The Dark Paradise Trilogy Box Set

by Heather C. Myers

  A waitress interrupted them to take their order. Ollo was the only one to order an actual meal.

  Once she was gone, Jack turned to Ollo. “What do you think of this?” he asked.

  Before Ollo could respond, Reese jumped in. “He’s completely against it,” she said. “But how am I supposed to-” she paused, making sure she picked her words carefully, “to be who I’m destined to be if I don’t get out there?”

  Jack gave her a cryptic smile. “You make a good point,” he said. “I’m sure Ollo is just being protective.”

  He was silent for a moment, stirring his coffee. After another sip, he laced his fingers together and leaned towards Reese.

  “Like I said, I’m all for this.” His soft-spoken voice dropped an octave, and his eyes were so serious, it was hard for Reese to look away. “However, I need you to do something for me. I need you to tell Andie about our partnership. She knows who I am but not what that means. It’s my job to tell her. But you need to tell her who you are. I don’t want to hide anything from her, even if it’ll protect her.”

  Reese didn’t even notice as the waitress placed the food on the table. She pressed her lips together and nodded, knowing he was right.

  “Good,” he said. He downed the rest of his coffee and stood. “We’ll start tonight?” He didn’t wait for her to respond before dropping cash on the table and heading out of the café, leaving Reese as gap-mouthed as she had been when he first walked in.

  “You’ll catch flies if you keep your mouth open, darl,” Ollo said in his flat tone, between bites of his club sandwich. “You know I still don’t approve of this whole thing, right?”

  Reese furrowed her brow. “What is your problem, Ollo?” she said in a frustrated whisper. She knew people were trying to overhear their conversation so they could figure out how she and Ollo were affiliated with Jack Phillip. “You know this is the right thing. You know I need to do this.”

  Ollo all but dropped his half-eaten sandwich. His blue-brown eyes flashed with anger, which was unusual for Ollo and caused Reese to shift her weight. “I could give a fuck if it’s the right thing to do, darl,” he said in a low, rumbly voice. It reminded her of thunder. “You are all I know, darl. I don’t even want to think about the prospect of losing you.”

  Reese stared at him, completely lost for words. He went back to his food. She picked at her parfait. Both sat in a tense silence for the rest of the meal.

  6

  Keirah already had a plan formulated in her mind by the time she left Jack’s mansion and returned to her own home. She couldn’t put it into action until the next day, but the delay gave her time to prepare and perfect it.

  The next day, she went to the law offices of Lucas Burr–not as Bombshell or in any one of her disguises, but as herself–with a briefcase filled with cash, only a small dent in her collection at home. She was wearing a professional outfit–black pencil skirt and a matching blazer–with her dark brown hair pulled into a bun. She also chose to wear a pair of glasses she didn’t really need, but she thought it completed the outfit and made her look older than her eighteen years.

  If Jack wouldn’t help her, she would have to go with the second most powerful man in Onyx, Lucas Burr. Not only was he Onyx’s District Attorney, but he was trying to get Black Wing to turn himself over to the police by trying to pass the Vigilante Registration Act. If Noir had taught her anything, it was to always question someone’s motives. There had to be a reason why Burr wanted Black Wing so badly, something deeper than the legal reasons he was giving the public. He knew more than what he was revealing, which meant that maybe he knew more about Noir and where he had disappeared to. It was more than a shot in the dark, but she had to at least try.

  As she stepped into the steel elevator, she offered a polite smile to the smartly dressed older woman who also joined her inside, and pressed the button for the top floor – thirty-six. The ride was longer than she expected but at least the woman got off on the sixteenth floor so when she confronted Burr’s secretary, she wouldn’t have an audience.

  From her extensive research last night, she knew Burr didn’t come into his office on Mondays. However, the office itself was still open and his secretary was still present, taking calls and scheduling clients. This was exactly what Keirah wanted. She didn’t need to talk to Burr just yet, but she would get information.

