off without a hitch.”

“Party planner with a gun. How unique.”

The man narrowed his eyes but didn’t defend himself. Rourke had a feeling this guy didn’t

spend a lot of time explaining his actions to anyone. And if he was who Rourke suspected, he knew

that was true. Colin Carter. Farrell’s bitch boy. Pulled out of the gutter by the tycoon and cleaned up

into a loyal guard dog.

A guard dog with serious bite.

“You can leave here on your own or I can make you leave. What’s your preference?”

His preference was not being told what to do. But he’d already gotten everything he’d come for

(even if he would’ve preferred to get a bit more from the delectable Cali). If he started shit with

Carter, chances were his brothers would find out he was here, and that was the last thing he wanted at

the moment. “I was just on my way out,” he said with a menacing smile, as if to say you’re lucky I’m

going on my own.

Carter stood his ground, as though waiting for Rourke to move.

“I need to go back in to grab my jacket.” Rourke pointed to the closed door behind the armed

man. “Did you want to hold my hand the entire time?”

Carter stepped aside to let Rourke past, but he knew that the man would be watching him the

entire time. Let him. He wasn’t lying when he said that he was on his way out.

He glanced around the room as he entered, making sure that Luke was nowhere in sight. He

hadn’t seen Michael that evening, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t show up. When he verified that

none of his family was in the room, he headed for the table where he’d left his jacket and slid it on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luke cross to the balcony, rubbing his wrists as he moved

and glancing around the room. Rourke averted his gaze to the table as Luke looked in his direction.

A moment later, Rourke saw his brother head outside to meet with someone he didn’t recognize

on the balcony. The man was surrounded by people—bodyguards. Rourke studied the man,

determined to figure out who he was once he got back home, and then he realized that Carter was at

the back of the room, glaring at him.

He’d officially worn out his welcome and it was time to get going. He adjusted his jacket once

more and strode out of the ballroom. The crowd of people parted for him as he made his way out.

He wasn’t sure what he expected by coming here tonight, but he’d seen enough. Luke was

making his assistant cry and meeting with shady figures in the meantime.

The same Luke he’d grown up with. The oldest of the three brothers, Luke had always basked in

the spotlight. He and Joslyn had always been the scene-stealers while Rourke, Michael, and Emma

were their own little trio.

Not that any of them were what could be described as loners. Emma was a cheerleader, and

Rourke and Michael both had their time to shine on the football team, but they’d never craved it like

the oldest cousins did.

It only made sense that those two would turn out to be the crazy ones in the family, even if only

one was behind bars at the moment.

Rourke wondered what Luke had done to make Cali so upset. She said it was her boyfriend and

boss who were using her. Did that mean the boyfriend and boss were one and the same? Was Luke

sleeping with her? It wouldn’t surprise Rourke. Luke wasn’t known for his monk-like tendencies, and

Rourke knew he could never work side by side with someone as gorgeous as Cali without his baser

instincts taking over.

Though, judging from the Ice Queen rumors about the assistant, she didn’t seem the type to have

secret late-night trysts with the CEO.

But it wasn’t as if he knew her. One five-minute conversation and intense hallway make-out

session hardly qualified as knowing someone. Though he wouldn’t mind if he got to know her much

better.

Damn, this entire evening would’ve been so much better if Cali and he were back at his room

right now. She’d already be naked and beneath him if he had anything to say about it. Then again,

she’d had a rough night. Maybe he’d spend half an hour or so driving her crazy before he even thought

about thrusting inside her welcoming body.

Rourke pressed the button for the elevator and shelved his fantasies of the sexy secretary. He’d

be back to his room soon enough, and, considering he’d be unfortunately alone, he’d let himself go

much deeper into all the things he wanted to do to Cali.

Too bad he’d never see her again. He’d come here as a last chance to check on his family and

see whether they were worth saving. All his worst fears had been confirmed.

From now on, he was a Devereaux by name only.

CHAPTER THREE

Cali forced herself to get out of bed. She’d been dreading this moment ever since she’d left

Walter Farrell’s party, and she really didn’t want to have to go through with it. But it was past time.

She was going to tell Luke how she felt, once and for all. No more pussyfooting around what she

wanted so she could be a good employee.

He’d clearly showed her he was number one to him and she’d always fall short. And to be

honest, she didn’t fault his logic all that much. If anything, she was envious. She should be putting

herself first too, not playing second fiddle to her bosses. Sure, when she was just starting out, she was

more than happy to get coffee and run dry-cleaning for the brothers, but things had changed.

She was no longer a college student desperate to get her foot in the door. She was well-known

through the business circles and could have her choice of new employers. Employers who might

appreciate her and not try to corner her into a dead-end position for years at a time.

She padded into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her bright blue eyes stared back at her

as she pulled the hair tie out of her hair and unfurled her braid. The normally straight hair was given

at least a little bit of volume if she slept with it braided, and except for going out to the fancy parties

and dinners, she tried to avoid hairspray.

The bleach she used on the strands was harsh enough, so she made a point to try to avoid

chemicals as much as possible. She looked completely different than she had when she first came to

the city. Her nails had a fresh manicure, the color a discreet nude shade that didn’t draw attention but

looked neat and clean. Her hair had the dye job and layers that cost a ridiculous amount but were

worth every penny to see how the style accentuated her cheekbones and pale complexion.

She smiled wistfully as she thought back to her high school days. Back then, she knew nothing

about fashion or makeup. It had been hard enough to get out of that life alive, let alone worry about

her eyeliner staying in place.

But now beauty was part of survival. Ever since she started putting time and effort into her

appearance, things changed. Sure, some guys were more preferential to her since she changed, but

everyone treated her different. Women wanted to be friends with her, guys would talk to her. And not

just to hit on her. She was included in business conversations that the old her would’ve never been

invited to.

When she first started as an intern at DevX Tech, she’d sat back and listened intently to every

one of these work lunches she was invited to. But it was only when she ended up sitting at a table

with Michael Devereaux that he took notice of her observation skills and her well-rounded

knowledge of the company and recommended Luke take her on as his assistant.

It was one of the happiest moments of her life. But she’d never thought that job would last

almost a decade. Or that she’d be trapped in Luke’s shadow for the rest of her life.

Cali started on her twenty-minute makeup routine, beginning with the foundation that made her

face flawless and ending with just enough mascara and eye shadow to bring out the blue in her eyes a

bit more.

This was her standard work look and she could practically do it in her sleep. But that was

where her normal routine stopped. She glanced at the clock. It was ten a.m., way past when she

normally arrived at the office on a Monday.

But today wasn’t just any Monday. There was no perfectly coordinated outfit and heels just high

enough to make her legs look longer but short enough to not kill her. Instead, she pulled on a pair of

skinny jeans, some brown boots that stopped just below the knee and a fitted t-shirt with a gray and

orange floral pattern.

She topped off the look with her brown leather jacket that stopped right where her jeans began

and the black coffee that she couldn’t leave the house without, even if she had the chance to sleep in.

Satisfied with the overall look, she left the apartment and headed down the one flight of stairs

and onto the New York streets. As she crossed to the subway entrance only a block away from her

apartment, she checked her phone. More missed calls from Luke and a bunch more from what was

apparently Easson’s new number.

After Saturday morning, she’d given up on even checking her messages. They were all either

Luke or Easson.

Her stomach turned as she thought of her now ex. According to the news that had been all over

the television during the weekend, he’d escaped police custody and was on the run. She was perfectly

happy pretending that nothing had ever happened between her and the man now wanted for attempted

murder. He insisted he wanted to talk to her, but she didn’t want to hear what he had to say. There was

nothing he could tell her that would make her forgive him, and, to be completely honest, she was

terrified to be alone with him after everything she’d heard on the news.

As she descended into the subway boarding platform, she forced herself to clear her mind of the

troubling thoughts and focused on the people around her. People watching was her favorite part of

being in such a big city. The knowledge that she was surrounded by people but completely anonymous

was rather nice.

After the twenty-minute trip, she was let out at the stop right outside of the DevX Tech building.

Her nerves started to beat at her as she got closer. No. She was handing in her resignation to Luke

today and she wasn’t leaving until that was done. There was no wimping out now. Just walk in, list

out her demands and leave. That was it.

She tried to think of calming thoughts to ease her nerves, and suddenly she was flooded with

images of the stranger from Walter Farrell’s party. His smile, the feel of his lips against hers, against

her neck, his hands wandering over her.

Cali rubbed at her forehead. Damn. Maybe she should’ve taken the man up on his offer to go

back to his room. She probably could’ve used a pleasant distraction to get her through the weekend.

And, although she knew almost nothing about this guy, she had a feeling pleasant was an

understatement for how he could make her feel.

No. No daydreaming for her at the moment. She had to take care of business first. And her

business was making sure Luke and Michael knew where she stood after the weekend’s events.

She nodded a hello to the man at the security station and headed to the elevator. The familiar

ride seemed to take ten times longer than normal as the floors whizzed by. Once the doors opened, her

heart practically leaped into her throat.

She could do this. She would do this. One step to take control of her life. To take the reins back

from the Devereaux brothers. She passed her empty reception desk and went straight to Luke’s office.

Sure, she worked for Michael and Luke, but Luke was the one she spent most of her time with.

And Luke wasn’t alone in his office. Why would he be? That would make things easy, and

nothing was ever easy.

Instead Evelyn, the fake intern who was actually an FBI agent, leaned against the table in the

back corner of his office while Michael and Lori sat on the couch.

Luke stood as soon as he saw her. He looked good considering the weekend he’d had. His dark

hair was slicked back and his face was clean shaven, so his great bone structure was free for the

world to see and admire. But he seemed to have come out of the whole ordeal with Easson unscathed.

Evelyn, however, didn’t seem as lucky. Though her long, dark curls were loose and down, she was

hunched forward the slightest bit. The news said that Easson had assaulted an FBI agent. Now her

suspicions about who that agent was were confirmed.

A cold feeling sunk into her knowing that this man she’d trusted...that she’d been alone with

countless times…had been capable of doing that to someone.

Cali looked away from Evelyn and focused back to Luke. Before she could say anything, he

spoke. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been calling you all weekend.”

“Luke didn’t know anything,” promised Evelyn right away. “I only just learned who Easson was

and we were going to take him in for questioning as soon as my superiors got a team together to do it.

I swear I wouldn’t have waited longer if I thought you were in immediate danger.”

Michael stood and approached. “Cali, you have to know that you’re like family. We would

never put you in danger.” Michael looked much like his brother. His hair was a bit longer than his

brother’s, and Michael’s suits tended to be a tad more casual. Luke was the face of the company, so

Michael tended to get too caught up in his work to pay attention to the little things.

But he and his brother had always treated her like family. Which was part of the reason this was

so hard for her. “I believe you,” she said softly. And she did. There was no way they would

purposefully put her in danger. But they did put her in a questionable position. And even though they

treated her like family, she wasn’t. And if it came between her and taking out threats to the

Devereauxs, she knew she’d draw the short straw. “But I think it’s well past time for me to move on.”

Lori looked between the brothers and Evelyn, obviously uncomfortable with the whole

scenario. And Cali wasn’t too happy about having Michael’s girlfriend in the room either. Just then,

all eyes turned to the doorway and Cali turned to see Emma Devereaux and a tall, muscular man who

looked like a linebacker.

“Did I interrupt something?” she asked as she realized the whole family was meeting together.

The man behind Emma pointed at Cali. “This is the girl making out in the video?”

Cali felt the blood drain from her face. “Um...”

But before she could think of a coherent sentence, Luke rushed out from behind his desk and set

a hand on her arm, leading her out of the room, past Emma and the strange man and into the

conference room. “We need to talk.” He shut the door behind them.

It didn’t stay closed for long. A second later, Michael pulled it open and everyone from Luke’s

office came in after them.

“This involves all of us.” Emma and the man she was with stood on the other side of the

conference table. The man held her hand in his and Cali figured it was probably Jace, the man Emma

was seeing and Luke couldn’t stand. For some reason, Luke didn’t seem that annoyed with their

relationship at the moment. He was much more focused on Cali, and that didn’t make her feel good.

“What involves all of you? Me quitting? This was a long time coming, Luke.”

“You’re not quitting,” he bit out. “But that’s not what this is about.”

“It’s about the guy you were with after Farrell’s party.” Michael stood right next to Luke in front

of her.

Cali felt the blood rush to her face. This wasn’t happening... “I don’t know what you’re talking

about.”

“I have surveillance video from the night,” said Evelyn softly. “We saw what happened.”

No, no, no, no. “It was just something that happened, okay? I didn’t even know his name and it

was over as soon as it started. You should know that if you saw the video.”

“We know who it was,” said Luke.

Michael stepped forward. “It was Rourke. I want to know what you were doing making out with

our brother.”

Cali felt as though someone had slapped her in the face. “What?” she breathed, barely able to

form words.

Luke tightened his lips. “We saw it for ourselves. We would recognize Rourke anywhere. Do

you know what he was doing there?”

“And how did you start talking to him?” asked Michael.

“Umm...I...” She thought back to the handsome man. His hair was a bit lighter than the brothers’

in front of her, but he had the same big build. The same striking features...

Oh no. How had she not seen it? She’d seen one or two pictures of the famed lost Devereaux

brother, but she’d never paid that much attention to the attractive teenager. No reason to. Their family

drama wasn’t any of her business. She liked to think she had a good memory for faces, but the man

who’d talked to her, who kissed her, had a trim beard that would’ve made recognition much harder

unless she was actively looking for it.

“I’m sorry, but what happened last night was an accident. I didn’t know who he was and I left

before finding out why he was there.”

Evelyn stepped forward and set a hand on Cali’s arm. “We know. As intense as they’re being

right now, they only want to know why their brother was in town. No one is blaming you for

anything.”

Cali’s eyes widened as she looked at the people interrogating her. Blaming her? What would

they blame her for? If anyone was going to be blaming anyone else, it should be her! “None of this

matters,” she insisted. “Whether it was Rourke or not, that’s not what I’m here about. I wanted to give

you notice that, effective immediately, I’m no longer working for DevX Tech. I appreciate all you’ve

done for me but I think we can all agree that after the other night, some lines were crossed and it’s

best that we end things now.”

Luke shook his head. “No. You can’t leave, Cali.”

“I can and I’m going to.”

“You belong here,” he insisted.

“You’re family to us, Cali. You know that,” added Michael.

She snorted. “Right. You two have a strange way of showing love. By keeping me in the same

dead-end position for a decade and then using me to track down Easson.”

“They didn’t know you were being used,” said Evelyn.

Cali glared at her. “Not helping.”

“Just…take a few days,” said Luke. “Think this over and we can discuss it later in the week to

see if you feel the same.”

Give it a few days? No. She knew her resolve was already shaky enough. If she waited longer,

she’d be right back to square one. “I’m sorry, Luke. But I can’t wait around for you to let me go. If I

do that, I’ll be your assistant forever.”

“And where are you going to go?”

She shrugged. “You know I can get another job in a heartbeat. I get offers all the time but I’ve

always said no. I’ll just make a few calls and I’ll be in some other office by next week. An office that

will put my experience and college degrees to work,” she added pointedly. She had enough in savings

to get her through a month or two in the city. Maybe she’d take some time to travel. Relax. Really

evaluate what she wanted over the next few years.

She’d always imagined her future was with the Devereaux brothers. That they’d see her worth

and promote her accordingly. And, to their credit, they’d been generous with the raises and the well

over six-figure income had kept her happy enough.

But she wanted to be a part of something, not just assisting it. She almost felt like a kept

woman. Being paid to do something that she knew was below her. It had been worth it for the men she

considered family. Who considered her family.

Not anymore.

Michael stepped forward. “If you want to leave, we can’t stop you.”

Cali let out a breath. Thank goodness, they weren’t going to keep fighting her on this.

“But we have one last job for you,” said Michael.

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. “You can’t make me do anything else if I want to leave.”

“But I can offer you lots and lots of money.”

That had Cali’s attention. “What kind of lots of money?”

“I know you. I know your plan. Save two million and live off the interest. That was the dream,

right? Your goal for retirement.”

She was quiet. It was her dream and not one she’d been all that quiet about. She made no secret

of her desire to save up two million in investments and live off the interest and dividends. At five

percent, she’d be making a hundred grand a year just for having the money set aside. That kind of

income could keep her in a modest living for the rest of her life. And it was much more than her

family had growing up.

“You’re offering me two million?” she asked, still skeptical.

“If you convince Rourke to come back to the family business, the money is yours,” said

Michael.

Cali bit at her bottom lip. “Luke, did you know about this?”

Luke glanced at Michael. “No. But it’s true. You bring Rourke back to us, the money is yours.”

“Why do you need me? Just call him and ask him to come back.”

“Do you think we haven’t tried that?” said Michael. “We’ve been trying to talk sense into

Rourke for years, but he hasn’t said more than two words to us. You, however, he connected with.

You got through to him once. You just have to do it again.”

“I’m not sleeping with him.”

She was gratified by the pallor that came over Luke. “For fuck’s sake, we’re not asking you to

do that. Just go talk to him. I have the address of where he’s been staying. See if he’ll talk to you.

Open up. If it doesn’t work, that’s fine. We’ll even keep your salary coming as long as you’re working

on it.”

“You aren’t worried I’ll just go on a month-long vacation to keep getting a salary?”

Luke looked her straight in the eye. “I’m not even a little bit worried about that.”

She let out a deep sigh. Well, shit. This hadn’t gone to plan at all. Cali rubbed at her temples

and ran her fingers through her hair, but she wasn’t even contemplating saying no. Two million and

she could do whatever she wanted. Work for a nonprofit. Travel. That would be her ticket to life on

her terms.

She opened her eyes and realized everyone in the room stared at her. The entire family was

pinning their hopes on her being able to talk sense into the long-lost brother who she’d only talked to

for mere minutes. No pressure.

“Just give me his address,” she finally said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Cali tried to keep her eyes on the road, but it was hard as the gorgeous fall scenery flew by the

window. The leaves were a mixture of bright yellows, oranges, and reds. The entire effect gave the

landscape a rather dreamy effect.

Nothing like she’d see in the harsh environment of New York City. She’d been there so long

now that she almost forgot what a true fall looked like. She supposed she never really had time to

appreciate the beauty of it when she was younger. Fall was always a signal that winter was on its

way, and that was her least favorite season of all.

Back then, the changing leaves were a sign of bad things coming.

She hoped that wasn’t the case anymore. Maybe now it was a sign of good things coming her

way. Preferably two million good things coming her way.

She glanced at the GPS on her phone and saw that the next turn was still five miles up. It

seemed as if she’d already been driving through the forests of Maine forever. It was strange to go so

long without any sign of civilization, but she supposed a reclusive billionaire would go as far as

possible away from people. She was half surprised he wasn’t out in the middle of the Arizona desert.

Now that would’ve been a boring drive.

She still had no idea what she was going to say when she saw Rourke. Hey, your kiss was

fantastic—why don’t you come back to the city with me and reunite with your brothers? That was

going to go over well.

It would help if she knew what had come between the men in the first place, but Luke and

Michael had remained tight-lipped. They’d insisted it was in the past and didn’t matter for what she

was trying to do.

Which told her one very important thing. Whatever happened, Michael and Luke were ashamed.

Which meant it was really bad and they still felt bad about it to this day. So the job of getting Rourke

to come to the city and reconcile was probably impossible.

But, hey, for two million dollars, she’d at least try.

She was kind of surprised Rourke wasn’t in Georgia. That was his childhood home and his

family name was renowned in the whole county. But everyone knowing your name wasn’t exactly

great for being reclusive.

Cali didn’t have time to deal with a melodramatic poor little rich boy. The outcome of his

decision was going to affect the rest of her life, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer if she

could help it.

After another half an hour of driving, she finally reached the address that Luke had given her.

She brought the car to a stop a few yards away from the driveway and looked up at the house.

It wasn’t what she expected. She’d half thought Rourke would be living in some dilapidated

mansion that was all dark and moody. But the historical Victorian was the exact opposite of dark and

moody. The wooden siding was a bright white that was obviously well maintained. The wraparound

porch had blue floorboards that added to the ocean atmosphere. She couldn’t see the water from the

road but knew from looking at the maps that the house was on a bay.

The house was three stories tall and she had no idea whether there was a basement. Seemed

rather large for one guy to have all to himself.

That was, assuming it was just one guy. Luke and Michael hadn’t seen or spoken to Rourke in

years. What if he had a family here? A little wife and kids all living off of his old family money in this

perfect little house on the ocean. Or a bay that fed into the ocean. Did that still count as ocean?

Well, it couldn’t be that happy of a family if he was making out with random women in the city.

It would make for an awkward conversation if some housewife did answer the door, but she had

handled more awkward conversations in her time with the Devereaux brothers.

She just needed to get up the nerve, walk up to the door and ring the bell. She could do this.

But her foot couldn’t manage to step on the gas pedal to bring her closer to the house.

That was fine. She could walk the rest of the way. No big deal. She’d had to entertain some of

the most famous people in the city. She could handle this one guy. She stepped out of the car and put

one foot in front of the other.

So what if her entire future depended on how this conversation played out? She could handle it.

She’d dressed in her power heels and the jeans that made her legs look as if they went on forever and

as if she actually had an ass. Her blouse was a soft black silk that went with her black boots and

stood out against her blonde hair.

She paused as she reached the front of the house. The main door was painted the same cheery

blue as the porch and was much more intimidating than the color suggested. As though it was daring

her to approach and take her chances.

“Two million dollars,” she repeated as she forced herself to climb the steps. From the porch,

she could just about see the water on the other side of the house. It looked as though the structure was

built on the top of a hill, so it overlooked the bay.

Much more charming than her view from her second-story apartment. She just counted herself

lucky that the man in the apartment across the street didn’t walk around naked all the time.

She cautiously leaned in closer to the door. She didn’t hear anyone inside, but there was a truck

in the driveway, so there was probably someone there. Whether it was Rourke was still to be

determined.

Taking a deep breath, Cali pushed her nerves back and knocked on the door three times. It was

only then that she noticed the doorbell next to the door. Should she have rung that first? Growing up,

she was so used to doorbells not working, she didn’t even think to look for one, and in the city, the

intercom served as a bell.

The seconds ticked by and she wondered whether she should ring the bell. If she went in now,

would it be too soon? She’d give it ten more seconds before she rang again. She didn’t want to come

across as crazy.

But then the door was pulled open and Rourke Devereaux’s dark eyes were on her. He’d traded

the formal suit for a pair of worn jeans, marked with random splotches of paints and tears that seemed

completely authentic, and a red and gray flannel shirt with the top few buttons undone. The sleeves

were rolled up, revealing strong forearms with a splattering of brown hair that dusted his arms and

even the top of his chest.

