by AE Jones
“Hello, Grandmother.”
“I’m surprised you’re here.”
The words stung. It was true she hadn’t been in the office in years, but that wasn’t solely her doing. “I came to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
“We have it under control. There’s nothing to help with.”
“You don’t have to pretend everything is fine with me. I’m not a reporter trying to weasel a story out of you. Remember I also spent last night being interrogated about Sydney’s disappearance.”
Lorinda nodded. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I…know what this business has already cost you. But everything will work out. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
Alex wasn’t ready to have this discussion. “I’m going to go see Peggy. I’ll be around if you need me.”
“Thanks dear.” The cell in Lorinda’s hand rang. She looked at the screen, and her face tightened. “Reporters. I apologize, Alexandra, but I have to get this.” Lorinda turned back into her office, shutting the door behind her.
Alex sighed. Maybe the interruption was fortuitous. Her grandmother hadn’t told her point blank to leave, so Alex was going to take advantage of the loophole. This was no time to walk away. Her grandmother had been the one to invite her to the Prentice-Thompson wedding to begin with. It was time to prove to everyone that she could handle this.
Alex continued down the hall of Bennett Bridal, Incorporated. Not much had changed since she left. The space was decorated in creams and browns, with antique furniture scattered around the lobby. Flower arrangements were strategically placed throughout as well. Her grandmother insisted on live flowers.
Alex reached the third door and stopped. Peggy was on the phone, but she beckoned Alex into her office with a flick of her fingers. Alex picked up a stack of linen swatches and wedding contracts that were piled precariously on the guest chair, then searched the cluttered space for an empty spot, finally settling the items on the one bookcase shelf that still had room. This particular office did not reflect the person, thankfully. Peggy was one of the best, most organized, wedding planners in the business.
Alex smiled at Peggy’s retro-chic style. She wore her short hair curled in a bob style reminiscent of the fifties, with a pair of black cat-glasses perched on her nose. Peggy looked like she was in her mid-thirties, but her exact age was a secret she revealed to no one. Not even to Alex, who had worked with her for years before leaving Bennett Bridal, and who considered her a good friend.
Peggy raised her eyebrows at Alex and shook her head while setting the phone in its cradle. “That’s the third cancellation since the story broke yesterday. This is bad.”
“It’ll pick back up.” Alex tried to sound reassuring.
Peggy pursed her lips. “You know the wedding business is fickle. This could ruin Lorinda.”
“But she had nothing to do with Sydney bolting.”
“That’s not what the bridal party is saying. They’re claiming Sydney was distraught because the wedding was not up to her standards.”
Alex huffed. “What we have are hysterical bridesmaids who are more upset about missing their photo op than whether or not their friend is okay.”
“I forgot about your brutal honesty.” Peggy’s eyes twinkled. “I miss that around here.”
“I don’t think Grandmother would agree with you. I’m still surprised that she wanted me to help with the wedding.”
Peggy didn’t reply, instead busying herself with some forms on her desk.
Alex’s stomach twisted. “Peggy, when you called me, you said Grandmother requested my help. Is that true?”
Peggy held up her hands in a sign of surrender. “Not exactly. But it’s time for you to return to work, Alex. I thought if you and Lorinda spent time together at the wedding, she would give you your job back.”
Grandmother hadn’t wanted her here. Alex’s eyes burned and she blinked. “She always has to have things her way. She’s too stubborn.”
“You’re a lot more like her than you’d care to admit.”
Alex fidgeted with the smooth glass paperweight on the desk. Peggy was right about one thing. She could be just as stubborn as Lorinda. It was time to prove herself. “How can I help?”
Peggy’s eyes widened. “You offering to pitch in around here? What about your job?”
“The travel agency is a little slow. Nancy won’t mind if I take some time off.” Truth be told, if Nancy and her grandmother hadn’t been friends, Alex probably would have lost her job a while ago, the agency was that slow. Alex took a deep breath. She could do this. “I can help with damage control.”
“Actually, that’s my job.”
Alex jerked at the sound of the voice behind her. She spun in her chair and bit the inside of her lip to keep her jaw from dropping. The man in the door stood at least six feet tall, with dark, wavy brown hair that needed a trim, and green eyes that took her in unashamedly. Dressed in an expensive charcoal gray suit and blue tie, he oozed power. Alex’s gorgeous meter shot into the danger zone. Unfortunately, based on his cocky grin, she assumed he knew the effect he had on women.
Alex’s self-preservation alarms started clanging. Not another too-handsome-for-his-own-good, egocentric male. She’d had enough of those to last her a phobic-infused lifetime.
Peggy jumped to her feet and he walked in, moving like an athlete, and wrapped his arms around her. “Hi, brat. How have you been?”
Peggy beamed at him. “Great until yesterday.”
He rubbed her shoulders. “That’s why I’m here.”
Alex gaped at the two of them. Had Peggy landed a hot man?
“I’m sorry, allow me to make proper introductions. Alex Bennett, this is Devin Cole. He’s here to help restore our image.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex.”
When he smiled at her with his perfect teeth, she had the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. Oh God, not inappropriate laughter again. Dr. Jennings really needed to call her back. “How do you two know each other?” Alex asked.
