Page 85 of Beautiful Revenge
His eyes fall shut as he exhales an exhausted breath. “I shouldn’t be surprised. What can I help you with?”
Felicity’s tone lowers even further into a manic whispered hiss. “She’s back. I don’t know what to do!”
Devon’s fingers press into the skin at my hip. “Who’s back?”
That’s when it happens, and it’s not a whisper or a hiss. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Even from the background it’s loud and angry. “I demand to see my daughter!”
“No,” I say as I move off Devon’s lap to stand. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s making quite the scene, Mr. Donnelly. She’s demanding to see Ms. Madison, and she wants it to happen now. I offered her the conference room, but she refuses.”
Janie continues to yell in the background. “You can’t keep me from Harlow! I know she’s here, dammit!”
Devon stands and moves for the door. “Tell her I’ll be right down.”
“No.” I grab his arm to stop him. “She’ll continue to make a scene until she gets what she wants. It’s how she manages any situation. Let her come up. I can handle her.”
Devon narrows his eyes. “You want her to come here?”
“I don’t want her anywhere on the west coast, let alone here, but I can handle Janie.”
Devon lifts his chin and sighs. “All right, Harlow agreed to see her. Send her up.”
“Oh, thank you. I’ll do so right away.”
Poor Felicity. Is there a bouquet of flowers large enough that saysI’m sorry for being a pain in the ass?
I don’t know what Devon sees in me. All I do is cause him one mess after another. I won’t blame him if he has a change of heart and kicks me out.
Devon
If the banging from the hall is any indication of the drama about to ensue, I may be forced to call Moretti just for fun. If this isn’t disturbing the peace on my property, I don’t know what is. I wonder how Janie Madison would deal with spending a few hours in the Winslet slammer. It’s old school with the antique keys and black ink for finger printing.
I take my time sauntering to the door. Harlow raced to the guest room to get dressed since all her things are still there.
The banging stops before I have the chance to open the door. Janie is standing at the suite across the hall, the same one Harlow used for her bridal suite.
“Who the hell are you, and where is my daughter?” she demands.
The only reason I know the man standing in the doorway in nothing but sweatpants, is because he’s a friendof Bella’s. I made sure they were booked in the suite for their honeymoon. And now I realize this is the couple we passed getting off the elevator yesterday.
Rocco Monroe crosses his arms over his bare chest and frowns down at the woman who isn’t only a pain in Harlow’s ass, but mine, and apparently, his. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but the only woman in my suite is my bride. How did you get up here? I thought this was a secure floor.”
It’s time for me to butt into this conversation and get Janie the hell away from my guests. “It is secure. She’s banging on the wrong door.”
Janie spins on her low heel, and her eyes widen when she sees me. She’s taupe from head to toe with the exception of the navy cardigan draped over her shoulders. If she’s been traveling all day, she sure doesn’t look like it. Her bleach blonde hair is perfectly styled into her signature helmet ‘do. If a hurricane blew her over, not one hair would move.
She grips the strap of her designer purse. “What do you mean I’m at the wrong suite? This was Harlow’s room, and she said she was staying here.”
A petite, dark haired woman peeks around Monroe. If I remember right, her name is Teagan. “Is that room service? I’m starving.”
He puts his arm around his bride and tucks her into his side. “Not yet, baby. Wrong room.”
Harlow appears next to me wearing shorts and a fresh t-shirt. I much prefer her the way she was—in my shirt and on my lap. “I’m sorry my stepmother bothered you. It won’t happen again.”
Janie crosses her arms with a humph. I’m surprised she doesn’t stomp her foot like a toddler. “After all these years, and all I’ve done for you, I’m more than a stepmother, Harlow. And what are you doing over there?”
“Let’s take this inside so my guests can get about their day.” I turn my attention to the newlyweds. I don’t tell them that I’ve been too busy with bullets flying, tending to the woman I’d like to keep in my bed, and hacking into private networks on Ozzy’s satellite system. But I do offer Rocco Monroe my hand and introduce myself. “I haven’t wanted tobother you. I’m Devon Donnelly, Bella’s brother. Congratulations on your marriage.”
