Hero Complex (22 page)

But then it all clicked into place. The hate in C.C.’s eyes spoke the truth plainly, and lined everything up like a slot machine.
Ping, ping, ping
. C.C. knew this because she knew that Karen Mackintosh had had an affair with C.C.’s husband, Edward Dover, Junior. His was the voice on the other end of that line. It not only explained the terrible present, it explained everything about her mom’s behavior for Devon’s entire life—including her push for Devon to apply to Keaton.

“He paid for my scholarship,” Devon whispered.

C.C. nodded. “I told him not to, but he wanted you to have the whole Keaton experience, I guess. Prepare you for life, opportunities, and all that.”

“Oh, God,” Devon mumbled. C.C. was right. Devon was
a bastard
. Images of sixteenth-century England and babies being dumped in gutters flashed through her head.

No, that hadn’t been her childhood at all. Her mother loved her. Her mother wanted a future for her—and Dover had seen to that, she now realized. She was the illegitimate daughter he had been keeping tabs on.

C.C. Tran had every reason to make Devon squirm. Here she was, at school in the same dorm with her daughter, walking around as living proof—a reminder of her husband’s infidelity. She was Maya Dover’s half sister. Jesus.

“Is it just me?” Devon asked.
Oh please, let it be just me
.

“As far as we know, yes. Just you.”

“Then what happened on the boat? Was that you? Because of this? Some sick revenge thing?”

C.C. finished her tea and smoothed her skirt as if preparing to leave. “I’m sorry, dear, I don’t know what boat you’re talking about.”

“Eli calling in for another waiter? Practically killing me? You wanted me out of the way. When that didn’t work, you bribed Dr. Hsu to keep tabs on me—”

“What a fascinating life you must lead!” C.C. snapped, glaring at Devon. “Jocelyn is an old friend of mine from Princeton. I may have nudged the Keaton administration to have her come in for your sessions instead of that underqualified oaf, Henry Robins. What he’s doing in that position, how they let you work with other students—it’s frankly a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

“So you set Dr. Hsu up to rat me out?” Devon almost felt as if she were back on the yacht, her legs giving out from under her, her head inches from the rail …

“She’s not working there anymore, so there’s nothing to tell, really. I think we’ve discussed enough for today, don’t you? Maybe you should head home and have a little talk with your mother.” With that, C.C. stood.

“Wait,” Devon said a little too loudly. “Someone attacked me and my friends. I deserve answers.”

C.C. looked around as if embarrassed by Devon’s outburst, even though there was no one else in the restaurant. “You know, young lady, Dr. Hsu had lunch at this very table, and she told me that she felt conflicted about you. Didn’t want to be a party to your deception or something to that effect. Our arrangement ended then.”

Devon leaned back and watched C.C. leave, her heels silenced by antique carpet, and then clattering on the polished wood.

Too bad she wasn’t hungry. Huntington House probably served a great lunch. But even if she wanted to order, the waiter was nowhere in sight. She doubted he’d return for any reason other than to kick her out.

Devon wasn’t sure where to start. Bodhi waited patiently for her to speak, but it didn’t feel right to tell him about the discovery about her dad until she had confirmation from her mom. There was still a chance C.C. could be wrong. Devon knew it was probably a 1 percent chance, but regardless, she decided her mom should still be the first person she told.

“So? You going to keep me in the dark?” Bodhi finally asked.

“She doesn’t know anything about Eli or the boat attack.” Devon kept her eyes on the street ahead. “But I was right about Dr. Hsu.”

“Wanna know why that’s super interesting?” Bodhi asked, unable to contain his excitement over news he was clearly dying to share. Why couldn’t everyone be as terrible at holding things back as he was? How could so many people be so good at keeping secrets—herself included? Wasn’t it contrary to human nature?

“Not really,” Devon deadpanned.

“I’m ignoring your sarcasm and telling you the goods, anyways. While you were in there with Medusa, Raven heard from our mysterious emailer.”

Now he had her attention. “Wait, the one that emailed Isaac?”

“And being the stir-crazy, broken-footed genius that she is, Raven already traced the IP address. It came from where you just dined.”

Devon’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? When did Raven get the email?”

“Like a half hour ago.”

