Scandal Never Sleeps

by Shayla Black

  Capitol Scandals popped up in seconds.

  She clicked through and the site assaulted her with the tawdriest headlines.

  SENATOR CAUGHT WITH PANTS DOWN

  FEDERAL JUDGE SELLS DISMISSALS FOR COCAINE

  IS PRESIDENT HAYES THE HOTTEST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF ALL TIME?

  But the biggest headline, with the huge red print, caught her eye.

  BREAKING NEWS:

  GABRIEL BOND KILLS

  BEST FRIEND MADDOX CRAWFORD

  SEE THE VIDEO THAT WILL ROCK WALL STREET

  Tabloid journalism alone wouldn’t motivate the police to suspect Gabriel, but if they had a video . . . She clicked the link and enlarged the shot on the screen. It was still small, but she could see Gabriel in what looked to be a fancy restaurant. Someone sat across from him, but only part of that man’s back was visible. Gabe leaned forward, and while only a portion of his handsome face entered the view, she could tell he was very angry.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Gabe growled in a low voice. “I told you to be very sure because you would wreck her life and she would be hurt. You said you’d changed.”

  “Relax, Bond. Everything is going to be fine. It’s really for the best, you know.”

  She would know that voice anywhere. Deep but with that hint of world-weariness Maddox Crawford had always possessed.

  As she watched, Everly felt a little shiver slide through her. Was this video of their final conversation?

  “For the best? You talked to her. You know what’s happening. You just don’t care, you son of a bitch. Of course you don’t give a shit. You know what I should have done?”

  Maddox’s hand fisted on the table, but his voice remained calm. “Don’t say something you can’t take back. Calm down. Everything is going to work out in the end. I need you to give me a little time.”

  “So you can go through another fifty women? I’m supposed to believe you’ll change if you get a little more pussy? Fuck you, Mad. I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done. I’m not going to do it today. I’m not going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to wait until you think you’re safe. Then I’ll be there. Do you understand?” He stood, throwing his napkin down in obvious disgust.

  “I understand you are one overly dramatic motherfucker, Gabe. Please sit down. I can’t tell you everything. It wouldn’t be good for you. But something’s happening, and I need time to sort it out. I need to ask you if you’ve ever heard the name Sergei?”

  “I don’t give a flying fuck what you need. Don’t ever call me again, Mad.” Gabriel walked out of view.

  And she watched as Mad’s head fell forward. He cursed audibly, then tossed some cash on the table.

  The video ended abruptly.

  She watched it through again. Okay, so that explained why the police considered Gabriel a suspect. He’d clearly had motive and intent, but her head still rang with questions. Obviously, he’d been angry, but who was the female they’d fought about? And who was Sergei? Even if he knew, Dax wasn’t going to tell her anything more than he had. She might get something from watching the interrogation. She wasn’t sure why Roman Calder had allowed her here, but she wasn’t about to miss the chance.

  Everly straightened her clothes and tucked her phone away.

  It was past time to put her heart on the back burner and start thinking with her head.

  She had her mentor’s murder to solve. She hoped that when she was done, her investigation didn’t prove that the man she’d fallen for hard and fast during their weekend together had killed in revenge.

  • • •

  Gabe glanced at the clock. They’d been asking him the same questions for hours. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that last one.”

  Roman sighed. “Probably because you’re hungry. We were supposed to have lunch two hours ago. Is this really how you want to roll, detective? It’s so cliché to hope that my client will give more if you starve him. Are you planning on denying him bathroom breaks as well?”

  The detective shrugged, obviously willing to play the bad cop. Gabe wished the good cop would show up. “You can eat once you’ve sufficiently answered our questions.”

  “He’s answered every single one,” Roman shot back. “Several times.”

  The detective ignored him completely, choosing to focus on Gabe. “Were you aware someone was filming you when you threatened Crawford’s life?”

  Ah, finally a new one. “No. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known.”

  “So you admit you didn’t want anyone to know you planned to kill Mr. Crawford.”

  Maybe the detective wasn’t smart after all. “I admit I didn’t want to be recorded without my knowledge. Is this a good time to point out that, according to that video, I wasn’t planning on killing Mad for a few years?”

  “He’s being sarcastic.” Roman shot him a dirty look and leaned in, his voice dropping low. “Is this a good time to remind you that we’re being recorded here, too?”

  Gabe was getting really sick of the whole conversation. “I’m pointing out the flaw in their theory. They seem to think that snippet lays out my nefarious plans to murder my best friend. If it does, then it should clear me because I threatened to kill him a few years down the road, not a few hours.”

  Roman gaped at him. “Do I need to staple your mouth shut?”