“I had a feeling you’d be knocking on my door.”

~~~~~

Shit. Rourke had a feeling this was going to happen the moment he set hands on Cali, and now it

was time to pay for his impulsive actions. “Didn’t take too long for you to track me down, did it?”

Cali squared her shoulders and met his eyes. This was a different woman from the one he’d met

on Friday. She didn’t seem broken and crushed. She looked determined. As if she were about to eat

him alive and not in the way he wanted.

“Mr. Devereaux. I thought it was time we were properly introduced.”

“I already know who you are, Ms. Carson. Though somehow I thought we were on less formal

terms by now, seeing as how you felt me up just a few days ago.” She raised a brow and stared him

down, not showing the slightest bit of reaction to him bringing up what had happened between them.

What a shame. She’d reverted right back into the cold, sterile corporate woman his brothers

must have turned her into. The real person he’d met at Farrell’s party had been so much more

interesting than the corporate drone standing in front of him.

Beautiful corporate drone, sure, but drone nonetheless.

“I admit that you caught me a bit by surprise on Friday, but I assure you I’m prepared for you

now.”

He shot her a sideways grin. “Prepared for me how?” Finally there was some reaction as a pink

flush filled her cheeks. At least she wasn’t one hundred percent robot.

“Prepared to talk to you on the same level. Because you knew who I was on Friday, didn’t

you?” He didn’t deny it and she continued, “So why don’t you tell me exactly why you were checking

up on your brothers.”

“I wasn’t checking up on my brothers at all. I didn’t even know they were going to be there.”

“Funny. I seem to remember you saying something about checking in on your family. And I don’t

believe for one second that you didn’t know who I was when you followed me into that hallway. So

please stop bullshitting me and let’s have a serious conversation.”

Rourke ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at Cali. He figured it was only a matter of

time before Luke or Michael pulled something to get him back. He just thought they’d have the balls to

talk to him themselves, not hide behind someone who had nothing to do with them. He stepped out of

the house and onto the porch. The screen door swung shut behind him. Cali had to take a step back to

accommodate him.

“My business in the city is my own. I was meeting someone who works with Walter Farrell and

happened to see Luke there. And, just like always, he let me down again. I don’t know why they sent

you here or what they promised you, but I can guarantee I’m not talking to your bosses any time soon.”

Instead of showing any sign of defeat, Cali looked more determined than ever. Her tall heels

brought her almost to his height and she looked him right in the eye. “You sound like a melodramatic

child.”

“I’m a melodramatic child who’s about to kick you off my property.”

She squared her shoulders. “I’m not leaving until we sit down and discuss this like normal

adults.”

“I can carry you off my property.”

“I’m starting to wonder why Luke and Michael want to talk to you at all.”

He smiled at her. “I seem to remember you thinking I was damn charming not too long ago.”

“And I’ve been regretting my actions ever since,” she shot back.

“I’m giving you ten seconds to leave, before I take matters into my own hands,” he warned. She

crossed her arms over her chest and he tried really hard to not see how the motion pushed her breasts

up and together.

“No,” she said.

“No?”

“I told you. I’m not leaving until we have an honest conversation about what happened and

about your family.”

“Okay.” With that, he bent down and tossed Cali over his shoulder.

As expected, she immediately started to scream a whole number of obscenities at him as she

pounded at his back. “What the hell is wrong with you? Set me down right now or I swear to God I’ll

—”

Rourke gave her a swift swat on her ass as he held her tighter against his shoulder. “I don’t care

what you do as long as you do it off my property.”

“I’m going to get my lawyer on the phone so fast my lawsuit is going to destroy you and your

stupid cottage until you have no choice to go back to your brothers,” she screamed into his back.

He rolled his eyes as he adjusted his grip, grabbing her thigh to hold her tightly against him. The

weight was almost nothing in comparison to the loads he carried all the time, but he wasn’t used to

his loads wiggling quite this much. Rourke reached the road and glanced in each direction. There

were no other houses for a while and one small white sedan about two hundred yards away. He had

no idea why she would park so far away, but he wasn’t putting her down until she was as close as

possible to her car.

“I don’t know what lawyers you’re hiring, but I can promise you that mine are better.” That was

a bit of a stretch. The only lawyers he’d ever met with were run-of-the-mill real estate guys, but he

had a feeling his savings account could afford a much better one than the curvy blonde in his arms.

“You just wait!” she threatened. “I know people who could ruin you! I know people who could

make you regret the day you were born!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” he muttered. He gave her ass one more swat for good measure as he

reached her car and bent forward, putting her feet back on solid ground. As he straightened, he took in

Cali’s flushed face and tousled hair. But all that was overshadowed by the fury that shone through her

clear blue eyes.

Good. He wanted her pissed. He wanted to get the point across that she, and her purpose,

weren’t welcome here at his safe haven. “Now, if I see you on my property again, I’ll be calling the

police, and trust me, you’d rather have me manhandling you than be led out in cuffs.”

“You’re a son of a bitch, Rourke Devereaux,” she said, not taking her angry gaze off him.

He leaned in close until his lips almost touched her. “That’s not what you said on Friday.”

Cali planted her palms on his chest and pushed him away. Rourke stayed, invading her personal

space just long enough to prove that he was moving of his own volition and not because of her push.

As he started to head back to his house, he shouted over his shoulder, “Remember what I said. I don’t

want to see you back here again.”

Because next time he wouldn’t carry her out to her car. He’d carry her right up to his bedroom

and keep her there until they were both too distracted to think of anything else.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cali hit the steering wheel of her rental car again as she cursed the day Rourke Devereaux was

ever born. Son of a bitch. He hadn’t even listened to her the slightest bit. Spoiled, rich, arrogant ass.

Why was she surprised? If she wasn’t shoving her tongue down his throat, of course he wouldn’t give

her the time of day.

Typical guy. Manhandling her and using his size to intimidate her. Sure, she couldn’t best him in

a fight, but that didn’t mean she was giving up yet. She just needed to find the right ammunition to use

against him

This might take another trip back to the city to regroup, but she’d be back soon enough. She just

needed to get out of this endless Maine forest and somewhere she could think clearly. The sun was

starting to go down and she didn’t want to be driving in this godforsaken place any longer than she

needed to.

She wanted civilization. Lights. People. How far was it until she got to a big city? She thought it

was an hour, but wasn’t sure. So only about fifty minutes to go.

But the longer she drove, the angrier she got. She’d expected the same attentive, sensitive guy

she’d met at Farrell’s party. That wasn’t who she got. Somehow Rourke had pulled a complete one-

eighty in his attitude.

No wonder Luke and Michael hadn’t been able to talk any sense into their brother. The man was

a tank when it came to listening to reason. But if there was something they’d done that could upset him

this much, there must be some sort of ace in the hole she could play. All she needed to do was find

that weakness and exploit it. Just like he’d used her smallness against her when he... She clenched the

wheel tighter as she remembered how he’d manhandled her. He’d slapped her ass!

Thoughts of making Rourke beg her for understanding, beg her to let him off the hook bubbled in

her head. But she was going to humiliate him the same way he humiliated her, no matter what she had

to do.

A loud bang startled Cali out of her thoughts of revenge as the rental car careened to the right.

Her heart leapt in her throat as the car barreled toward the trees. She slammed on the brakes and

jerked the wheel as far as possible, trying as hard as she could to stop the impact.

The back end of the rental swung out as the car started to twist around, until the rear bumper

slammed into the thick trunk of a pine.

For a few long moments, Cali didn’t move a muscle as the adrenaline pumped through her. What

the hell had—

Another loud bang broke through the eerie silence; the car jerked and tilted down. Cali ducked

down and pressed her body as flat as possible between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s. She

remained as quiet as possible, waiting for another shot or the sound of footsteps approaching.

Gunshot? Was that really what she heard? But what else could it be? She’d heard a gun before.

She’d assumed the loud popping noise before was her tire blowing, but not the second one. Tires

didn’t randomly explode when the car stood still. If it was just a flat, she could take the spare out of

the trunk and change the tire. It had been over a decade since she’d owned a car, but she was sure she

could still figure it out.

But she would bet anything that if she ever built up the nerve to walk out of the car, she’d find

two flats. Which meant someone didn’t want her going anywhere. Someone out there, watching her

right now.

She looked around the car, looking for any sort of weapon, but she was dealing with someone in

the trees and armed. Not to mention dangerous. What if she hadn’t been able to stop? What if she

hadn’t been able to turn the car?

Obviously whoever this was didn’t seem to care.

Another thirty or so endless seconds ticked past and Cali felt more vulnerable by the second.

Then it clicked. Her phone. If she could call 911, maybe they could help. She was probably at least a

half an hour drive from any sort of police station, but it was better than sitting around and waiting to

die.

Her purse had been tossed onto the floor during the skid, and she reached down to the floor. It

was too dark to see anything, but she blindly dug through the bag until she grasped the phone and

pulled it out.

And there was not even a hint of service available. Cali dropped her forehead into the seat as a

wave of hopelessness washed over her. She was stuck. Just waiting for someone to walk up to the

window and finish things.

Except the waiting didn’t stop. She checked her (almost useless) phone and, after ten minutes

passed, she chanced a look out the window. The sun had descended farther, and the trees were eerily

dark. The once beautiful fall foliage was now gone, replaced by menacing shadows.

But there was no hint of a crazed gunman. Just the darkness and the sound of the wind rustling

through the leaves. After a few more minutes, Cali worked up the nerve to get out of the car and

assess the damage. As she’d thought, two of the tires were completely sunken in. With the fading light,

she couldn’t see much. Even when she used her phone like a flashlight, no obvious sign of cause was

evident in either of the two flats.

She straightened and looked around the deserted street. Well damn. If she wasn’t about to die,

she needed to figure something out. Where was the nearest house? She tried to remember her long

drive up here from the city, but the forest around her made it hard to differentiate where exactly she

was. Did she want to wait next to her car for someone to drive by and possibly stop? Or wander

around the creepy road until she found a house and hope whoever it was wouldn’t shoot her for

trespassing on their property?

Cali wrapped her arms around herself as the wind whipped through the trees, chilling her. It

would be a cold night sleeping in the car if it came to that. She reached in the backseat where her

overnight bag was packed. She’d brought enough to last her a few days if needed.

She exchanged her high-heeled boots for her bright pink running shoes and pulled on her brown

leather jacket that helped to cut out the wind. She’d give it a mile and if she didn’t see any lights on in

that time, or get shot by her mysterious attacker, she’d return back to her car and take her chances

there.

Maybe she’d even be able to get a signal, too. Cali started down the road and looked at her

phone as she walked, willing more bars to magically appear. Sure, she didn’t have the best provider,

but she almost never left the city. Everyone had signal in New York.

But the damn bar thingy showed no service. Even worse, every time she looked at the screen,

she was confronted with all the missed calls she must’ve gotten somewhere along the drive when she

still had signal. Five missed calls to be exact, all from Easson. Son of a bitch. Just one break. All she

needed was one little thing for the universe to throw at her right now to make up for all this crap.

She glanced up at the road and everything seemed darker in contrast to the bright screen of the

smartphone. She tucked the phone into her jacket pocket. She needed to be able to see where she was

walking if she didn’t want to add “tripping and breaking her leg” to the list of ways her night had gone

wrong.

Well, she hadn’t been shot. Maybe that was the silver lining? Though now that the whole ordeal

was further and further away, she replayed it in her mind. Had it really been a gunshot? She’d been so

sure at the moment, but thinking back, the whole thing made no sense. She didn’t have enemies. All

the people who had reason to hate her were normally really mad at Luke or Michael. Even Easson...

Lights appeared behind her and Cali turned to see the blinding glare of headlights. She moved to

stand a bit farther on the pavement, and waved her arms, praying that the person who approached

wasn’t an ax murderer. Or any type of murderer, for that matter.

As the vehicle got closer, she saw it was a pickup truck and it was slowing down! Cali let out a

sigh of relief as the truck came to a stop alongside her and the window rolled down. She ran up to see

who the Good Samaritan was, only to stop in her tracks.

“I thought you’d be long gone by now,” drawled Rourke from the driver’s seat.

She opened her mouth and shut it again, utterly speechless at this continued string of bad luck.

“I saw your flat tire back there,” he said. “If it will get you out of my hair faster, I’ll change the

tire for you. Hop in.”

“Unless you happen to have a spare that will fit, I doubt you can do anything. I have two flats.”

“How the hell do you manage to get two flat tires?”

She opened her mouth to tell him her theory, but then stopped. He already thought she was crazy.

If she started blabbering about people shooting her from the woods, he’d probably try to commit her.

Anyone else could think she was crazy, but not the guy she was betting two million dollars on.

Instead, she shrugged. “It’s a rental. They probably put some crappy tires on it. Maybe some hick out

here thought it would be funny to put nails in the road. Who knows?”

“So where the hell are you walking to in the middle of the night?”

She held up her phone. “Hoping there’d be signal somewhere on this stupid highway. Are you

going to let me use your phone or not?” She knew she was supposed to be sweet-talking him, but she

found it hard to muster up any charm.

“What the hell do you need my phone for?”

“Um...so I can call a tow truck,” she said slowly, willing him to stop asking her stupid

questions.

“Auto shop’s closed. You can pay out your ass for someone to drive from three towns over, but

what’s the point when the car won’t be fixed until tomorrow anyway? But, because I’m just this

generous, I can take you over to Mary’s. She runs a bed-and-breakfast right outside town. She might

have a free room for you to stay at for the night.”

Cali wished she wasn’t so desperate so she could tell him exactly where to shove it, but she

would kill for a warm place to stay and a phone that worked. “That would be fantastic.” She

plastered on a smile as she crossed around the front of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat.

She thought about asking him to go back so she could grab her overnight bag, but then the

memory of the man in the woods came back to her. Well, the supposed man in the woods. She decided

she could go one night without the bag.

Rourke was quiet as he put the truck in gear and started down the road and the miles ticked by.

The truck was big and newer, but she could tell it was used. Not just one of those shiny pickups guys

get so they looked rugged. Judging from this truck and the muscles she’d felt for herself on Friday,

Rourke did something labor-intensive for a living. Which was strange, considering he had a trust fund

over a hundred times bigger than the two million she was so desperate for.

Finally the silence got to her. “I don’t know how you can live this far from everything. I’m so

used to anything I need being a quick cab ride away.”

“Don’t talk,” he said abruptly.

Cali sputtered at the command. “Excuse me?”

“It’s damn convenient that two of your tires happened to go out right after I told you to get the

hell out. So you’re not using this delay as a chance to worm your way into my good graces. Got that,

honey?”

“And here I was thinking that the only person here with motive to sabotage me was you,” she

shot back.

He glanced over at her, and even through the darkness, she could make out his glare. “Why the

hell would I sabotage your car so you’d stay here longer?”

“You carried me off your property. Hardly a sign that you’re a logical thinker. And even if I had

slashed my own tires, I wouldn’t have done it in the middle of freakin’ nowhere.”

He was quiet again and she figured he must’ve believed her. Good. He should believe her.

She’d been nothing but honest with him. “So what were you doing at Farrell’s party?”

“I thought I told you not to talk.”

“I thought you weren’t the boss of me.” Sure, the retort was childish, but it was just so accurate.

His fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter and Cali tried not to stare. Damn. She’d always

had a thing for masculine hands, and Rourke had some of the best. Long fingers, strong, probably

callused from his work. And those hands had been on her.

Suddenly the cab of the truck seemed much too small. There was no center console between

them. To touch him, all she’d have to do was scooch over.

Cali inched toward the window as she tried to direct her thoughts to safer territory.

“I was meeting with someone there about a land deal.”

That made sense. Walter Farrell made his fortune on real estate. “Thinking of building

something?”

He looked over to her again and she could tell he was debating whether he should answer her

or not. “I have a few plans in the works,” was all he said.

He was a regular fountain of information. She decided to try a different tactic for the few

minutes she had him alone. Instead of probing him for information, maybe she could get him to ask her

some more questions. “You know, Emma is probably going to get married soon.” She studied him for

any possible reaction, but he seemed completely unaffected by the news.

“I’m surprised it’s taken her this long. I thought she’d marry right out of high school.”

“She and Michael are both halfway down the aisle already. Michael started seeing someone at

the office. A computer tech.” Rourke nodded, but didn’t say anything, so Cali continued. “Even Luke

seems to be in a semi-serious thing.”

That got a reaction. He snorted and glanced over to her as though to assess whether she was

shitting him. “Luke? Settling down? I doubt it.”

Cali smiled. She would’ve thought the same thing if she hadn’t seen Luke and Evelyn together

herself. “His girlfriend was at the Farrell party with him. You probably saw her.”

“Must’ve missed her. Is that why you were so upset? Seeing Luke with a new woman get you

going?”

She tensed at the implication. “You think I was jealous? No! Luke and I were never...he was just

a really good friend.”

“Until he wasn’t.”

Until she found out she was a pawn in his extracurricular activities with the FBI. “I was never

stupid enough to feel that way about Luke and he never led me on. Something else happened that night

that upset me.”

“And you’re not going to tell me, I’m assuming?”

“If you want to open up to me, I’d be more than happy to spill all my dirty secrets,” she offered.

“Dirty secrets?” he asked, his tone suggestive.

She was happy it was dark enough that he couldn’t see her blush. “Nothing that fun, I promise.”

“I know you’re trying to stir up some sort of repressed emotion toward my family, but I’m

telling you, Cali, there’s nothing to stir up. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a family anymore. If

they’re moving on with their lives and getting married and popping out babies, that’s fine. But it

doesn’t have anything to do with me anymore.”

“And you’re just going to slam the door on that part of your life forever?”

“Isn’t that what you told me to do?”

She cursed as she remembered the stupid advice she’d given him about cutting his family out of

his life. “That was different.”

“How was it different?”

“Well, you’ve never met my family. Seeing as how I’ve met yours and mine, I’m qualified to

determine which one is worse between the two. I would kill to have Luke and Michael as my

brothers.”

“You can have them. My gift to you.” Rourke pulled into a driveway.

Shit. He was going to drop her off any minute now and she’d hardly made any progress. “It

doesn’t have to be that way,” she insisted.

“I know it doesn’t have to be. But that’s the way I want it.” He brought the truck to a stop in

front of an old Victorian. Through the beams of the truck, she could see that the wooden exterior was

painted a vibrant purple.

He cut the lights before she could see much more and hopped out of the truck. And that was that.

Unless she showed up at his house uninvited again. Like that had gone so well the first time.

The door suddenly opened and she frowned at Rourke holding the door for her like a perfect

gentleman. One minute he was carrying her over his shoulder like a caveman and the next he was

opening doors for her.

Or maybe he was just trying to get her out of his truck as fast as possible.

She undid the seat belt and hopped down so Rourke wouldn’t physically carry her out. She

pulled out her phone and checked for signal and smiled when she saw the two bars. “I have signal!”

Rourke leaned forward and looked at the phone right as a series of text messages started to pop

up from Easson.

“Where R U? Y won’t U answer? Answer the fucking phone.”

“Who’s that?” he asked.

Cali yanked the phone out of his view and rapidly deleted the text messages. “Let’s just go see

if there’s a room available.” If Rourke knew that Luke had let her date a known killer, she’d never be

able to get the brothers to reconcile.

She left Rourke standing there as she made her way up the three steps to the porch. It looked as

if this porch was a fresh white color, matching the color of the door and the window shutters. It was

all very picturesque. She wished she’d gotten there in the daytime to appreciate it.

Before she could reach up to knock, Rourke was there and rang the doorbell. She cringed at the

thought of waking up the other guests, but in just a few seconds, the door was pulled open and a

smiling woman in her mid-sixties stood before them.

“Rourke! What an unexpected surprise!”

Cali was mostly surprised that there were actually people who liked him.

“Hey, Mary. Sorry to drop by so suddenly. I found this one wandering the highway in the dark

and she’s looking for somewhere to stay. She’s had a bit of car trouble and will need to stay

somewhere until she can get a rental.”

“Another rental,” she clarified.

The woman looked between the two of them. “I’m so sorry to hear that! Come on in.” She stood

aside and motioned the two of them to enter.

Cali stepped in and Rourke followed. “She might need some essentials. I can cover the cost of

whatever she needs,” said Rourke.

“I have my credit cards. I think you’ve already done enough for a virtual stranger.” She

narrowed her eyes at Rourke as she pointed out his lies.

“This was so nice of you to offer her a ride.” Mary beamed up at him.

Cali had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Mary was fully under his spell. She knew that look

well enough from all the women around Luke. He had that charm that could get anyone eating out of

the palm of his hand without even trying. Just one flash of his handsome smile was all it took.

Cali had suspected it was her immunity to that smile that caused Luke to like her so much, but

she wasn’t having that same luck with his brother. And Mary seemed smarter than this.

She was tall and slender. Her skin was tanned from the sun and makeup-free, but she was a

natural beauty who probably didn’t need much. Her long brown hair had silver strands mixed in,

giving the hair an ethereal sheen, and even the emerging wrinkles around the corner of her eyes and

mouth couldn’t detract from her looks.

“Rourke is really something else,” said Cali with a serene smile.

“If you have a pen and paper, I can write down where the car is on the highway so the tow truck

can find it. One of my buddies owns a shop in town and I’ll write down his number so you won’t get

screwed over on the cost.”

“Good.” The rental had insurance but, judging from what she knew about insurance and

business practices, she wouldn’t be surprised if she got stuck with some of the cost. Though, if she got

two million extra dollars, that would sure as hell lessen the blow of the car repair expense.

“Let me just go grab some.” Mary turned around, her long nightgown twisting around her as she

left.

Rourke leaned in closer once they were alone. “I expect you’ll be gone as soon as your car is

fixed.”

She could tell by his tone that it wasn’t a question but an order. Damn, she was tired of getting

ordered around by the Devereaux brothers. “And if I don’t, are you going to carry me out? Think

Mary would let you get away with that?”

He moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view of anything else. “This is my town, Cali. If

I want you gone, you will be gone. Understand?”

She glared into his brown eyes, not even close to backing down. The lights reflected in his

irises, and for the first time she noticed the golden flecks. “It’s been a long day, Rourke. I guess we’re

both just going to have to wait to see how I feel tomorrow.”

“Am I interrupting something?” said Mary from behind Rourke.

He gave Cali one last warning look before he backed away and shot a harmless smile to Mary.

“Not at all.” He took the paper and pen from her before he leaned over the small table along the wall

in the entryway and wrote some instructions and phone numbers.

“I hope this isn’t too much of an intrusion,” said Cali.

Mary shook her head. “It’s the middle of the week, so we have plenty of empty rooms. Besides,

my husband, Stewart, is out on the road for the next few days and I wouldn’t mind some more

company. No intrusion at all. I have some extra toothbrushes and small toothpastes here for my more

forgetful guests. Not the best brands, but new and in the packaging.”

“That’s perfect.”

Rourke finished writing and handed the paper to Cali. Once again she really wished she could

tell him she didn’t need his stupid help, but it would be nice to send the car to a shop she could trust.

She snatched the paper out of his hand, careful not to touch him. Maybe tomorrow she could

muster up some more charm to use on him. She’d felt as though she’d made a bit of progress with him

in his truck, but as soon as they were out of the close confines, the spell had been broken and he was

right back to his grouchy self.

So maybe the trick was to get him alone in close confines. That was where she’d first connected

with him at Farrell’s party. That was where she’d made progress in the truck. Maybe that was how

she could convince him to at least meet with Luke.

“Thank you.” She put on her most graceful smile. She glanced down at the paper and noticed he

didn’t put his own phone number on it. No problem. She was willing to bet that Mary had his cell.

“I hope your trip out of town is much less eventful.” He turned to Mary and bent down to give

her a big hug. “You’re the best, Mary. Can always trust you to take in the strays.”

Cali wondered how offended she should be by that, but Mary’s giant smile at his words pushed

away any of Cali’s annoyance.

Rourke shot Mary one last smile before he headed out the front door and left Mary and Cali

alone.

Mary let out a wistful sigh as the door shut. “That boy would be in so much trouble if I were a

few decades younger.”

Cali let out a snort. “From that hug he gave you, I’d say he’s in trouble now.”

Mary gave a hearty laugh. “Oh, I wish. My husband probably doesn’t, though.”

Cali looked down for a sign of a wedding ring she’d missed, but Mary waved her ring-less

finger. “We were way too broke when we got hitched to get any fancy jewelry. Besides, it was the

sixties. Rings were far too establishment back then.”

“Damn the man,” said Cali with a smile and Mary burst out laughing. At least the whole day

wasn’t a waste since she was meeting such a great character.

“I’m really sorry about the car trouble. Lucky Rourke was there to find you. The houses are so

few and far between out here.”

Suddenly an idea struck her. A way she could force Rourke to deal with her. “Well, I have a

confession. Rourke and I aren’t complete strangers.”

CHAPTER SIX

Rourke pulled his truck into an open space on Main Street. He had a few different stops to

make, but everything on his list was within walking distance from the middle of Main Street. He

started at the hardware store and nodded to Ms. Gunderson as he passed, and she responded to his

smile with a scowl.

What the hell had he done to her? He racked his brain for something he’d done to piss her off,

but nothing came to mind. Though, with Ms. Gunderson, it didn’t take much to get on her bad side.

Maybe she thought he was going too fast down Main Street. He’d gone the limit of twenty-five miles

per hour, but if she had her way, it would be five.

He shook his head as he entered the hardware store. If she was going to have some stick up her

ass about him, there was nothing he could do about it. He made his way to the loose nuts and bolts

along the back wall and dug out the one he’d brought from the house. He held it up to a few different

bolts until he found ones that were the same size and grabbed five identical ones. After writing down

the part number on the outside of the plastic bag, he headed to the front of the store.

There was no line at the register. The only cash register in the store was operated by Krissy, the

eighteen-year-old daughter of the owner. “Morning, Krissy.” He set down the bolts and pulled a

package of jerky off the rack in front of him.

Krissy’s bright blue eyes, surrounded by about half a pound of black eyeliner, shot daggers at

him as she banged on the keys to the register and scanned the jerky. “That will be twenty bucks.” She

set a hand on her waist as she waited for him to pay.

“Umm... It’s five bolts and jerky. Shouldn’t it be closer to five?”

“For you, it’s twenty. Don’t you want to take your screws and leave?”

That was quite a switch from the girl who’d tried to get into his pants just a week earlier. She’d

first made a move on him two years ago, but he’d convincingly told her that he couldn’t be with

someone when it was illegal. Which worked great until she turned of age. Ever since then, it had been

like an obstacle course to avoid her in the small town. But apparently something had gotten him on her

bad side. But he wasn’t above bribery to appease an angry woman. He fished a twenty out of his

wallet and set it on the counter. “Happy now?”

She pulled the money toward her and set it in the register. “Thanks, asshole,” she said with a

serene smile.

That would be a no, she wasn’t happy. He reached over for a plastic bag for his purchases and

then left the store. Obviously he wasn’t wanted. But Krissy had been crushing on him for years. He

had a feeling the next time he saw her, she’d be batting her eyelashes at him again.

Next stop was Alan’s Auto, where he’d told Cali to take her car. He wanted to double-check to

make sure she hadn’t caused the damage to her own tires. He’d tried so hard to push the blonde

troublemaker from his mind, but she kept on popping up at the most inopportune times.

Mainly when he was in the shower that morning. He remembered the feel of her tossed over his

shoulder. Her firm ass beneath his hands. The feel of other parts of her beneath the silky smoothness

of the dress she’d worn on Friday. He’d only had his imagination to tell him what she’d look like

beneath the clothes. She seemed like the type to have a matching bra and panties and, because it was

his own damn fantasy, he threw her in a black garter belt and heels too. Her long blonde hair had been

loose around her shoulders, reaching just above where the black lace of the bra stopped. Her full lips

formed a fuck-me pout while her eyes stared at him in that same way she’d looked at him on Friday.

As if she wanted him.

Once that image was firmly in his mind, it hadn’t taken long for him to explode in his hands. So

even though she’d assured him she had no reason to sabotage her own car, he wasn’t taking chances

with this one.

He walked right into the open garage area of Alan’s shop. He’d known Alan long enough that he

was welcome. With only three mechanics at the shop, Rourke had even filled in a time or two when

some of the guys couldn’t make it in.

He immediately saw Cali’s white sedan in the fourth stall and was happy that at least she wasn’t

dragging her feet on getting the repair done. He approached the car and frowned when he saw that

two of the wheels were completely off. Hopefully that meant Alan was putting new tires on at that

very moment.

“Didn’t expect to see you here today,” said Alan from behind him. The mechanic wiped his

hands down with a rag as he approached. Alan had thick reddish-brown hair and a beard that had

been getting bigger and bigger through the summer. He wore a messy pair of coveralls that kept his

clothes mostly safe from the dirt and grease from the shop and, after a moment, gave up on the rag and

just wiped his hands on his pants.

“Just checking on our tourist. I was wondering how the hell someone gets two flats.”

“I was wondering the same thing.” Alan bent down next to one of the empty wheel beds. “Take a

look at this.” He pointed to a hole in the metal behind where the tire would be.

Rourke squinted as he examined the perfectly circle hole. “Did a rock fly through there or

something?”

“Or something. Now take a look at the wheel on the other flat.” Alan stood and crossed the shop

to where the now tireless wheels were on the ground. He pulled up one of the heavy wheels and

rolled it until he found what he was looking for and pointed to a spot on the metal. “Here.”

Alan pointed to a deep gouge in the thick metal. It wasn’t a perfect circle, but it was more than

just a factory imperfection.

“What do you think caused it?”

“Two circular objects flung with enough force to destroy a tire and even break through the body

of the car?”

Shit. “You don’t think—”

“All I know is what I see. Now, these flats weren’t caused by manufacturer malfunction. And

I’ve never seen debris on the road do something like this.”

“It’s not like she’s been here long enough to piss anyone off.” Rourke racked his mind for any

reason someone would try to shoot out her tires. Well, she’d pissed him off but he wanted her gone.

“Maybe it was some redneck trying to have fun terrorizing the locals,” said Alan.

“Think Cali didn’t realize what happened?”

“I have a feeling she knew exactly what was going on.”

Rourke frowned. As far as he knew, Cali and Alan had only spoken on the phone. “What makes

you think that?”

Alan crossed over to the car and opened the back door, where an open bag of luggage sat on the

backseat. “I think that if she thought this was an accident, she would’ve taken the time to grab her

stuff.”

He’d left her at Mary’s without so much as a phone charger and she’d never once asked to go

back to her car. Damn it. Why wouldn’t she tell him? He could’ve gone out and looked for whoever it

was. Maybe caught fresh tracks. Every minute gone was one minute more the bastard had to cover up

his tracks.

“Unless you know of anyone who wants to make your life harder,” said Alan.

“Why would you think that?”

“This girl was visiting you right before it happened? Would be an easy way to get you pissed.

And it is probably less risky to everyone involved to take shots at her instead of you.”

So Cali was telling people that she’d been to see him? Figured. Rourke ran a hand through his

hair as he cursed. Whoever this was had an excellent knowledge of weapons, and hitting a moving

tire going fifty miles an hour was something only an expert marksman could do. Not exactly someone

he wanted to go up against. “Fuck.” He would have to meet up with Cali to ask her what the hell

happened, which was the exact opposite of his plan to get her as far away from him as possible.

“How much longer will the rest of the repair take?”

“Well, right now we’re at a bit of a standstill with the rental insurance company, but Cali

insisted she would cover anything that the rental place didn’t. Do you want to take her stuff to her?”

No. No, he didn’t want to do her any favors. “Can’t you send a guy to drop it off?”

“I figure it would be good for the two of you to talk after everything that happened.”

Rourke went completely still. “What do you mean, everything that happened?”

Alan took a small step back and looked down at the garage floor. “Well, you know Mary likes

to talk. Apparently Cali told her a few things last night and by now the whole town knows.”

“The whole town knows what?” Rourke had gone through every length imaginable to keep his

family history from this town. This was his home, where he could be who he wanted, and he’d be

damned if some city yes-woman was going to come here and fuck that up for him.

“They know what happened between you two. You know...how you screwed her and left her the

next morning without a word? Hey, I understand that some chicks can be a handful, but the women of

this town aren’t exactly your biggest fans at the moment.”

“That I screwed her and left her?” he shouted.

Alan took a step back. “From what I heard, she came out here to see if there was a chance of

anything and then when she had car trouble, you wouldn’t even let her stay with you.”

Rage bubbled up inside Rourke. “Give me her fucking bag,” he bit out. “I need to go pay Cali a

visit.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cali sat back on the rocking chair and looked out over the calm bay behind Mary’s bed-and-

breakfast. The whole scene was so peaceful, she was starting to see the appeal of this small town

life: fresh air, no blaring horns, the stars were actually visible at night. No wonder Mary seemed so

happy. Who couldn’t be happy living in such a peaceful place?

But her peace was cut short by the blaring of her phone ringing next to her. Damn. She’d almost

wished that the battery would’ve died by now, but the brand new smartphone had one of those extra

battery packs that seemed to last forever. Normally it was something she loved, but ever since last

Friday, the phone had been more of a hindrance than a help.

She glanced at the screen and let out a sigh of relief that it was Luke calling—not Easson, like

the five other calls that morning. She debated just ignoring the call, but decided at the last minute to

answer. Considering a wanted murderer was calling her, it was probably best to keep informed from

a guy screwing an FBI agent.

“Cali here.” She pulled the phone to her ear.

“Cali,” said Luke. “I was worried you wouldn’t pick up.”

Figured he’d know what she was thinking, even from hundreds of miles away. “I thought about

it. But I wanted to know how the search for Easson was going. He’s been calling and I’m not exactly

looking forward to any type of reunion between us where he’s not in an orange jumpsuit and behind

bars.”

“Hard to say. Evelyn is still on restrictions until her ribs heal and they won’t tell me anything.

But I’ve made a few phone calls yesterday and applied some pressure on some higher-ups in the

agency. Hopefully we’ll have something soon.”

Cali stared out at the calm ocean. She liked to think that Luke’s money and influence could get

him anything, but then she’d be reminded that not even the king could have everything.

“Maybe you should come back,” said Luke. “If he’s calling you, that can be used to track him.”

“I doubt it. It’s a new phone number every few hours. Every time I block one, another pops up.”

Not to mention that leaving would take her out of the running for her two million dollar goal. The only

reason the FBI had gotten a lock on Easson in the first place was because he was screwing her to get

close to Luke. Did she really have to give up more than her body for this asshole?

“I can send someone to keep an eye on you. Maybe it would be best if you weren’t alone up

there.”

Cali thought back to the loud bangs as her tires popped. Who would be able to protect her from

stuff like that? “I’ll keep that in mind, but I think some muscle-bound guy showing up would ruin my

chances with Rourke.”

Something in her tone must’ve given her away. “Not having much luck?”

“I just got here yesterday,” she said. “The good news is that he didn’t slam the door in my face.”

The reality had been so much more extreme, but Luke didn’t need to know that. “He was hesitant to

talk, but I think he’ll change his mind later today.” By now, the rumors she’d filled Mary’s head with

last night should’ve spread like wildfire.

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” warned Luke.

“Well, you know I get what I want. Give me time and you’ll get your brother back. I just have to

wait until he sees reason. Which would be much easier if you told me what really happened between

you two.”

“That’s personal, Cali.”

“This whole thing is personal, Luke. If you really want your brother back, don’t make me do this

with my hands tied behind my back.”

There was a pause on the other end and Cali held her breath as she waited for what Luke would

say. And then he finally gave her what she wanted. “It was a girl.”

That was the most anti-climactic revelation ever. “A girl? All this over relationship troubles?”

“It’s complicated, but the whole thing got dirty and it was right before our parents died. Things

got fucked up real fast.”

So she probably got some bonus points for saying that she’d never thought of Luke as anything

more than a friend. But that might also explain why Rourke was so skeptical to hear it. The clanging

of dishes being washed in the kitchen behind the porch Cali was sitting on broke through the silence.

It would be best if Mary didn’t hear this conversation. “I have to go. Keep me updated on what you

find out about Easson,” she added before she hung up.

She set the phone back on the arm of the Adirondack chair and let her head fall back, taking in

the scents and sounds around her. Someone rang the doorbell and she opened her eyes. Was it another

guest or had Rourke finally found out about what she did?

She got her answer a few moments later as she heard pounding footsteps come closer and

closer. Yep, that was Rourke. She let her eyes drift closed and tried to use the calmness around her to

steel herself for the confrontation coming at her. A loud plop came from next to her and she looked

down to see that Rourke had thrown her overnight bag beside her feet. Next to the bag was a huge pair

of work boots that had seen better days. Her gaze trailed upwards, along the lines of Rourke’s body.

Over his worn jeans and an open black and gray flannel shirt and an undershirt that looked too small

to fit over the broad muscles of his chest.

But despite his much too impressive body, all sexual thoughts flew from her mind as she looked

up into his smoldering gaze. She had to fight the urge to slink down farther into her chair. “Rourke,”

she said with a calmness she didn’t feel at all. “What an unexpected surprise.”

He glared down at her in silence for a few long moments before motioning for the rocky

shoreline in front of the house. “Take a walk with me.”

It wasn’t a question. She debated saying no just for the fun of it, but she wanted to get a chance

to talk with him again. “Lead the way.” She pushed herself out of the chair.

Except he didn’t lead the way. Instead, he wrapped his strong fingers around her upper arm and

pulled her along with him. She had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides until they were

so far away that there was no chance Mary would hear them.

“Get your hands off me, you Neanderthal,” bit out Cali as she yanked at her arm.

He pulled his hand away as though he’d been touching lava before he turned to face her and

crowded her space until she was forced to take a step back. “You want to tell me exactly what your

plan is?”

She took a deep breath and tried to find her cool, calm center again. “My plan was to get you to

talk to me again. So it worked.”

“You told everyone I know that I’m a cold bastard.”

“No,” she corrected. “I told Mary you were a cold bastard. And don’t even act like it isn’t true,

especially not after the way you treated me yesterday. You can’t play the good guy card here.”

“Why is it so hard for you to believe that I want privacy?”

“Oh, I believe it.” Cali could understand the need for privacy better than most. That wasn’t

going to stop her from getting Rourke to meet with his brothers. “But I have the payday of a lifetime

waiting for me if I get you to go back to New York with me, so I’m not giving up that easily.”

He nodded as though she’d confirmed something he’d long suspected. “Money. You’re making

my life hell for money.”

She snorted. Just the tone she expected from someone who’d never wanted for anything in his

life. “I’m not doing this just for money. I’m doing this for lots and lots of money. Two million, to be

precise.”

At least he had the grace to seem surprised. “Two million?”

“Your brothers love you and miss you. Please don’t torture them any longer, and just sit down

and talk with them. They can be assholes, but so can you. You’ll get along great.”

“And you expect me to do you any favors after the shit you’ve been spewing about me?”

“All I have to do is tell Mary it was an honest misunderstanding and you’re a perfect gentleman.

Then if all the people whose opinion matters to you so much see us around town a few times, I’m sure

your reputation will be right back to perfect.”

“You have this all planned out, don’t you?”

No. She was really making everything up as she went along, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Here are your choices. You can go meet with your brothers, you can pay me the two million out of

your own trust fund, or you can sit back and watch as I make your life a living hell. So pick your

poison.”

“You little—” He cut off before he finished, closing his eyes and clenching his fists.

“If you hit me, that won’t help your standing as West Bath’s most upstanding secret billionaire.”

“Hitting you wasn’t exactly on my mind,” he warned as his dark eyes raked over her and he

inched closer.

She forced herself to hold her ground as she looked up at him. “Thinking of other ways to

humiliate me then? Going to throw me over your shoulder and bring me back to Mary?”

“Actually, I was thinking of this.” With that, he caged her head in his hands as he leaned in and

kissed her. She gasped in surprise, and he took full advantage as his tongue teased the edge of her lips

before slipping inside.

Before she could even begin to get her bearings, he moved, pushing her backward, and wrapped

one arm around her back as he guided her against a tree.

Cali reflexively grabbed onto his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. His hands roamed along

her sides, roughly palming her ass and pulling her up against his hard erection. It was so similar to

their first kiss and so different. There was a history between them now that hadn’t been there when

they were two strangers at a party...

She tentatively kissed him back. She knew she should be pushing him away, but for the briefest

moment she allowed herself to indulge. Though she wasn’t completely sure why he was kissing her, at

least she was sure it wasn’t because of Luke. He wasn’t using her for some dark, ulterior motive like

Easson. There was something Rourke liked about her, and at the moment, that was the sexiest thing

she could imagine.

Cali kissed him full force, setting an arm around his shoulders and standing on her tiptoes for

better access. This beautiful, strong man wanted her. For as long as this moment lasted, she was going

to savor it. She pushed at his flannel shirt until his broad shoulders were revealed and she broke the

kiss to run her hands over his shoulders.

Rourke wanted her. He wanted her for no other reason than being attracted to her.

Cali pushed him away as she tried to regain control of her traitorous body. Oh God, what had

happened to her? She used to be strong and confident Not fawning over some guy just because he

found her attractive. Just because he wasn’t her ex...

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she scooted away from the tree. “I, um, I need to go.”

She turned away from him and started back to the house as her breath came in deep, heavy

gulps. She’d been so stupid. Thinking she could just shrug off what had happened.

“Cali,” said Rourke from behind her.

She ignored him. She couldn’t deal with him right now. How could she explain herself? Though

judging from how upset he’d been with her just a few moments ago, chances were he wouldn’t even

care about her inner struggles with the fact that the last man she’d slept with had been a psycho.

“Cali, hold on one damn second.”

She forced herself to stop. Despite what Easson had done to her and apparently to her self-

esteem, she needed to finish this with Rourke. To get what she wanted. She was stronger than this. She

buried the emotion down as far as she could before she turned to face Rourke. “I shouldn’t have

kissed you. I’m sorry,” she said stiffly.

He frowned at her and she really hoped he didn’t think she was as crazy as she felt. “I hate to

break it to you, but I kissed you first.”

“And I’m sorry I didn’t slap you immediately. I know our relationship might be...confusing after

what happened Friday, but I assure you that I’m here on a purely professional capacity.”

“Except for the blackmail thing.”

“That’s a professional blackmail.” He narrowed his eyes and she stared up at him, not allowing

herself to back down again.

“Either way, that’s not all I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have any idea who shot out your

tires last night?”

Cali felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. “What?”

Rourke stepped forward cautiously, as though waiting for her to bolt again. “The guy I know at

the shop found evidence that someone shot out your tires. Care to explain that?”

Taking a deep breath, she forced her nerves to calm down. Might as well tell him what

happened. “I suspected that’s what happened. But it all came so fast and was over in a heartbeat and

once I was stopped, there were no other shots. I was half convinced I made it up, but then you showed

up and you already thought I was crazy, so I kind of figured you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

“And you didn’t think it was at least worth a police report?”

She’d already second-guessed herself up and down. She really didn’t need Rourke talking down

to her. Literally. “It was dark out, in the middle of the woods. What would you or any police officer

have done?”

Rourke was quiet and she knew she had him there. Even the best trackers had trouble in the

middle of the night.

“So who was it?” he asked.

Cali stared at him, wide-eyed. “I don’t know! It’s not like people shoot at me every day.”

“What about that guy texting you? He didn’t seem like your biggest fan.”

Cali felt the blood drain from her face. Of course he wouldn’t have forgotten that. “If he wanted

me dead, I’d be dead,” she said with her now dry throat.

“But this guy didn’t want you dead. He’d have to be an expert marksman to make those shots

while you were moving.”

“Only one was while I was moving,” she said weakly. “The second tire was shot while I was

stopped.”

“Mother—” Rourke broke off and turned away from her as he looked out over the water. Once

he appeared to have collected himself, he twisted back around. “And you really didn’t think that was

worth mentioning?”

“For all I knew, you were the one who shot at me. You’re not exactly my biggest fan.”

He tightened his lips as he glared down at her. “So now you’re accusing me, is that it?”

She shrugged and tried to keep her cool. She didn’t think Rourke was the type to hide in the

shadows while he did his dirty work, but she was just mad enough to make him sweat a bit. “Is it

really such a strange thing to think? One minute you’re kissing me, then you’re hauling me off your

property, then you’re warning me away from you and then you’re kissing me again! You’re hardly the

measure of sanity here.”

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

“I’m aware,” she said, unapologetically.

“But you’re not nearly as strong as you pretend to be, are you?”

She squared her jaw and refused to back down. “What can I say? You have an uncanny ability to

find my vulnerable spots. But don’t think I can’t find yours.”

He nodded. His dark eyes raked over her as though sizing her up. “So I’m worth two million

dollars to you?”

“You’re worth two million to your brothers.”

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m not going back to New York with you. Ever. I’m also not

giving you any money. But you and I are going to have dinner at the one Italian restaurant in town in

front of everyone tonight so they stop giving me shit, and, if it makes you feel better, you can tell

yourself you can use the time to convince me to talk to Luke.”

“Meeting with me in public is rather risky. It would be much too easy for me to cause a scene.”

“I swear to God, Cali, if you keep pushing me, you’re not going to like the consequences.”

Considering she was already dealing with the consequences of pissing off a military-trained

murderer, she was willing to take whatever Rourke had to dish out. She stepped closer until she was

just an inch away from Rourke, almost touching him front to front. “Why, Rourke,” she said sweetly.

“I’d love to go out to dinner with you. What time would you like to pick me up?”

He leaned in just the tiniest bit to show he wasn’t intimidated. “I’ll be here at seven sharp. I

expect you to look your best.”

“I’ll wear my cutest skirt for you.” She smiled.

He crooked his head as he looked down her body. “I can take you, Cali Carson.”

For a second, she didn’t know whether he was talking about in a fight or in bed. Hell, at this

point he was probably talking about both, the lines were so muddled between them. “Keep telling

yourself that, Devereaux.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Rourke bent down as he studied the impression in the dirt around him. He didn’t think he’d be

able to find anything considering how fast the leaves had been falling from the trees the past few

weeks, but he’d hit the jackpot.

The sun had shone just right to illuminate the ammunition shells that were left on the forest floor.

He bent down and pulled his shirt over his hand so he could pick up the shells without getting

fingerprints on them and put them in the front pocket of his shirt. He was willing to bet he could get

Sheriff Steve to run prints on them. It was a hell of a favor to ask, but Steve was one of the few

people who knew about the large donations Rourke had made to the police department. He owed

Rourke and this was an easy enough way to pay him back.

Rourke leaned back on his feet and studied where the gunman had been. It looked as if he’d

been lying on his stomach in the prone position when he did the firing. There were some cigarette

ashes that hadn’t been blown away by the wind yet. Chances were, whoever this guy was, he’d been

there for a while. Rourke tried to think of any chain-smoking military-trained people he knew of, but

this far away from the city there were plenty.

He stood and looked around. He didn’t see any type of foot tracks around him. Maybe if he’d

been here right after the shooting happened and in the daylight he could’ve seen something, but at this

point the forest had destroyed any other evidence he might find.

For now, all he could do was hope that Steve could get a read on the prints and that this guy

didn’t wear gloves while he loaded his gun. Rourke glanced down at his watch. It was already three

p.m. Thanks to Cali, he’d lost most of his day, and considering he had to pick her up in a few hours,

he probably wouldn’t get any work done.

He wasn’t really sure what he was going to do about Cali. She had him in a tight spot, and he

wasn’t sure how dirty she was willing to play. She talked a good game, but every once in a while,

he’d see a flash of something in her eyes. A bit of fear, or a bit of vulnerability, that he knew she

didn’t want him to see.

And he really wished he knew what the hell happened earlier in the day. He knew kissing her

was a bad idea, but he was just so angry and overwhelmed he lost control. It was so hard to be

around her, knowing how hot she was in his arms. How quickly she went up in flames the last time he

touched her. He figured she thought he was trying to punish her, but that wasn’t the case at all. If he

had his way, her climbing into bed with him wouldn’t be a punishment at all. He wanted to make her

come so many times that she forgot he even had brothers. So many times that she forgot Luke’s name.

But when she pushed him away, she gave him a look that made him feel like the lowest of low.

As if he was scum of the earth for even thinking about touching her.

It was a shock to both of them; it was the first time Rourke realized that someone had hurt her.

Someone had done something to put that fear in her eyes, though she was trying to hide it with

everything she was worth.

And that fear drove him crazy. Because he shouldn’t care about her. About what happened in her

past or what was happening in her present or future. But the fact was that someone had taken a shot at

her, literally, while she was in his town, which meant she was under his protection. Even if they were

in their own private war, he was the only one allowed to give her blows.

A quiet anger snaked through him at the idea of someone coming into his territory and

threatening Cali. Sure, she was strong and much too smart for her own good, but physically she

wasn’t that imposing. Her heels she wore the first two times he met her made her taller, but in her

tennis shoes, she was only five foot seven. And her frame was athletic enough to show that she

worked out, but it was slim. He was probably double her weight, if he had to guess.

His hands turned into tight fists as he thought of someone taking shots at the defenseless Cali in

the dark, deserted road. What Rourke would give to have five minutes alone with the son of a bitch.

But his revenge would have to be shelved temporarily. He’d have just enough time to make it

into town and drop the shells off with Steve before getting cleaned up for his “date.”

Even though Cali thought she was getting the drop on him tonight, he had his own ulterior

motives. As much as he wanted her out of his hair, he couldn’t have her running around when she was

in danger. As long as she was here, she needed to be close to him. And that meant that after today,

she’d be staying with him at his house. She just didn’t know it yet.

