Chapter 28 Revenge
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
REVENGE
Devon
Ihelp Harlow into the back of Dean’s Tahoe and climb in after her. The flight home was a busy one, though not the good kind of busy like the flight there. No one was naked and no orgasms were had.
I will take a naked Harlow in my arms any day over dealing with the shit that’s coming at us from all directions.
I slam the door as Dean turns to me from the driver’s seat.
“You two are fucking drama magnets. I haven’t seen this level of activity since I was in the military.
The Winslet PD is not cut out for this kind of shit.
This is fucked up on a level our small town is not prepared for, proven by the fact I’m using a burner phone. ”
Harlow ignores his rambling. “Thank you for the ride.”
Dean smirks and gives her a chin lift. “Just so you know, my entire softball team calls me Mr. Bigshot. I now have the T-shirt to prove it. Thanks for that.”
Harlow bites her lip. “Sorry.”
“Can we get a move on?” I ask. “I’d rather not sit on the side of the runway. I have no idea where Bancroft is.”
“Neither do I.” Dean loses the smirk and turns his attention to Harlow. “But I do know where your evil ex is in the dark fairytale that is your life.”
“You found Albert?” Harlow asks.
“Did they not teach you to talk and drive at the same time in the Army?” I press.
“Damn, you were a less demanding friend when we’d run into each other at The Combover.
” Dean turns forward and puts it in drive.
“Albert Humphries turned up in Key West. I don’t know if that’s his version of being on the run, but it’s lame.
It’s not hard to follow him when he’s flying on Daddy’s private plane.
All I had to do was follow the tail numbers.
He’s hiding out at his family’s mansion on the beach.
Once I knew where he was, I called in a favor to a buddy I served with, King Jennings.
He’s DEA down in Miami now. He’s got connections everywhere.
It’s not like you can be on the run in the Keys. He’s not the brightest.”
Harlow
Of course, Albert ran away to his family’s compound on the beach.
“I can’t believe he ran away to Florida,” I mutter. “I’ll never not be embarrassed that I fell for his lies.”
“Jennings turned it over to the FBI,” Dean says. “Your ex is now under arrest and enjoying a stay in a little local resort called the Miami-Dade slammer. Little does Humphries know this will probably save his life. Your stepmom is another story. We have no fucking idea where she is.”
“Dad froze her bank accounts. She’ll be so desperate, she’ll turn up eventually.”
Devon stretches his arm across the seat at my back.
“You’re not the only one with friends, Dean.
Patrick’s buddies at the federal level are working on this too.
There is a warrant issued for Janie’s arrest. She and Albert will be safer with the feds than on the run.
It’s not every day that one hand can bite you and feed you at the same time. ”
I stare out the window as we climb the mountain to the manor. The evergreens zip by as the Chief of Police breaks the speed limit with every twist and turn we take.
Devon wraps a finger around the end of my hair. “You okay?”
“Yes. This is all so much. I’m glad Albert is safe. I want him to pay for what he’s done to me, but I can’t reconcile the fact people are ordering others to be killed. That happens on TV, not in real life.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that Roman Malloy is safe and sound,” Dean continues.
“Not only has his condition improved, but he’s been transferred to a high security area of the hospital.
I’ve got an armed officer on him twenty-four-seven, and the doctors said I could question him in the next couple of days.
Now we need to get you up into Devon’s turret so no one can get to you. ”
“Protecting the bad guys,” I mutter. “It feels so ... counterintuitive.”
Dean makes the final turn, and I see the estate sitting on top of the mountain. “It’s my job. Good and bad, I do my part to protect and serve all the drama queens of Winslet, whether they’re official citizens or not.”
Devon scans the area and not in a way that makes me feel like he’s appreciating the millions he spent on the property. “Take us around back to the kitchen doors, would you, Dean?”
Yep. He’s not taking in the landscape. My mind goes straight to the tennis courts. I lean deeper into the side of his chest and can’t wait to get back to his suite.
Dean takes a sharp left, and we zip around to the loading area, a place I’ve never been. We come to an abrupt stop by the loading dock.
