Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
“This seems a little excessive,” Devyn whispered at my side.
I looked over at her, dressed in all black, her hair tucked into a knitted cap. She looked adorable, even though she’d been on edge ever since we walked up to the office building.
As soon as Diane mentioned Peter’s office, Laurel and Devyn started planning, wanting to get in there as quickly as possible. They were ready to drive right over and start digging into his files, but after talking to Tomas, they waited until tonight instead.
“Maybe,” Tomas looked over his shoulder as he pushed the key into the lock. “But we’re not taking any chances. We’re already tempting fate by assuming everything is still in there.”
Devyn huffed, staring up at the building. I reached out and took her hand. “It’ll be there, Ace. I know it is.”
She squeezed my hand back, but her eyes never strayed from the door. So much of Devyn’s identity was tied to her dad’s. He’d given her a love of the law and a strong sense of justice. Even though we were both young when he passed, his death had destroyed a piece of her. And even though I could never take away that pain, I wanted to try. I wanted to hold her in those challenging moments and remind her we had so many good things waiting for us in the future. Our future.
Tomas pushed the door open then moved to the side so Devyn could enter first. She gave me one last look as she let go of my hand and walked inside the back entrance of the building. As I followed her, I tried to take in the space despite the limited lighting. The air was musty, like what you’d find in the archives section of the library. Dust covered most of the surfaces, and each of our steps made a little more kick up into the air. After shutting the door behind us, Tomas handed us small flashlights and made his way to the front of the office space.
I could see how this place had sat silent for so long. It was still in the center of town but far enough away from the main drag that it got limited foot traffic. The building itself was in good shape, despite the shuttered windows and lack of life inside. Diane might not have come here, but someone was taking care of the building. There was no evidence of age or damage on the inside or out, which had been one of my major worries. In fact, despite the dust, it looked like it had been preserved, as if Devyn’s dad would be walking back inside at any moment.
Devyn’s phone chimed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, grimacing as she read her text. “It’s Laurel. She wants to know if we’ve found anything yet.”
Tomas snorted. “Doesn’t have a lot of patience, does she?”
“She’s been working on this for over a decade,” I bit back, suddenly feeling a bit protective over Laurel. It wasn’t the same as the feral need to make sure Devyn was safe, but after working together for so long, it was hard not to defend her. “She’s ready to move on. We all are.”
Devyn nodded at me then turned back to Tomas. “Where do you think we should start?”
He motioned for us to follow him further, stopping to look inside each space. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see Devyn behind us, but instead, she was facing one of the walls, her flashlight pointed at something I couldn’t make out from my angle. As I stepped closer, my breath hitched as I saw the etched glass: The Law Offices of Peter Winters.
“I keep thinking about him,” Devyn whispered. “What he would think about all this. What he would think of me.” Her wide eyes met mine. “Do you think he’s ashamed of me?”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “Never, Ace. Why do you think he would be?”
“I wasted so much time in corporate law, defending the people he abhorred.” She looked back at the sign. “He told me the law was meant to help people, that we were responsible for keeping the world just and fair. And I failed that…” Her voice trailed off. “At least, I used to.”
I brushed the hair away from her eyes. “What are you saying, Devyn?”
“I think I want to make a change.” She inhaled slowly. “I want to be more like my dad, defending those without a voice.” A tension lifted from her shoulders with each word, and I could feel how much this meant to her, how much it would have meant to her dad to see her walking in his footsteps. But that didn’t matter to me, other than it mattered to my wife. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy, and if this was the way, I’d support her until my dying breath .
“Then we’ll make it happen,” I said, my word as my vow. “I’m with you, Ace.”
She smiled at me then reached up, kissing me. While I loved her fiery kisses, the ones that led to us tangled up together and her screaming my name, I might love these more. She only intended them as a simple touch, as if she needed to feel my lips on hers.
Tomas chuckled as he approached us. “I appreciate a touching moment as much as the next guy, but there’s something in here you’re going to want to see.”
Devyn and I followed him into an office off the side hallway, one with Peter’s name etched on the front door. As Devyn stepped into the room, I held Tomas back for a second. “Please tell me this is good news.”
He chuckled as he pat my shoulders. “Trust me, my friend, this is very good news.”
I stepped inside and found Devyn in the middle of a sea of boxes, her hand covering her mouth. She turned toward me, a broad smile etched on her face. “They’re here, Gray. They’re all here.”
Hours later, we were still digging through boxes, trying to make sense of the information. While Peter had a specific system in life, in death, Diane had piled everything into random boxes without labels. Without a case name or client information to go on, all we had were his notes, different things he’d researched while he was alive.
By the time morning rolled around, we’d figured out we were in way over our heads, especially me. While Devyn and Tomas had the background to filter out the critical information from the rest of it, I had no clue. Sitting and staring at papers was making my brain itch, and the effort it took to keep my attention on the page was exhausting.
“This is useless,” Devyn sighed. “None of it makes any sense. He’s writing in some type of code, and I can’t figure it out.”