~~~~~

Cali looked in the mirror. She really wished she had access to her vast collection of clothes

back at her apartment, but this would have to do. He’d dropped off her bag, thankfully, so at least she

didn’t have to worry about borrowing something from Mary.

Even though she and the aging beauty were probably the same size, Cali didn’t favor the hippie

chick look that Mary pulled off effortlessly.

She’d stuffed a dress in her overnight bag at the last minute and that was paying off now. It took

up hardly any room, so it hadn’t bulked up the bag. It was a blue paisley pattern, but the pattern was

just slightly darker blue than the background so it wasn’t overwhelming but also wasn’t as boring as a

straight blue dress.

The waist was tight, but extra material around the top hung over to give the top a slight billowy

look while the skirt hugged her hips, letting what ass she had actually stand out. Really, it wasn’t bad

for a date dress because it was big enough to be comfortable but still flattering.

She was in a small town, so she kept the makeup simple. Her collection of cosmetics had cost

thousands of dollars as it had steadily grown over the years, and she used the basics to turn her decent

complexion perfect, and added a neutral, light eye shadow with a cat-eye liner and a nude pink

lipstick.

As much as she loved to dress up and put on makeup, doing her hair was her least favorite part.

Instead of filling it with product and hairspray, Cali twisted her hair into an easy, pretty braid. The

roots had been freshly touched up just two weeks ago when she’d gone on her weekend trip with

Easson.

She winced at the memory. As much as she tried not to think about her short romance with the

man who’d had her so fooled, the reminders kept coming up. Looking back, all the pieces clicked into

place. How he’d casually run into her at the gym. How he’d had almost the same music on his phone,

right down to her favorite Taylor Swift song.

And all of it had been a lie. After that night at the Farrell party, she’d found out that he’d joined

the gym just days before he “accidentally” bumped into her. And, from the file that Evelyn had shared

with her, everything he’d told her about his childhood and life was one big lie.

This was a man she’d spent the night with. Shared her body and some of her deepest secrets

with. Which actually could work out in her favor. If he was truly mad at her for “betraying” him, at

least he knew that the only friends she truly had were the Devereaux brothers, and they were already

under protection. There was no one he could hurt to get to her.

Ahh, the joys of not speaking to any of your family members.

“Cali,” called Mary from the first story. “Rourke is here for you!”

Well...now or never. Cali gave herself one more once-over in the mirror. After okaying the final

look, she slipped on her four-inch ankle boots and glanced around the room to make sure she wasn’t

forgetting anything.

The bed-and-breakfast really was charming. The bed was decorated with a pink floral quilt,

and even though the brown of the paneled walls and flooring was overwhelming, the view of the

ocean along with the clawfoot tub and pedestal sink in her personal bathroom more than made up for

it.

Once Cali was certain she had everything she needed in her bag, she steeled herself for her

night with Rourke. She really didn’t know what to expect from him. Dealing with Rourke was like

dealing with a volatile stick of dynamite. She never really knew when it was safe or when she should

be ducking for cover.

She carefully made her way down the stairs. Her high heels made more noise on the pristine

wooden staircase than she wanted. She looked down and tried to stop herself from falling like a klutz

and smiled in victory as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Ha. Take that, stupid wo...

Her mind froze as she looked up to see Rourke waiting for her. She’d seen a lot of men dressed

up for dates, but none of them did it quite like Rourke Devereaux.

He was still in jeans, but this pair was a dark wash and not a hole or spot of paint in sight. They

fit him in just the right way to show off how tall he was. He wore a black shirt with the top three

buttons undone until just the barest hint of chest hair was visible. His short beard had been trimmed,

but, really, his face didn’t need much work. The son of a bitch was already too handsome, and now

everything he wore, from his black boots to the casual way his hair was slicked back served to make

him look even better.

“Hi,” she said. The word came out much more breathlessly than she intended.

His dark eyes looked her over, and she realized that he almost always gazed at her like that. As

if he was imagining the things he’d do to her once he got her alone. “You look good.” The brisk way

he said it made it sound more like an accusation than a compliment, but she’d take it.

“Thank you. I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Oh my goodness, you two look adorable!” shouted Mary from the door to the kitchen.

Cali stiffened as she realized they weren’t alone, but before she could say anything, Rourke had

crossed to her side and set an arm around her waist. “How are you, Mary?” he asked, even as he

pulled Cali in closer. It took everything in her to appear natural and relaxed in his arms so she

wouldn’t give away just how strange this whole thing was to Mary.

“I’m just flashing back to the first time I saw Stewart waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

You two just look picture-perfect.”

Cali could feel the blood rush to her face at the praise. “It’s just a date,” she murmured.

“Pshhh.” Mary gave a wave of her hand. “You two have something special. I knew it the

moment Rourke and you showed up last night. But don’t let me keep you any longer. You two have a

fun night.”

“Thanks again for everything, Mary,” said Rourke, once again showing that chivalrous side that

he kept so hidden from her.

Cali echoed his thanks before Rourke escorted her outside. But instead of dropping the lovey-

dovey act as soon as the cool fall air hit them, he kept his arm around her waist as he led her to his

truck. “Those shoes look dangerous,” he said as she made her way carefully over the aged concrete of

the driveway to his truck.

“Trust me,” she said. “I can handle a pair of heels.” They reached the truck and Rourke, still

acting the gentleman, reached over to open the door for her. “Besides,” she added. “They make my

legs look fantastic.”

Cali started to climb into the big truck as gracefully as possible in her skirt, but suddenly

Rourke’s hands were on her waist and lifted her into the truck. She let out a tiny squeak of surprise as

she settled into the seat and Rourke’s gaze fell to her now exposed thigh.

“Oh, I noticed,” he said in a deep, husky tone before he pushed the door shut.

A warm heat pooled in her stomach and it took a second for Cali to figure out what it was.

Arousal. This caveman Neanderthal was turning her on. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself

to push all those warm fuzzies away. This made no sense. Sure, he was attractive, but she’d worked

with Luke and Michael for years without ever once being tempted to throw away her career for an

affair.

So what made Rourke so different? She knew that a part of her was happy that he wasn’t using

her in the same way Easson had. Was that throwing off her entire libido?

Rourke climbed in the truck and started it up, backing out of the driveway without a word. Cali

searched her mind for small talk options. No need to start the night out with her reasons he should

reunite with Luke and Michael. She aimed for lighter fare. “So does this place remind you of

Georgia?”

He seemed a bit taken aback by the question. “Um...the climate is a bit different.”

“It has the small-town thing. You came from a small town, right?”

“Is this you trying to get me to reminisce about the good old days so I’ll decide to go back with

you to New York?”

Okay, so he had part of the reason. “Maybe I’m nervous and didn’t know what to talk about.”

He let out a little chuckle. “You don’t mince words, do you?”

“I don’t have the time to be a delicate flower. Besides, your brother likes that about me.” It was

risky to bring up Luke around him, but if she wanted to have any type of normal conversation with

him, Luke was going to come up.

“So you two never dated?”

She scoffed. “Except for Evelyn, Luke really never dated.” Slept around, sure. But no dating. “I

never slept with him, if that’s what you mean. He was getting enough action that he never felt the need

to mix work and play, you know?” He snorted and she continued, “I like to think that even if he did

make a move on me, I’d have enough self-control to not mess up the best job I’ve ever had.” Not that

Rourke probably thought she was the best example of self-control, but he would have to take her

word on this one.

“Bringing coffee to Luke was the best job you’d ever had?”

Ahh, he had to bring up the damn assistant title that had haunted her for the past few years. “It

started off like that. But over the years, the job expanded. I would do whatever I could. Running

accounting spreadsheets, meeting with clients. Being a liaison between the clients and the engineers

making the software programs.”

“So you actually do use your master’s degree?”

She wasn’t surprised that he knew so much about her. “In all honesty, the master’s is just a piece

of paper. I learned much more with DevX Tech than in school. But those pieces of paper can be pretty

valuable.”

“So I hear.”

Cali wondered whether Rourke ever got a degree. He probably earned enough from interest and

dividends on his trust fund that he’d never need a job, let alone a degree, but she didn’t want to bring

up his trust fund. Instead, she asked, “So what do you for a living?”

