Page 70 of The Devil's Daughter

He takes a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “There’s something you need to know. Curtis Hagler was murdered.”

“What?” The blood drains from my face as I turn to stare at him. “Do you think it’s connected to this?”

“We have to assume it is. You said the last thing he did before resigning was sweep your place for bugs. What if he found the cameras, figured out who put them in, and whoever it was killed him to keep him from alerting you? Baz is upstairs checking into it to see if he can find any links to the people here.”

“Did he find a name?” I ask.

“No, but our contact sent us a copy of the forensics report. Ballistics on the gun he was shot with match the guns used by Typhon security. The same contact just texted to tell me the cops found the weapon. It was traced to the same dealer Typhon uses to supply our security department’s weapons. That’s too close to be a coincidence.”

I scan the room, but don’t immediately catch sight of any of the security. They’re good at sticking to the shadows, I’ll give them that. Something isn’t adding up.

“Should we read Karl Thomas in on these developments?” I ask.

Ben gives me a grim look, jaw clenched. “I wouldn’t. At this point, I need to caution you not to trust anyone except me and Baz—not even Karl. Pretty sure Elle’s brothers are safe too, but they might kill you just on principle.”

“With the evidence we have, are we even sure Sitnik is responsible?” I ask.

“There’s more than enough evidence to suggest Sitnik is the man we want. If he wants to take over, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty. He’d pay someone else and make sure he doesn’t leave any whiff of being involved. I prefer to assume the worst. If it isn’t tonight, he’ll try something else later. I’ll see if I can corner him alone soon and get something out of him. I’ll have Baz keep working on which of the security staff might be our hitman.”

I frown and shake my head. “Don’t make a scene. I don’t want the guests to lose faith in my dedication to this endeavor.”

“Well, forgive me, butIdon’t want you dead,” he says.

We have a stare-off for several seconds, and it’s all I can do not to kiss him. My adrenaline is high, which makes for a potent cocktail when combined with my attraction for both him and Elle. I suddenly ache for the night to be over, and without incident, so we can go back to the yacht and get her out of that damn dress.

“I’ll be careful,” I finally say. “I need to get back to my table. They’re serving the entrées now, and I need to eat fast so I can get back to schmoozing.”

I pat him on the arm and head to the table. Since there was no chance I’d split the group up, it meant enlisting Lindsey to set up a special table that could seat fourteen. All the other tables here are round and seat eight apiece. Ours is a long, oval table near the stage, the happy banter of the Santos and Flores families greeting me when I arrive and take my seat.

Elle gives me an affectionate look when I arrive, and I have to control the urge to lean over and kisshertoo. Fuck, I’m so lost over these two, it isn’t funny.

While we eat, a large screen descends to the stage and a video begins to play, giving an overview of the history of the shipping industry. Once that’s finished, an auction begins, offering luxury vacations to the highest bidders. The final auction will be for a yacht not unlike theBrizo, complete with all its self-sufficiency upgrades. Not all the guests are such high rollers, but a few are, including Miles Sitnik, who puts in the winning bid for the yacht.

A pair of seats at our table remain empty, and I catch Elle glancing at them periodically.

“He’ll be here,” I whisper.

“I’m not worried,” she says. “Marco’s life is pretty unpredictable.”

“You miss him?”

“I miss all my brothers. It’s too bad yours turned out to be an A-hole.”

I give a derisive snort. “I suppose I understand why I was never good enough for my father now—he already had a kid who was made in his image.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, clasping my hand under the table. “I suppose I got lucky in the big brother department. They’re all about as different from Dad as they could get. Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

She leans closer, bumping my shoulder with hers, and the faint, delicious scent of her body wash wafts over me. “For doing all this for me. Inviting them to come, even though you know they won’t spend any money.”

“I beg to differ,” I say, pointing out Mason, who is rabidly bidding against another guest for an all-expenses-paid vacation to Bali. He shakes his head and stops when the bid reaches mid-five figures. I lift an eyebrow as he faces the table again, laughing.

He accepts a conciliatory kiss from his fiancée, then says, “Was hoping to plan ahead for our honeymoon, but that’s too steep for me.”

“Tell you what,” I say, deciding on the fly that if I want to stay in Elle’s good graces, keeping her family happy is the best course of action, “when you two tie the knot, you can have theBrizofor two weeks. Go wherever you want on my dime.”

“What’s theBrizo?” Callie asks.

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