He pulled the duffel he traveled with out of the small closet and traded his workout pants for a pair of jeans and his black t-shirt for a white one. He tucked the dirty clothes into his laundry bag and stashed the duffel back in the closet. Then he grabbed his wallet and headed back up the stairs. He needed to remember to ask Michelle if Emma had ever returned the key he’d left for her upstairs.
The barista was a long-time employee of Phillip, who owned the coffee shop and the lower level. It was his favorite spot to take his girlfriends and get away with telling his wife he was at work late without technically lying. He thought the whole thing was hilarious, but Jace didn’t care who he rented a room from as long as he had a place to sleep that wouldn’t leak when it rained.
The coffeehouse portion of the building was still packed from the morning rush, but all Jace had to do was make eye contact with Michelle and she gave him a knowing wink. She knew he always got the same thing and always tipped well, so she called out his order to the college-aged kid behind her who prepared the orders.
He smiled his thanks and hung back while he waited for his drink. A second later, the slightest movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He was being watched.
The man currently staring at Jace over the top of his newspaper sat a few yards away at one of the tables next to the window. Jace couldn’t make out his face, but his point of attention was unmistakable.
Damn it, if this was some trick or play by Emma, he was going to have to step up his asshole game. He looked over his shoulder and full-on glared at the man, silently telling him exactly where he could shove it.
But instead of looking intimidated, the stranger just tightened his lips and folded his paper. He then pulled out a chair and looked expectantly at Jace.
The kid behind the counter motioned to Jace that his drink was ready. He grabbed the green shake off the counter before he turned to sit with whoever the hell had been staring him down. “What do you want?”
The man looked to be in his early thirties and wore the type of crisp business suit that was so common here in the city. His face was cleanly shaven, and even though he was still young, he didn’t appear intimidated by Jace.
“Nice to meet you,” said the man. “I’m Michael Devereaux.”
Good God, another one of them. “So are you stalking your cousin now?”
Michael smiled bitterly, as though he knew exactly how messed up the situation was. “I try not to make a habit of it,” he said solemnly. “But this is for her own good.”
When Jace thought those same words, they sounded so reasonable. Somehow, hearing them from her cousin’s mouth made them sound much more dickish. “How so?”
“Emma wants your help digging into certain parts of Joslyn’s life. All I want you to do is keep her from finding out where all the big monthly deposits in her checking account were coming from.”
Jace snorted. “So what were you paying off the sister for? Some deep, dark secret you didn’t want Emma to find out?”
Michael didn’t answer. Instead, he reached down to his briefcase and pulled out a piece of paper before he slid it over the table to Jace. “This is how important it is to me that Emma doesn’t know where Joslyn’s money was coming from.”
Jace had to admit even he was surprised by the amount of zeros written on that piece of paper. And it took a lot to surprise him. “So this is pretty important to you.”
“Family is our number one priority.”
Our. So Michael wasn’t here just for himself. Either way, none of this changed his answer. “I’m not working for your cousin, so you can take your business elsewhere.”
Michael didn’t hide his surprise well. “I’m sure she offered to pay you well.”
Did Jace have some sign over his head that said he was desperate for money? “Oh, she did. I’m just not interested.”
Jace saw the frustration play over Michael’s face. “Shit. She could be halfway across the city by now.”
“So let her go. How much trouble can she really get into?”
Michael glared at him. “Gee, I wonder what could go wrong when Emma goes digging into a sociopath’s life. Who knows what kind of people Joslyn surrounded herself with?”
Jace stayed silent. Emma seemed smart enough, but she had met with him in a secluded, soundproof room without knowing anything about him. “Good luck with that.” He abruptly stood up. There was nothing more for him to talk about with any of the Devereaux family.
“Wait.” Michael stood and held out a business card. “Take this.”
“Good luck,” Jace muttered as he put the card in his pocket. He’d planned to go back downstairs, but an anxious energy coursed through him and he headed back to the street instead.
Emma Devereaux was asking for trouble. He thought back to his own brief interaction with Joslyn. One of the two-bit goons she’d hired had gotten the jump on him and knocked him unconscious. Stupid mistake on Jace’s part. He hadn’t considered that the doorman who wasn’t a doorman might have backup.
If he had underestimated the guys working with Joslyn, what was Emma getting herself into? How deep was she really willing to go to get to the truth?
For the first time, he actually entertained the idea of helping her. Really, it would be easy money. She’d overpay for his services and then he could bank if he took up the cousins on their offer, too. If he played his cards right, this could be the last job he needed to work. Sure, he could take on more for fun. Maybe even do some pro bono stuff for causes he actually cared about. Why not help out a fucked-up, rich family in exchange for buckets of cash?
All he had to do was keep Emma safe and far away from her family’s secrets. Maybe not the easiest job, but as long as he could keep her away from Victoria, he could make it work.
Emma sat on the brand-new looking sofa in the center of Joslyn’s apartment. Joslyn’s secret apartment, not the one she’d shared with her now ex-fiancé Terry Green. This was where Joslyn lived her double life. The apartment wasn’t even in her own name. It was rented by a “Casey Jones.” She had no idea what Joslyn was thinking when she’d set her plans in motion, but this was Emma’s starting point.
She glanced around the room. Bright pops of color against a mostly white pallet. Did Joslyn decorate this on her own or did she hire someone to do it for her?
Their family home was so different. Sure, they had grown up in a relatively extravagant mansion, but it was so homey and happy. Every piece of furniture had a history and a story. Every antique had been passed down through generations of the Devereaux family, and whenever Emma walked in the front door, she felt an immediate sense of warmth and security.
Was that how Joslyn felt when she came here? Was this were she found her warmth? Or was this just another tool she had to get Victoria Green out of the way to get her hands on the Green fortune?
Emma might never know if Joslyn refused to talk to her, which was a whole new level of frustrating. Was Joslyn mad at her? Maybe she felt too guilty to talk to family? Emma was going to get some answers, with or without Joslyn’s help.
Her phone buzzed from beside her and she debated even looking at it. Michael had called her three times already and was probably calling again. She couldn’t handle a judgmental talking down to right now. She’d been in a bad mood ever since she left the meeting with Jace, and she doubted that anything Michael would say would cheer her up.