“What makes you think I don’t just live off my inheritance?” It was as if he’d read her mind.

“The last few times I saw you, your jeans were always well worn. You don’t look like a trust

fund baby.”

He nodded as though he approved of her powers of observation. “When I first left the family, I

had a lot of anger. I bought this old rundown place as far away from Georgia as I could and worked

on restoring it. All the hard work helped take my mind off everything. If I was installing hardwood,

I’d zone out for hours and by the time I was done for the day, I’d be too tired to be angry any more.

After that first job, I became addicted.”

“So you flip houses?”

“All except the first one. I could never give her up after all the work and baggage I’d put into

that girl.”

Cali laughed. “Your house is a girl?”

He shrugged. “I always figured I’d sell it to someone like Mary. The Victorians tend to have all

those girly finishing touches and I went with the style. Then, when I decided to keep her, I couldn’t

undo any of it. You saw the house. Did that read butch to you?”

“I actually thought you’d have a wife opening the door when I walked up.”

“I had to turn in my man card when I decided to keep her.”

Cali eyed the way his broad shoulders filled out the black shirt. “I think your man card is safe,”

she murmured. “So you were never tempted to bring in a girl to legitimize your decorating choices?”

“That’s the most diplomatic way of asking why I’m not married I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, I am good at what I do.” And she’d had to pry much more sensitive information from

people before.

“I don’t have a wife because I don’t date. I’m never with the same woman for longer than a

month.”

“A genuine manwhore. Love it.”

He shot her a grin over his arm. “I’m clean, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I, wh—um, I wasn’t wondering,” she stuttered out. Though considering how close she’d been

to sleeping with him on Friday, maybe she should’ve wondered.

“I was tested two weeks ago at my yearly physical. I can show you the paperwork later if you

want.”

Cali paled as she thought of the paperwork she had at her apartment. She’d run to the emergency

clinic the day after she found out the truth about Easson. The one thing the son of a bitch hadn’t lied

about was the fact that he was clear of disease. But for a few moments, she’d been filled with the fear

that somehow, even when he was gone from her life for good, he’d managed to taint the rest of her

life.

And she’d always been so careful. She’d dated a few different guys in college, but the second

she started to work for Luke and Michael, she’d had a laser focus on her success.

She’d thought Easson was different, though. They’d had so much in common, how could it be

anything other than fate that brought them together? So her guard had come crumbling down, to

disastrous effect.

“I won’t need to be looking at any paperwork,” she said quietly as she looked out the window,

glimpses of water visible through the tree line speeding past. But then the trees were gone, replaced

by a spattering of historical homes before they reached Main Street.

Rourke had said he was taking her for Italian, so she already knew where they were going. The

town of West Bath had about three restaurants that weren’t fast-food joints: a mom-and-pop family

style place, a Coney Island, and the Italian restaurant at the edge of town.

After parking, Rourke walked around the truck to open her door for her. He reached out a hand

to her, and she tentatively took his as she eyed the distance between the truck and the ground and tried

to think of a way to do this without flashing him everything.

“Really?” asked Rourke with a smirk.

“This is a delicate process,” she defended as she started to stand.

“Hold on,” muttered Rourke as he stepped closer and wrapped his hands around her waist and

pulled her tight against his body before he lowered her slowly until her feet touched the ground.

Cali held her breath and closed her eyes as the sensations overtook her. Rourke was warm and

solid against her, and it took all her self-control to keep from reaching out to stroke those hard

muscles. Good grief, she was in over her head here. “You have to stop doing that,” she said

breathlessly.

“Stop doing what?” he whispered. He bent his head down and the soft scrape of his beard

touched her cheek.

“Stop touching me.” Was that her hand moving up his arm and resting on his shoulder? Damn it.

“I know you want me. Why would I stop touching you?” His lips drew closer to hers and she

knew she was in trouble.

She forced her eyes to open and looked into his. If she moved forward even a millimeter, their

lips would touch. She felt as though every nerve ending was on high alert, just begging her to activate

them with the pleasure she knew Rourke could give her. “Because I don’t want you to think that

because I’m attracted to you that I’ll leave you alone.”

“Is that right?”

She nodded. Her nose brushed his, they were so close. There wasn’t any reason to pretend she

wasn’t completely tempted by him. Her body was obviously a shitty actress. But no matter how fast

her heart pounded in her chest, she had a goal, and she wasn’t some hormonal teen who’d drop

everything when a pretty boy looked her way.

“I think I can break you.” He punctuated the threat while he rested a hand at the small of her

back and pulled her tighter against him.

“That’s my trick. I’m not strong because I don’t break. I’m strong because every time I break, I

put myself back together.”

Rourke pressed his lips against hers finally and gave her a soft, gentle kiss that belied the desire

CHAPTER NINE

Cali proved to be a harder nut to crack than Rourke had anticipated. Ever since she’d faltered in

the parking lot, she’d managed to pull up whatever facade she was so used to wearing around him.

The real woman was gone, and she was right back to the corporate drone who’d showed up at his

doorstep. She hadn’t mentioned Luke at all though, and he’d expected her to come at him hard and fast

to go to New York with her.

But instead she’d been polite and perfectly pleasant and damned annoying. He’d rather have her

fighting him all the way than this whitewashed version of her. She’d asked lots of questions about his

home and the renovating process before moving on to the town.

She obviously didn’t want to talk about herself because every time he tried to turn the

conversation around, she’d maneuver it back to him. The only silver lining to this was that anyone

looking on would only see two people having a perfectly charming date. He’d already seen at least

three of the town’s matrons smile over at the table approvingly.

He liked to imagine other people’s judgments didn’t matter to him, but when there was only a

population of three thousand, one person’s opinion held a lot more weight. So at least his idea of

taking her out in public was working to reverse the damage she’d done to his reputation. But the

whole night just felt...off.

And everything he really wanted to ask her he didn’t want to ask in public like this. So he

played Cali’s game. Smiling. Acting the attentive date. Laughing at all her little jokes, just like she

laughed at his. And then the check was there and he felt the anticipation shoot through him.

Once they were out of the restaurant, he’d have to break the news that he wasn’t taking her back

to Mary’s. He really shouldn’t look forward to upsetting her as much as he was, but he’d prefer her

anger over whatever the hell she was doing.

He had to smile to himself when she didn’t even pretend to reach for the check. It was nice to

not have to deal with pretenses for at least one second during this dinner. And he’d be lying if he

didn’t admit that it was nice to be around someone who knew who he was.

Until finally he stood and held his hand out to Cali. She smiled up at him in that adoring way he

knew was fake as she wrapped her fingers in his and pushed out of her chair. He was filled with the

urge to make her smile genuinely. She was so damn beautiful when her joy reached her blue eyes. He

went hard at the very idea of having that directed at him. Under him.

He could feel the eyes on them as they made their way out of the restaurant. Everyone loved a

happy ending. In their minds, the townspeople were already seeing Cali and him getting married and

popping out babies.

Rourke’s mind was firmly focused on the bed part of this story.

When they reached the truck, he leaned in to open the door for her, but she set a hand on his arm

to stop him. “No. We’ve already done this dance. I’m getting into this car without your help and

you’re going to walk on around to your side so if I do flash a bit too much leg, you’re not there to ogle

it.”

Now there was the Cali he’d come to know. “You sound paranoid.”

“Paranoid and right.” She tapped him on the arm. “Now scoot.”

He nodded in concession before he moved away and headed to the driver’s side. By the time he

was there, Cali was in her seat and clicking in the seat belt.

“Did you want to go back to Mary’s now or did you have anything else in mind?” he asked.

Her lips tightened and he could see her raking over the options: go back to Mary’s where she

was safe and secure, or use their time alone to talk to him about going back to New York. “We can

drive around for a bit. I’m sure the water looks pretty at night.”

Good. That would buy him a bit longer before he broke the news about her sleeping

arrangements for the night. He pulled out of the restaurant and onto Main Street. “So I heard your car

is going to be ready tomorrow.”

“Finally. You’d think two flats would be a quick fix, but when insurance is involved, nothing is

quick, you know? If I’d known it would’ve been this much of a hassle, I probably would’ve paid for

everything without telling the rental company. Think they would’ve noticed two new tires?”

“If it were my car, I would’ve. But I’m not sure how much attention those employees pay. You

have enough extra cash lying around to cover something like that? New York isn’t cheap and I’m not

betting on you getting two million any time soon.”

Even though it was dark, he could still tell she rolled her eyes. “Your brothers paid me a very

generous salary. I have a bit in savings.”

“Paid? Past tense?”

He could feel the tension increase and knew he struck a nerve. “After I bring you back, I won’t

really need a full-time job for a bit. I’m going to take a break and reassess what I want.”

“You don’t want to be an assistant for the rest of your life?”

“I went into business because that was my only option. I grew up with nothing and I saw that as

a steady, secure major that could take care of me. It was never a passion. I didn’t have the option to

work on houses for the rest of my life.”

He was taken aback by the undertones of bitterness. And this was why no one in West Bath

knew who he really was. Because once people found out he had money, that was suddenly his

defining characteristic. “So is that what you’d do if you got the two million? Work on fixing up

houses?”

Cali shrugged. “I’ve been so laser focused on doing well at DevX that I never stopped to think

about what I’d do if I didn’t go down that track.”

Of course she wouldn’t. She was the kind who would put her mind to something and get it done,

no matter the consequences. It was one of the things he liked about her.

And he did like her. He didn’t want to. It would be a hell of a lot more convenient if she was

some brainless corporate drone. Not Cali. Not only did she have a solid head on her shoulders, but

she had a body that wouldn’t get out of his fantasies and a work ethic that he could respect.

It was a shame that this was one job she wasn’t getting done.

“Do you want to see my current project?” he asked.

“Like, the current place you’re fixing up?”

“Yeah. It’s about twenty minutes outside of town. It’s in rough shape still, but you seemed

interested at dinner.”

“That sounds nice.”

He smiled to himself, a bit too proud to be showing off his work, but he couldn’t help it. It was

damn sexy that she was so interested in it.

“Luke is really a nice guy,” said Cali, finally bringing up the issue that stood between them. “I

don’t know exactly what happened with this girl, but considering that neither of you are with her now,

was it really that big of a deal?”

“She told me she was pregnant.” Silence hung in the air and he tried to read Cali’s reaction, but

she stayed quiet, waiting for him to go on. “She told me she was pregnant and tried to get me to marry

her. I promised I’d do anything for the baby and I’d be there as a father, but I wasn’t going to marry

her out of obligation. So she went to Luke and told him he was the father. He proposed to her on the

spot.”

“But they never got married.”

“Because it was a lie. I don’t know what her plan was to keep the charade going. Maybe she

was trying to get pregnant or lying about birth control and hoping it would happen. Once Luke saw

through her, the engagement was off and I haven’t heard from her since.”

Cali nodded as she absorbed the information. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see how that’s bad.

But to not talk to him for over a decade?”

“He brought her to the funeral.”

“Oh,” said Cali simply.

There was nothing she could really say. The scene was burned into his mind. The worst day of

his life, compounded by seeing Luke step out of the car with Lisa at his side. It was like being kicked

when he was already down. Not only had he lost his parents, but the rest of his family had chosen

sides.

“What about Emma?” asked Cali. “She didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“You know how it is with my family. You’re either all in or not in at all. Michael and Emma

have always been loyal to Luke.”

Cali sputtered. “Please! This isn’t a war where sides need to be drawn. They can be loyal to

him and to you.”

“I’m a different man than I was then. They don’t even know me.”

“That’s the great thing about having a good family! They don’t care who you were or who you

become. They’ll be there for you no matter what. That’s more than my family ever did for me.”

“And what makes you so different from her? You’re just using me and my family to get our

money.”

“I’m being honest with you! Do you think I don’t know what it’s like to be used? My last

boyfriend lied about everything. Every interaction we had was carefully orchestrated so he could

find out more about your brother. And I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I gave him information. I gave

him my body. I was completely fooled. So I understand, Rourke. But get over yourself and grow up.”

Rourke slammed his foot on the brake and the truck came to a screeching halt on the deserted

highway. “Who’s the guy?”

“What?”

“The guy who used you. What’s his name?”

“That hardly matters now.”

“It matters to me. Who is he?”

Cali snorted as she turned to stare out the window. Rourke couldn’t tell whether she was crying

and the idea of this guy upsetting her that much made his fingers dig into the steering wheel.

“What does it matter to you?” she asked.

“You matter to me.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

“Then come to New York with me.”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say, is there?” She turned back to look him in the eye.

“Fine,” he bit out as he pushed his foot down on the gas harder than intended. It shouldn’t bother

him. She was right. Cali was nothing to him. He’d only met her a few days ago. What would he do if

he found out who this son of a bitch trying to get the inside scoop on DevX Tech was? If he got

involved in any way, that would just get him more invested in Luke’s life, and that was the exact

opposite of what he wanted.

He was silent as they finished the drive to his renovation property, not sure whether he was

more pissed at Cali for not telling him who this guy was that made her life hell or at himself for

caring so much.

Rourke forced himself to calm down by the time they got to the house. There was nothing he

could do about it now. “Here we are,” he said, wincing at how gruff the words sounded.

He hopped out of the truck, but Cali was already opening her door and on the driveway by the

time he was at her side.

She looked up at the house and he tried to read her face to get her impression. Somehow her

opinion was suddenly the most important thing.

“This place is huge.”

That didn’t really tell him one way or another what she thought. “It is big. The planning was

horrible, though. The bushes put in by the landscaper got too overgrown, but the owners never

trimmed them back. Over the winters, snow would collect between the bushes and the wood siding.

As the heat from the house would melt it and it would refreeze, it caused extensive damage on the

entire outside of the house. The old owners bought it at the top of the market and were in the middle

of massive renovations on the inside of the place when they found out about all the rot happening on

the outside and walked away instead of finishing any of the renovations or fixing anything.”

“They must’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” breathed Cali.

“They weren’t smart about it. They bought the place for too much to begin with and after all the

damages, they would’ve been out a bunch of money anyway. They probably had enough in investments

and trusts that even if they foreclosed, the hit to their credit wouldn’t even make a dent. This wasn’t a

personal loss. Just a business decision.”

Cali wasn’t wrong about the place being huge. It was over ten thousand square feet and had

over ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Even at the foreclosure price, it had cost him a big chunk.

The outside didn’t look all that bad, but the moisture that had gotten into the walls was devastating

and the mold damage was extensive. A lot of the work wasn’t anything he could do himself, but he

had good relationships with the local contractors, so he knew he wouldn’t get ripped off and would

get good deals.

A cold breeze whipped through the trees that surrounded the property. There were so many, it

was almost as if he and Cali stood in the middle of the forest. It would be a great sales feature when

the house was put on the market. “Let’s get inside before you freeze to death.” He set a hand on the

small of her back and had to hold back a satisfied grin when she didn’t swat him away.

Unfortunately, he had to let her go when they reached the door and he fished the key out of his

back pocket. He held the door open for her as she entered the dark entryway. “Hold up,” he said as

soon as she was inside. “Let me get the lights.” He flipped the switch and the few bulbs still wired in

lit up.

“Oh wow. You weren’t kidding about the renovations.”

Cali’s eyes traveled around the work in progress. The wall that separated the entryway from the

first sitting area was torn down, just studs in its place. They could see straight through to the back of

the house where there was a mixture of high-end finishes and barebones structures.

But the real selling feature of the house was the lake view. He was looking into the cost benefit

of adding a dock feature in the water, but even with only the view, it was breathtaking.

The house was three stories tall, and the main living area was open for all three stories,

allowing for a giant wall of windows. Each of the panes was around six feet tall, and the view of the

bay was completely unobstructed by trees. The dim lights in the house combined with the moonlight

reflecting off the water and gave the entire house a soft glow.

“Are you sure you’re not going to move in here instead?”

Rourke shook his head. “Nah. This place is pretty, but there’s nothing like your first.”

Cali let out a sigh. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave. This place is beautiful.”

He looked at the woman next to him, her face illuminated by the moonlight, and he had to keep

himself from telling her that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She ran her hands up and

down her arms and he realized that she must be freezing. “Let me start up the fire.” He went to the

wall opposite of the windows, where the gas fireplace was.

“You don’t have to do that,” said Cali.

“Well, do you have anywhere better to be?”

“You know I don’t.”

“Then I might as well make us comfortable here.”

“Are we staying for a while?”

“Until I manage to piss you off again.” He shot her a cocky grin over his shoulder.

“So sooner rather than later?”

The fire roared to life, the flickering glow licking over the large room. “Or, you know, later.

Hold on.” Rourke stood. “I’ll be right back.” He ran out to his truck and pulled his emergency blanket

out of the spot behind the driver’s seat before he ran back inside, where Cali was looking out at the

water again. “There’s no furniture, but at least this way you can sit on the floor without worrying

about a stray nail or anything. Construction isn’t the cleanest process.”

“Well, aren’t you romantic.” Even so, once he set the blanket on the ground, she tugged on the

corners closest to her to make it as straight as possible. “This is sounding more and more like a real

date by the second.”

“Can’t remember the last time I said no to someone this much on a date.”

Cali bent down to take off her shoes before she sat on the blanket, wincing as she sat. “Not the

most comfortable.”

Rourke sat next to her on the blanket over the original hardwood in the house. “No complaining

about the floors. These are one of the saving graces of the house.”

“Not the view?”

“That and the view.” He held out his arm to her. “Come here.” He half expected her to say no or

move away, but instead she scooched closer and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the

fire.

Not that she was completely complacent. “Would be nice if it was wood-burning.”

“I’m not replacing the fireplace.” Even though he agreed with her, the cost benefit of the

renovation just didn’t make it worth it. Having a fireplace increased the value of homes by thousands

of dollars, but switching from one type to another made almost no difference in price.

“What are we doing here?” she asked quietly even as she snuggled closer.

He leaned in and took a deep inhale, the smell of her shampoo somehow being the sexiest thing

imaginable to him at the moment. “We are...” He trailed off. He didn’t know what to tell her.

“Hanging out,” he finally supplied.

She let out a snort. “My college boyfriend and I used to ‘hang out.’ Don’t think I don’t know

what that means.”

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.”

“I see through your nefarious plan. Take me out to a romantic spot on the most uncomfortable

seat in town to get me buttered up. Very smooth, Devereaux.”

“We can leave if you want.”

“Now I didn’t say that, did I?” she said softly.

“Why didn’t you?” He didn’t know what he was doing, but she’d seemed pretty damn sure of

herself from the second she’d pounded on his door. Why wasn’t she slapping him in the face and

demanding he take her home?

“I don’t know,” she said carefully. “I suppose because you feel good and I’m trying to take a bit

of a mental vacation?”

“That sounds like a bad reason.”

“Do you think I should leave?”

“Haven’t I been telling you that since you showed up in town?”

“I mean right now. Do you think I should leave?”

“I think...if you stay, I’ll show you a good time.”

“A good time? How can a girl pass that up?” Even though the words sounded joking, she said it

in a serious, almost somber tone.

“There’s something between us,” said Rourke.

“That doesn’t mean we need to be stupid about this. I mean—”

But Cali never finished the thought. Because then Rourke was kissing her.

CHAPTER TEN

Cali tilted her head back and let Rourke kiss her. Thousands of thoughts rushed into her mind.

Namely, the thousands of reasons she should stop this kiss and order him to take her back.

But damn it, he felt good. He felt warm and secure and safe. But was safe a good enough reason

to risk her entire reason for coming here? Just because she knew he wasn’t an asshole was no reason

to climb into bed with someone. Or onto the floor with them, in this case.

He tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Roughly.

No. This wasn’t just about safety. She sure as hell didn’t feel like this when Easson kissed her.

When anyone kissed her, for that matter. This was something deeper, more unique. Even if things

couldn’t really go further between them, she wasn’t going to give this up.

So, spurred on by a boost of confidence she’d never felt before, Cali cupped the back of

Rourke’s neck and pulled him in close. Rourke felt the change and he became bolder with his kiss, his

tongue teasing the seam of her lips as his hand traced the curve of her body until it came to a rest on

her hip.

His kisses trailed down, and she tilted her head back to give him better access to her throat as

she ran her fingers over the sexy stubble along his jaw. Every touch of his hands or mouth sent sparks

of pleasure shooting through her, and when Rourke nipped at the sensitive skin where neck met

shoulder, she couldn’t hold in a little moan.

The hand on her hip moved lower until he caught the hem of her skirt and pushed up. When his

fingers hit the edge of her panties, he let out a little growl. One more reminder of just how wild the

man in her arms was. Heat pooled low in her belly at the thought.

Rourke pulled back and ripped his shirt off in one quick motion, setting it on top of the blanket

before he gently pushed her back until she lay in front of him. He knelt on his heels toward her feet

and Cali took the moment to fully appreciate the view. Rourke had finely tuned muscles from the

manual labor he did; it obviously worked well for him.

He set his palms on her ankles and widened her legs so he could fit between them. For the first

time since they started kissing, a flash of worry shot through her. “What are you doing?” she asked

nervously.

Those dark eyes met hers, and he looked so confident that all of her concerns melted away.

More than confident, he looked hungry. Hungry for her, and that was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

“Trust me.” His hands now snaked slowly up her legs.

She leaned back as he pushed the skirt of her dress up higher and higher. And when his fingers

hooked in the waistband of her panties, she lifted her hips, allowing him to pull them inch by

delicious inch down her legs.

Until they were completely off.

Even though it was only one piece of clothing, she might as well be completely naked with how

vulnerable she felt.

But then his hands traveled back up again. Every millimeter traveled sent a new wave of

pleasure through her. But that all came to a crazy frenzy when he reached the sensitive folds between

her legs. At first, he simply pressed his palm against the mound, and she rubbed greedily against him.

The friction against her clit sent shivers through her.

Then his skillful fingers slid in. Too thick to be just one... And while he tortured her from the

inside, his thumb brushed her clit in the briefest touch, and that was all it took for Cali to arch her

back as a bolt of lightning shot through her.

He kept up, not relenting for anything, and right when she thought it was too much, he abruptly

withdrew. Before she could ask what happened, his hands pushed her thighs wide apart as he ducked

his head between her legs, his mouth taking the place of his fingers.

At the slightest touch of his tongue against her clit, the orgasm hit Cali. All her stress and worry

just shot out of her in one big whoosh as wave after wave of pleasure replaced it.

She opened her eyes to see Rourke had climbed up her body and stared down at her. “Damn,

you’re beautiful,” he said in his deep, husky tone.

She smiled up at him. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

But he didn’t smile back. Instead, he leaned in, kissing her deeply as his hips rested between

hers. His erection had to be painful inside his jeans, but he’d seemed to be focused on her.

Except what would make her happier than anything would be if he took those jeans off.

One of her legs snaked around his, rubbing her bare foot against the thick denim as she arched

into him, telling him with her body exactly what she wanted from him.

“God, Cali,” he growled against her ear. Then he ripped himself away from her; his shaking

fingers tore at the fly to his jeans and pushed them and his boots off in frantic movements. He leaned

forward to grab a condom out of the back pocket of his discarded jeans. He started to open the packet,

and Cali sat up, setting a hand over his to stop him. “Let me,” she said in a breathy voice that didn’t

even sound like hers.

She ran her fingers over his and took the condom. She looked down at his straining erection,

surrounded by thick, curly hair, a shade darker than his sun-lightened locks. He leaned against the

blanket as she rolled the latex over the thick head of his cock, and it was his turn to gasp under her

touch. She smiled in victory at his reaction before she rolled it the rest of the way down.

“Come here,” he ordered, holding a hand out to her.

She took his hand as she slid up his body. But as soon as her hips were within reach, he grabbed

her and pulled her up, until her parted thighs were right above his erection and her chest was pressed

to his. His bare skin pressed to her dress and she wished desperately she was naked against him.

But then he was pushing into her and she didn’t care anymore. All that mattered was getting as

much of his length inside her as possible.

He held her up for a few long, agonizing seconds as just the tip was in her. But she wanted

more. Needed more. She wiggled in his grip and he finally gave in, letting her slide down his cock

until he was fully seated inside her.

They both gasped together as they got what they wanted. What they’d been craving. His hands

reached around her until he found the zipper to her dress and slid it down until the top half sagged

against her shoulders, but she couldn’t move to take it off until he released her arms. As soon as she

was free, she pushed the dress down her arms until it was bunched at her waist.

Rourke leaned in to kiss her now exposed shoulder, hooking her bra strap in his thumb and

kissing the trail left behind as he pushed it off her shoulder. As his lips teased her, his other hand

reached behind to unhook the bra in a quick, efficient motion.

And then she was topless in his arms. He stared reverently at her breasts and Cali couldn’t hold

it back anymore. She rocked against him, slowly taking in the double sensation of his cock deep

within her as the friction rubbed against her clit.

The sensations shot up as he caught a nipple in his mouth. His hands gripped her hips and at first

he let her set the rhythm, slowly rocking back and forth, savoring the feel of his touch. But soon

enough, he gripped her tighter and showed her exactly how he wanted her to move.

Once they sped up, it didn’t take long for another orgasm to rock her. She let her eyes close and

her head fall back. Rourke’s fingers bit into her hips as he thrust deeper and harder within her.

He held her tightly as they both came down from the high. His hands stroked her back, helping

to warm her as reality started to slowly creep back in. Even though they were in front of the fire, the

temperature was still chilly, and she held Rourke a bit tighter, appreciating the warmth. Not wanting

to have to let him go and face what she’d just done.

He shifted beneath her and she suddenly remembered the hard floor they were on. “I’m so

sorry,” she muttered as she started to climb off.

“I don’t mind.” He held her closer as he nuzzled at her neck and kissed the sensitive skin.

She let out a laugh as she tilted her head back to give him better access. “You’re a cuddler?

Who would’ve known?”

“Little known fact about me. I’m actually full of surprises.”

“Oh really.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I’m going to kill you.” Cali stared at her neatly packed bag sitting on his porch.

“Just listen...”

“No. I tried listening, but all the words coming out of your mouth were too stupid for me to

comprehend.” She couldn’t believe this entire time he’d been playing Mr. Charming on their date,

he’d been scheming to move her out of Mary’s and into his place. “You must’ve been so fucking proud

of yourself,” she muttered.

“It wasn’t like that.”

She turned around to face him, her arms crossed over her chest. “Well, make up your mind! Do

you want to fuck me, carry me out of your town, or force me to move in with you? Because right now

I’m so dizzy from watching you flip-flop back and forth that I can’t keep my head straight.”

He winced at her barb, but she’d been throwing him so many insults since he told her about his

crazy deception, they were pretty much rolling off his back at this point. Which obviously meant she

needed to think of better ones.

“Why don’t we go inside and talk about this?”

“Going to bring in your nice little sex blanket to calm me down?”

“You don’t have to sleep in the same room as me.”

“Pshhh...who needs a room? Got a fireplace?”