“I’ll call you on the tapped line soon. We need to put the plan into motion. Appreciate the ride, Dean,” Devon says as he reaches for my hand. I’m surprised to see Blake, the ma?tre ?, standing at our door waiting for us. I haven’t seen him since the night I ate alone at the Greenhouse.
“I’ll only answer the tapped line for you,” he grits.
“Thank you for the ride,” I add and slide out of the backseat after Devon to greet Blake. “What are you doing here?”
Blake gives me a cute little wave. “I’m here to get your bags. The number one rule of working here is we have to multitask, right, boss?”
I turn to Devon. “I can get my own suitcase.”
“If I’m going to be your shield, I can’t do it juggling a shit ton of bags.” Devon takes my hand and addresses Blake. “You can take them up to my suite and leave them outside the door. I need to stop by my office on the way.”
Blake smiles like he doesn’t have a care in the world. I’m jealous. “Sure thing. It’s good to see you again, Ms. Madison.”
“Call me Harlow,” I insist.
He loses the smile. “Oh, I would never. My grandma would be so disappointed in me.”
Well, I don’t want that either.
Blake hurries off with our bags, and Devon takes me by the hand. We weave through the kitchen, back hallways, and more doors than I can count before he takes out a key.
“Wow, I had no idea there were so many secret hallways in this place.”
Devon unlocks a door, and we’re in the old library that he made his office, but we came through a secret entry that doubles as a bookcase.
He walks across the dark room and flips on the lights.
“Old man Winslet liked his secret passageways. This place has a few. I’ll show you the rest of them someday.
I need to get a few files before we go back to the room. ”
“Paper files,” I echo. “Going old school? Everything here is updated. I didn’t take you for a filing cabinet kind of guy.”
“Another jab at my age. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” He shoots me a sexy smirk and shakes his head. “Maybe some old school shit.”
I lean back on his desk, cross my arms, and take him in while he works.
He’s wearing a pair of jeans, which I’ve never seen him in before today.
It’s paired with a button-down white linen shirt rolled up his veined forearms. Casual and comfortable.
He looks like a Sunday afternoon at home on a spring day.
And now all I can do is picture him at my grandma’s house. Not the way it is now, with police tape and weeds taller than my knees. But the way it was. When it was perfect and looked like a scene off the Hallmark Channel instead of Dateline.
I’ve been too focused on my dad and bad guys and secret siblings to slow down enough to appreciate the difference in him today.
I decide to tell him. “I like the casual Devon.”
Without turning to me, he talks as he searches for whatever he’s looking for. “When you work where you live, there’s no time for casual.”
“That’s not healthy. When can you be you and unwind? My father has worked non-stop my entire life. Of course, I love him, and I know he loves me. I guess he found other ways to show it, but being present wasn’t one of them. Do you want that?”
He pulls a locked box from the bottom of a locked cabinet and sets it on his desk before turning to me. “Baby, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit back and think about what I want. Life has put me on the defense since I joined SIS. I can’t lie, I’m fucking tired.”
I walk to him and slide my hands up his chest. “And finding out you were deceived by someone who you thought was your friend. You’ve been spinning your wheels for me and have barely had a chance to let that sink in.”
He turns to rest his ass on the desk and pulls me to him.
“I don’t have time to think about what Hugh did to me.
If I don’t stay focused, I may lose it. The stakes are too high.
I need to take him down and make sure Turner falls with him.
That’s no small task. But this time around, I’m not obligated to the law.
I don’t work for anyone but myself. It’s empowering. ”
“An even playing field.” I murmur the words as my gaze drops to the skin of his neck. On their own accord, my fingertips begin to roam from his neck to the dip of his throat between his collar bones until they catch on the top button. I unclasp it and press my lips there.
His hold on me tightens, and one hand slides up my back and neck until it lands on my scalp. “You call it an even playing field. I call it revenge.”
I continue to work the buttons of his shirt until it hangs open between us.
He doesn’t stop me, and his other hand drops to my ass for a firm grope.
I drag my fingernails over his nipples. “We’ve both been betrayed by people we trusted.
That’s been the hardest thing for me to come to terms with.
” I press my lips to his pec. “And here we are, all because you were forced to be my bridal assistant.”
He shakes his head. “Ever since you crossed my path, I’ve had a new focus.”
I peek up at him. “You crossed my path.”