AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shane, I’m happy you’re here. Nat really misses you,” I said as he sat down.
He snorted. “Trust me, I know. She never lets me forget it. It gets very annoying.”
“Listen,” I took the leather chair across from where he sat, “you can be pissed off all you want, but don’t be an asshole. Your sister only wants to help you. So do I.”
“Did she put you up to this?”
“No. She has no idea about any of it,” I said. “All of this is completely off the books.”
Just as I was ready to get this shit moving forward, Jim walked into my office.
“Hey, Jim,” I said. Jim wore his usual dark expression reserved for business situations and people he didn’t know, especially on the top floors of his skyscraper. It probably intimidated the shit out of Shane. “This is Shane, Nat’s younger brother.”
Shane sat up from his slouched position on my couch as Jim walked toward him. “Shane,” Jim said, reaching over to shake the kid’s hand. “I’m Spencer’s good friend, and I—”
“Holy shit! You’re James Mitchell, aren’t you? No way.” He shook his hand nervously, looking jittery, sweaty, and almost starstruck.
I wished I could’ve laughed, but Shane being obviously high on something and treating my best friend as if he were a celebrity made me feel embarrassed for the kid. Fortunately, I knew Jim well enough to know he’d dismiss all the bullshit and see that the kid needed help more than he needed judgment.
“Jim’s going to help us out a bit. He has the connections we need to get answers to your issues and get them fast,” I said, moving on.
“What can you tell me about your dad?” Jim asked, easing into the conversation.
Shane froze, looking over at Jim. “My dad? What is this all about? I thought—”
“None of this is an attack on you, Shane,” I said, gripping his arm reassuringly. “But it affects you and your sister. It has for years, and we want to help you with it. It’s time we put these demons back in hell where they all belong.”
Shane looked between my friend and me, caught off-guard, his soft brown eyes like a frozen deer. Then, slowly, the skin between his eyes began to unknot, and I saw his breaths start to come more easily.
When he finally nodded, I sighed quietly in relief. Then, the three of us put our heads together, talking about how shitty his life had been growing up with that monster they called their dad.
Chapter Thirty-Three
NAT
I finished viewing three properties for Jon-Michael Forten, a billionaire investor who lived overseas, and now I had my work cut out for me. I knew the man would disapprove of the location of the homes and their lack of privacy even before I went, but he insisted I look anyway.
He had a particular taste, down to the position of the toilet in relation to the bathroom sinks and the exact distance of the indoor pools to the spa and sauna, and the list just went fucking on. Outside of the amenities he expected to have inside his potential home, the outside was expected to come complete with tennis courts, basketball courts, infinity pool with a glorious view, and, needless to say, I was not finding anything to match his demands.
The last option I had was the suggestion of a complete interior renovation, which would only work if I could meet his specifications outside. So, instead of calling to tell him these houses weren’t going to cut it, giving him a chance to assume I failed at my job even though his expectations were extraordinary, I was going to get creative. I never failed at anything, so I’d be goddammed if a diva billionaire was going to trip me up.
I needed to get to Spencer’s place, which wasn’t far from the house I was leaving, and figure this out. And I knew who would be able to help me with my problem.
“Bree?” I said after she answered my call as I pulled into Spencer’s driveway.
“Hey. Are you okay? You sounded pissed in the voicemail you left me.”
“I’m sorry. I was frustrated after being let down for the millionth time today, looking for property for my client. This shit is wild. If I could miraculously find something he would like, which seems impossible at this point, the damn places are selling so quickly that I can’t even get in to look at them.”
“That never seemed to be the problem before,” Bree said through her car phone with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes, stepping out of my Range Rover and walking through Spencer’s garage as the door rolled closed behind me. “Yeah, well, that’s before I was with Spencer. It’s easy to get a heads up on a killer listing when you’re banging multiple brokers in the area.” I laughed as I turned to ensure the door from the garage into the house closed behind me before I walked inside.
“I wish I could say I’m surprised.” A feeling of dread rolled up my spine when I heard that voice, one I never thought I’d hear again. My jaw might as well have hit the floor when I came face-to-face with Satan’s sister.
“How the hell did you get into this house? Does Spencer know you’re here?” I questioned. I couldn’t tell which emotions were pulsing through me, but it was probably a combination of shock and horror. I couldn’t comprehend how Heidi was here.
“I have a key and all the security codes, of course,” she said, looking at me like I’d asked the stupidest question of all time.