“This isn’t a sex thing.”

“No. This is you protecting me by somehow taking away my ability to, you know, make

decisions for myself. If I can’t decide where is safest to sleep, why should I decide who to sleep

with?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

She raised a brow at that statement.

“Someone tried to kill you!”

She rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t a big deal.”

“The guy was parked in the woods for hours waiting for you.”

“It could’ve just been some random redneck having fun with a tourist. You know that.” As

confident as Cali tried to sound, she couldn’t help but think of the well-trained man who happened to

have it out for her.

“Until we can verify that, I’m not going to let you out of my sight as long as I can help it.

Besides, this way I can make sure you don’t cause me anymore trouble and people will firmly believe

I didn’t dump you like the bastard you made me out to be.”

“You kidnapped me like the bastard I made you out to be.”

He pushed open the door. “Hey, you can leave any time you want. You just have to leave the

entire town when you go.”

“Whatever,” she muttered as she moved past him and into the house he’d thrown her out of that

first day here. Well, she hadn’t gotten far enough to be thrown out. Carried away from the house was

more like it.

The house was mostly dark except for a light on in the kitchen. Instead of waiting for him to

bring in her stuff, she walked straight to the back of the house.

“Are there any places in this town that don’t have a water view?” she asked bitterly.

“Plenty. I’ve just shown you the pretty ones.”

“Fine.” She circled the house. This was an older style that had originally consisted of a lot of

closed-off rooms, but she was willing to bet Rourke had taken down a few walls. And, of course, it

was beautiful.

Rourke said he got his kicks restoring houses, but he had a knack for decorating too. Each room

was clean and modern looking, with one or two cottage touches. The main sitting area had two

couches and a chair, making a U-shape with the seating, and even though none of the pieces were in a

set, the entire room flowed together seamlessly.

“Do I need to take a couch or are there bedrooms upstairs?”

“There are five bedrooms upstairs. You can take your pick.”

Five bedrooms. Of course there were. Why would the house become any less charming now?

She thought about asking him which one was his, but that didn’t seem like a safe topic of conversation

at the moment. Instead, she headed up the wooden staircase. There were no pictures of anything on the

walls, she noticed. Figured that a guy with no family wouldn’t have any mementos.

Upstairs was a thin hallway with multiple doorways. She’d have to just take her chances that

she wouldn’t stumble into his room. She opened the first door on her right and let out a sigh of relief

when she didn’t see any personal items to signal it was his bedroom. The bedroom was extremely

charming. The quilt on the bed was a baby blue with delicate purple flowers around the border. Blue

curtains tied in with the bed and complemented the light-colored hardwood floors and the cream-

colored walls.

There was a chance this was even more charming than her room at Mary’s. Either way, she was

going to work her damndest to make sure that she wasn’t staying here any longer than necessary.

“Does everything look all right?” asked Rourke from behind her.

She stiffened as she turned to see him leaning against the doorjamb. Even if something did look

wrong, she wouldn’t feel comfortable telling him. The blood crept to her face as she thought of just

how comfortable she’d been only an hour ago. She trusted him when she knew she shouldn’t. She

opened herself up, taking a chance on the electric attraction between them.

And now he’d never come back with her to New York. The balance of power had shifted out of

her control now. He had her backed into a corner, and she didn’t have any tricks up her sleeve to

wiggle her way out of this one.

Not that she was giving up yet. They were at an impasse for the night, but she’d take this time to

regroup and reassess. Tomorrow she’d be fresh and willing to put this embarrassment behind her. But

she was becoming more and more convinced that she’d never get Rourke to reconcile with Luke.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The next morning, Cali’s decision to retreat was solidified with seven simple words by Rourke.

“Do you know who Easson Harper is?”

Any trace of sleep washed away from her face. It felt as though a bucket of cold water poured

down on her. “Umm...who?” she stuttered out, hoping he would think her reaction had more to do with

her just getting up than recognition.

“I think he’s the guy who shot at you. I found some shells in the woods off the highway and had

the sheriff run prints on them and he’s the one who came up. Does the name sound familiar?”

Easson was here? Shooting at her? Why wouldn’t he kill her? Why wouldn’t he approach? “I’m

assuming this isn’t some redneck local that you knew about already?”

“Never heard of him before.”

That would change. If the sheriff had run Easson’s prints, it wouldn’t be long until the FBI was

here looking for him. Which meant Rourke would find out the truth about what Easson had been to her.

Find out how stupid she’d been.

“Are you coming back to New York with me or not?” she blurted out. She needed an answer.

There were no more games. No more trying to convince him to see reason. If Easson was here, she

needed to leave. The longer he was here, the more people were in danger. People she wanted to keep

safe, like Mary. And, even to some annoying extent, Rourke.

“You know I’m not going to do that.”

She nodded as he confirmed what she already knew. The two million dollars had been a nice

thought, but it had just been a dream. Nothing that good came without hard work. At least not in her

experience. No reason for that to change now.

So it was back to the original plan. She wasn’t going back to Luke. Especially not after sleeping

with his brother. She’d have to update her resume and start shopping it around. She had a few

connections in high places. Maybe she could make some phone calls too.

She looked Rourke over, trying to memorize every handsome plane of his face, because she

doubted she’d ever see him again. He was shirtless, of course, wearing only a pair of gray pajama

pants slung low on his hips. Not a bad last image to have. Even if she was pissed at him, it didn’t

mean she couldn’t appreciate the view.

She’d already been down the road of trying to act as if she wasn’t much too attracted to him. Of

course, he didn’t have to do anything to turn into the man of her dreams. On the other hand, she’d

rebelled and refused to put on makeup that morning. If he wanted her here, he was getting her full,

blemished glory.

But judging from the way his eyes had raked over her when she walked down, her passive-

aggressive plan hadn’t worked all that well.

She tried to think of a way to tell him to go screw himself. To let him know she was done with

his games. That he’d never have a chance to mess with her again.

Somehow the idea of admitting defeat out loud was so much harder than saying it to herself. She

shook her head and turned around, heading back upstairs. She tried not to look out her bedroom

window at the bright sun reflecting off the bay with the border of red and gold leaves making the

scene even more picturesque.

She hadn’t unpacked, so gathering all her things took only a few minutes. Rourke must’ve had

some idea of what was happening, because when she made it back to the kitchen, he was dressed in

his normal jeans, paint stains and all, and a flannel shirt.

“Did you want some breakfast? I have some cereal or eggs. Or both if you want to be crazy.”

She knew if she ate with him, the lines would be blurred again. He’d make her laugh at

something stupid, and she’d be transported right back to where they were the night before, sitting in

front of that fire and forgetting the reasons they shouldn’t have done what they did.

“I think I’d like you to take me to get my car.” Immediately, she second-guessed her words. She

should’ve been more assertive. Ordered him to take her to the shop to pick up her car. It was as

though all of her skills in dealing with people—people in a male-dominated business no less—

slipped away when she was with him.

He took a deep breath. “Cali, I—”

“Unless you’re about to tell me that you’re coming with me to New York, I really don’t want to

hear it.” Her voice was steel, and she was proud of herself for finally coming together instead of

acting like a smitten schoolgirl. “I’ll be outside.”

As she passed, he reached out to take her bags, but she pulled them closer toward her. “I’ve got

it,” she insisted. No more playing the gentleman. No more acting as if there could ever be a friendly

relationship between them.

The truck was locked when she reached it, but she didn’t mind waiting. She leaned against the

old truck and crossed her arms over her chest. The truck was probably dirty, and her sweater was

dry-clean only, but she just couldn’t bring herself to be that concerned about it.

Instead, she focused on all the things she’d have to do. She’d have to call Evelyn and let her

know Easson had followed her to Maine. She’d have to try to think of the best way to make her

“assistant” title seem attractive on her resume.

The front door slammed shut and Cali jumped at the sound. She looked to Rourke as he strode to

the truck, and she tried to figure out whether he was upset or whether he’d accidentally slammed the

door.

Though she had a feeling Rourke didn’t do many things accidentally.

She didn’t ask him about it as he climbed in the truck and unlocked her door. He’d given up on

helping her with her bag. She threw it into the back of the cab and took her seat, pulling on the seat

belt as Rourke backed out of the driveway.

“How did you convince Mary to turn on me anyway?”

“She’s a romantic. You got it into her head that this was true love and you’d come to track me

down. It wasn’t a struggle to convince her that I wanted to surprise you with a romantic gesture of

asking you to stay with me. Especially after she thought you’d been so rejected.”

“She’s seen too many romantic comedies,” grumbled Cali.

“She just wanted a happy ending.”

Cali bit back her retort. She wasn’t feeling too cheery at the moment. She felt like a pawn in a

game she couldn’t hope to win. As if she’d just been sent back to Go and told not to collect her two

million dollars.

They reached the auto shop in what seemed like record time. She didn’t know whether that

made her happy or sad. As much as she wanted to be away from Rourke, it hurt her to think she’d

never see him again. There was something so...magnetic about him. It was intoxicating, even if it

wasn’t good for her in any way. Mainly mentally and economically.

Physically, being close to Rourke was fantastic for her. But she tried not to think about that.

“Thanks for the ride.” She added a bit of bite to the polite good-bye.

“Cali, I’m sorry,” he said as her hand was on the door.

A rush of emotion filled her. She wasn’t sure what emotion exactly, just a hell of a lot of it.

Sadness. Anger. Bitterness.

She couldn’t turn to face him. She didn’t want to start crying and knew that if she had to see that

frustratingly handsome face one more time, she’d completely break down. “If you were really sorry,

you’d be coming back with me. But your anger at things that happened years ago is getting in the way

of you ever feeling sorry for anyone but yourself. So why don’t you let me know when you decide to

get out of your own way.”

“Last night wasn’t a game for me,” he said softly. “That was real.”

“I know.” And as much as she tried to convince herself that he was an evil mastermind

conniving to get her naked, she was unable to think of their time in his renovation house like that.

He’d just been too...selfless. Making sure she enjoyed herself. Making sure that she didn’t have to lie

on the hard floor.

But even if he hadn’t crossed a line by moving her out of the inn without asking her, knowing

that Easson was nearby made the idea of staying in town impossible.

“Good-bye, Rourke,” was all she could manage as she hopped out of the car and grabbed her

bag. It was time to go back to New York and tell Luke about her failure.

~~~~~

Rourke stayed in the parking lot until Cali had her car and drove away. Even then, he had to

clench his fists on the steering wheel to keep from going after her. He’d known she’d be upset about

the sleeping arrangements, but he never expected this.

He thought she would hound him until she got him to go back with him, even if it took years. But

she’d seemed so...defeated when she left. He wanted to pull her aside and tell her that last night had

been mind-blowing and she could stay with him as long as she wanted.

Except she’d been right. He wasn’t sorry for what he’d done. For the same reason he wanted

her to stay with him, he wanted her safe. If that meant taking away some of her free choices, he’d do

it.

First step was to find out who the hell Easson Harper was. Had Rourke managed to piss him off

somehow without realizing it? Or maybe he was after Cali and she didn’t know she was in danger.

He thought about it on his entire drive back and went to his favorite source of information: the

Internet. He started out with a basic search for Easson’s name. It was unique enough that he was

hoping he’d get some reasonable hits.

But the second he put Easson Harper’s name into the computer, the recent news articles just kept

coming. Every single one had to do with Luke.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“What do you mean you were already monitoring my calls?” Cali didn’t know why she was

surprised. Evelyn had already proved she was willing to go behind her back. Apparently after her

sincere sounding apology, she was still willing to sneak around Cali.

“This wasn’t my decision. The agency knew that you had a personal relationship with Harper

and wanted to make sure he wasn’t in contact with you.”

“You mean make sure I wasn’t in contact with him?” Evelyn tightened her lips and Cali knew

she’d hit the nail on the head.

“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t come up a time or two. But Luke and I were both adamant that

you would never do anything on purpose. Though I know you don’t want to hear this, us monitoring

your phone really cleared your name of any wrongdoing.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to hear that.” She took a sip of her unsweetened pomegranate iced

tea and glanced around at the bustling coffee shop. When she’d first moved to the city, Cali had been

seduced by the beautiful and rich lattes and fancy drinks, but after gaining fifteen pounds at a record

pace, she’d immediately cut all sugary drinks out of her diet.

It had seemed like a tragedy at the time, but now her go-to iced tea was one of her favorite

treats. It almost made her meeting with Evelyn bearable. “So you know he was in West Bath only a

few days ago. What’s the plan now?” Evelyn glanced down at the table and Cali sighed. “Come on.

You at least owe it to me to keep me updated on the hunt for Easson. I have as much invested in this as

you.” Sure, Easson hadn’t physically broken her ribs like he’d done to Evelyn. But he’d used her

body in other, much more personal ways.

“We sent an agent out there, but we’re not too optimistic about it. The calls that we traced all

came from different areas in the country. One in California, one in New York, one in Florida.”

“But his fingerprints were found in Maine. That has to hold precedence over a call. Those can

be bounced, or something, right?”

“He’s too smart to be leaving his prints on shells. The attack on you was planned. Calculated. It

wasn’t a crime of passion where he’d make mistakes. Either he left town the moment after he took out

your tires or he was never there in the first place.”

“You think he had someone else shoot at me?” A cold chill went through her at the idea of some

stranger staring at her through the scope of a rifle. All because her ex-boyfriend told them to. “So you

have no idea where he is?”

“We think he’s still in New York. He’s not being paid by Longineu anymore, so he might be

looking for a new job or he might have personal connections in the city.”

“Personal connections?”

“Family.”

“Oh God,” moaned Cali as realization dawned on her. “You don’t think he’s...” She couldn’t

bring herself to say the word married.

“It’s really only a possible theory. Try not to think about it.”

“Easy for you to say. Where’s Luke?” she asked, changing the subject. She didn’t think she

could take any more talk of Easson right now. The more she heard, the more freaked out she got.

“I didn’t want him to come. He gets very...upset when I bring up Easson.”

Cali let out a snort. She could only imagine. She’d never known Luke in a serious relationship,

but he was protective over her and she was only his assistant. Lord only knew how he was dealing

with the fact that someone had assaulted his girlfriend.

And if he was anything like Rourke, Easson better hope he never ended up in a room alone with

Luke.

“So things are going well between you?” It was strange to be so out of the loop with Luke’s life.

She was used to knowing everything, and now that his personal life was really getting interesting, she

was nowhere around.

Evelyn blushed and that kind of answered Cali’s question for her. “It’s going...really good. Kind

of strange, but a good strange.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I suppose it was just so unexpected. And a little inconvenient. I don’t think either

of us planned for something long-term in the near future.”

Cali raised a brow. She hadn’t realized she and Luke were already thinking long-term. “So

whose plans are going to change?”

“Well, that’s not the issue. I was always planning to go back to Texas when I was done here,

but, if I’m being honest, even if I could go back, there’s nothing for me there. Luke has so many

friends and family. I’m kind of looking forward to putting down roots.”

Cali’s eyes widened. “You’re pregnant?”

“No!” said Evelyn in record time. “No, not at all. By roots I mean...people like you. You were

such a good friend to Luke, and I really didn’t have anyone like that in Texas.”

Did Luke really think of her as a friend? It was a nice thought, and she’d suspected it at times,

but the employer/employee barrier between them had always been there. Add to that the social and

economic barriers. Cali worked like mad to pretend to fit in, but Luke was born into that life. That

was a huge difference.

And it was one of the reasons Rourke confused her so much. She knew exactly the life he was

raised in, but he insisted on living like an average Joe. She wasn’t sure whether he was just trying to

fool everyone in town or whether he was only trying to fool himself.

Cali took another sip of her drink before she stood. “I should really be heading back.” Not true.

It wasn’t as if she had a pressing amount of work to get done. Unless spending the rest of the day

updating her resume and wallowing in self-pity counted.

“I’ll keep you updated, I promise,” said Evelyn.

Cali nodded, but she didn’t know whether she really believed the FBI agent. Even if she was

completely sincere with her offer, Cali was sure the government wouldn’t want all their secrets

shared with Cali, who was basically a nobody.

“Tell Luke I said hi.”

“He’s going to want to see you, you know.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“He’s going to want to know what happened with Rourke. What you’re going to be doing now.

I’m sure he’s probably working on a good severance package for you too. He takes care of his own.”

Yes, Luke did take care of his own. She felt her resolve about leaving DevX waver. Luke’s

strong personality had kept her there for the past decade. He was so smart, and loyal when it counted.

It was why she’d never been able to walk away before.

But now was different. Even if the Easson incident hadn’t happened, she’d slept with his

brother. That had crossed myriad professional boundaries. Even though she couldn’t say she regretted

it, she had to face facts that what she’d done had changed things.

“I’ll call him later.” Cali collected her purse and her now half-empty drink. “Thanks for

meeting with me.” She supposed the fact that Evelyn met her in person instead of a quick, informal

phone call was another sign of just how guilty she felt.

But time had an annoying habit of toning down any anger Cali felt, and it was hard to see Evelyn

as anything but a dutiful FBI agent trying to keep people safe. It helped that Cali had made it out of the

whole ordeal physically safe, while Evelyn was the one who took the blows. And when Evelyn

gingerly stood up, wrapping a hand around her side to hold her still healing ribs, it was especially

hard to be angry at the woman.

“Have a nice day,” said Cali quickly before she turned to leave. She’d picked the Brooklyn

coffee shop because it was only three blocks from her apartment, so she didn’t need to call a cab or

take the subway home. She moved onto the busy sidewalk and took a deep breath of city air. It was

nowhere as bad as some people liked to portray the air quality of the big city, but it definitely had a

different taste from the crisp, fresh Maine fall.

And it was warmer. Too many moving engines and tall buildings around. It kept the wind out

from this section of the street. But if she turned the wrong way, the buildings would have the opposite

effect, and she’d feel as if she was fighting her way down a wind tunnel.

She’d been home for almost twenty-four hours and she couldn’t stop thinking about her time in

Maine. About Rourke. That had to pass soon, though. She’d only known him a few days. He hadn’t

had enough time to make that big of an impact on her.

She pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Even though it wasn’t that windy, her ponytail

had still become messy. How different from her every lock in place persona at DevX. She’d need to

get back in the zone if she wanted to go back to office life.

Her apartment building came into view and she reached into her purse for the key to the front

door. The apartment might not be anything special, but it was one of the things she was most proud of

in her life. She had one advantage over a lot of people who moved to the city.

Growing up, she’d never had a lot of space, so the small apartments of New York had been

perfect for her. When she’d moved into this place, after many, many raises, she’d finally moved on up.

The two-bedroom second-story apartment was a bit of a splurge, but nothing made her happier than to

come home to her own little space.

As she made her way up the stairs, she fumbled with the keys, flipping through the overcrowded

key ring until she found the one for her unit. She had it firmly in hand as she reached the top of the

stairs and glanced down the hall.

She froze in her tracks and the keys clattered to the ground.

“What are— When— Why— What the hell are you doing here?” finally managed to get out.

Rourke pushed away from her door. “I’m here about Easson.”

She took a deep breath as she tried to reconcile Rourke being in her happy place. This was

wrong on so many levels. “The FBI is taking care of Easson,” she managed to get out without

stuttering, though it didn’t sound convincing at all, even to her ears.

“Why was he shooting at you?”

She rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t shooting at me. He was shooting at my tires and it was all a

distraction. He’s trying to convince the FBI he’s in Maine but he was never there. Probably gave

those bullets to a friend of his up there. All that with my tires was smoke and mirrors.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and she could tell he wasn’t convinced by anything she

said.

He wore a brown leather jacket that looked as if he’d owned it since he was fifteen. The color

made the natural highlights in his hair stand out even more and brought out the gold flecks in his dark

eyes.

“You need to leave.” She finally bent to get her keys and cautiously approached her apartment

door.

“I’m not leaving until all this is sorted out.”

“What happened to you only caring about me while I was in your town?”

“Apparently your safety matters to me no matter what town you’re in.”

Had he really come out here because he cared about her? Didn’t matter. She was still pissed. “I

appreciate your concern,” she said formally, “but the FBI is looking for Easson, and I wasn’t anything

but a pawn to him. I don’t need any protection.”

She moved past him to unlock her door but could feel him behind her. Why couldn’t he just

leave her alone? Didn’t he know how hard it had been for her to leave him in the first place?

As soon as the door was open, Rourke pushed past her before she could stop him. She bit back

a curse as she pulled the door shut. She’d always loved this part of her life, but everything seemed so

much smaller when Rourke was there.

“Does Luke know you’re here?” she asked as he glanced around her living room. Well, who

was she kidding? Her living room, kitchen, and dining room were all pretty much one space. There

was a decent-sized cutout in the wall between the galley kitchen and the living room to make the

space seem larger.

Where every room in his beautiful oceanfront home seemed to have a theme and purpose, her

apartment was neat and that was all she could manage. The walls were a boring beige, along with a

beige sofa and mismatched end tables. But she’d never entertained in here, so her perfect image never

needed to stretch this far. But the sofa was comfortable as hell, and painting the walls was pointless

when, according to her lease, she’d have to paint them back to beige when she moved out.

But Rourke didn’t seem to mind the drab decorating. “Were you here with him?”

Cali set her purse down on the edge of her kitchen counter a bit more forcefully than necessary.

“We’re not talking about that.”

“Is that why you slept with me? Wiping the palate clean?”

Hot anger burned within her as she glared at Rourke. “That’s it. Get out of my apartment.”

“Don’t you want to take me to Luke yourself? Collect your finder’s fee on the spot?”

She stared at him. Was he really going to meet with Luke and let her get the two million? For a

second, she considered whether it was worth putting up with him being this much of an ass, but then

she shook her head. She’d put up with a hell of a lot more than his domineering presence for that kind

of money.

“You’re going to meet with Luke?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“That could mean fifty thousand things and, judging from what I’ve experienced so far, the

option I want is the least likely one.”

“Do you think I was being selfish two nights ago?”

She felt the blood rush from her face. “We are not talking about that.”

“I’m here. I’m giving you what you want. Why not have a replay?”

He looked her up and down as if she were his favorite meal and he hadn’t eaten in forever, and

she had to hold in a sigh. “Because you’re a controlling asshole and I’ve had my share of assholes

recently.”

A harsh anger fell over his features. “Don’t compare me to that guy, okay? I’m nothing like that.”

Cali didn’t argue with him. He really wasn’t like Easson, even if a few parallels could be

made. And there was no use taking her frustrations about herself and Easson out on Rourke.

Especially when she had plenty of unique frustrations she could take out on Rourke. “I’ll call

Luke. You...” She glanced around the room, trying to think of something for him to do while she made

the call. “Don’t touch anything,” she finished weakly.

He held his hands up in a gesture to show just how harmless he was, and Cali shook her head at

him before practically running to her room and shutting the door with a tad too much force.

Damn it. How long had it been since she’d gone running to her room like a coward? Even

though she was on the verge of getting everything she ever wanted, it still felt like this entire pristine

world she’d so carefully cultivated for herself crumbled around her.

She took three deep breaths before she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone.

She flipped through screens until she landed on Luke’s page. She’d dialed this number thousands of

time before, but never for anything this significant. And she was really tempted to send a text message

to cut out all the awkwardness, but she forced herself to hit the Call button. She was an adult, damn it,

and she was going to act like one. An adult about to come into two million dollars.

“Cali,” he said as soon as he answered. “Did everything go okay with Evelyn?”

Which meant he hadn’t talked to his girlfriend yet. Made sense, considering she’d left the coffee

shop less than an hour ago. Seemed like longer in her mind... “Umm, everything went fine with

Evelyn. I’m actually calling about your brother.”

“Rourke? From your email, I figured he was just as stubborn as always.”

Ah, yes. The email. It had been an abrupt admission of her failure.

Luke,

Your brother is a dick. Don’t hold your breath.

-Cali

Not her proudest moment, but considering they’d yet to make an option to recall an email as

soon as it was sent, she’d just have to live with it. With all the things she and Luke had talked about in

the past, she knew he wouldn’t care. But it wasn’t the image she wanted to go out on. Well, it was

really just the cherry on top of a shitty way to leave. But now she had good news.

“Things have taken a turn. Rourke is in my living room right now and he’s looking forward to

speaking with you.”

“Not looking forward to it!” shouted Rourke from the other side of the door, proving he could

hear everything she said.

“That was him, wasn’t it?” asked Luke.

“He’ll be there. Just send me the time and place. Preferably sooner rather than later.” Before

Rourke could change his mind.

“That’s fantastic, Cali. I can’t believe you did it.”

She couldn’t believe it either. And she wouldn’t until it was happening in front of her. “I’m

going to make sure he doesn’t pull a runner. Just send me where you want to meet.”

“Thanks, Cali. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Hold off on the celebrations until you see him.”

“Thanks anyway. This is still more progress than we’ve ever gotten. I’ll send you an address as

soon as I have one.” Luke hung up and Cali put the phone back into her pocket.

“Are you done?” asked Rourke through the doorway.

At least she knew he hadn’t run off yet. “Did anyone ever tell you eavesdropping is rude?”

“Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back?”

She sighed and pulled open the door. “Are you accusing me of being rude?”

He smiled down at her before his gaze traveled up and over her shoulder. “Is this your

bedroom?”

“No!” She shoved her palms in his chest and pushed him out of the doorway until she could pull

the door shut.

“Funny, because I could’ve sworn I saw a bed in there.”

“You stay out of my bedroom...mister.” For some reason, saying his name out loud would seem

much too intimate.

“I can look for a fireplace if that would make you more comfortable.”

Screw two million dollars. She was going to kill him. “Wh—What are you doing? Why are you

trying to make this as complicated as possible for me? Are you mad at me?”

He advanced on her then, a sudden intensity in his eyes that vanished any trace of a backbone

Cali had, and she inched farther back until the door hit her shoulders.

Rourke rested his hands on either side of her, effectively caging her in. “Here’s the deal, Cali.

I’m in a shitty mood. I’ve been half out of my mind with worry because some psycho killer is after

you, only to get here to you telling me that you’re fine. Which is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in

my life. Now, in order to keep an eye on you so I don’t go completely crazy, I have to have a

conversation with a brother I hate so much that I haven’t talked to him in over ten years. And now

you, the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, refuses to even admit that we slept together.

So that’s what’s wrong with me. Any more questions?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was too shocked to form sentences. Did that

mean he really cared for her?

Cali shook her head. “No, umm, no more questions.”

She looked up at him only to confirm that he hadn’t moved back even an inch. His eyes seemed

to search her face for something, but she didn’t know what to give him.

Luckily, a sudden buzzing in her ass saved her from having to figure that out for now. He raised

a brow as the vibrating phone cut through the silence between them, and she sheepishly smiled as she

reached back to check the text from Luke. “Are you going to be ready in twenty minutes?” She forced

her unsteady voice to work.

He glanced at the phone and then back to her face. “I can think of a few things we can do in

twenty minutes.”

She set a hand on his chest. “Oh, I know. Getting ready will take me at least fifteen, though, and

I wouldn’t want to put your skills to waste.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rourke and Cali reached the restaurant first. Though he wasn’t surprised. Luke wasn’t known

for being prompt.

He didn’t really know what to expect or what Luke wanted from him. All these years he’d been

so intent on shooting Luke down time and time again that he never thought about what would happen if

he gave in.

And here he was. Sitting at a table for four with Cali at his side and waiting for his brothers to

show up.

“Are you okay?” Cali sipped her water. Her back was stiff as a board, and her eyes kept darting

between him and the front door to the small steakhouse.

“I feel like I should be asking you that. You look like you’re about to be shot.” He never

should’ve pushed her so far at her place. Damn it, she’d pushed him over an edge. He knew he’d

made mistakes when dealing with her before, but he’d been so focused on getting her and finding out

the truth about what happened with Easson.

Only to be blindsided when she compared him to her ex from hell. He’d lost control. He’d been

accused of a lot of shitty things, been called a lot of names (most of those barbs coming from Cali

herself), but this was a new low.

“I’m fine,” he said curtly. He just wanted to get this over with. Get Cali her payday she was so

desperate for so they could have an honest conversation without any of this hanging over their heads.

She wouldn’t have a crazy ex-boyfriend to hide from him, and he wouldn’t be the reason she missed

out on the biggest payday of her life. This was all so he could be with her.

And he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that. He couldn’t remember the last grand gesture

he’d made for a woman. Sure, there were flowers here and there. He’d always pick up the check.

Hold the door.

But leaving his city to reconcile with his family just so one person would like him more?

Cali’s already tense shoulders suddenly seemed to get even tighter and Rourke knew his

brothers were here. He glanced to the door and noticed that other patrons of the restaurant stared too.

His family had that effect.

The two eldest Devereaux brothers were about the same height as Rourke but had darker hair

and the paler complexions of men who worked in high rises all day. Cali stood as they approached,

but Rourke stayed sitting. One more little rebellion before he finally caved to their demands.

Michael sat across from Cali, and Luke took the chair across from Rourke. Which meant he’d

have to stare at Luke’s smug face this entire dinner. More likely through the entire appetizer. He didn’t

plan to stay any longer than necessary.

Before he could say anything, soft fingers wrapped around his knee under the table, silently

telling him she was there.

“I’m happy you agreed to meet.” Luke broke the silence.

“Well, you did dangle the promise of riches to a completely innocent party. It didn’t seem fair to

crush her dreams all because I hold a grudge.”

Cali squeezed his knee tighter and gave him a quick shut the hell up look.

Luke and Michael didn’t look the slightest bit swayed by his words. “Cali is one of the smartest

people we’ve ever worked with,” said Michael. “We didn’t send her on a fool’s errand. We sent her

because if anyone could talk sense into you, it would be her.”

“I didn’t realize I was lacking sense.”

“It’s not your lack of sense. It’s your overflow of stubbornness,” snapped Luke, finally showing

signs of his stress.

“What the hell do you want from me? You got me—I’m here. Now what? You want me to go suit

shopping and move into the family office?” The very thought of working an office job practically

made him nauseous.

“We don’t want a coworker,” bit out Luke. “We want a brother.”

“We want you to come back to the family, Rourke,” said Michael. “Physically you can live

wherever you want, but we want to know you’re around.”

Rourke clenched his jaw. He didn’t know what he expected them to say, but it wasn’t that. Not

even the words that surprised him. The tone.

He thought back to the last time he and Luke had spoken. Luke had been haughty and

straightforward about the affair he’d had with Lisa. Even though he apologized, he’d never been

apologetic.

And he certainly never showed remorse for bringing the bitch to their parents’ funeral.

This was different. There was a note of genuine sadness about the time they’d lost. A sadness he

didn’t know Luke was capable of.

Michael leaned forward. “Come stay with me while you’re here. Lori would love to get the

chance to meet you, and we could get you up to speed on where the company is.”

Rourke was just about to tell them all the reasons he was never going to stay with them when

Cali spoke up. “He’s staying with me for the time being.”

He jerked around to look at Cali, almost expecting her to burst out laughing and tell him it was

all a joke. But she was one hundred percent serious and gave him a knowing smile to reassure him.

He didn’t know what to think about it. He was at the dinner, so she should be getting her big payday

no matter what. Was there something else in this for her?

Or maybe she was trying to be nice to him, which was a hell of a leap from how upset she’d

been when he first showed up.

Maybe this dinner wasn’t an entire waste.

