Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4

by Mallory Crowe

  Michael stood in the back of the church and looked out over the scattered crowd. There wasn’t anyone he knew, and Lori sat in the front row for all of these people to stare at and judge. Even though she hadn’t complained at all, he knew she didn’t want to be there. She hated meeting new people, especially in a room probably filled with sharks.

  But every time he’d voiced his concerns, she’d brushed him off or reminded him that he’d had no problem putting himself in danger when it came to family.

  The service was short because no one spoke. The man had probably made dozens of clients rich and not one of them gave the few minutes necessary to speak at his funeral. As soon as it was over, Michael intercepted Lori as she headed down the aisle and walked with her to the exit of the small church. Then he stood with her as she said quick good-byes to all the attendees. There was no wake planned and that was probably for the best, considering the sad attendance at the funeral.

  Instead, Grayson would be buried in the plot he’d picked out for himself, and everyone would go their separate ways. And as far as he was concerned, Lori was done. She’d handed off the electronic data to the FBI and would have all the names from the funeral once she picked up the register from the service.

  Michael and Luke had tried to get Evelyn to do it herself, but she’d insisted that so few people would show up that any agents would stand out like a sore thumb. That was the problem with the Thirteen Stars. They were almost impossible to infiltrate because they only took established members.

  Grayson almost exclusively worked for the Thirteen Stars, so the attendees would be suspicious of anyone who showed up. As soon as the last person from the trickle of guests left, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave her a hug. “Are you ready to go back to my place?” he whispered.

  “Soon. I need to talk to the funeral director once more before we can sneak off. And I kind of want some of the flowers. Is that respectful or morbid?”

  Michael glanced around at the white roses that filled the chapel. “Was that his request per the will?”

  “Oh yeah. He even picked out the exact arrangements. He had his entire funeral planned to a T. Including the tiny chapel. He wasn’t expecting a good turnout.”

  The longer Michael had stood and scanned the crowd, the more likely it seemed that Grayson had killed himself. The man seemed to have a depressing as hell life.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but her gaze suddenly went over his shoulder. He turned and gritted his teeth as he saw Ken Kemmerling approach. He just wanted to get the hell out of here.

  “Hey Ken.” The only good thing about being at a funeral was that Michael didn’t have to fake a smile.

  “Mr. Kemmerling,” said Lori.

  “I’d say it’s nice to see you, but under the circumstances, I think that would be a lie,” said Ken.

  Michael gritted his teeth. “It was nice of you to come. Grayson worked with you awhile, didn’t he?” It would’ve been nicer if he’d stayed for the entire thing. Well, it would’ve been best if he hadn’t shown at all.

  “Were you two close?” asked Lori. “It doesn’t seem like he had many friends.”

  “That might be one of the unfortunate factors that led us to...this. I hear you were burdened with the task of going through all of Grayson’s things.”

  “It’s not the most pleasant experience. But I kind of feel like it gives me a chance to know him. Even if it is a little too late.”

  Her voice wavered and Michael realized just how difficult this entire thing was for her. “Lori and I are tired. I hate to cut this short, but we’ve had a long few days.”

  Ken nodded. “Sure, sure. But you know I have a lot of friends who were clients of Grayson’s and we were wondering if we could meet to discuss how the information is being handled. You know Grayson had access to a lot of sensitive details, and we’re a bit...”

  “Concerned?” said Lori.

  “No, no. More interested. We’re not exactly sure how this process works and figured the more open the lines of communication were, the better.”

  Michael could see Lori tensing at the idea of meeting privately with Ken, and he set a hand on the small of her back and rubbed up and down. His silent way of letting her know he was there for her.

  “Lori’s missed a few days of work already and her schedule will be pretty jam-packed the rest of the week. Once she gets back home and settled, we’ll try to schedule a time.”

  “Sounds great.” Ken reached out and patted Lori on the arm. “And I do have to say how much Grayson will be missed. He truly was a friend and asset to me.”

  Lori smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s great to hear that he had at least one friend.”

  A pretty shitty friend, thought Michael. But he kept his mouth shut.

  “I really will miss him.” He took out a card and handed it to Lori. “When you think of a good time, please give me a call.”

  Michael forced himself to remain still and not snatch the card right out of Lori’s hand, but she managed to keep her calm. “It was nice seeing you. I’m sure I’ll be in touch soon. I have my own questions about how things will progress from here.”

  He supposed he should be playing the part of concerned investor, but all he could think about was getting Lori away from this slimeball as soon as possible. From all these slimeballs. The ones he’d introduced her to in the first place.

  Which meant he’d have to make sure she didn’t get pulled any deeper into this life he’d shown her.

  “You’re not going to that meeting,” said Michael as they entered his apartment.

  Lori followed him inside and immediately took off the heels she’d worn all day. They were short so she hadn’t expected them to be as painful as they were, but that plan had been shot to hell. “I figured I’d talk to Evelyn about it. See what she thought.”

  Michael scoffed. “What she thinks? Of course she’d want you to go into a nest of vipers. You know how much her career will benefit from this? She’s putting herself first and that’s exactly what you have to do.”