“Devin’s my brother.”
Brother? How in the heck had she kept him a secret for so long? “It’s nice to meet you. But I think it’s a bit premature to bring an outsider in at this point. No offense.”
Peggy shook her head. “I don’t think so. We’ve got to handle this ASAP. When I called Dev, he dropped everything and flew in from DC.”
His smile changed to a self-satisfied smirk, and Alex’s urge to giggle was replaced by a new urge—to wipe the smug grin off of his face. “How exactly are you going to help my grandmother?”
“We’re going to work in restoring confidence in the company. To begin with, I want to talk to you.”
Alex sat up straighter. “Me? Why?”
“You were the last one to see Sydney.”
No, no, no. Peggy’s brother or not, she would not be spending time alone with Mr. Cocky Pants. She bit her lip to stop another giggle. What was wrong with her? “I’ve been questioned multiple times about this by every law enforcement official in California.”
“Please, Alex,” Peggy interjected, “you’ll be helping Lorinda.”
Devin gestured toward the door as if it were a foregone conclusion that she would bow to his wishes. “Is there an office I can use while I’m here?”
“Two doors down is an empty office that I’ve set up for you.”
Alex’s irritation spiked. The empty office Peggy referred to had once been hers.
“Come with me,” he said, and left without looking to see whether she obeyed.
The old Alex would have told him to take a flying leap, but she choked on the words. His presence, or maybe it was his ego, took up a lot of space in the hall.
As soon as they entered her old office, he rounded the desk and sat down in her old chair, making himself at home while gesturing to the guest chair, as if she was…well, a guest.
Alex sat down slowly to gather her wits. She inhaled and exhaled deliberately while reminding hers
elf she was here to help her grandmother. “What do you want to know?”
He stared at her for a second, his beautiful green eyes—no, don’t go there—his nothing-special green-eyed stare pinning her like a butterfly in a display case.
“Let’s start with what you didn’t tell the cops.”
“What do you mean?” Alex blurted, trying not to look as guilty as she felt.
He reached for the pen and pad of paper Peggy had left in the center of the desk. “I mean, I want to hear the whole story, down to the minute detail, in addition to the responses you gave the cops.”
She settled back and began to recount the story while Devin jotted notes on the pad. She stared at his hands. They didn’t look like the hands of a man who sat behind a desk for a living. They were tanned, and she wondered if the pads of his fingers were rough to the touch.
Her heart rate sped up. Really? His hands turned her on? She would definitely need extra time on Dr. Jennings’ couch after this interrogation. And to discuss the whole seal thing. She mustn’t forget that.
Peggy sauntered in, deposited two cups of coffee on the desk, and sauntered out again. Alex picked up the warm ceramic mug and took a sip. It had a splash of milk and the barest hint of cinnamon. Leave it to Peggy to remember exactly how she liked her coffee.
Alex continued, sharing all the details except for her ridiculous fears and seeing Sydney change into a seal. At that point she tweaked the story. “I screamed at her and she glanced back at me and then dove under the water.”
He sat quietly for a moment while she fidgeted in her seat. It was like being in the principal’s office with Sister Mary Margaret. One look from her, and you would confess to things you didn’t even do.
She counted in her head and slowed her breathing. Now, this reaction she was used to. Panic attacks were becoming her forte. Was it the lie that was threatening to trigger it, or the arrogantly handsome man in front of her?
“You didn’t see Sydney at all after that?” he asked, returning her to reality.
“No. I waited there for several minutes, hoping to see her again, and then I called for help.”
“What do you think happened?” he pushed.
She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug, letting the warmth center her. “I’m afraid she might have drowned. No one can hold their breath that long.”
He tapped his pen on the pad of paper. “Actually, you’d be surprised at how long a person can hold their breath.”
“Really? What makes you an expert on that?” Alex raised her mug to her lips.
“My best friend is a SEAL.”
Alex gasped and choked on her coffee, nearly spewing it across the desk and his pristine notes.
He frowned slightly. “You okay?”
She nodded and thought about crawling under the desk. She coughed a few more seconds, wiped away her tears, and murmured, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I said my best friend is a Navy SEAL. Technically, former SEAL. Some of the guys he trained with could hold their breath for more than five minutes.”
“That doesn’t mean Sydney could.”
He tipped his head to the side. “True, but I did some research on her. Her exercise routine includes daily laps in her pool. She’s fanatical about it.”
You would be too, if you were a seal. “Swimming in a pool is not the same as swimming in the ocean. The undertow along that stretch of beach is pretty strong.”
“Well, I’ve learned anything is possible.”
Alex shrugged and ran her fingers along her wrist—tap, tap, tap. “I guess I’m not as optimistic as you are.”
Devin rapped his pen on the desk—click, click, click. “If you can’t think of anything else, maybe you should call it a day. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”
* * *
Devin stared at the notes in front of him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that didn’t lessen the stink. He underlined Alex’s name and wrote a series of question marks after it. What wasn’t she telling him?
He put down his pen and leaned back. Nope. He couldn’t get sucked into this case, no matter how puzzling. He was here because his sister had called him. He would make sure, once his team arrived, that they helped her in every way possible, but he had other priorities to attend to.