~~~~~

“You can feel free to make yourself at home anywhere but the bedroom,” said Cali sternly as

she let Rourke into her apartment.

Maybe not as much progress as he’d hoped, but he was still willing to take the momentum.

“Think I can fit on your couch?” he asked, unable to keep himself from giving her a bit of a hard time.

“You’ll make yourself fit.” A smile crept across her lips.

He stopped for a moment to stare at her. God, he didn’t remember the last time he’d seen

someone so beautiful. Even though she could’ve gone to the dinner in sweatpants and a hoodie and

gotten Luke to give her the payday he’d promised, she looked impeccable. Her white blouse draped

perfectly against her breasts and curve of her waist, tucking into a blue plaid skirt that would’ve made

her look like a sexy schoolgirl if it had been a few inches shorter.

But combined with her short black boots, she looked like one of those sophisticated women

who owned the city. She’d seemed so natural back in his town. Her blonde hair blending in with the

yellow and red leaves in the backdrop. Her bright smile enough to light up his entire house. Not that

she’d smiled the one night she was there, but he’d imagined her doing it. It was all he’d thought about

after she’d left him.

And now that he was here, in her natural habitat, nothing had changed. Somehow he’d had this

idea in his head that all the concrete and steel in the city would somehow dampen her. But she moved

through the streets with so much confidence that heads would turn as she passed.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Pride that the most beautiful woman on the street had

chosen him? Jealousy that other people saw just how perfect she was?

“I’m going to get ready for bed. Why don’t I show you how the cable works?”

Rourke didn’t remember the last time someone had to give him instructions on how to use

electronics. But if it gave him more time with her, he wasn’t going to turn down her offer.

“You’re going to bed already?” he asked. It was only nine p.m. and he knew that normally she

wouldn’t turn in that early. Even though she was letting him stay with her, she was still running from

him.

“I think some alone time might be good for me,” she said, confirming his suspicions.

“I think some people time would be good for you. Come on. I’m sure you have a bottle of wine

around here somewhere. We can crack it open and relax. You’re about to have enough to retire and

I’m about to get to know the family again. I think it’s worth some celebrating.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. “Well, you’re wrong. I

don’t have an ounce of alcohol in this house.”

He raised a brow. “Really? You don’t drink?”

“Every once in a while, but usually I reserve it for work functions. I’m a perpetual dieter,

Rourke. Ever part of my day involves counting calories.”

He shuddered. “That sounds like my version of hell.”

“It’s not that bad.” She laughed. “But it’s hard to stay in shape, especially when I was working

crazy hours.”

“Are your looks really that important to you?” Damn it, that wasn’t what he meant to say. “I

mean—”

She held up a hand. “I know what you meant to say. And, yes, my looks are that important to me.

The place I grew up, I needed to get out any way possible and my looks are one of the main things that

got me out. So I work to maintain them.”

Rourke frowned. He really knew almost nothing about her past. “Where did you grow up?”

A sardonic smile twisted her lips. “Maybe wine would be good for this conversation,” she

muttered as she reached into her fridge and pulled out a few bottles of water, handing one to him as

she made her way to the couch. He would’ve been fine with tap water, but he didn’t want to stop her

from telling her story.

She’d settled into the corner of the sofa and he took the middle seat. Not touching her, but

making sure she knew he wasn’t about to back down from what he wanted.

“It’s kind of funny.” She reached down to take off her shoes. “Luke and I never talked about this.

I kind of figured he knew, since he wouldn’t work so closely with someone he didn’t know everything

about, but he always treated me like an equal. It’s one of the things that made me like him so much.”

Normally it would kill him to hear the woman he was with talk about how much she liked his

brother, but in this case, he was okay with it. Maybe it was her tone. The warm way her eyes lit up.

As though she was talking about family and not some romantic interest or someone she’d been

drooling over for years.

“I didn’t come from money. My mother had seven children in Baltimore City. I was the

youngest. We were in one of the lowest income neighborhoods in the city and every day was a

struggle. Out there, drugs and guns were a given. My father, the father of two of my brothers and me,

was one of the better known gangsters in the city. Which was nice in the sense that I always knew I’d

have food on my plate and new clothes for school. But it was a dangerous life. Everyone in my family

was a criminal of some sort. My mother ran drugs to and from Baltimore. My brothers were all trying

to rise up the gangster ranks. Of my two older sisters, one ran away and never talked to any of us

again. The other one was a hundred percent loyal to the family.”

“And what about the brothers?” Four brothers, if he did the math right.

“Two were dead by the time I was seventeen. Another was in prison. The fourth was on his way

to join the rest.”

Rourke noticed she didn’t give any of them names. He wondered whether she was trying to keep

the story simple or whether she was trying to distance herself from the memories. She told the story

straight-faced. As though she was simply listing off the facts and not telling him about all the family

she’d lost in one way or another.

“What brought you to the city?”

She looked down at the coffee table as she pulled her feet underneath herself, settling into the

couch. “The last year there was...hard. I did everything right, you know? I didn’t skip school. I didn’t

run around with boys. I got good grades and applied for all the scholarships that were supposed to be

my lifeline.”

Rourke thought back to his choice of schools that he’d turned his back on. It was easy to forget

about the ones who didn’t have the opportunities he did.

“The lifelines weren’t there. I qualified for a few federal programs since all my family’s

income was off the books—I was well below the limit. But it wasn’t enough. The federal programs

were going to cover a tiny chunk of tuition, but I’d still have to take care of the rest and books. When

the highest paying jobs I could get at the time could barely cover the car insurance I’d need to get to

school, I knew I’d need to look into student loans. Except I had no credit history. At all. No credit

cards, no auto loans. And my parents could hardly cosign for me.”

“But you made it happen.” Cali wasn’t the type to step out without a hell of a fight.

“I was lucky. Stupid, but lucky. When my mom was passed out one night, I took a grand out of

her secret stash and took off for New York. I had a list of every company in the city I could find that

would cover tuition for entry-level positions and started to make my way around. After ten in a row

told me they weren’t even interviewing, one receptionist told me that if I wanted to be taken seriously,

I needed to look the part. She told me that department stores would do my makeup for free and, if

money was really tight, I should buy a suit and return it if it didn’t work out.

“So that’s what I did. In the course of four hours, I gave myself a complete makeover. The suit

was cheap, but it fit well and the guy at the makeup counter completely understood when I told him I

couldn’t afford to buy anything. But he did his best to turn me from the daughter of a gangster to a

businesswoman.”

“And that worked?”

“That got one of the most sexist men in the city to take notice of me and hire me on the spot. He

didn’t give a damn about my qualifications, but he liked that I was blonde and had big tits and his

clients would appreciate my ‘pretty face.’”

Rourke inwardly grumbled about the asshole that she had to put up with. Maybe she’d let his

name slip at some point and he could pay the creep a visit...

“And that’s why my appearance is so important to me. Without it, I have no idea where I’d be.

Don’t get me wrong. Talent and skill helps a lot. But looks sure as hell helped me get a foot in the

door.”

“So they paid for your tuition?”

“Well, I could only stand working for him for so long. But one of his clients eventually hired

me, and I bounced around a bit until I ended up with Luke and Michael. And from there, it was an

amazing fit. I got along great with them and they didn’t treat me like a receptionist. There are

sometimes I felt more like a partner with them.”

For the first time in years, Rourke felt grateful toward his brothers. The idea that they’d seen the

potential in Cali. Given her a chance.

The image he’d had in his head of the two had been pompous, arrogant jerks, thinking how

superior they were most of the time. Maybe Cali had a point. Maybe there was something in this

family worth reconnecting to. Especially if they were about to get married and start having kids.

Maybe he should be around to meet his little nieces and nephews.

“I appreciate you telling me,” said Rourke honestly.

She shrugged. “I know so much of your family drama. It only seemed fair.”

He nodded, still grateful for the secrets she’d shared. “Have you talked to any of them

recently?”

She shook her head. “When I left...it wasn’t pleasant. My mom was upset about the money I

stole. Rightfully so. But they never wanted me to go to school. I think they thought they were

protecting me. That I’d fail and end up dropping out just like everyone else in the family who had

attempted college. So when I left, they told me to never come back. I thought they were just saying it.

They weren’t.”

For the first time since she’d started telling the story, her eyes watered. Rourke reached out and

set his hand over hers. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head and used her free hand to dab at her eyes, not moving away from him. “It

was a long time ago and, from what I can tell, nothing has changed.”

He thought back to the first night he’d met Cali. Back when she’d told him to cut his losses and

let go of the people who didn’t care about him. Now he knew what she was talking about.

Her family had cut her out and she’d chosen to move forward with her life and not let the past

hold her down. But his family wasn’t pushing him away. They were actively trying to get a fresh start

and clean the slate. Maybe it was time he considered starting over with them.

“Why did you let me stay here?” he asked, not wanting to think about his family anymore.

She shrugged. “It’s the least I could do. You came all this way and had nowhere to stay after

doing such a big favor to me. I still think you should go to a hotel, which will be much more

comfortable than my place, but you’re welcome as long as you want to be here.”

She had no idea what she was offering him. He wanted to stay as long as she’d let him, and if

she didn’t put a time limit on this, he might become a permanent houseguest.

Her hand was still beneath his and he adjusted his palm so his fingers fell between hers. Not

holding her hand, but making the motion undeniably intimate. “You know I’m not like him, right?”

She didn’t ask who he was talking about. She already knew. “You’re nothing like Easson.

Everything about him, looking back, was cold and calculated. At the time, I thought he was a bit

reserved and ambitious, like me. But you...you’re different. You say whatever comes to mind. Do

whatever you want.” She reached up and stroked her fingers along his short beard. “You’re a bit more

wild than he ever was.”

He rubbed his cheek into her hand, reveling in the feel of her touch. “You like your men wild?”

“I like you,” she said simply.

Rourke would’ve smiled in victory if the air hadn’t been so tense between them. The electricity

was so thick that he was surprised they weren’t getting shocked just sitting there. And then he gave in

to his wild side as he leaned in to take her mouth with his.

Even though she’d been slowly warming up to him again, he waited to see whether she would

fight him. Run back to her room as she ordered him to stay on the couch.

But she pulled him in closer even as he pushed her back, crawling over her body as he pressed

her into the arm of the sofa.

Her back arched against him as she unfolded her legs from under her. He didn’t break the kiss

as he pushed her skirt up higher until she could wrap her legs around his waist. The kiss was fiery

and untamed. His tongue tangled with hers, brushing against her teeth. Taking everything she was

willing to give and then even more.

Cali moaned into his mouth and he drank in the sound. He’d never get tired of this woman.

One hand cupped the back of her head as he trailed kisses down her jaw to the lobe of her ear.

The other hand rubbed up and down along her exposed thigh until he couldn’t stand it anymore. She

must’ve had the same idea, because as soon as he pulled away, she sat up, pulling her blouse from her

skirt and tearing at the buttons.

And then she was taking off her bra and all of his attention was drawn to her absolutely perfect

breasts that were freed to his view. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around the small of her back,

and pulled her breasts to his mouth. He took his time with her. Torturing the nipples one taut peak at a

time. Working her up into a frenzy, only to switch to the other one until Cali writhed and bucked

against him, begging for more.

When he couldn’t stand it anymore, Rourke leaned back and pulled at his shirt, dropping it to

the floor right as Cali reached down to pull off her panties from beneath her skirt. He reached a hand

out, stopping her. This was one article of clothing he’d gladly remove for her.

He slowly dragged the silky scrap of material down her legs, maneuvering one ankle free and

settling more fully between her legs as he lifted her other leg up, pressing a kiss to the inside corner

of her ankle as he pulled the panties free.

Then Cali was pushing up, caging his face in her hands as she kissed him passionately, fully. He

growled against the kiss as he pulled her hips tightly against him and maneuvered them a bit farther

down on the couch so that this time when he pressed her down, she was flat on her back. He reached

out to intertwine one of his hands with hers, pressing it over her head against the sofa.

The couch was small and not the most comfortable place, but he wasn’t capable of carrying her

to the bed at this point. He was too far gone with the need to touch her. Be with her. Slide inside her.

He reached down with his free hand to undo his belt buckle and push his jeans over his hips. Not the

easiest task with one hand, but he was damned motivated at the moment.

And then his cock was free, hard and ready for her. Demanding release.

He gripped her hand tighter as he took her mouth with his and his length slid home in one swift

stroke. She arched against him and he swallowed her scream. Her tight heat enveloped him, and he

practically shuddered at the pleasure that coursed through him.

But then he started to move.

Cali’s free arm wrapped around his shoulders, her sharp fingernails biting into his back as she

urged him on. Her heels pressed into his ass, letting him know she didn’t want this gentle.

And he gave her what she wanted, taking her hard and fast, reveling in every moan and squeak

he got from her. And when her orgasm hit, she let her head fall back, eyes closed, and let out such an

erotic moan that he couldn’t hold back his release any longer. He buried his head in her neck and

released her hand to grip her hips and hold her impossibly tighter as he came.

Afterwards, they both struggled to catch their breath. Cali’s hand stroked up and down his back.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed against the top of his head. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

He chuckled into her neck before he placed a soft kiss to the sensitive skin there. “Trust me. No

apology needed.” He felt her smile against him as she held him tighter. Lifting his head, Rourke

looked down at Cali. Her hair was tousled and her eyes had the undeniable glow of a woman who’d

just had amazing sex. A sense of pride shot straight through him. He’d done that.

A cocky grin covered his face. “So does this mean I don’t need to sleep on the couch?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Cali’s thumb pounded out a frantic rhythm against the side of her leg as she waited for Luke to

show up. Her mind kept on playing out all the ways this would go wrong. He could stand her up.

Maybe he found out what she’d been doing with Rourke and decided she didn’t deserve the

reward/bribery money he’d promised. Maybe Evelyn decided she had been working with Easson and

he’d renege on the offer.

The whole thing seemed too good to be true, so when Luke finally did show up, she didn’t even

believe her eyes. He was dressed casually in jeans and a sweater. Strange. She’d assumed he’d be

wearing a business suit. Didn’t one wear a suit to transfer millions of dollars to someone else?

What did she know? She wasn’t used to having this much money. Not that she had it yet.

“Hey.” She smiled, trying to act casual even as her heart raced inside her chest.

Luke smiled back. “Are you ready for this?” He glanced at the doors to the bank behind her.

Ready? Good grief, she just wanted to get this over with before he could change his mind. Even

though she’d been thinking about it nonstop since they’d first made her the offer, she didn’t want to

take any chances that he’d change his mind.

“I’m ready when you are.” She pulled the baby-blue cardigan tighter around herself as he held

the door open to the bank for her. The banker must’ve been waiting for them because he rushed over

to them, outstretched hand ready to shake Luke’s. It figured he would be a VIP client. The kind that

had two million just sitting there and ready to transfer over to a nobody like her.

“Mr. Devereaux, it’s great to see you again,” said the man.

Cali tried to remember his name, considering she was sure she’d dealt with him before. It was

Ben something...Snail? No. Snoil? No. Something slimy sounding though.... Snaith! Ben Snaith.

“Hello, Mr. Snaith.” She held out a hand.

“Ms. Carson.” He gave a quick smile as he glanced between the two of them. “I have everything

ready for you in my office, if you’d just follow me.”

Luke motioned with a jerk of his head for Cali to follow the banker and he took up the rear.

They crossed past the clean-cut front of the bank where the customers stood in line for the tellers.

Transactions this big went over the tellers’ heads, she supposed.

Ben led them to his office, which wasn’t anything remarkable. Beige walls, more gray carpets,

and not many personal pictures on the wall. She wondered whether that was because he didn’t have a

lot of family or because he valued his privacy.

Though she couldn’t say her workspace was much better. She didn’t have any family photos to

hang. No cute dog or cat pictures to look at. All she had were a few knickknacks she’d picked up here

and there. Nothing important enough to clear off once she decided to quit.

The thought made her somber as they sat down, but Ben didn’t seem to notice. “Do you have the

account and routing numbers of the bank the funds are being transferred to?”

Cali nodded as she reached into her purse and pulled out a blank check. “Here you go.”

“Great. It won’t take me long to get it started and then I’ll need manager approval and you’ll be

all set. Have you given any thought to how you’re investing these funds?”

That bright smile was now focused on her, and Cali bit back the urge to roll her eyes. This guy

had probably never even bothered to learn her name, but now that she suddenly had money, she was

worth talking to. “I have a few plans,” she said assertively as she waited for him to get on with it.

“Great,” he said, masking any disappointment. “Two million then?”

Cali held her breath as she glanced at Luke and waited for him to respond.

“Two million,” he agreed.

She exhaled and resisted the urge to jump up in the air and fist pump. She forced herself to sit

there like a rational adult until Ben left to get the manager, leaving Cali and Luke alone.

“So are you taking any trips to celebrate?” he asked.

Cali shook her head without thinking. “Rourke is staying with me, so I won’t be heading

anywhere for a while.”

He nodded, but she could see the wheels turning in his mind. “So exactly how close did you and

Rourke get?”

After her initial slip-up, Cali regained her composure. “Rourke is a friend. It wasn’t easy for

him to come back and I want him to know that he has someone there who’s...impartial.”

Luke cringed. “You know, don’t you?”

Cali tightened her lips as she considered her words carefully. “Rourke told me his side of the

story. I wish you had told me too.”

“Damn it, that was so long ago. I was young and Lisa had all of us wrapped around her finger.”

Cali shook her head. “No, I’m not mad at you. We’ve all done things we regret. Some things that

we regret and still wouldn’t change given the chance.” She thought back to the thousand dollars she’d

stolen from her mother. She wasn’t there to judge Luke, but she also wasn’t there to tell him what he

did had been understandable.

And as he sat there, looking for her approval, she realized just how much their relationship had

changed over the years. Even now, knowing that she could leave and never see him again, he was

explaining himself to her. She’d known Luke long enough to know he didn’t give two cents about

other people’s opinion. But he cared about hers, and that touched a place deep in her heart.

“Luke...I wanted to say—”

Ben pushed open the door and a suited man who must’ve been the manager followed. He

introduced himself before giving the approval, and, just like that, Cali was a millionaire. This time

she couldn’t stop the smile. This opened the world to her. If she lived modestly and invested right, she

would never have to work again.

Or she could find a job she truly wanted to do. Maybe a not-for-profit. Maybe go into the arts.

She could get a new degree or travel. Maybe purchase some income real estate.

Anything.

Luke led her out of the bank, and as soon as they were free of the bankers, customers, and

tellers, she threw her hands around his neck in a tight hug. “I can’t believe this,” she breathed as she

tried to comprehend how much things had changed in just a click of a mouse button.

Luke hugged her back and pulled her in for a tight bear hug. “I can’t believe you did it. We

never thought Rourke would come back in a million years.”

“It was easy. I just told him what a great guy you were,” she said with a teasing grin.

He let her go and gave a little snort. “You always did underplay everything you did for me.”

“But you never believed me,” she reminded him. “Which made the underplaying easier.”

“So are you really leaving me?”

She was quiet for a moment as she thought about how to word her answer. She couldn’t go back

to being his assistant. She had enough money that she’d never need to, and she was convinced she

needed to find her passion. Whatever the hell that passion was. “I need some time to myself.”

He nodded as though he didn’t expect her to change her mind at the last minute. “Well, Michael

is taking Rourke over what has been happening with the business right now. If things with them

get...heated, will you let me know? You’ll be seeing him right after. I just don’t want to fuck things up

so fast after we just got him back.”

Cali thought of the way Rourke had listened to her babble on about her family drama last night.

He seemed so different from the angry, abrupt person she’d met just a week ago. She’d like to think

that he wasn’t the sort to tuck tail and run after one disagreement, but she knew he could be a tad

unpredictable at times. Maybe it was one of the things she liked about him. She blushed as she

remembered just a few of the unpredictable things he’d done after he’d carried her from the couch to

her bedroom the night before.

“If he’s upset, I’ll talk to him,” she promised. “But I can’t report back to you.” There was a line

in the sand she needed to draw between the brothers. And this time, she was going to be standing on

the side of the line Rourke was on.

Luke nodded. “Here’s hoping everything goes well then. I have to get back to the office, but

you’ll keep in touch, right? And if you ever want a job or anything, you know who to call.”

“Don’t worry, Luke. You’re number one on my list.” For a moment, she thought he was going to

say more, but then she was saved by the ringing of her phone. “I should get this.” She backed away.

“I’ll see you around. Promise.” She turned away as she pulled the incessant ringing phone.

Please don’t be Easson, she thought as she looked at the caller ID, only to be swept in a wave

of confusion. Well, it wasn’t Easson. Even more confusing, it was a number coming from Walter

Farrell’s office. She’d called the place enough times that she must’ve programmed it into her phone.

“Cali here,” she said in her official tone. Probably someone who didn’t know she’d quit and

needed to get a hold of Luke. Surprising, considering they’d seemed to get the message through to a

lot of other people who had her phone number.

“Hi,” said a deep voice on the other end. “This is Colin Carter. I’m an associate of Walter

Farrell. I was hoping I could get a meeting with you later today.”

Cali glanced over her shoulder, but Luke was already gone. Damn. “I’m sorry, but I’m no longer

with DevX Tech. If you’d like, I can get you a number to call—”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m calling to talk about Easson Harper. You were his

date last Friday, isn’t that right?”

Well, there went the theory that money solved everything. Even with her now overflowing

savings account, Easson was still a pain in her ass. “He was, but I haven’t seen him since. I don’t

think I can help you.”

“I think you will. But I’d rather you do it on your own terms. What time works for you?”

Without any hesitation, Cali hung up the phone. From now on, the only pain in her ass would be

Rourke, and she’d rather spend the rest of the afternoon dealing with him than with the endless pile of

shit Easson seemed to be piling on her.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rourke stood over the empty desk area and looked for any sign of the woman he’d spent the

night with. “This is where Cali worked for ten years?”

She’d been gone for long enough that someone had apparently cleared out her space. Not a

single scrap of paper was left in the barren area.

“Well, not the entire ten years.” Michael came to a stop beside Rourke. “We moved offices

seven years ago, so she’s been here since then.”

“Can’t believe you never gave her an office,” said Rourke as annoyance prickled at him.

“We offered, but she was never into the idea. I think she knew she’d be leaving eventually and

thought that as soon as she accepted an office, that wouldn’t happen. But it’s been a pain in the ass

since she left.”