  “I need to put myself first? When’s the last time you put yourself first?” she shot back. “You are at your brother’s beck and call, you’re putting your life on the line to save your cousin, you’re putting a hundred million dollars of your own money at stake to help the FBI.”

  “I’m telling you that I’m not comfortable with you getting any more involved in this.”

  “And I’m telling you that I am already involved. I’m not going to stop when we’re so close to getting you out of danger. To getting us out of danger. What harm can one more meeting do?”

  He glared down at her. “Are you really asking me what’s the harm? After what these people have already put my family through? And we still don’t know for sure if your uncle actually killed himself. So don’t walk into this like you’re meeting with friends.”

  “No. I’m walking into it like I’m meeting with some dangerous people with the FBI’s guidance and supervision. I know Evelyn has ulterior motives, but so do you and so do I. As long as we’re all open about them, we can stay safe.”

  Michael shook his head. “No. Don’t say ‘we.’ I’m not a part of this anymore, Lori. I can’t just sit back and let this happen. I know I dragged you into this—”

  “No. I dragged me into this. Ever since Grayson made his deals with the devil, I was in their orbit. If Ken Kemmerling is the reason that my uncle is dead, then I’m going to smile at him as much as I need to until he gives me what we need to take him down.” She paced to the edge of his living room and back. This entire argument had been brewing for the past three days. She’d managed to change the subject or defuse the situation every time before, but she could tell Michael wasn’t going to budge on this one.

  Which was a shame, because neither was she.

  “I know this is important to you, Lori, but I’m not letting you go to that meeting. I don’t care what Evelyn says or what—”

  “I think,” she
completed for him. “Obviously, my opinion isn’t your main priority. This isn’t your choice, Michael. You don’t own me.”

  “What? I never said that I own you.”

  And Lori knew him well enough to know that he didn’t think he owned her. But he couldn’t give her orders and blindly expect her to follow them. “Then stop acting like you do. Trust my judgment in this. In my skills. I am not going to go in guns blazing, collecting evidence. And I was hardly in immediate trouble while at Grayson’s apartment or at the funeral today. So if I meet a few people in a very public place and report their names to Evelyn, that’s what I’ll do.”

  “No. It’s not as simple as one nice little lunch date. It never is. There’s more that you’ll get pulled into and you know it. You did what Evelyn asked. You’ve done more for your uncle than he probably would’ve ever done for you.”

  Lori rested her head in her hands as a sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her. She didn’t want to fight about what her uncle would or wouldn’t have done for her. She didn’t want to fight at all. She just wanted to relax.

  “I think I should go home,” she said softly. The thought of putting those shoes back on again almost seemed like torture, but she couldn’t stomach the idea of continuing this argument or, worse, pushing it under the rug again.

  “Damn it, Lori, don’t go.”

  “It’s for the best. I need to get back to the office tomorrow and I’ve had a long day.” A long couple of days. She’d really been looking forward to relaxing with Michael that night too.

  He reached for her but she twisted out of his reach and made her way to the hallway and to her shoes. “Can you call a car for me? We can talk tomorrow.”

  Michael clenched his jaw but didn’t reach out for her again. “I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

  She really didn’t want to be alone either. “Tough luck,” she said, not sure whether she was talking more to him or herself. “I didn’t bring overnight stuff and I’ve already missed two days of work. So I need to go home at some point. Good night, Michael.” She slipped out the door and let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

  Even though Michael obviously disapproved, she’d already made up her mind. She was going to go through with this meeting with Ken one way or another, and he couldn’t stop her.

  When she reached the street, she saw that Michael already had a car waiting to take her home. She climbed in the backseat and dialed Evelyn as soon as they were on the road. “Did the names from the funeral help at all?” she asked as soon as the FBI agent picked up.

  “I see you’re having a relaxing night,” muttered Evelyn.

  Lori belatedly realized that it was already early evening and Evelyn probably had been home by then. But she didn’t feel bad. She was doing Evelyn a favor. She had a right to know whether anything she was doing was actually helping. “It’s been a stressful day.”

  “I understand. All of the names you gave us are running through the works now. A few we could immediately strike off from being possible Thirteen Stars members, but there were some promising leads. It will take a few days to get anything concrete, though. You did good, Lori. I am sorry you couldn’t grieve without all this going on in the background.”

  Lori stared out the window at the passing city. She’d been upset she hadn’t had a chance to grieve too. Maybe that was why she was so snippy with Evelyn and Michael. Sure, Michael was a bit controlling, but it was only because he cared about her. “Thank you,” she said softly. “But there’s another reason I called. Ken Kemmerling wants to meet with me. He wants to clarify how the transfer of information from Grayson’s computers and documents to whoever they hire to replace him will be handled.”

  “He’s nervous, I bet,” said Evelyn. “Is the meeting just with him?”

  “Him and a few others, I think. We didn’t get into the details. Michael wasn’t too fond of the idea.” Lori held her breath as she waited for Evelyn’s take on the situation.

