Page 26 of His Impossible Heir

“Actually, it’s Ms. Thomas that we’d like to speak with.”

Amanda felt Daniesh tense and she leaned into him slightly, reassuring him. Immediately, he relaxed, but he also put his arm around her. It was a protective and possessive gesture.

“Ms. Thomas is here under my protection.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t argue. “Ms. Thomas, it’s our understanding that you know this man,” he said and pulled a picture out of one of the gazillion pockets that men have on their suits. Well, all clothing. Menalwayshad pockets. It was a conspiracy against women, she thought with a mental sigh.

He laid a small picture onto the coffee table that separated the two sofas and Amanda looked down at the image, then gasped. “That’s him!” she blurted, picking up the picture. “That’s the man who was shot in my hotel suite two nights ago!”

“That’s the man?” Daniesh asked.

“He was shot?” Sian Byrne demanded, leaning forward slightly. “Are ye sure, lass?”

There was a slight accent to his words, an Irish accent, but the man didn’t shorten or alter his words like so many other people with accents do. He was careful to enunciate each word perfectly. Almost as if he were trying to…hide something? No, that wasn’t right, Amanda thought, squinting at the man.

“Yes, this is definitely the man I saw in my hotel room.” She handed the picture to Daniesh, then shrugged slightly. “Not to be…well, harsh, but he had a bullet hole in his forehead. But yes, I got a very good look at his face while I was screaming for help. And yes, that’s the man who was killed.”

“Who is he?” Daniesh asked, handing the picture back to Levi Harris. He took it and stuffed it back into the handy interior pocket.

“His name is Milton Burrows. He used to be the accountant for one of the businesses that we own. He embezzled approximately five million dollars from us. We tracked the bastard here to Paris and saw the news yesterday about his murder.”

Levi leaned closer. “What can you tell us about him?” he asked, his tone implying a level of urgency. “What did he say? Who was he meeting with? We would appreciate any information you could provide about his intentions here in Paris.”

Amanda shrugged, feeling horrible that she couldn’t give them anything. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but whoever this man is, I never met him. I came back from an…uh… an event…and he was there, already dead in my suite. I never met him, hadn’t spoken with him, and I didn’t even know the man’s name until you told us.”

“He flew here to Paris as Milton Burrows,” Sian Byrne announced. “Although, we’ve since discovered that he has several aliases. He checked into the hotel under the name Henry Sullivan.”

Daniesh lifted a hand, stopping the next explanation. “Tito?” he called out. Immediately, one of the guards stepped into the library.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied with a bow.

“Can you explain what you and your team have discovered about the man found in Ms. Thomas’ room?”

Tito bowed slightly, then turned to face the others, including Amanda. “We located the hotel room he was staying in, which contained multiple identifications. He flew into France under the alias Milton Burrows, although we’re not sure how he boarded the flight under that name.” He looked at Mr. Byrne with a nod. “We also found three other passports and driver’s licenses, but none under the name of Milton Burrows, sir.”

The three men shared a look, their mouth’s compressed with frustration. It was Levi who spoke next. “Mr. Burrows, or Cologne…whoever the man was, is a person of interest in several other investigations in the US. There are other businesses as well as ours that had substantial amounts of money stolen. Some of them seem to be a bit less…,” he paused, considering his words, “…less forthright than others.”

“And you’re trying to get your money back?” Amanda asked, feeling horrible for these three handsome men.

Sian sliced his hand through the air. “The money is gone,” he said with a finality that Amanda couldn’t imagine. If she ever had five million dollars and it was stolen, she’d be angrier about the situation. Losing five million dollars would not be something she’d accept!

“You’re just going to forget about losing five million dollars?” she asked, stunned and confused.

All three men were hard and angry, but she didn’t get the sense that it was because of the money.

“Oh, the man stole from us and that piss…uh…angers us,” Levi replied, quickly correcting his word usage after a glance towards Amanda.

The silent man, the tanned Adonis, Mr. Matteo del Campo, finally spoke. “We suspect Mr. Burrows is part of a larger organization. There is evidence that he was not the mastermind of this organization.” His voice was deep, low, and as smooth as velvet with a lilting accent that she couldn’t quite place.

“So, you’re looking for the brains of the operation?”

Levi nodded. “We will shut this down and expose everyone involved with the embezzlement scheme.”

“What if they are dangerous?” Amanda asked, her voice soft with worry. She didn’t even know these men, but she sensed a deep well of integrity, and anger, inside of them. And determination!

Sian looked at her, his eyes hard but his lips curled into a half smile. “Weare dangerous, Ms. Thomas.”

For a moment, those words hung in the air. Amanda should be scared, but she wasn’t. Not even a little. These men wouldn’t hurt the innocent. After only just meeting them, she suspected that these men would fight for the underdog and the innocent. They were good, decent men.

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