  When she got to the thirty-sixth floor, she headed to the first door on the left and was relieved to see it completely empty save for a pretty brunette typing furiously on a Macbook. She didn’t even look up when Keirah walked in.

  “Mr. Burr isn’t in today,” she said in a firm, baby doll voice. “Feel free to call the office and I’ll schedule a meeting with him as soon as his schedule clears up.”

  Keirah had to hide a smirk. She knew when she was being blown off. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not here to see him,” she said, stopping only when she reached the smooth, tan desk. She lifted the black leather briefcase and placed it flat on the surface of the desk, disregarding the paperwork and the nameplate set upon it.

  “Um, excuse me?” the secretary–Beth, apparently–asked, but Keirah interrupted her.

  “This is a briefcase filled with one hundred thousand dollars.” Right to the point,another thing Noir taught her. There was no time for idle chitchat; if she wanted to get attention and make a point, she only had a certain amount of time to say what she had to say before she was ignored. “All I want is Burr’s cell phone number.”

  Beth raised her big blue eyes to meet Keirah’s brown ones. She furrowed her brow, clearly skeptical. “Why would you want Burr’s cell phone number?” she asked.

  Another person who didn’t take Keirah seriously. That was fine. She would use it to her advantage.

  “That’s really none of your business, Beth,” Keirah stated, making sure her voice was no-nonsense without being condescending. She wanted Beth to want to give her the number, but she couldn’t be a push-over, either. “You and I both know there are other ways for me to get the number. I could flirt with his son, Gabriel, after one of his soccer games and I’m sure I’d have it in an instant. I could call the vigilante hotline and give out information regarding Black Wing in exchange for the number. Instead, I’m here offering you a ton of money in cash in exchange for one cell phone number.”

  “Then why don’t you do that?” Beth asked. She ignored the ringing phone. “Why come to me?”

  “Because it’s direct, simple, and easy,” Keirah said, getting more impatient by the second. “Listen Beth, I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but you talk too much. All I’m asking for is a cell number, and the cash is yours.”

  Beth looked at the briefcase for the first time and Keirah knew she had her.

  “Oh, all right,” Beth said, grabbing a Sharpee and a stack of sticky notes. “I need to pay off some student loans and God knows this job doesn’t pay enough.” When she handed Keirah the sticky note with the coveted number, she paused. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

  Keirah smirked at the question as she pocketed the number. “I can assure you, I’m not going to kill him,” she said.

  Keirah allowed herself to celebrate her victory up until she reached home. From there, she focused on putting the rest of her plan into action. And the first thing she had to do was call Burr and set up a meeting.

  She grabbed one of the many disposable phones Noir kept, and dialed the number. He answered after second ring.

  “I don’t know how you got my number” –

  “Mr. Burr, my name is Keirah Shepherd,” she said, interrupting the Onyx DA. “I believe there are particular topics we both have information regarding that would benefit the both of us if we were to exchange it. I would like to meet with you. Today, if possible.”

  There was a heavy silence on the other end of the line. Keirah held her breath.

  “Keirah Shepherd, you say?” he asked after another lengthy pause. Then, “Where would you like to meet?”

>   Keirah picked familiar territory – a shabby little diner in the Zone. Nobody looked twice when Lucas Burr – dressed to the nines in a pressed, tailored suit – walked in and took a seat with Keirah in a cracked booth tucked deep in the diner. She avoided windows not only out of respect for Burr’s privacy, but her own as well.

  The District Attorney looked completely out of place in the diner, but the way he walked, the way he held his chiseled face high, Keirah didn’t question whether or not he belonged there. She hadn’t been in the same grade as Gabriel, but she had seen him around, and the likeness was remarkable. He was tall and imposing, with short, slicked back blond hair and crystal blue eyes. He was fit for his age–Keirah would guess late thirties but he looked late twenties–and as he slid into the booth, he fiddled with his gold,no doubt, real,cufflinks. He looked exactly as he had when Noir had taken her to that meeting in the Zone so long ago. Her heart constricted at the memory.

