The one time Emma ever tried batting her eyelashes in the mirror, it had looked like a nervous twitch. Not exactly the kind of thing that would get a man like Jace’s attention. Emma might’ve lived a protected life, but she knew enough about people to know Jace’s type. His lean, strong build suggested an athlete, but his reserved smile and world-weary eyes told her exactly what he was: a bad boy.
She’d seen his kind often enough. Usually they were the boys Joslyn brought home to meet their parents. During Emma’s long college career, she’d seen her fair share. In most cases, she kept her distance. She’d comforted Joslyn one too many times after she came home in tears, and Emma wasn’t about to get herself wrapped up in that type of man.
But in this case, Jace was exactly what she needed. Emma wasn’t stupid. Coming to town and looking into Joslyn’s life with a fine-tooth comb wasn’t something she was made for. Sure, she could hire someone to get access to her email or riffle through her bank accounts. But Emma wasn’t here for a distant analysis of what went wrong.
She wanted to see Joslyn’s friends. Someone or something sent her flying off the deep end, and Emma wasn’t the type to inspire, or intimidate, the truth out of people. Jace, on the other hand, could probably walk into the seediest bar in all of New York and have answers within minutes.
Emma slipped into her loose pair of jeans and her new t-shirt before she padded back into the living room. “Is food on the way?” She slid onto one of the three barstools against the stainless steel island that separated the kitchen area from the living room.
“Yep,” said Luke. “Should be here any minute. The owner knows us, so he makes sure our delivery is first priority.”
“You’re just that personable?”
Michael scoffed. “I think it has something to do with the tip we slip him whenever we order.”
“That sounds more like it.” Maybe she should try tipping more. Every time she ordered delivery from one of the few places around home, it took at least an hour to get the food. But that’s what she got for being surrounded by hundreds of acres of unpopulated land. Of course, as a result of not being able to easily eat out, she did have a huge collection of recipes she’d perfected.
“So I see you’re firmly in tourist mode.” Luke eyed her bright pink shirt.
She beamed as she looked down at her shirt. “Isn’t it adorable? I got a sweater too. I figured I have to while I’m here.”
“I can pull you a list of good places to hit up while you’re in town. I know I have a few meetings I can’t bail on this week, but over the weekend, Michael and I can show you all the great places.”
Emma kept the smile on her face even as she tried to think of a good out. She wanted to spend time with the cousins, she really did, but as far as they were concerned, Joslyn was no longer a member of the family.
Professionally, they couldn’t stand as a united front with Joslyn. Even if they didn’t think she was guilty, it was bad PR for their company. Though Emma knew that DevX would be safe no matter what.
Michael and Luke provided cyber protection software to some of the largest defense companies in the world. Even if they didn’t approve of the Devereaux family, as long as their corporate secrets were protected, they would still throw piles and piles of money at DevX.
“I really don’t want to disrupt your lives any more than I already have. I don’t need my own personal tour guides, promise.”
Michael took a seat on the stool on the other side of the island. “So where all did you go today? You said you got some sightseeing done.”
“I actually stumbled on this little bus tour. They took me on a great uptown loop. I got to see Times Square, Broadway, and a bit of Central Park. Some place called Star Spangled Bus Tours.”
Luke and Michael exchanged a quick glance and Emma tightened her lips. What had she said wrong?
“How did you hear about the tour? Was it something you wanted to do when you got here?” asked Luke.
This was a trap. She knew it. “I happened to walk by the ticket sales booth when I was out today.”
“You mean the booth right outside Hunt Tower where Green & Sons corporate offices are located.” Michael handed a beer to Luke before he twisted the cap off his own.
Yep. Trap. “You know what? I think the tour did point out Hunt Tower. That’s an astute observation, guys.”
Luke slammed down his beer. “Damn it, Emma. What were you doing over there?”
“I didn’t realize I needed your permission before I go out. Or is that another one of your rules, Luke?”
“I’m not the bad guy here.” He leaned forward to rest his palms on the island and stared her down. “Victoria was almost killed by Joslyn. I don’t want you anywhere near her.”
“I just need to ask her a few questions. She was closer to Joslyn before she went over the edge than anyone else. A few minutes of harmless questions.”
“Harmless to you, maybe. But if you bother her, you’re going to have a lawsuit on your hands, if not a trespassing charge. Do you really want to be in jail the same time as Joslyn?”
“Victoria Green isn’t going to send me to jail. She’s a reasonable woman,” said Emma patiently.
“Victoria Green is reasonable, and any reasonable person would call the cops as soon as they see the family members of their attempted murderer.”
Emma stared at Luke, refusing to back down. Of course he didn’t want her looking into Joslyn’s secrets. The whole thing was cut-and-dry to him. “You never liked Joslyn. You’re probably happy she’s going to prison for the rest of her life.”
“No, she’s not going to prison for the rest of her life. She’d have to actually be convicted of murder for that one.”
Emma stood and pushed away from the table. “I think I’ll take my dinner in my room, Luke.”
“Damn it, Emma, wait.”
But Emma didn’t want to hear his apology or excuse or whatever he was going to give her. Luke and she had been down this road before. He would warn her away from Joslyn, and she would accuse him of being a cold bastard.
Even so, she had kept her distance from her sister. How many calls had Emma let go to voicemail? Or the times Emma knew Joslyn would be in town, she’d never gone the extra mile to see her or make sisterly plans.
“Let me know when the food gets here,” she shouted before she shut the door to the guest room. Luke hadn’t followed her out of the kitchen, but she hadn’t expected him to. They’d had this fight before and it always ended the same way: with both of them pretending nothing happened.
She was apparently being anti-social for the evening, so she decided to crack open her computer and try to get something accomplished.
She dug the small business card out of her purse and looked over the simple black text. Jace Lance, Security Consultant. The only contact information was a phone number, and it didn’t specify whether it was a cell or landline. Emma bit her bottom lip as she set the card aside and pulled out her laptop. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t likely to get any information from what little she had. No way of telling whether Jace was just some crazy guy she’d met on the street who happened to be smoking hot or a qualified investigator who happened to be smoking hot.