Rourke smiled at the thought. Yeah, he could imagine that Cali would’ve had all the balls

perfectly balanced in the air and as soon as she was gone, they’d tumble to the ground.

“I trust you’re making it through.”

Michael shrugged. “We always do in this family. Come on and I’ll give you a rundown of the

numbers.”

“A quick rundown, right? Numbers always give me a headache.” Renovations were easy.

Potential sale price, purchase price, goal profit and reno budget: the only four numbers that mattered.

“Really quick,” promised Michael. “Are you sure that we can’t book a hotel room for you or

anything? I heard that you have a decent spot of land out in Maine. Probably jarring to go from that to

a New York City apartment.”

Rourke shrugged. “Cali’s place is plenty big enough for me.”

Michael paused before he stopped to look at Rourke. “So I take it you’re not in the spare

bedroom then?”

“There is no spare bedroom,” shot back Rourke without acknowledging the true question that

was asked. Except he had no idea whether Cali wanted their relationship public. Or whether she even

acknowledged they had a relationship. Back in Maine, he’d thought this was a one-time thing. Now he

wasn’t so naive as to think he could let Cali get away. “There’s a couch though,” he added, trying to

belatedly save her modesty in case she cared.

Michael nodded, but Rourke could see the damage was done. “You know Cali has always been

important to us. Are you sure you know what you’re doing there?”

Rourke wanted to bite back that he was a grown ass man and didn’t need to be reprimanded by

his brother about the woman he chose to be with. But then he thought back to what Cali said about his

brothers. How they had accepted her, no matter her past. How they’d grown close. Who was he to get

upset about Michael being overprotective? If anything, he appreciated it.

As long as that overprotectiveness wasn’t turned on him.

“Cali is a grown woman. She can take care of herself.” At least where he was concerned. When

it came to certain ex-boyfriends, Rourke was happy to be a bit overprotective. “Why don’t we leave

Cali out of this and you let me know exactly what you’ve done with the family business?”

Michael got down to business and pulled out a few financials. He gave a quick, easy enough to

understand snapshot of how DevX Tech was run. How they’d been expanding into encryption and

protection software. Once the government became a client, everyone wanted in on the software good

enough for the military.

But the most enlightening part of the conversation was how often Cali was mentioned. Her name

came up as often as Luke’s did. So maybe they weren’t just paying her lip service when they said she

was important.

Once Michael finished his informal presentation, Rourke sat back and crossed his arms over his

chest. “So how much of a part do you want me to play in all this?”

Michael raised a brow. “In this?” He pointed to the financials in front of him. “Honestly, Luke

and I have things down here. That’s not why we want you back.”

“So what’s your endgame then?” Rourke waited to hear the real reason the family put two

million on the line to track him down.

“I brought you back because I want you to be one of my groomsmen.”

A wall of speechlessness hit him like a brick. “Ummm...”

“You’d actually be best man. Co-best man with Luke.”

“I haven’t even met Lori.” Wouldn’t he have to meet the bride before he could agree to this?

“You’ll like Lori. Everyone likes Lori. You’ll see. But I want my family, my entire family, to be

a part of this.”

Rourke took that to mean that Joslyn was no longer considered a part of the family, which was

fine with him. “But you haven’t seen me in years. Why go through all this trouble?”

“Because you’re family. And we’ll do anything to keep family safe.”

Rourke stared across the conference room table at his brother. Even though he was in a fancy

building and even fancier suit, all he could see was the teenager he’d once looked up to. Who taught

him how to play football. Who gave him advice when he asked out his first girlfriend.

“Hell yeah, I’d like to be in your wedding then.”

The side of Michael’s mouth twisted up as though he was trying to hide his happiness but

couldn’t. “She’d love to meet you,” he said as they both stood. “Oh, one more thing, though, Rourke. I

wasn’t kidding about doing everything possible to keep family safe. And Cali is considered family to

us.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Seeing Rourke walk out of the elevator in the lobby of the DevX Tech building was somehow

so right and so wrong at the same time. Cali tilted her head and studied him walking toward her. He

had the trademark Devereaux confidence and charm, but had traded the suit for a pair of jeans and a

black t-shirt. Even so, he fit in perfectly among the crowd of high-powered New Yorkers who piled

out of the building for their lunch break.

She waved a hand so he would see her standing at the entrance to the lobby. She hadn’t asked

whether her access card had been deactivated but wasn’t about to test to see whether it worked. The

day had been so nice so far; it would be a shame to ruin it by being escorted out of her old workplace

by security.

Rourke nodded at her when he noticed her waving and headed over. He didn’t appear to be in a

huge rush, so she had to assume things went well with Michael. At least she hoped.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” He reached her and stood a few inches away.

It wasn’t as if she expected him to swoop in and kiss her, but she’d been hoping he’d be at least

the slightest bit happy to see her. “Well, once I finished with Luke, he mentioned you were meeting

with Michael. I thought I’d stop in. When I called Michael to see if you were still here, he said you

were just finishing up.” And because she didn’t want to ask about the security card thing. But Rourke

didn’t need to know about that.

“So you just came to see me then?”

Something in his voice set her on edge. As though there was something else he was asking. “Of

course I came to see you. Is that so strange?” Sure, they’d had their arguments, but she didn’t think he

was still mad at her.

“It’s strange because you’ve been running hot and cold with me ever since I came back. Now

that you and Luke have...settled your debts, I want to know where we stand.”

Cali blinked at the ultimatum. There went the relaxing lunch she’d been expecting to have. She

glanced around her, looking to see whether any of the people walking in or out of the building were

her former coworkers. Taking a deep breath, she took his hand in hers and pulled him out of the

building. She half expected him to put up a fight, but he laced his fingers with hers and followed her

out.

But that cooperation stopped as soon as they hit the street, when he tightened his grip and pulled

her out of the flow of people until they were in the shadow of the DevX Tech building. “So now that

you have your money, are you going to run away from me again?”

“I never ran away,” she bit out. “You told me to leave. Repeatedly.”

“That was before. I don’t want you to leave now.”

Cali frowned. “Is that your way of telling me that you want to go back to Maine alone?”

“What?” His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “No. That’s my way of saying I don’t want

you to leave me.”

Her head jerked back as comprehension dawned. “You’re serious?”

“I spent half the day lying to Michael about what we’re doing. Before I tell anyone anything, I

want to make sure that we’re on the same page.”

“Umm... What would a relationship between us even be?”

Rourke’s hand tightened and tugged her closer where his mouth swooped in for a deep,

possessive kiss. Except he pulled away right as Cali started to lean in for more. “I’d imagine it would

be something like that,” he breathed against her.

Cali closed her eyes and replayed the kiss in her mind. Unexpected. Wild. Completely and

utterly erotic. She lifted her lids and stared into Rourke’s dark eyes. “I was going to recommend we

go out for lunch, but I’m thinking that I might have stuff to make sandwiches at home.”

Rourke’s hand went around her waist, pulling her tight against his body, his erection pressing

firmly against her stomach. “I think that I’d love that.”

She let out a little giggle and he smiled down at her, the dark eyes lightening as the sun peeked

out, highlighting the gold flecks in the irises.

“So what do I call you now?” she asked. “Boyfriend?” The word seemed too tame.

Too...normal for Rourke.

“Is that what you want to call me?”

“Well, what would you call me?” she countered.

“I’d call you mine.”

~~~~~

By the time Cali finally got to her apartment, she couldn’t get the door to the building unlocked

fast enough. Even after the cab ride back, she hadn’t cooled down in the slightest. Rourke took every

opportunity possible to touch her in the cab, taking full advantage of their new, more official,

relationship status.

Even though he didn’t say a word, his hand constantly found its way to her bare knee—rubbing

his finger along the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, slowly traveling higher and higher—so that by

the time the cab stopped in front of her apartment, he was only an inch away from her panties.

And making it into her building was made much harder by Rourke coming up from behind,

pressing delicious kisses along the curve of her neck. The key shook in her trembling hand as she

tried to get it in the damn hole. Then the satisfying click of the lock turning came and she pushed the

door open. Rourke and she practically tumbled inside, and she burst out in laughter at the thought of

what they must look like. Like randy teenagers who couldn’t keep their hormones in check.

When Cali looked up to Rourke, she saw that he wasn’t laughing. Instead, the heat from his gaze

threw a damper over her giggles as she practically ran up the stairs to her hallway, making a beeline

for her door.

Only to stop in her tracks when she saw it hung open on its hinges.

In a heartbeat, Rourke was between her and the door. “What are the chances you left that open

when we left?”

“Considering I’ve never once done that, I’d say slim,” she said softly. She didn’t know why she

was whispering. It wasn’t as if she were the one breaking and entering.

Rourke cursed under his breath. “Stay here,” he warned as he moved away from her and into the

apartment.

Her eyes widened as he disappeared from her line of sight. What the hell did he think he was

doing? They needed to be calling the cops or the FBI, not going into a potentially dangerous situation

with no clue about what they were facing.

“Get back here!” she whisper-yelled as she crossed the hallway to stand in the open doorway.

“I’m calling the police,” she said a bit louder when she didn’t see Rourke in the living area or kitchen

visible from where she was standing. The good news was that she didn’t hear fighting. No matter

what was in there, Cali knew Rourke wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Even though she didn’t think he was in real danger, she still let out a deep sigh of relief when he

came back into the entryway. Even though he was safe, the anger on his face was evident. “How do

you know Colin Carter?” he bit out at her as he approached.

Cali frowned at the accusatory tone. “Colin Carter? I don’t know him. He called me earlier

today and asked if I could meet to talk about something that had to do with Easson.”

“And what did you tell him?”

She tilted her head, trying to figure out what was getting at him. “I hung up on him. I’m not

dealing with anything that has to do with Easson any longer.” Which should’ve been a good thing, but

Rourke sure as hell didn’t look any happier. “What’s wrong? What does Colin Carter have to do with

anything?” She had a feeling Rourke thought this guy had been the one to break into the apartment but

had no idea where he was getting the information.

But it was hard to argue with his logic when Rourke strode over and held out a business card.

Cali tentatively took it from his hand and looked it over. The front was very simple white with black

lettering. All it said was “Colin Carter” and a phone number. No job title or address of any kind. She

flipped it over and read the handwriting on the back. “We have a mutual problem. Meet me at the

Farrell Tower today at 4 p.m.”

Cali shook her head. “No. If that son of a bitch thinks he can break into my home and hold my

sense of security over my head, he’s wrong.”

“Oh no,” said Rourke. “You’re going to that meeting.”

Cali looked at him as if he’d just grown a second head. “Excuse me? What on earth makes you

think that’s a good idea?”

A wicked smile covered Rourke’s face. “Because I think it’s time Carter learns you’re under my

protection now.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Rourke had never been to Farrell Tower. The place was like any other office he’d been in. The

outside of the building was impressive and grand while the inside was all grays and beiges with only

the views of Central Park to cut the monotony of the decorating scheme.

At least until the receptionist led them up to the fifty-fourth floor to a conference room built to

impress outsiders. The table was stainless steel and surrounded by high-backed leather chairs. The

black and gray scheme went through the entire room, accented by a few abstract-ish art pieces on the

walls.

Cali wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around the room. He could see the second

thoughts forming in her mind, but Rourke wasn’t going to let her back out of this. He needed to know

what Carter wanted and let him know that Cali was off-limits when it came to intimidation.

It wasn’t long before Carter walked into the room. He wore a suit like so many of the other men

in the building, but even so, he managed to stand out. Maybe it was because of his short hair, only

slightly longer than a buzz cut. Or maybe it was because he wore a black shirt under his black suit.

Not exactly normal corporate attire.

“Hello again.” Carter pushed the conference room door shut, sealing the three of them in alone.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” snapped Rourke as soon as the door was shut.

Maybe he shouldn’t have brought Cali. He didn’t need her seeing what he really wanted to do to this

son of a bitch.

“I think I’m doing my job,” said Carter, his voice not showing any hint of intimidation.

“Then tell us what your job is then.”

Carter looked between the two of them, but Rourke moved between him and Cali, making sure

he was the one Carter knew he had to get through in order to talk to her.

But Cali wasn’t one to stand behind a man. She set a hand on Rourke’s shoulder and stepped out

from behind him. “We’re here. What did you want to talk about?” Cali shot Rourke a look, silently

telling him to simmer down.

Carter smiled at Rourke, and Rourke had to clench his fists to hold himself back.

“I want to know where Easson Harper is.”

She let out a snort. “You and everyone else. I don’t know where he is. “

“He has something that belongs to my employer. He stole it last Friday when he was here with

you. I need to find it.”

“Not sure if you’re deaf or just stupid. She. Doesn’t. Know. Where. He. Is.”

“But you spent more time with him than anyone else. So spill. Where did he take you on dates?

Where was his apartment? Where did he spend free time? Where was his favorite place to fuck? Tell

me everything.”

Cali’s gaze went to Rourke and he stepped forward again. “That’s enough. She doesn’t have to

put up with this.”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, feel free to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he growled, staring Carter right in the eye. There was no way in hell

he’d leave Cali alone with this guy.

“If you want me to take you to his apartment, fine. The FBI has known where it is for weeks, so

I doubt he’s been there lately.”

He smiled as though he’d gotten exactly what he wanted. “I’ll take it. There’s a car downstairs.

We leave now.”

“Where are we going?” asked a man from the doorway.

Carter stayed still, but Cali and Rourke both turned to see Walter Farrell in the doorway. Cali

took a step back at the unexpected sight. Apparently she hadn’t had much time with the enigmatic

billionaire in her time with Luke and Michael. Rourke had only seen the man in the newspaper and

TV, but he was too pissed to be that impressed by anyone at the moment. Not that Walter was all that

impressive in person. He had a commanding presence, the kind that came from having more money

than he knew what to do with. But in person, the white hair appeared thinner, the wrinkles a bit more

prominent.

“I’m going to take a visit to Mr. Harper’s old apartment. He’s long gone now, but it’s worth

investigating.”

“We already knew where his apartment was. Why get her involved?”

“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.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

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 Cali’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.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

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?”

“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.

Cali glanced hesitantly over to Rourke. “Let’s take a look at these in the hall.”

Rourke let her retreat for the moment. He’d deal with her later. Once he had more control over

his emotions and his not so subtle erection.

~~~~~

“So who are you?” Cali shoved the photos back into the envelope.

Colin frowned at the question. “Umm...Colin. Carter,” he said slowly.

For the love of... “I know who you are. But what are you to Walter? Obviously you’re not

exactly a personal assistant.”

“I get things done that other people don’t want to do,” he said simply.

Obviously he didn’t want to go into detail, but Cali felt a bit ballsier than normal. “So Walter

does a lot of...questionable activities?” Colin stared her down and she knew she’d started to wander

into fragile territory. “That’s what this is all about, right? Easson knows something about the Farrell

family and he’s holding that over Walter’s head to get a payout. His boss is in jail now and that

revenue source is drying out. Maybe he’s going in for one more big bang before taking off for good.”

“I think that he’d have to have something pretty big to get Walter to open up his wallet.”

“I think that’s why Walter has you.” Cali could tell from the small, sardonic smile that twisted

Colin’s mouth that she’d hit something.

“Walter has a lot of old, dirty, nasty skeletons in the closet. It’s better for everyone if those stay

hidden.”

Cali thought about what she knew about the Farrell family: four sons, with one in prison for

insider trading. She’d never been to any events with them together, but if Colin was brought in to

clean up family messes, it was safe to assume that they weren’t all that functional.

“So, when you find Easson, what are you going to do?” she asked.

Colin pulled out his phone and checked the screen. “It’s getting late. I think I should be off.”

Well, there was her answer. She took a breath as she thought about what that meant. She wanted

Easson out of her life, but Colin seemed so...cold. A shiver raced through her as she thought about

Rourke just on the other side of the door. Rourke, who was protective, warm, and willing to do

anything for her. At least, according to him.

It was hard to believe, but he’d already proved himself. He’d come back to the city. He’d

sworn that he’d never reconcile with Luke or Michael and here he was. For the life of her, she

couldn’t figure out why. There was nothing she’d said to convince him Luke and Michael were ready

for him to come back.

Which meant he really had come back for her. Because he cared about her safety and, judging

from the little distraction routine he’d pulled before Colin had arrived, he cared about her feelings

too.

This would’ve been fantastic if it weren’t for the timing of the whole thing.

“Tell Rourke I’ll be in touch,” said Colin as they headed back down the hallway to her room.

“Um...be in touch about what?”

“He said he wanted to be included in the search. Figured it couldn’t hurt.”

She halted, shocked. “Couldn’t hurt? It could hurt him. What the hell is he supposed to do if he

finds Easson?”

Colin chuckled. “Don’t underestimate him.”

Underestimate? “Hey, Rourke is one of the most intimidating men I’ve ever met. But that doesn’t

mean I want him out hunting for crazies. Especially when he’s doing it because of me.”

“That sounds like a conversation you need to have with him. I’m not turning down another set of

hands who knows their way around the city and a gun.”

The gun thing again! “This wouldn’t happen if I had a gun,” she muttered. “You’re terrifying. Do

you have one I could borrow? You probably have extras stashed all over the city.”

“Nope. No guns stashed all over the city. And I have a feeling you should stay as far away from

firearms as possible until you get a few lessons.”

Great. Nothing more fun than being dependent on a bunch of testosterone-overdosed men to take

care of her. She crossed her arms over her chest. “How much is Walter paying you for all this

anyway?” Considering Easson probably wouldn’t make it to a fair trial if Colin found him first, that

meant Colin was planning to go pretty far for one old rich man.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to ask for someone’s salary?”

“Says the guy who broke into my apartment. I didn’t realize that the rules of normal people

manners applied.”

Colin’s blue eyes bored into hers as though he was sizing her up. “Walter Farrell is offering me

a future. When the old guy kicks the bucket, I get a one-fifth stake.”

Cali tried to hide her surprise. No wonder he’d been reluctant to say what he was getting. But

there was no harm in telling her now. It wasn’t as if she was going to be rubbing elbows with any of

the Farrells any time soon. She’d have to assume that Walter’s four sons wouldn’t be happy when they

found out that someone who wasn’t in the family got the same amount as them, but that was one fight

she was going to stay out of.

But it also made her wonder exactly what Colin had done to earn that big of a stake in Walter’s

fortune. She’d read in some article featuring the billionaires in New York that the eldest Farrell had a

net worth of over eight billion. And here she was, all happy over her two million.

“My advice? Stick with Rourke. Don’t buy a gun. Lay low for the next few weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“Hopefully days. Just lay low, okay?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not like I have a phone to contact anyone. You’re the only one who

has our phone number right now.”

“Walter and I,” corrected Colin. “He insisted on knowing how to get in touch.”

Cali really wanted to be surprised but couldn’t muster up the emotion. “He still thinks I’m

working with Easson?”

“I told him I think you’re clean, for what it’s worth. But all the coincidences keep piling up

against you and he’s rather paranoid.”

She was on a paranoid billionaire’s radar. This just kept getting better and better. “Fine. I guess

I’ll be looking into getting a new phone then.”

“He’s eccentric, but Walter isn’t dangerous. Just use the phones we gave you for now.”

She couldn’t tell whether she was being paranoid or whether all her fear was justified. But if

you knew there was a murderer hanging around your apartment, didn’t it make sense to be a bit

paranoid?

The door to the hotel room opened and Rourke stuck his head out. “Are you two done yet? How

long does it take to look at a few pictures?”

Cali took a step back from Colin and glanced between the two men. “We’re done here.” There

was nothing else Colin could do for her here, and she should at least try to get some sleep.

“I’ll be in touch,” said Colin. “Call me if anything comes up.”

With that, he’d turned and made his way down the hallway to the elevator.

Rourke held the door open wider for her. “Did you get what you wanted from him?”

“He told me that you were going to be working with him.” She pushed past him.

“I don’t think that should really be a surprise.”

No. It wasn’t a surprise. He’d promised to protect her and now he was. “Let’s just try to get

some sleep. Maybe I’ll be less pissed off in the morning.”

“Pissed off? No. There’s nothing to be angry about. I’m going to protect you. I’ll always put you

first.”

“Yeah. I got that,” she snapped as she bent down to unzip her bag and pulled out an oversized t-

shirt to wear to bed.

“So what the hell do you expect me to do? Step aside and just hope everything gets sorted out?

Because that’s not something I can do.”

“I said, I got that.” She really wished he’d stop explaining it to her as if she were deaf.

Standing, she tugged her blouse over her head and dropped it to the floor. She kept her back to Rourke

and pushed her pants over her hips. “Can we just stop talking about it?”

She jumped when she felt his breath against her neck. “Are you trying to distract me?” he

breathed as the tips of his fingertips brushed against the curve of her hip.

“I’m trying to get into my pajamas.” She tried to stay calm, but her voice cracked as his other

hand joined in, tracking delicate patterns along her back.

“I think you can sleep in this.” He flattened his palm against her stomach and pulled her tightly

back against him.

Her eyes drifted shut as she savored the feel of his hard, hot front against her back. The

sensation of his rough jeans and flannel shirt against her bare skin undeniably erotic. “I just want...”

His hand dipped lower and sneaked under her panties, and she wasn’t able to speak as she held

her breath, just waiting for him to touch her where she ached to be touched.

“If you want me, this is what you get. One hundred percent.” His breath was hot on her ear and

she rubbed back against him. It wasn’t even on purpose. It was as though some animalistic urge took

over her and she needed to rub against his cock, letting him know exactly what she wanted.

And then his fingers brushed her clit and she shuddered in his arms.

“So do you want me or not?” He slipped his fingers lower and into her.

She moaned as an electric shock seemed to shoot through her. This had to be some sort of

blackmail for him to be asking her serious questions now. “This isn’t fair,” she squeaked out as he

moved his fingers within her and adjusted his thumb to press against her clit in just the right way.

“And whatever gave you the idea that I play fair?” With that, Rourke moved his hand to hook his

fingers in her panties and pulled them down. He knelt with the movement, trailing kisses down her

spine until the panties were on the floor. She stepped out of them, and Rourke’s hands were on her

hips, turning her in place before he pushed her back against the bed.

As soon as her ass hit the covers, he pushed her knees apart, baring her completely to his view.

He leaned in; his tongue and teeth tortured the sensitive skin of her inner thighs before he reached her

wet folds. His tongue was wickedly talented, and all Cali could do was twist her fingers in the sheets

and hold on. She bucked uncontrollably as her orgasm got closer and closer, and Rourke’s grip on her

hips tightened as he held her in place.

She reached down and laced her fingers through his hair. She was so close to the edge. All she

needed was one...little...push...

Rourke pulled away and looked up at her. “You never answered.”

Cali blinked wordlessly at him. There was a question?

“Do you want me or not? Because if you say yes, you’re getting everything. Especially my

protection.”

Cali let her head fall back and rubbed a hand over her eyes. This couldn’t be happening right

now. “I want you, you moron! I just want you alive! Is it really so hard to get it through your thick

skull that I love you?” Her eyes snapped open as she realized what she said. “I mean—I was

confused and...”

Rourke shot up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and pulled her up against him. “You love

me?”

“I, um, something you.” Shit. That sounded bad.

“Like something big or something small?” A small smile twisted his mouth.

Great. Now he was mocking her. “I think I’ll something really, really bad you if you don’t finish

what you just started.”

“I love you, Cali.” His dark eyes bored into hers as he held her closer. “I’ve loved you from the

second I first saw you. I was just too stupid to realize it at first. But now I know better and I’m not

going to let anything happen to you. Ever.”

Her mouth went dry at the confession. “Rourke, I—”

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “You don’t have to say it back. I know it’s fast.”

She let out a soft laugh. “I do love you. It’s inconvenient and unprofessional but also

undeniable.”

“And you want me?” he asked with a wicked smile.

“And I want you very badly,” she whispered as she moved to kiss him back.

Rourke kissed her deeply. Fiercely. So fiercely that when he pulled away, she blinked in

confusion at the sudden loss. But when she saw him strip off his shirt and undo his pants, she was

very okay with his departure. She slid back onto the bed before he crawled over her body.

Cali set a hand at the back of his neck and pulled him in, the kiss alternating between sweet and

hot every few seconds. She couldn’t get enough of him. Somehow knowing she could have as much as

she wanted opened the door for her. She was starving and desperate for more.

More that Rourke was willing to give. He set a hand at the crook of her knee, widening her for

him as he positioned himself at her entrance.

And then he was sliding fully inside her. Cali finally broke the kiss as her head fell back. She

took a moment to savor the delicious pleasure...the fullness of having him within her.

His lips found her neck as he started to move. Slowly at first before going faster...harder.

He gripped her impossibly tighter as he kept thrusting. The orgasm hit her like a freight train and

he went with her. His muscles tightened, and he rested his forehead against her neck as he held her

tightly in his arms and trembled with his release.

They took a few moments to catch their breath. Cali allowed herself to close her eyes and savor

the feel of him in her arms as the relaxation from her orgasm combined with the exhaustion from the

day started to take over.

As she started to fade out, he murmured a soft “I love you” against her skin, and she fell asleep

with a smile on.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Cali rolled over and reached for Rourke, only to find herself alone in the bed. Her eyes snapped

open as she sat up, pulling the silky sheets to her chest as she glanced around the room. Sun streamed

through the semi-sheer curtains, removing any doubt that Rourke was actually gone.

If he snuck out while she was sleeping, that probably wasn’t a great sign. Not that she thought he

was the type to sleep with a woman and leave her high and dry. He’d already proved more than once

that he was the staying type. But more than likely he was out doing something she wouldn’t approve

of.

Cali ran a hand through her hair and let out a sigh. Nothing she could do about it now except for

think of ways to pay him back later.

Pushing the sheets back, she climbed out of bed and padded to the shower. After a quick hair

wash and soaping up and down, she dried off and moisturized. There wasn’t much in way of clothes

in the bag she’d packed so hastily, but she managed to pull an outfit out: a cashmere green sweater, a

looser pair of boot-cut jeans and her tennis shoes. Not fancy, but it wasn’t as though she had any

pressing plans with the upper crust of society at the moment.

Well, Rourke kind of counted as upper crust considering his pedigree, but it was so hard not to

think of him as the wild man she’d found in Maine.

Right as she was lacing the second shoe, she noticed a note he’d left her on the desk across from

the bed. She let out a laugh as she read it. He wrote in all caps, the letters rushed out and masculine.

She wondered whether he knew what all caps meant in emails. The joys of not working in an office,

she supposed.

“MEETING COLIN BUT I’LL BE BACK SOON.

LOVE,

ROURKE”

Cali smiled to herself. He’d said “love.” She’d thought she’d been crazy to even entertain the

idea of love with him, only to find out he felt the same. It almost took the edge out of her anger at him

teaming up with Colin.