  “Please don’t. He has a point.” Detective Johnson sat back, his look turning thoughtful. “I assume you had good reason to be angry with him. I’ve read about Crawford. He wasn’t the nicest guy in the world. You seemed to be fighting over a woman. I understand he had a very busy love life.”

  “As I’ve stated several times, Mr. Bond was angry with Mr. Crawford over a personal issue. The actual point of contention isn’t relevant.” Roman had been doing his best to deflect questions from Sara. The news that Gabe’s sister had been involved with Mad and was pregnant with his illegitimate child would be like pouring gasoline on a blazing clue for the police. The press would follow. They would race to his house in the Hamptons before he could reach Sara, and once he cut through the swarm of reporters, he’d have to try to move his sister somewhere else with them following.

  They’d dig until they found out about Everly, too. It was just a matter of time. Would he leave her hanging in the wind or try to protect her as well?

  “I disagree,” said the thirtysomething detective. “I think the woman those two fought over is incredibly important to this investigation, but we’ll figure it out with or without Mr. Bond’s help. How about we talk about what you did the rest of that day?”

  He tapped his left hand against the desk. This was one line of questioning he would rather avoid. “I went to the park after I left Cipriani. I decided to take off from work that afternoon and I wandered around the park to think for a bit.”

  “And I suppose there’s no convenient video of you doing that currently posted on the Internet.” Johnson slanted him a dubious stare.

  “Likely not.” It would be easier if there were. “Can’t you have the city pull the security feeds from the park?”

  The detective didn’t answer him directly. “And the rest of your day?”

  Shit. How much did he tell the police? How much did they already know? “I spent it alone, thinking about that conversation with Mad. I had dinner at home. My housekeeper can verify that. I went to bed around midnight.”

  He hadn’t exactly made it to the bed. When he’d reached his penthouse, he’d barely touched his food, but he’d torn through a bottle of twenty-five-year-old Scotch. He’d awakened the next morning on the couch with a dry mouth and a throbbing head. He’d gotten the terrible news about Mad an hour later.

  His whole world had been upside down since.

  Was Eve . . . Everly gone already? Had she done the smart thing by packing up her desk and walking out on this mess? Gabe wasn’t sure he could accept that outcome right now. He still didn’t know what she’d meant to Mad. But at this point, he wasn’t sure he cared.

&
nbsp; Anger rolled in his gut. Yes, he’d been planning on firing Everly. That had been an easy decision before he’d known who she was. Letting her go now . . . As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted her close. He couldn’t explain why except that he needed to see her again, touch her. He needed to fuck her out of his system. Maybe he should agree to whatever deal Mad had given her. She could keep her job and sleep with him until he purged himself of this horrible longing.

  “Gabe?”

  At the snap of his friend’s voice, he looked up. “Yeah?”

  Roman stood and frowned down at him. “We’re leaving. I’ve explained to the detective that unless they want to formally charge you, they need to let us go now.”

  “I would love to throw you in a holding cell and see if you soften up, but my captain doesn’t like the growing swarm of press. You’re free to go for now, but don’t leave town. I’ll have more questions.” The detective sat back with a sigh. “I find it very interesting that Crawford went down in one of your planes.”

  Mad’s private jet had been built by Bond Aeronautics. Gabe had overseen the build himself. He’d made sure it was the most tricked-out mile high club in the air. He and Mad had gotten their pilot licenses at the same time. They used to love flying together. Usually one flew while the other fucked in the back on their way to Vegas or Paris or some other suitably decadent party town.

  God, he couldn’t believe Mad was dead.

  “I assure you the last thing my client wants is negative press. The stock of his company has already taken a hit.” Roman flipped the lid of his briefcase closed. “He won’t leave the city. If you have any more questions for him, please contact my office. Perhaps we can do this in a more private setting next time.”

  The detective stood and left the room, his disappointment obvious.

  “Let’s go. Dax is waiting to get you out of here.” Roman straightened his tie. “I’ll face the mob outside and try to defuse the situation. You and I are going to have a long talk later.”

  Because Roman must know he was hiding something. Clever bastard. Gabe would have to confess he’d been at the airport that day. He’d been standing there when Mad had taken off.

  Yeah, Roman was going to love that.

  “All right. Give me the night to figure a few things out.”

  He especially needed to figure out how to handle Everly. He’d done everything wrong this morning. He wasn’t even sure what would have been right. He should have found out about her relationship with Mad and been utterly disgusted. He’d wanted to be. He’d definitely been angry, felt betrayed. But he wanted her way too much to hold that grudge. Her fling with Mad infuriated him on Sara’s behalf, but for himself? It didn’t matter.

  Everly was too damn dangerous for his peace of mind. To complicate matters even more, he now wondered if she had critical information.