  “So we meet again,” he said in his low voice. He reminded Keirah of Jack Phillip; they were both beautiful and imposing and commanded attention. “You look lovely as ever, although you are notably missing your partner in crime.”

  “You know who I am?” she asked, raising her brow.

  “I know more than you think,” he told her before he raised his head and looked around. “Where is the waitress? I’d kill for an iced tea.”

  Keirah didn’t doubt he would.

  A waitress in a pink fifties-inspired dress came over to take their orders. She popped her gum and didn’t blink an eye even though she clearly recognized the district attorney. Maybe he frequented the Zone more than she realized. He was corrupt, after all.

  “What is it that you want, Miss Shepherd?” he finally asked after receiving his drink. He opened two sugar packets and dumped it in the amber liquid before stirring thoroughly.

  “I want Noir back.” She ignored her lemonade to make sure her eyes were locked with his. It was important that she take him seriously.

  “How terribly predictable,” Burr said with disappointment, rolling his eyes.

  “Can you help me or not?” she asked, her tone flat.

  Burr grinned. “But of course!” he told her. “It is going to cost you, however.”

  “I figured.” She paused, her mind running a million miles a minute. He was one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in Onyx. What could she possibly offer him? “What, exactly, do you want?”

  He paused, and Keirah noticed his pale face almost blend in with the eggshell-colored walls of the diner.

  “Tell me about your sister,” he said, taking her by surprise.

  “What?” She knitted her brow. “What do you want to know about Andie?”

  “I want to know about her relationship with Jack Phillip,” he said in a clear voice, “and before you ask why, know that I’m not one to explain myself. If you want to get Noir back, you’ll tell me about your sister’s relationship without questioning my intentions.” He took a long sip of his drink.

  The waitress hadn’t come back to take their food orders. She was behind the counter, gossiping with the cooks. There were only three occupied tables in the diner besides theirs, so it wasn’t like she was busy, either.

  “I’m not really sure what to say,” Keirah murmured. Her drink was building up condensation on the glass. “She’s been with him for a few months. She’s happy with him. He seems to be happy with her. They live together at his place.” She paused. “I haven’t talked to her in almost a year, you know.”

  Burr lifted his hand to stop her. “That’s enough, Miss Shepherd, thank you,” he said, and took another long sip of his iced tea. “This place has the best iced tea, Miss Shepherd.” She gave him a look and he laughed. “Yes, yes, it’s my turn.”

  He slid his half-full glass to the side and rested his hands on the surface of the table. “First and foremost, I want you to know that Noir is not human. I don’t care if your puny human mind can’t comprehend what I’m saying, but it’s the truth. He’s something much darker than that, which means he vanished somewhere you can’t comprehend. If you still wish to find him,and I’m sure you do,you can attempt to get him back,if that’s even possible anymore,talk to Henry. I’m sure you’ve heard of him? I think he goes to your high school.”

  Henry? The senior?

  Keirah had heard of him. The guy had always struck her as off. And wasn’t everyone afraid of him? Why?

  She took the first sip of her now watery lemonade, resolve quieting her questions about Noir’s true nature and why Henry, out of all people, would know how to retrieve Noir from wherever he was. It didn’t matter; she would soon find out.

  7

  It was Vanessa. Again. They had one meeting together, yes, but Andie didn’t think they would extend that meeting. It shouldn’t have surprised her, but to some degree, it did. She was certain he would never work with a hot mystery guy she knew from her past, so she was somewhat annoyed that he expected her to work with one of his exes. But she was willing last minute to cooperate, and Jack would apparently not be involved. She would try. Business was business, after all; she shouldn’t take her personal.

  Instead, she rested her eyes on her fiancé and forced her doubts to vanish.

  “You’re still wearing it,” Andie said with a smile, once Vanessa had left after she and Jack made an appointment to meet up and discuss further options. They were sitting at the table still, Jack finishing a cup of coffee. Her fingers grazed the inside of his collar to find the chain necklace with the four-leaf clover he had made her for Christmas.

