Epilogue
Nursing her second cup of coffee after a restless night, Gaby sat in her office at Devlin and Associates.
She’d already kicked off her shoes and sat staring at the computer screen in frustration.
No messages from Callan meant he was still working on the files.
It had been three weeks since he’d gotten Enzo’s files, and they were still locked up behind a firewall.
As careless as he was, no one expected it to be so difficult to hack—Callan in particular.
If they didn’t contain what she hoped, she was back to square one. Chasing Natalie with nothing but desperation as fuel.
Her gaze drifted to the window, though her mind went somewhere else—to the night of the maze race. Of Rhys walking away without a word. In front of everyone.
The sting of it lingered. Emily had walked out that night glowing, anchored, certain. As for herself… well. She’d walked out alone.
She’d wanted to disappear. Instead, she’d shown up the next day, ready to get to work and find her sister.
She wasn’t here for romance. Relationships and her wounded pride could wait. Natalie couldn’t.
“Knock, knock.”
Gaby looked up. Emily stood in the doorway.
Instead of her usual jeans and a T-shirt, she wore a garnet business suit.
More startling, sunlight caught the glitter of a ring so bright, it threw prisms across the carpet.
That stone wasn’t small, wasn’t subtle, and wasn’t there the last time she saw her.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said, smiling, “but I saw your door open and thought I’d say hi.”
“Come in,” Gaby said.
“I can’t stay long,” she said, leaning against the doorframe instead. “Alec and I are due upstairs in a minute to meet with the attorney. Today, we finalize the purchase of Gold Coast.”
“I heard Regina was packing up and going back to New York.”
“Yeah,” Emily sighed. “I have mixed feelings about it.”
“Don’t,” Gaby said bluntly. “She’s a grown woman. What was happening under her roof didn’t happen in a vacuum.”
“You’re right, I know. But she was cleared of involvement and is still being ostracized. I’m just—”
“Too nice?”
“Maybe.” Emily’s smile warmed. “Which is why I’m promoting Julia to manager. She’ll be my big stick if I walk too softly and start being... well, too nice.”
“Sounds like a dream team.” She nodded at Emily’s hand. “Now show me that rock.”
Beaming, Emily held out her hand.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said honestly. “Have you set a date?”
“Not yet. But we’re hoping for October.”
Gaby pushed through the twist in her chest. “I’m really happy for you, Em. You deserve it. Both of you do.”
A ping from her laptop cut through the moment—work, the case, reality returning.
Emily nodded toward the screen. “I should let you work. See you at the club this weekend?”
Forcing a shrug, she said noncommittally, “Maybe.”
She didn’t add, if I can bear seeing Rhys with someone else. Not when Emily looked so genuinely happy.
Seeing past her shrugs and forced smiles, her friend met her gaze. “Text me if you need anything. Even if it’s just to talk about hardheaded men.”
“I will, Em. Thanks.”
When she was gone, the room felt dimmer, quieter—as if Emily had taken the warmth with her.
Another ping. Gaby opened her laptop finding a calendar notification.
Meeting: Case Briefing – Rhys & Gabriella – 10:00 AM – Conference Room
Her stomach twisted into a cold knot. She opened her inbox, fingers trembling. Sure enough, there it was—an email from Devlin.
Subject: Assignment Confirmation.
Rhys will be taking lead on Natalie’s case. He’s already been briefed. Callan has made progress decrypting the files and will join you at ten.
—Dev
She stared at the screen, pulse rising, whiplashed between hope that Callan might have a lead, and anger. There had been no discussion. No warning. Just a decision about her case made without her.
She was halfway down the hall before she realized she hadn’t put on shoes.
Gaby didn’t knock. She stormed into Devlin’s office, the door coming close to slamming against the wall.
“Rhys? On my sister’s case?” Her voice cracked.
Dev didn’t look up right away. When he did, his expression was calm authority. “Good morning to you too, Gabriella.”
“You didn’t even ask me!”
“I didn’t need to.”
“I can’t work with him. I won’t.”
Nick Devlin leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “And yet you’re here. Which tells me you still want to find your sister.”
“Of course I do.”
“Then you’ll work with the best. And that’s Rhys.”
Her throat tightened. “You’re asking me to put aside everything.”
“I’m asking you to do your job.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I do,” he said, voice low but firm. “There’s something unsettled between you. I get it. But lock it down. Don’t make me regret hiring you.”
The words hit hard, but she didn’t flinch. Weakness from an investigator, male or female, wouldn’t earn this man’s respect.
“Fine,” she ground out. “But if he undermines me, I walk.”
Dev nodded once. “If you do, I’ll know I made the wrong call.”
On her way back to her office, seething, she veered down the hall to the right.
She shoved the door open, the frame rattling on impact.
“You’re taking lead on my case,” she snapped.
Rhys leaned forward, crossing his arms on his desk. “So I heard.”
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
“I assumed you’d find out eventually.”
Her fists clenched. “I don’t want you on this.”
“Take it up with Dev.”
“I already did.”
He stood and rounded the desk, stopping right in front of her. Too close. “And?”
“He told me if I want my sister found, I’ll work with you.”
“Then,” he said softly, “it seems you’ll be working under me after all.”
A current sizzled between them. Hot, dangerous, and heavy with everything unspoken.
Dev wasn’t a fool. He’d earned his reputation by hiring top-notch people. He wouldn’t have paired them unless he trusted Rhys to close the case and bring her sister home. She had to trust that—even if Rhys clearly wanted nothing to do with her personally.
Her voice trembled despite her best effort. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
Maddeningly cool, Rhys propped a hip on his desk, his tone quiet as he returned, “That, my dear, depends entirely on you.”
He didn’t move, didn’t look away, didn’t touch her. The air crackled. Before her mouth could betray her, she turned and walked out.
She didn’t look back. She couldn’t. Not with her pulse echoing his name. Not when she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to follow.
But damn it all, a restless part of her hoped he would.