  During the long, tedious interrogation, his brain had been working the angles of this case. Though grief was still strong, the shock of Mad’s death was wearing off. Logic had begun to set in again. He’d started to wonder about a few things. Mad had hated DC. What had compelled him to fly there to see Zack, rather than just picking up the phone? Why had he updated his will three weeks before his death? Why had he been so explicit about the funeral arrangements? Gabe had been forced to watch the tape of his last conversation with Mad again, and without the filter of rage to blind him, he could see the bastard had been trying to tell him something.

  Everly had been the woman in Mad’s bed at the end of his life. She must know something.

  “That’s all the time you get,” Roman replied. “We’ll talk in the morning. Go to Connor’s place and we’ll all meet for breakfast. For tonight, lay low.”

  He couldn’t do that. He had to find Everly. “I need to go back to the office.”

  Roman paused at the door. “Absolutely not. You’re going into hiding. The less chance we give the press to photograph you, the better off we are. The NYPD is all over you. The FAA isn’t done with their investigation, but they’re definitely treating the crash as if it was foul play. These cops are fishing for a suspect at this point, and that dipshit tape of you and Mad makes you look easy. For now, they’ll leave you be—unless you give them a reason otherwise. But we have to figure this shit out. So you will behave. Is that understood?”

  “Sure.” It was best to agree with Roman, then do what he needed to. Roman wasn’t going to understand his need to see Everly. Or his reason. He had to track her down and get her where he wanted her.

  Underneath him, with her hair spread out, begging him to end the sensual torture.

  Damn it, he had to stop thinking about having sex with her until he talked to her again. He wouldn’t touch her until he figured out what part she’d played in this chaotic mess. And what she knew that could get him out of it.

  Of course, he might not have to worry about ever getting physical with her again. She might have decided he was a bad bet as her new lover since he’d insulted her, then practically been arrested for murdering her last one.

  Roman stared at him, and Gabe worried the shrewd lawyer had figured him out, but Roman finally opened the door and stepped into the hall.

  Gabe followed. As soon as he had a free moment, he needed to pull up her address. Now that he knew Eve was Everly, he realized he had access to all her employment records, including her address in Brooklyn. They could continue their discussion at her place. He had his own interrogation to perform.

  He turned the corner, then stopped. She stood right there, in the hallway, her face turned up, mouth moving as she said something to Dax.

  “Why is she here?” He kept his voice low.

  Roman sighed. “She’d already arrived when I walked into the precinct. Once I found out she’s on Crawford’s security team, I thought she should know what’s going on. Actually, I’m surprised you didn’t fire her on the spot. Dax told me there was a rumor about her and Mad.”

  “And I’ll find out if it’s true or not.” He intended to discover every secret that woman had. “I’m also going to find out what was going on in Mad’s head the last few months of his life. I’m betting she knows something.”

  “It’s possible,” Roman admitted. “I don’t know if he would have really divulged anything of value to her, rather than his lifelong friends. But toward the end, Mad hadn’t seemed like himself, so maybe she does know something.” Roman frowned. “Any idea what he was asking about that last day you two went to lunch? He sounded as if he was looking for someone.”

  He’d mentioned a Sergei. “No. Hell, for all I know, it was his new drug dealer.”

  “Stop being an ass. This is exactly why you should stay away from her. You’re on the edge and you’ll only dig yourself in deeper. Neither of you needs another pile of shit right now. Take a step back, and we’ll talk in the morning. I’ll interview her and let you know what I find.”

  Not happening. He needed her. Even if he pried nothing more than the truth about her relationship with Mad from her, he wasn’t going to leave Everly alone.

  She turned, and he caught sight of her smile. Even in the little hallway, he couldn’t fail to notice how bright she shined. His breath caught. No wonder Mad had left Sara for her. Eve was utterly different than any woman Gabe had ever been involved with. His whole body responded to her.

  The minute she caught sight of him, she wiped all expression from her face. “Mr. Bond.”

  She wanted to play it that way? Of course she did now that she’d witnessed his interrogation. He wanted to punch Roman for letting her stay. Her opinion of him had obviously tumbled after their fight this morning, and seeing homicide detectives grill him had likely dropped him a notch lower. Damn it. He needed to do whatever possible to make sure she didn’t get away from him.

  “Everly, thank you for tracking down Dax and Roman. There was no need for you to wait. I planned on finding you soon. We still have a few things to iron out.”

  Roman shook his head. “You’re not going to list
en to a damn word I say, are you? Don’t cause a fucking scene. I’ll talk to you in the morning. Dax, have you got this?”

  “It’s handled. I don’t think anyone can follow us.”

  Roman nodded and strode toward the front of the building, cursing to himself.

  Dax stepped up and shook his hand. “I’ll meet you up top, brother. Go easy on her. Everly isn’t what you think she is. And