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“Are you scared?” Gabe asked.
“I’ve never loved heights, to tell you the truth.” She retreated as though ready to scamper back down the stairs to safety.
He wasn’t about to let her do that. He had no idea why Mad hadn’t taken her up, but flight had been a big portion of Gabe’s life for a very long time. His family business was all about getting up in the sky. Besides, if she was afraid, she might cling to him. She might be grateful to him for keeping her safe.
“I won’t let you fall.” He held out his arm.
“Gabriel . . .” she began.
“I am very professionally offering to escort you to your vehicle, Ms. Parker. And trust me, you haven’t seen Manhattan until you’ve seen it from my vantage point. Let me show you.” He could muster up some charm. It had all gone down the toilet when he’d let his anger rule. Charisma worked better. He would know her secrets and figure her out. And once he had, he would be ready to let her go.
She squared her shoulders and slipped her arm through his. “All right. I guess it is the best way to avoid the press. Are we going back to the office?”
Right before he answered, a thought struck him. He should gauge how she reacted to being surrounded by Maddox Crawford, see if she pined like a lover or clammed up guiltily like someone keeping secrets. “Let’s go to Mad’s and see if he left anything that might help us figure out what he was up to before he was killed. We might be able to piece together some clues. Would you help me do that?”
The light came back into her eyes, and he felt her inch closer. Yes, he would definitely catch more Everlys with honey than vinegar.
She hesitated, as if she knew better, but then nodded.
“Keep your head down.” The rotors were really moving now. He had to yell over the sound.
When he started walking to the chopper, she did as he asked and stayed by his side. He settled her in and grabbed the headphones that linked him to Dax, passing another set to her.
“Are you two ready?” Dax asked, his voice coming in strong over the headphones.
“Everly’s never been in a helicopter before, Dax,” he replied. “Why don’t we give her a tour? You know the drill.”
There was a slight pause, followed by a little chuckle. “Well, now, brother, you know I never like to disappoint a lady.”
The helicopter lifted off the pad, and Dax turned it up just enough to send her right into his arms. Yes, Dax remembered the drill.
He eased Everly back into her seat and helped her secure her seatbelt. He was satisfied to let her be. For now. Once they were alone . . .
Gabe smiled.
EIGHT
Everly glanced around the library. It was surprisingly classic, even staid, given the fact that it was in Maddox Crawford’s bachelor pad.
Earlier, Gabriel had kept his promise to show her Manhattan from above. It had glittered like a jewel in the early evening. From those heights there had been no trash, rude people, or violence, only beauty. She’d felt safe with him. Which probably made her an idiot since he was a suspect in a high-profile murder. But her gut told her that he wouldn’t harm her.
After the exhilarating ride, they’d landed on the helipad atop Maddox’s building. The four-story brownstone was otherwise luxurious but unassuming. Since entering the place, Everly had been walking around a bit wide-eyed.
She’d expected everything flashy and modern, with all the latest gadgets and a flat screen as big as the one in Times Square. Instead, the place reeked of old-school elegance. Sure, he had contemporary leather sofas upstairs and Euro-modern cabinets in the kitchen—which should have looked out of place. But he’d also chosen fixtures and fabrics that bridged the gap between the Gilded Age and today, while keeping the character of the building. The plaster ceilings, medallions, moldings, and door casings blew her mind. Everything looked like it belonged in a magazine.
As they’d stepped down into the library, the sights hadn’t stopped. The cove ceilings towered above them. On either side of the room, built-in shelves painted a pristine white arched across the length and width of the wall. Each was lined with hundreds of leather books, and the smell was divine. At one end, a huge picture window opened up to the “garden level” and provided light to the sturdy antique desk beneath. A massive marble fireplace with ceiling-scraping mirror-and-wood detail dominated the other end. Dark hardwood floors added a cozy richness to the place. A cushy reading chair in a velvet bottle green occupied one corner, along with a globe in a floor stand. A pale beige sofa with softly colored pillows sat right in the middle of the room.
Everything shouted class. For all of Maddox’s faults, the man had possessed great style.
“Have you found anything?” Everly asked a couple of hours later as she caught sight of Gabriel at the big desk.
He looked up from what appeared to be a mountain of paper, a single sheet clutched in his hand. “Mad didn’t like to deal with trivial details. No idea why he’s keeping a receipt for booze he had at a party he threw two years ago. Did he want to be reminded of how much he overpaid the caterers? Seriously, he got scammed and hard. He paid a hundred thousand for champagne that wasn’t worth twenty.”
She sighed as she peeked at the receipt. “Given the date and quantity, looks like it’s a receipt for the champagne served at the foundation’s annual gala. The event is Tavia’s baby, though Valerie started handling most of the ordering and catering two years ago. I’m not surprised she would spend so much. She likes expensive things.”
He shook his head. “That’s what I’m saying. This brand isn’t expensive.”
“Well, this was for charity. Maybe Maddox needed an additional write-off. Or the hotel likes to up charge.”
“He liked to give money to a good cause, but overpaying for booze wasn’t one of them. Did he fire this Valerie person?”
“No.” Everly’s world would be a better place if he had.
Gabriel seemed deeply interested in receipts. She was, too, but not from Crawford Industries. Everly had spent the last two hours hacking into a coffee shop system. She’d traced one of her mystery e-mails to a coffee shop computer in Midtown and now she was going through credit cards. The shop offered free wi-fi and had four computers available for use by patrons.
With a little luck, one of thirty-seven people who purchased a latte within an hour before or after the e-mail was sent would turn out to be her mystery texter. She had to hope he’d also sent her the photos. Too bad the SD card was locked up in her office.
She’d been trying like hell to get back to her computer and look at more than the first two images. But the meeting Scott had pulled her into that morning had lasted until quitting time. Then the other VPs had insisted she come with them to a strategy session over dinner to prepare for the new boss’s arrival. When she’d finally left after ten that night, SD cards had been the last thing on her exhausted mind. Tuesday morning, looking at that card had been first on her agenda . . . until Hilary had called her into Gabe’s office and the damn world had blown up. Everly had every intention of getting back to the office and viewing more of the photos.
“I’m surprised he didn’t let her go.” Gabriel huffed. “Mad could seem like a happy-go-lucky screwup, but he didn’t suffer incompetence at all. Remind me to look at her file when all this blows over.”
Would she even be with Crawford Industries—or Gabriel—by then? “Let’s just do it now.”
Darting across the room to the plush chair, she grabbed Maddox’s sleek laptop, hit a few keys, and browsed.
“You have the permissions to view HR files?” he asked from across the room.
Everly didn’t answer right away, but it didn’t take longer than that to find what she needed. “I know how to get into the confidential HR files Maddox had access to. According to those, there hasn’t been a single firing at Crawford in over two months,