Peggy came in and sat down across from Devin. “Well?”
He steepled his fingers and chose his next words carefully. “When Charlie gets here, I’m going to put him in charge of the investigation.”
“Why?”
“Because my hearing is coming up soon.”
Peggy blinked. “It’s been a year already?”
“Yes.”
Peggy gazed at him with her all-too-knowing eyes. “What are you hiding?”
He pushed out a hard breath. He’d really wanted to avoid this. “They stripped me of my powers last month.”
She jerked upright. “What? Why now?”
“According to the Tribunal, there was some concern that I might be a flight risk.”
Peggy jumped from her seat and paced, her eyes glowing bright green behind her ridiculous glasses. “What a load of crap! So are the charges. I’m sorry Marina died, Devin. I know she was a friend and a valuable member of your team, but the gang killed her, not you. Someone’s out to get you. I’m sure when the Tribunal hears your testimony, they’ll realize you’re innocent and give you your powers back.”
“Peg-leg, sit down and dial back the voltage before someone sees you.” Devin prayed she was right. Without his powers, he wouldn’t be able to lead his team or stop the gang from killing again. Marina deserved vengeance. As did their brother, Thomas. Devin hadn’t shared his suspicion with Peggy that Thomas was killed by the same gang. And he wouldn’t until he had more proof.
She growled at him. “Stop calling me Peg-leg. I’m going to bean you over the head.”
This was the sister he knew and loved. “Everything will work out. But I think it’d be better if I don’t lead this case. I’m surprised the Tribunal agreed to allow my team to accept it.”
“You’re wrong,” she said. “You’re the best being, powerless or not, for the job. And the Tribunal agreed to this because I called in some favors. Don’t make me regret it. Now quit stalling and tell me about the interview.”
He didn’t have the heart to say he would be under serious scrutiny because of this case. If he screwed up, it would add more fuel to the prosecutor’s case. “I want to know about Alex Bennett.”
“Why?”
“She knows.”
Peggy’s mouth tightened. “Would Sydney have been careless enough to expose herself?”
“We have no idea what was going on with Sydney. She was warned about fame and the risks associated with it. So what do we do if Alex knows the truth?”
“You’d better be careful with her.”
His eyebrows rose at Peggy’s sharp tone. “What’s with the mother hen routine?”
“She’s been through a lot in the past couple years, Dev. She’s not as tough as she looks.”
What she looked like was a beautiful woman. Brown, shoulder-length hair she tucked behind her ear when nervous, and eyes the color of warm caramel—she was someone he would like to know better if circumstances were different. But this case needed to be flawless, and that meant no screw-ups. Which meant no mixing of business and pleasure. That’s what got him in trouble to begin with.
“Is Alex a threat to us?”
Peggy cocked her head. “Not a direct threat, but I’m not sure what she’ll do if she learns the truth.”
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: Beauty sleep is vital. There’s nothing worse than a cranky bride.
Chapter 3
Get some sleep? Alex blew out a disgusted breath. When people say you look tired, it’s a euphemism for “you look like crap.” It was one thing to know you look like crap. It was another to have Mister I-can’t-fit-my-inflated-head-through-the-door tell you so.
It didn’t help that hi
s inflated head was gorgeous, and she had always been a sucker for green eyes. Stop it! His cocky grin told her everything she needed to know. She wasn’t going anywhere near Mr. Devin Cole again.
She lay in bed and tried to count the glowing stars littering her ceiling. The previous tenant had a thing for stars, and even though the landlord painted over them before Alex moved in, the fluorescence seeped through. Sleep eluded her, which really was ironic, considering it was the one thing she needed. She turned on her bedside lamp and flopped onto the bed. A meow in her ear made her look up into another set of green eyes. Feline eyes, in a white, furry face.
“Sorry if I’m disturbing you, Cat.”
The green eyes narrowed at her.
“I know, I know, I need to come up with a real name for you, but you haven’t liked any of my suggestions so far.”
Blink, blink of said eyes and Cat jumped off the bed.
“Well, I guess I’ve been dismissed.”
Alex sat up. It was only nine, way too early for sleep anyway. What to do instead? She would continue her research of psychological conditions that included hallucinations. She reached for her cell on the bedside stand, but it wasn’t there.
She climbed out of bed and spent the next fifteen minutes scouring her apartment for her phone. She must have left it at the office. There was no way she could relax now. What if Dr. Jennings called her back? Changing out of her pj’s, she grabbed her keys, and headed out the door.
Half an hour later she pulled up in front of Bennett Bridal. Peggy’s car was still in the lot, along with a limo and a rental car. It was late, but not unheard of to plan meetings at odd hours for the more affluent clients. It also helped tone down the rumors if the clients who were tabloid-worthy came after hours.
Alex headed toward the entry and spotted a young woman in her early twenties standing in the doorway. Her pale skin, long dark hair and black clothing screamed Goth. If she was a member of the wedding party, it would prove to be an interesting ceremony.
Alex gave her a friendly smile. “Hello. Are you trying to get inside for a meeting?”