  “Would you feel comfortable meeting with Ken and his people? Do you think you’d be in immediate danger?”

  It was a perfect way to word the question. Because Lori and Evelyn both knew she wouldn’t be in immediate danger. If Ken was planning on getting rid of her for any reason, he wouldn’t approach her in a public place to ask her to come to her own murder. But what had Michael so upset, and was admittedly unsettling to Lori too, was the constant state of almost danger. The knowledge that she was messing with some bad people who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Or, rather, to pay someone else to get their hands dirty.

  “I wouldn’t be in immediate danger,” said Lori.

  “Well then, if you’re up for it, it would be a great chance to find out who the leader of Thirteen Stars is.”

  “I’m up for it.” If she had to endure one more day of playing the naive little niece of Grayson, she could do it. “I’ll try to set up a meeting for tomorrow. The sooner this is over with the better.”

  “There’s a chance they might not be able to make a meeting that soon,” warned Evelyn.

  “There’s money on the line. I’m sure they’ll be able to rearrange some plans for me,” said Lori with more confidence than she felt.

  “Keep me informed about your plans. I might be able to get into the restaurant or have one of my people there. That should calm Michael down a little bit.”

  “Maybe.” Lori didn’t kid herself. It would take a lot more than that to calm him down. “I’ll let you know the details as soon as I figure them out.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line and for a moment, Lori thought they got disconnected. But then Evelyn spoke up. “I really don’t want to cause friction between the two of you.”

  Lori stared out the window. Damn it. Evelyn was supposed to be sure of this and ready to plow ahead, no matter the consequences. She wasn’t supposed to be unsure. “Michael will be fine. He’ll get over it.” He’d have to.

  The next morning at work was long and monotonous. Lori had a hard time focusing on catching up on her workload when there was so much going on in the background. She had a lunch meeting with Ken and his other investors and had been avoiding Michael ever since she snuck into her cube. Considering she’d never even seen him before that day two weeks ago, it was shocking how aware she was of him now.

  Or maybe she was hyper aware of him because she hadn’t spoken to him since she’d left his apartment. She wasn’t sure whether she’d call what they had a fight, but it was the closest thing they’d had to one. There was another possible reason for why he hadn’t called. Maybe he was done with her. It was fun while it lasted, but he could’ve realized they were just too different.

  She glanced at the clock on the bottom corner of her computer screen. Ten a.m. Wouldn’t he have messaged or called by now if he really wanted to talk? She was meeting Ken in two hours and Michael had no idea. Part of her liked it better that way. It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

  But she’d prefer someone else knew where she was going. She definitely didn’t want Michael there. Grayson hadn’t started to handle Michael’s and Luke’s funds yet, and it would be rather improper for him to sit in, even if the idea of them as a couple was becoming more accepted.

  Even if she didn’t want to fight, she did want to be honest with him. Because she didn’t want whatever they had to be over. She didn’t want to think of yesterday as a fight. Just a misunderstanding brought on by grief and stress.

  After five more minutes, she finally gave up on trying to work and headed upstairs. She didn’t care whether people noticed. She was going upstairs to talk to Michael. As far as she was aware, no one from the office but Cali and Luke knew about them, and if she kept making trips up to the executive level, other employees were going to talk. But this seemed important enough to risk it.

  Michael wasn’t in his office when she glanced in the open door, so Lori turned and walked around the corner to Cali’s desk. The blonde was typing away at the comput
er with her back to Lori, yet she somehow already knew she was there and shot Lori a quick smile before she went back to her email.

  “Michael is in with Luke right now. I can grab him for you if you want.” She typed a few more words and sent the email before she turned around.

  Lori hesitated, once again not sure whether this was important enough to interrupt a meeting. “I kind of need to talk to him, but I don’t—”

  “I’m on it.” Cali stood and headed around her desk to tap on the closed door to Luke’s office. Without waiting for permission, she turned the knob and popped her head in. “Michael, you have a visitor,” she said sweetly.

  Lori wished she could see their faces. Were they used to Cali just coming in? Lori had heard rumors that Cali was more than just a secretary, but she still wasn’t sure exactly where she stood in the organization.

  Whatever she was, she seemed to get what she wanted. A second later, Michael emerged from Luke’s office. Without saying a word, he ushered Lori away and into his office, leaving the door open.

  “I was hoping to see you today.” He turned to face her.

  “There’s this thing called a phone, you know,” she muttered.

  “And I’ve heard that thing works both ways,” he said with a pointed look. “You had a stressful day. I wanted to give you some space to think things over.”

  He didn’t have to be sweet about it. Not when she was going to give him bad news. This would’ve been easier if he’d immediately started to order her around and annoy her again. “About last night... About the meeting that Ken wants.”

  Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “Please tell me you changed your mind about that.”

  Now or never. “I’m meeting him for lunch in two hours.”

  His expression hardened and the muscle in his jaw ticked. “You already set it up.”

  “Evelyn helped me. It’s a public place. People know where I’ll be and who I’m meeting. It’ll be fine, Michael.”