Almost. She’d just have to keep repeating to herself that Colin knew what he was doing and

he’d probably be okay. But probably didn’t seem like enough at the moment. She glanced to the cell

phone charging next to the bed. Maybe Rourke had actually given her an update on where they were

going.

She picked up the phone and saw that she’d missed about fifteen phone calls from an unknown

number. Which was strange because only Colin and Rourke had this number. Well, that wasn’t true.

Walter Farrell had it too.

There were three voice mails, all telling her abruptly to call him as quickly as possible. There

was nothing she hated more than vague voice mails.

But when Walter Farrell requested your call, you didn’t say no.

The phone was answered on the third ring. “Ms. Carson, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you,”

he said without any form of greeting.

There were a lot of reasons she liked working for Luke, and his phone manners were one of

them. She was half surprised there wasn’t an assistant answering the phone instead of the man

himself. Which meant he was calling from a private line.

“I would’ve answered sooner, but the ringer was on silent.” Because she and Rourke hadn’t

wanted to be interrupted by anything last night. Knowing how much earlier Rourke would’ve woken

up if she’d answered, she was relieved they’d made that call.

“I need you to come over. I’d like to go over a few details about the relationship between you

and Mr. Harper.”

For the love of... “I’ve been over this a thousand times. There’s nothing I have that can help you

find him.”

“Well, I’m sure you can indulge an old man, right? Come on over to my penthouse. I’ll have

lunch brought in.”

There were thousands of other things she’d rather be doing, actually. For one, only arrogant

assholes referred to their apartments as penthouses. Also, Walter Farrell wasn’t all that old. He’d

gotten around enough to have three ex-wives and four sons all before the age of sixty-five.

“I really would be more comfortable staying here.”

“Stay there holed up in a hotel room all day? Come on. If anything, you’d be safer here with me

than there by yourself, and I can promise you I’ll be a hell of a lot more entertaining.”

Oh God... “If this is some way for you to make a move on me—”

“No! I promise you, this will be completely innocent. You know how important it is to me to

find Mr. Harper, and from what Colin tells me, it’s important to you too. Why not work together while

the boys are out doing the dirty work?”

She winced as she thought of her and Walter being in the same category. Even though the idea

made her sick, she was considering it. For one, she and Walter both had strong motivation to find

Easson. And she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious to know what sort of lavish place THE

Walter Farrell lived in.

“I don’t work for the Devereauxs anymore,” she warned. “If you piss me off even a little bit,

I’m out of there.”

“I knew you’d see things my way.” Judging from his cocky tone, he said that a lot. “I’ll inform

the doorman and you can come right on up. I’m on the sixty-third floor.”

No need to tell her where. He lived in Farrell Tower. She glanced in the mirror at her still wet

hair and makeup-free face. At this time of day, it would only take her a twenty-minute cab ride. “I’ll

be there in an hour.” She’d be damned if she was going to rush over for him.

Walter hung up without so much as a “see you soon,” and Cali shook her head. Crazy rich

people. Speaking of crazy rich people, she found Rourke’s temporary phone number in the contacts

and put the call through. She knew he probably wouldn’t want to answer, but considering the

precarious situation she was in with Easson, she wanted to assume he would rather keep her safe than

protect his ass from her anger.

He didn’t let her down. “Good morning,” he said after the first ring. “I hope you had a chance to

sleep in.”

“That tends to happen when the guy you’re sleeping with sneaks out on you.”

“Colin and I got the rental records from the apartment Easson had that we found yesterday. He

wanted some backup to go with him.”

“Backup? He really doesn’t have any friends he can call?” Not that Colin seemed like the type

to have lots of friends, but couldn’t he have at least a few buddies who weren’t her boyfriend?

“It’s no big deal. I’ll be back in a few hours, safe and sound. Promise.”

“If it’s no big deal, he wouldn’t need backup,” pointed out Cali. “But, I’ll accept that I’m not

going to get you to change your mind as long as you accept that I don’t appreciate being blatantly

ignored.”

“And I fully expect to pay for it later.”

“Well, Walter Farrell just called and he wants me to come over to his place to talk about

Easson.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I’d think his place is one of the safest locations in the city. I’d ask you to escort me, but...”

“I get it. I get it. Take a cab, not the subway. Have Farrell send a car to take you back. Or, you

know, don’t go.”

“And pass up the chance to figure out why Walter Farrell’s panties are in a twist? I don’t think

so. They say knowledge is power for a reason.”

“You can take the girl out of the corporate gladiator pool, but can’t take the corporate gladiator

pool out of the girl.”

“Something like that. But you don’t want to get this corporate gladiator on your bad side. Come

back to me tonight in one piece, you got it?”

“Got it. I’ll be calling you every half an hour on the dot, so you better be answering your

phone.”

She wanted to tell him where he could take that overprotective caveman attitude, but she didn’t

mind having someone checking up on her. “Fine.”

“I’ll make this up to you tonight,” said Rourke in a low voice. “You can count on it.”

“Is that right?”

“I’d tell you more, but Carter is giving me the evil eye. I better get going.”

Cali laughed at the visual of a disgusted Colin. “Talk to you later.” She hung up. She frowned as

she looked at the phone in her hand. Should she have said I love you? Damn, she was new to this

whole relationship thing. He didn’t say the three words either, but she’d hung up too fast.

All the more reason for her not to spend all day holed up alone in the hotel room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

She’d never get sick of riding a private elevator. So much easier than having to make awkward

chitchat with some stranger while carrying five bags of groceries.

Except, this time, instead of opening into a modern, minimalist apartment like Luke’s, it opened

into pure opulence. With no Walter waiting for her.

Kind of strange considering that even though he’d told the doormen to expect her, he’d needed

to press the button to call the elevator up.

“Walter!” shouted Cali as she stepped inside the apartment. “I can’t stay long. Just tell me what

you found!” The apartment was much more decadent than she ever would’ve expected. Somehow,

even though she’d known how rich Walter was, she never thought his taste would be so...tacky. A rich

tacky, but tacky nonetheless.

The walls were all painted rich, dark colors, and the walls were filled with display cases and

ornately framed artwork. It was completely different than the tasteful way Rourke decorated his home.

“Walter?” she called again, this time a lot more hesitantly. She stopped as she entered the dining

room. If she went any farther, she’d lose sight of the door, and considering how creeped out she was,

if Walter didn’t show himself in the next ten seconds, she was out of here. If Walter really had

something to show her, he would’ve been there to greet her.

She started to back away, looking around her for any sign of movement, listening for any threat.

A chill ran up her spine as she took another step. Something wasn’t right. Her hand snuck into her

purse, trying to find her phone.

Even though the door was only a few feet away, somehow that distance seemed much farther as

the silence in the room sunk in even further. That was it. She was getting out of here.

Though she knew she might be overreacting, Cali twisted and ran for the door, but she never got

there. A steel band of an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a steel chest. She

opened her mouth to scream, but a hand covered her mouth as she was pulled back, away from the

door.

She kicked as hard as she could against the hard body, but his grip didn’t falter. In just seconds,

she couldn’t see the door anymore. Her hope seemed to flutter out more and more as she was dragged

farther away.

A second later, the man carrying her kicked open a side door and threw her into a dark room.

She landed in a painful heap on her shoulder and hip and shuffled to get her hands and feet beneath

her, needing to have some sort of solid footing.

The floor beneath her fingers was hard and cold...some sort of tile. Her hip throbbed from

where she’d landed, but she twisted around to face the stranger, forcing herself to ignore the pain.

Silhouetted against the light of the living room was such a familiar and terrifying face.

“Easson,” she breathed.

His lips twisted in a smile. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

She took a nervous gulp and pushed herself up slowly until she stood in front of him. In order to

get out of the apartment, she’d have to get past him. Which meant she’d need a weapon or some sort

of distraction, neither of which was close at the moment. “Why can’t you let me go?” She wished her

voice didn’t crack. She tried to think of Rourke. He wouldn’t be scared of Easson. He’d fight.

Hell, she wasn’t the one to back down from a fight normally either. Just she was more used to

dealing with less physical arguments.

“I had one more job to do before I was gone. You had to get involved, didn’t you?”

She thought back to her dates with Easson. Her weekend alone with him. Everything seemed

different now. His posture was straighter and threatening. His voice was sharp and harsh. Hammering

home just how much he’d been using her.

“I don’t want to be involved with any of this,” she insisted.

“You started everything!” he snapped. “If you hadn’t told that FBI bitch about me, I would’ve

been gone without any of this trouble. But then you had to complicate it.”

Cali shook her head, trying to convey as much innocence as possible. “No. That’s not what

happened. She knew your name and I just mentioned I was seeing you. I had no idea who you were

until she told me.” She bit her tongue at the need to tell him just how much of an ass she thought he

was. This probably wasn’t the best time to piss off the crazy man in front of her.

Except he didn’t seem crazy. He seemed calm and collected and angry. At her.

He pointed a finger at her. “Stay there. I have one more thing to get done and I’ll figure out what

to do with you then.” With that, he turned and slammed the door shut behind him, sealing her inside

the pitch black room.

Cali let out a sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t killed her right away.

Her hands reached out, trying to get a feel of the room around her. She tentatively stepped

forward until her fingers touched a wall. Okay. Now she had to move carefully, map the room and

call someone. Call someone! Her phone was in her purse, and her purse was strewn about

somewhere in the other room.

A fresh new wave of fear hit her. If she couldn’t call Rourke...call the police...what was she

supposed to do? She couldn’t fight off Easson on her own. She couldn’t run faster than him. How

quickly had he come out from nowhere to grab her just now? She was out of her league and probably

very much outgunned.

Cali forced herself to focus. So maybe her odds weren’t good, but she definitely wouldn’t make

it out alive if she didn’t try. She forced herself to go into that little corner of her mind where there

were no emotions. No fear or worry or thoughts of what-ifs. Only action. Learn the room. Find a

weapon. Right now, that was all she could think about.

She started to make her way around the border, crossing past the door (which didn’t open). She

thought this was a dining room, so she doubted the doors locked. More likely something blocked the

door.

After a few minutes she found a light switch, but it didn’t do a damn thing. So far, she'd located

a few dishes—probably fine china, but she didn’t care at this point—and some chairs. Besides that,

nothing else seemed loose and light enough for her to pick up and swing.

But the plates were promising because those could become sharp very easily. She cautiously

made her way back around to the built-in shelves that contained the display of dishes. Once there, she

felt around until she found a larger dish, probably a serving platter, and lifted it, letting it drop onto

the hard floor.

The sound of porcelain breaking punctured through the quiet room, making her shudder. Would

Easson come to investigate? He couldn’t have just left her here, could he?

Without waiting to find out, Cali carefully knelt, feeling around for a large shard she could use.

All there seemed to be was short, sharp pieces. No. There had to be at least something that could fit

in the palm of her hand and do some sort of damage.

Now both hands felt around as she inched deeper into the room, next to the table.

That’s when her hand hit it. Not part of a plate. This was soft. The silky fabric of clothing...a

man’s suit, from the feel of it. And judging by how cold it was, the man had been dead for a while.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Would you please stop looking at that damn phone,” snapped Carter. “I get it—you two are

couple of the year, but I don’t have time for this.”

Rourke shot Carter a sarcastic smile as he pushed away from the borrowed desk at the Farrell

corporate offices. “She didn’t answer her phone.” He’d called her every half an hour exactly, and

she’d answered the first two times without issue. But now it kept going to voice mail.

“She’s with Walter,” said Carter. “That place is more protected than Fort Knox. I’m sure she’s

fine.”

“Then call your boss. At least if he answers I’ll feel better.” And if he didn’t, Rourke was

getting the hell out of this dusty old office. Cali had been worried about him getting in trouble, but he

was far more likely to die of boredom. Now that they had the alias Easson Harper had been using to

rent out his secret apartment, they were seeing anywhere else that alias had been around the city, using

the connections of the corporate office and Colin’s less savory associates to help.

So by backup, Carter meant an intern. But if it got them closer to getting Easson Harper as far

away from Cali as possible, Rourke was game.

“Walter takes your calls, right?”

“Walter always takes my calls when we’re in crisis mode.”

If anything counted as crisis mode, it was probably this. “Then call him. Now.”

Carter pushed away from the computer he was at and pulled out his phone, pressing the screen a

few times. He held the phone to his ear and then scowled. “He didn’t answer.”

“Fuck. Call him again.” Even as Colin redialed, Rourke started to pack up. He wasn’t going to

sit around one more second.

“Who is this?” asked Colin into the phone.

Rourke froze in place. Was someone else answering Walter’s phone? He leaned in close to

Colin so he could hear the other half of the conversation.

“Give me the code to the safe right now or Walter is no longer going to be your boss.”

“Walter doesn’t give me safe codes, Harper.” Carter met Rourke’s eyes to let him know who he

was talking to.

Rourke’s blood went cold. Cali was supposed to be with Walter, and Harper was answering

Walter’s phone. “Ask about Cali,” he whispered.

Carter grimaced and turned so he faced away from Rourke. “Give me a few hours and I can dig

around Walter’s office and see if I can find anything.”

“You text me your best guess in ten minutes or your boss is dead.”

Carter slammed the phone on the table and jumped up. “We need to leave now.”

“Do you think Cali’s okay?” Even as he asked the question, he knew how stupid it was. If she

were okay, she’d be answering her damn phone.

“I don’t know,” said Carter honestly. “But Walter isn’t.”

“Wait, what?”

“If he were alive, Harper wouldn’t be asking me for any safe codes. Let’s just hope that he is

keeping your girlfriend as leverage since he wasted his biggest trump card already.”

~~~~~

Cali jumped back and her shoulders slammed into the wall. This wasn’t happening. She needed

to find a way out of this room and as far away from random dead guy as possible.

Her only comfort was knowing that Rourke could be on his way over right now. It had to be past

the half hour mark, right? But didn’t time always seem to go by slower when you’re having a

miserable time? If this didn’t count as miserable, she didn’t know what did.

She heard a smash from the room next to her and she flinched. It sounded as if Easson was

angry, and she really didn’t want to deal with a violent man, let alone an angry violent man.

Cali pushed herself up, making sure she kept the large shard of plate firmly in her hand. Except

if Easson came in the room and saw all the other broken pieces, he’d know she had a weapon. She

hastily tucked her large shard in the back pocket of her jeans as she swept the smaller ones under the

dining room table. It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but he probably wouldn’t be looking too hard.

Besides, she couldn’t see well enough to see whether there was a better place to sweep the debris.

Right as she was feeling around for any debris she might’ve missed, light filled the room. Cali

jumped up to face Easson, who stood in the doorway. “I see you found Walter,” he muttered

dispassionately.

“You’re the one who locked me in a room with him.” Cali winced as she said it. She should be

more focused on groveling for her life right now.

Easson glanced down at the dead man. “If it makes you feel better, it was an accident.”

Now that she could see, it appeared as though Walter didn’t go down in dignity. He was in a

bathrobe and pink striped boxer shorts. She’d like to think he would’ve gotten dressed for her visit,

so this had to have happened soon after she got off the phone with him. The scariest part was that

there wasn’t a single mark she could see.

Which meant she had no idea how Easson killed him.

“It doesn’t make me feel better,” she shot back. And then she remembered that she wanted to be

nice in order to buy herself more time. “But I do hope you’re more careful with me,” she added,

hoping the softer tone would show him that she wasn’t all pissed off. Even if she was.

Easson stepped away from the door and held a hand out to her. “Come out here. I need to ask

you something.”

Cali never thought staying alone in a room with a dead man would seem like a better choice

than anything else, but she was seriously debating asking him to just go back to what he’d been doing.

“Now, Cali.”

There went that idea. She tentatively stepped around the body and made her way to Easson.

Maybe this was what walking the plank was like. Knowing you were going to your doom, but not

seeing any other option.

As soon as she was within reach, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out, pushing her ahead of

him. He shut the door behind her and followed her into the plush living room she’d just been dragged

through.

“Turn left,” he ordered.

She halted and looked over her shoulder. “Anywhere in particular?”

“We’re going to the old man’s bedroom.” The shock must’ve shown on her face, because

Easson rolled his eyes. “Not for that. Just keep moving.”

“Can’t we just stay here? I’m pretty sure that place is haunted by ghosts of ex-wives past.”

Easson chuckled a bit. “I did miss you.”

That was a good sign! Much less chance of being murdered. “You missed me enough to let me

go?”

“Not likely. Keep moving.”

He didn’t have a gun that she could see, but she wasn’t naive enough to think he was unarmed.

Though she wasn’t either. With every step, she could feel the sharp broken piece of plate press into

her behind. Not that she knew what to do with it. Or when to do something with it. But it was nice to

know she had something literally in her back pocket.

She walked gingerly, trying to mask the outline of her weapon through the jeans. These were a

looser pair, but she didn’t want to take any chances. Luckily Easson would probably attribute her

strange gait to her nerves.

Much too quickly, they’d reached the bedroom, and Easson finally moved past her to where

he’d already lifted a portrait of Walter off the wall and onto the floor, exposing a wall safe the size of

a large television.

“He hid his money behind a portrait of himself?”

“Does that mean you’re not judging me for killing him?”

Cali’s mouth dropped open. “No. There’s still lots of judgment for that,” she said with a

cracking voice. Damn it, that wasn’t groveling. And why wasn’t Easson acting all crazy killer-y? She

was supposed to be dead by now. She wanted to ask him why he was keeping her alive but didn’t

want to give him any ideas.

“I need to get this open in the next thirty minutes. Any ideas?”

Cali tried really hard to keep the shock from her face. “Ideas? Exactly how well do you think I

knew Walter?”

“You were showing up at his place in the middle of the day. What do I really know about you?”

All pretense of sucking up fell as Cali glared at her ex-boyfriend turned nemesis. “How well do

you know me?” she shouted. “You’re nothing but a sleazy, lying, whore of a henchman and you have

the nerve to question how much you know about me?”

“You already have one billionaire wrapped around your finger. What’s one more?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Please don’t tell me it’s a jealousy thing. The only reason I’m

here is because you were obviously blackmailing Walter with something big and he’s been scouring

every inch of the city looking for you. He called me because he thinks that somehow I knew where

you were.”

“So you don’t have anything that can get me into the safe?” He faced her as he asked, moving

closer with every word.

“Ummm...are you going to kill me if I say no?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Neither was that.”

At least he had the grace to not look happy about it. He ran a hand through his dark-brown hair

and unshaven jaw. The weeks in hiding hadn’t been good to him. “Give me something, Cali.”

She’d managed to somehow fight back the fear so far, but now it bubbled up as her palms

started to sweat and her heart kicked up to a frantic beat. “Easson, please.”

“I have the FBI breathing down my neck, and Walter Farrell’s pit bull, Carter, has his hands in

every dark corner of this city. I have a bit saved away, but the Farrell money was going to get me out

for life. Help me get it.”

“I...” She searched every dark corner of her mind for anything she’d learned that could get that

safe open, but she drew up one big complete blank. “I can’t.”

A muscle in the back of his jaw ticked. “Damn it, Cali. You weren’t supposed to say that.”

He stalked toward her and Cali shook her head as she backed away. “Wait, Easson. I have

money. I can give you anything you need.”

He cocked his head, giving her a pitiful stare. “Don’t beg, Cali. I knew your bank balance as

soon as Longineu sent me sniffing your way. You don’t have what I need.”

“But...but...I’m telling the truth! I got a finder’s fee for Rourke and—”

Easson reached her and suddenly his hand was at her throat. Not squeezing yet, but Cali knew it

was only a matter of time. She reached behind herself to the shard of plate in her pocket. It was now

or never....

“Let her go,” said a deep voice from behind Easson. A deep, familiar voice.

“Rourke—”

Before she could say any more, Easson’s grip tightened on her neck as he pulled her in front of

his body. In an effort to hide the hand reaching into her back pocket, she arched away from him as far

as possible.

Rourke and Colin both stood in the doorway, guns drawn. Was that Rourke's gun or did Colin

loan him one? Did Colin give him one and not her? She’d have to remember to be offended at that

later.

“Give Cali to me,” said Rourke, his voice calm, cool, the gun not shaking at all. Which was

good, because the gun he pointed at Easson was also pointed right at her.

“Please, Easson. You don’t want to hurt me,” she pleaded even as she used the hand behind her

back to pull out the shard.

“You two are going to let us walk out of here, or the billionaire bait is going to get it.”

Billionaire bait? This was getting more and more insulting. “You don’t have any money. Turn

yourself in, Easson. It’s the only way to at least get some leniency in your sentencing.” At least

according to the police procedurals she watched. Though considering what he’d done to Evelyn, that

lenient sentence wouldn’t be that lean, she was guessing. Judging from the way his grip on her throat

tightened, he thought the same thing.

Except he was outmanned and outgunned. All she needed was for him to let her go and get out of

the way and she’d be in the clear. And she happened to have the perfect distraction in her hand.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath—well, as much as possible with his tight grip—and

opened her lids.

Rourke met her gaze and gave her a small, reassuring smile. “Everything is going to be okay,”

he assured her.

The corners of her mouth twitched. It was going to be okay. With that, she slammed the shard

into Easson’s leg. In the fraction of a second that his grip loosened, Cali let herself go limp and she

fell to the ground, rolling away.

Rourke dove for her, and Colin let off three quick shots. And then Easson was on the ground

next to her, blank, open eyes staring at the ceiling.

She skittered away and found herself in Rourke’s arms. “You killed him?” She meant the

question to come out strong, but it was barely more than a whisper. She’d been around way too many

dead bodies today.

Colin didn’t answer her question, obviously not feeling the need to state the obvious. “Take her

out of here. I’ll call the police.” He unloaded his gun and set it on the table behind him.

Before she could see Colin’s other preparations for the police, Rourke pulled her up and out of

the room. She tripped over her feet as she tried to keep up, but by the time they were out of the room,

she had more of her wits about her. “Wait.” She pulled her arm out of his grip and stood still. “What

happened? How did you get in here?”

“There’s a secret entrance into the apartment downstairs. Carter said Farrell would sneak his

mistresses down there during his married times.”

She’d never known someone could gross her out so much post-death.

“Rourke, I—”

He leaned in for a kiss, taking her breath away. “I love you,” he breathed against her lips. “I

was so sure you were gone.”

Cali rested her forehead against his. “I don’t think he wanted me dead. He was stalling.” But

that wouldn’t have stopped him forever. Another chill rushed through her as she realized how close to

death she’d come. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

He pulled her into a tight bear hug, and she smiled into his shirt before his pants started to

vibrate.

“Shit.” He backed off and pulled out his phone, smiling down at the screen.

“What is it?”

“It’s official. Michael and Lori set a date for their wedding.”

EPILOGUE

Cali’s heel caught in the crevice between two of the bricks in the beautifully paved path, and

she started to tumble to the ground. Right before all hope was lost, Rourke’s strong arms came around

her waist and pulled her back against him.

She couldn’t stop the stream of giggles that bubbled up from her throat as she turned in Rourke’s

arms.

“I think,” he murmured against her neck, “that you’ve had too much to drink.”

“Oh, come on.” She playfully swatted at his bicep. “I’m a little buzzed, but that’s it.”

“Just because it’s an open bar doesn’t mean you need to drink it all.”

Cali giggled again. “It’s not the drinks! This pathway is very, very pretty, but it doesn’t like my

heels.”

“Does that mean I need to carry you the rest of the way to the reception?”

“No! I can walk. But hold my hand just in case...”

He did one better and wrapped his arm around her waist as they entered the pavilion. Whoever

Michael and Lori had hired to do the decorating had done amazing. There were tiny lights all around

the posts and borders that, along with the candles in the centerpieces, gave the entire party a beautiful,

ethereal glow. The family had tried so hard to keep the guest list count down, but it had kept growing

and growing. Though, considering how well-known the Devereauxs were, the fact that it was under

five hundred was a good sign.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing co-best-man duties?”

“I got him down the aisle. Doesn’t that mean my job’s done?”

She snorted. “Please. Like you could keep that man from getting down the aisle. I think you’re

overstating your importance.”

He led her through the maze of tables until they reached one of the front ones, where Luke and

Evelyn were already sitting with Emma and Jace.

“There you are!” said Evelyn. “We were getting worried!”

“Just taking in the sights,” said Rourke as Cali giggled again, remembering how close she’d

been to getting an up close and personal view of the sidewalk.

“They’re going to cut the cake soon,” said Emma. “I was at the tasting and you’re not going to

want to miss it.”

Darn it. Cali knew missing that tasting was going to come back to bite her. But she’d been

dieting for weeks to fit into her new dress, and she was going all out today. This was a family

celebration, and she was going to eat as many slices of that cake as she could get her hands on.

Evelyn said something to Emma that Cali couldn’t hear, so she leaned into Rourke, looking over

the lavishly dressed guests. “So all the Farrells turned down their invites?”

“I have a feeling they’re busy enough at the moment.”

“I thought you hadn’t seen any of Walter’s sons since the funeral.”

“I haven’t. Just figured digging through all of Walter’s estate and the grief of losing a parent

would be tough.”

“And I’m sure Colin has been giving them a hard time.”

Rourke frowned. “Colin didn’t seem too broken up about Walter’s death.”

“He wouldn’t. He told me he was written into Walter Farrell’s will. One-fifth.”

Rourke frowned. “What are you talking about? Colin Carter isn’t getting a fifth of Farrell’s

estate.”

“Well, that’s what he told me.”

“No wonder he’s dropped off the face of the earth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the estate was split five ways.”

“One for each son and...who else?” asked Cali.

“And a daughter. Apparently he had one hidden away somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about him. Guys like that always bounce back one way or another.

But don’t think about Colin Carter. Shouldn’t you be taking notes?”

“Shhh! Not today!”

“We’re going to have to tell them eventually.”

“You’re not supposed to propose to someone during your brother’s rehearsal dinner. I swear,

you’re a caveman sometimes.”

“How dare I?” He intertwined his fingers with hers. “You just looked so good in that green

dress with the slit all the way up to...” his free hand moved up her thigh, “there. I couldn’t not ask

you.”

“And you just happened to have a ring on you?” She smiled.

“I bought that ring the day Farrell died. But I figured that was an even worse time to ask you, so

I bided my time.”

“We’ll tell them,” she promised. “After the honeymoon. Just let them have their moment.” She

glanced over to where Michael and Lori were making the rounds and greeting guests. They both

looked so beautiful and posh, but she had a feeling Rourke wouldn’t have a guest list in the three

digits. Lord knew she didn’t have enough family to fill up half a church anyway.

Luckily, the Devereauxs didn’t seem to be lacking for family at the moment.

“What are you two talking about over there?” Emma took a drink of champagne, her own new

wedding band sparkling under the lights.

“Just talking about the future.” Cali smiled.

Emma’s gaze bounced between the two, giving them a knowing glance. She raised her glass up.

“To the future then.”

Cali raised her glass up to her future cousin-in-law. “To the future.”

~~~THE END~~~

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