“I’m going to find us some coffee,” Tomas said as he stood and stretched his limbs. “Please tell me somewhere in this town makes a decent cup.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Right on Main. Try a pastry too. You won’t regret it.”
Tomas nodded as he walked out the door, leaving Devyn and me alone with the ghosts of her father’s life. She thumbed through one of his journals, her brow furrowing as she looked over each page. I reached out, placing my hand on top of hers. “We’re going to figure this out, Ace.”
“How?” she said, her voice hushed. “How are we ever going to figure this out? David’s not just twenty steps ahead, but he’s twenty years ahead. He’s got unlimited resources, and it’s just the three of us fumbling around in the dark.” She closed the journal at the same time as she closed her eyes. “I keep waiting for this moment when the dots all finally connect, but I’m starting to feel like it’s never going to happen. Like, I’m going to spend the rest of my life watching David continue to ruin people’s lives, and there is nothing I can do about it.”
I pulled her into my lap. “I know everything seems dark right now, Ace, but if anyone can solve this, it’s you.”
“You have too much faith in me,” she whispered as she dropped her head onto my chest.
“Never,” I answered, wrapping my arms around her. “You are the smartest person I’ve ever known, Devyn Winters. But you’re so much more than that. You’re clever and kind–” She snorted. “You are. Maybe you don’t let the world see that side of you, but I do.” I tilted up her chin. “And if it takes us a lifetime to put together the pieces, we’ll do it. Together. Because I know you’re going to figure it out, Devyn, and I want to be at your side when you do.”
Her eyes searched mine, so full of emotion, it made my heart beat a little faster. The unspoken words hung between us, and I was desperate to give them life. Even though Devyn told Calla she loved me, I’d pushed it out of my mind. I wanted her to give them to me freely, to know if she fell, I’d be there to catch her.
“Gray,” Devyn started to say. “You know I?—”
My phone blared to life, breaking the moment between us. I wanted to chuck the fucking thing out of the window, but once I saw my mom’s picture on the screen, I started to panic. Even though I stopped by their house every day, I felt guilty I wasn’t able to be there for her as much as I used to.
I pressed the button, answering the call on speaker. “Hey, Mom.”
“Don’t you, hey, Mom , me,” she said. “Do you want to know what Belinda from the FreshMart just told me?”
I groaned, running my hand over my face and along my beard. “I don’t think I do.”
As she spoke, Devyn crawled out of my lap, returning to the journal she’d just abandoned. Even though she still looked stressed, there wasn’t as much defeat in her expression, as if our brief conversation had brought more fire into her veins. She traced each line with her finger, and I was content to watch her work—at least until my mother’s voice blared through the phone.
“Well, too bad. She told me the reason you’ve been at your house so much is because Devyn Winters is staying there with you.”
Devyn’s eyes jumped up to meet mine, and then she rolled her lips together, failing to keep from laughing. As my mother continued to berate me, she mouthed, “You’re in trouble.”
I raised my brows. Two could play that game. “Yeah, Mom. Devyn is staying at the house with me. I was waiting until things calmed down a little before telling you.” I smirked over at Devyn. “Actually, Mom, she’s here with me right now if you want to say hi.”
Devyn narrowed her eyes at me but leaned in closer to the phone. “Hey, Mrs. Anders.”
“None of that Mrs. Anders nonsense,” my mother tsked. “You know better, Devyn. I’ll always just be Marta to you.” Devyn nodded but let my mom continue. “Although I’m not pleased with you either. How long have you been in town?”
Her eyes widened, and she looked to me for help. I just leaned back, chuckling like she did when it was me. “A couple of weeks.”
“ Weeks ?” My mother gasped. “And you haven’t come down to see us?”
“Oh,” Devyn said. “I meant to. We’ve just, uh, been busy?—”
“I don’t want to know how you and my son have been keeping busy, but I expect to see you. Are you free tonight?”
“Yup,” Devyn said, glancing to me for confirmation. When I nodded, she continued, “We’ll be there.”
As she wrapped up the call with my mother, she passed the phone back to me with a glare. I held my hands up. “Don’t look at me, Ace. She was bound to find out eventually.”
Devyn twisted her fingers together. “Are you upset she knows about us?”
I reached out and pulled her hand into mine. “Not for a second. I’m so proud to call you mine, Devyn.”
She smiled brightly back at me. “I am too.” But a shadow passed over her face, dimming her smile. “I think we should keep the whole marriage thing to ourselves, though.”
“Yeah, definitely,” I said. My parents would be devastated if they found out we were married, accidentally or not. They would want to give us a real wedding, and I knew Devyn well enough to know she wasn’t ready for that. But her words from earlier in the week stuck out to me. She wanted the traditional wedding, wanted a real engagement that wasn’t lost to our drunken memories. More than anything, I wanted to give her those things.
As Devyn slid back to her spot on the rug and resumed her reading, a plan started to form in my mind, hopeful I could give my wife exactly what she wanted.