Page 10 of The Devil's Daughter

Baz lets out anoofand cocks his head to look at me, eyebrows raised. I nod in reply to his unspoken request. There’s no way in hell I’ll let anything happen to her.

He turns his head and presses his lips to her temple. “I’ll be fine. Anyone who plants cameras is likely a chicken-shit anyway. I’m hoping to plant a trojan horse virus in the feed so the next time they download the files, we’ll be able to track them.”

“You don’t think they’ve figured out we know? I danced for the stupid camera!”

“Then you covered it up,” he says. “They probably don’t know Drake ripped it out. If we leave the other cameras where they are, whoever placed them will be none the wiser. And after that dance, it’s clear you thought you were performing for someone you knew.”

“Hold on. You watched it?” I ask, stopping just as I’m turning for the door.

A smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth, betraying his amusement, but he clears his throat and shrugs. “Of course I did. I needed to start somewhere.”

I’m speechless and torn between charging over and making him show me and actually doing my job. My sense of responsibility takes over when Elle climbs off the bed and nudges me onward.

“It was just a dumb stunt. Nothing you need to see,” she says.

“It was classic Ellie,” Baz calls. “Also hot asfuck.”

Her cheeks turn pink, and I shake my head. “Girl, I knew you’d be trouble one day.”

“But you can’t deny you like it,” she says, batting her eyelashes in mock innocence.

I hook an arm over her shoulders, putting her in a loose headlock and pressing my lips to the top of her head. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You going to pack, Drake?” Elle asks as we head toward her door.

Drake shakes his head and hands my phone back to me. “I need to chat with Baz about something first. I’ll meet you up at the helipad.”

5

Elle

We leavethe penthouse with the scent of fresh meat on the grill. My stomach growls as I secure my seatbelt in the back of Drake’s helicopter. Ben’s settling in next to me, with Drake in the center of the bench seat opposite us. It’s comfortable and sleek, but very cozy in here. There’s barely more than a foot of space between the two facing benches, so our knees keep brushing as we get situated.

“Can’t we take some burgers to go?” I stare wistfully toward the edge of the helipad, beyond which is Drake’s rooftop patio and outdoor kitchen, where his chef started grilling our supper just before we decided we wouldn’t be staying. Duffy closes the door, trapping some of that delicious aroma in here with us.

“I’m not letting you stay in that place any longer than absolutely necessary,” Drake says. “Whoever’s watching doesn’t need any more ammo than we’ve already given them. I don’t even know how long they’ve been watching. It could’ve been months.” He looks a little pale, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Ben leans forward, pointing a finger in Drake’s bruised face. “You promised it was secure. That you have the place swept for bugs on a regular basis. Baz and I would’ve done it when we moved in, if we’d known.”

“I wasn’t lying,” Drake says, raising his voice over thewhap whap whapof the helicopter rotor picking up speed. “The last thing my former head of security did before he left was sweep for bugs.”

Ben raises a fist, points at Drake, and starts to yell something over the noise, but stops and just shakes his head, then yanks his headset on. He meets my gaze, and I can tell he’s pissed. But at least this means it’s nothisfault, right? Though he probably feels like he dropped the ball by not verifying the place was surveillance-free when we moved in. We had no reason not to trust Drake.

I’m not sure if I trust him now, though—not after learning he’d been spying on my work all this time.

There’s a mild lurch when the helicopter begins to rise, then it tilts as it veers out past the edge of the tower’s roof. I reach out and grab hold of Ben’s hand, grasping for the oh-shit handle above me with the other. I’ve never ridden in a helicopter before, but the adrenaline rush of soaring over the city is enough to distract me from the stress of the day. I laugh out loud when we head out over the water, flying toward the sunset. Across from me, Drake cracks a smile, and when I look at Ben, he’s begrudgingly smirking too.

“This is fun!” I yell, but can’t even hear my own voice. Drake taps the side of his headset, then lifts the controller attached to the cord dangling against his chest. I look down and find the switch and volume for mine, then turn it on.

“Can you hear me, Elle?” Drake asks, the question clear as a bell in my ears. His smooth, deep voice saying my name sends an involuntary shiver down my spine.

“Yeah, I hear you. This is amazing.”

“I wanted to let you know that we’ll have dinner waiting when we get there. You won’t go hungry. You’ll be every bit as comfortable as you were at the penthouse.”

“Thank you!”

He watches me a few seconds longer without speaking. Then his gaze slides to Ben for a split-second before shifting away fast, as if he doesn’t want to be caught looking. I look at Ben, who has his arms crossed and is outright scowling at Drake. I grab hold of his forearm and shake.

---