  “You only gave it to me this morning,” Jack teased, after swallowing a rather large sip of coffee. “Did you think I would take it off already?”

  Andie smiled humbly and glanced away before looking at him once again. “I know you don’t necessarily believe in stuff like luck,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Jack agreed, nodding his head once, “but it’s important to you.” He slipped his hand into hers and the two stood, ready to depart. “Which means it’s important to me.” He then leaned down toward her with a grin. “Who knows, maybe luck is your superpower.”

  “I can only handle one superhero in this relationship, thank you very much,” she teased back. Her thoughts slid back to the evening, to Vanessa, and her eyes darkened a bit. Andie definitely had flaws, and one of them happened to be her insatiable curiosity. She wanted to know more about this mystery woman, but she didn’t want to come across as distrusting. She swallowed once and sighed, hoping that she would word everything correctly. “So,” she started as Jack led her out of the beautiful restaurant and into the awaiting limo, “who is she, exactly? I know you guys dated, but is there anything more you can tell me about her?” Once the two were seated side by side, she looked over at him, trying her best not to accuse him of anything. Her natural reaction was anger caused by jealousy, but she managed to look pensive and nonthreatening instead. Her exterior revealed a calmness about her that did not reflect the slight self-doubt that was currently brewing deep within herself.

  “Just some girl I dated in college,” he reassured her, releasing her hand so he could coil his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. “She’s no one important, I promise you.”

  “Jack,” Andie murmured, turning slightly so she could meet Jack’s eyes with hers. There was evident sadness in her eyes, if nothing else. “I know you. I know how you were before you met me. For you to have dated her for a year… She must have been pretty important for you to have dated her for that long.” She paused, and Jack could easily read in her eyes that she was struggling with her thoughts and trying to put them to words, so he remained silent. “I just want to know… is she the girl you fell in love with who ended up breaking your heart, and that’s why you were so anti-relationship, or were you always this way?”

  Jack turned, taking in all the emotions on Andie ‘s face she chose to withhold, which she let slip past her natural defense system. Without a word, he took his hand and laced it through a s
tray lock of her hair, as he was accustomed to do, his thumb softly tracing her cheekbone. “I” he began but cut himself short, unsure of the correct way to handle this. He sighed through his nose before tilting his head and resting his forehead on hers. “She didn’t break my heart,” he told her softly, his gaze intent on her lips. “We dated for a while, yes, but it could never compare with what I have with you.” He paused, his nose grazing hers, and he watched as she closed her eyes, completely content in his simple touch. “If you want, you can back out of this deal, Andie. If she,if this makes you uncomfortable, say the word, and I’ll back out for you.”

  Upon hearing this, Andie’s eyes snapped open and she cupped his cheek with her palm. “No,” she said, her brow perking in some kind of warning. “I would never ask you to do that, Jack, and you know that.” She grinned. “Besides, I might be eighteen, but I’m not a child. You can’t do everything for me. I would do so myself.”

  He smiled at this, because he did, in fact, know that she would never give him ridiculous ultimatums, especially when it came to his business. He took her hand that had been holding his face into his and kissed the inside of her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers. “I know,” he told her against her skin. “That’s why I’m in love with you. However, I know that if I was in your position, and you were in mine…” He let his voice trail off, not quite wishing to actually think about the hypothetical scenario.

  “Well, maybe it’s a good thing you’re not,” Andie replied. “I’m an adult. I can handle this. But…” A mischievous glint touched her eyes and she swung her leg over Jack’s before shifting so that she was sitting in his lap, facing him. Immediately, Jack’s arms curled around her back, pushing her closer to him as Andie’s arms wrapped around his neck. She tilted her head down, her lips barely touching the side of his face as she whispered, “If she makes any kind of unprofessional move on you, I’m going to have a very serious conversation with her.”