“Then he could still be inside. Park the car. We gotta go back and get in there.” Devon was already halfway out the door before Bodhi took the key from the ignition. She ran toward the kitchen entrance she’d used with Cleo and Oz.

Bodhi caught up and closed the door behind them. They ducked behind the supply shelves. Cooks and sous chefs bustled around the kitchen chopping vegetables, marrying ketchup bottles, and cleaning stovetops. A lunchtime rush was underway; C.C. must have only booked the restaurant for a half hour or less. Just enough time to devastate Devon.

“There has to be an office down here,” Bodhi said. “Come on.” He took her hand and led the way. Around the corner, they spotted an open door. Bodhi darted forward, peeked inside, and turned to nod at Devon.

Holding her breath and her head high, she marched inside.

A guy was sitting at the computer in a tiny room with schedules and Post-it notes tacked all over the wall. He didn’t turn around. “I know, I know. Those lemons aren’t going to cut themselves.”

Bodhi locked the door behind them. The guy swiveled around in his chair, showing his dimples as he smiled.

“You again,” Eli said. He sounded bored. “I should have guessed.”

“Me again,” Devon said through clenched teeth.

“Who’re you emailing, Eli?” Bodhi asked.

Eli sized him up, but his eyes were blank. “Are you a member of this club, dude? I doubt it. So why don’t you two just get out of here before I have to defend myself against trespassers? I’d hate for anyone to get injured in the process.”

Bodhi’s hands tightened into fists. Devon could feel the anger radiating off of him; it matched her own.

“Hey, we’re here to help you,” Devon said, her breath coming fast.

“Yeah, how’s that?” Eli asked.

“There’s a lot of evidence pointing to you, Eli. An attempt on my life on New Year’s Eve. Trespassing on private school grounds and injuring a Keaton student. We have your hat, and the DNA matches findings from the yacht.”
Okay, that’s a bluff, but worth a shot
. Eli didn’t protest, however. “We’ve got emails between you and Isaac. Security-camera footage on the boat and at school.”

Eli shook his head and gave Devon a crooked half-smile. “You think it’s going to be that easy? You can’t trick me into confessing anything.”

“Fine, we’ll take Isaac’s word for it. Or his coworkers who can vouch for your presence that night.”

The smile began to sag. He shot a glance at Bodhi.

“Or you can tell us who hired you, and we leave you alone. There’s no way this all came from you. You don’t have that kind of cash to offer someone like Isaac. I mean, five thousand dollars? That’s gonna be hard to justify on your salary.”

Eli shifted in his chair, tensing as if preparing to pounce.

“It’s a pretty good offer, Eli,” Bodhi said. “The last guy Devon confronted just got convicted for manslaughter. She’s one-for-one. You want to add to that record? ’Cause we’re happy to make it two-for-two. Your call.”

After an excruciating ten seconds, Eli’s muscles relaxed. He
nodded toward the computer. “That’s her right there.” He scrolled through the chain of emails. “She hasn’t given her real name or anything. I’ve never seen her, but we have a drop spot. The members sometimes use our services for extracurriculars.”

“Wait,” Devon said. “This email was dated over a month ago, and then just yesterday she re-emerges to send this?”

Bodhi squinted at the screen. “ ‘We’re not done,’ ” he read. “That’s all it says. No name—”

“Yeah,” Devon interrupted, the slot machine in her brain clicking into place. “But who do we know that’s been out of communication for the last month or so and suddenly came back to the city yesterday?”

Bodhi bowed his head. “Maya,” he breathed, sounding as disgusted as she felt.

Devon glared at Eli, even though the glare was really meant for herself. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I let Eric talk me into getting her out of there.” She pushed forward to the computer and started typing. “She’s right. We’re not done. We need to rendezvous today. One
P.M.
Urgent.” She turned back to Eli. “Where is this drop spot you mentioned?”

Eli’s dimples faded into a scowl. “Upstairs. Library. You shut us down, though, you’re going to piss off people way bigger than this.”

Devon looked at Bodhi. He shrugged. They’d figure out what Eli meant by that later. Devon finished her email and hit
SEND
. “Okay, so now we wait.”

Eli stood, but Bodhi slid in front of the door.

“What?” Eli asked nervously. “You sent your email. You don’t need me anymore. Let me at least get back to work.”

“Sorry, man,” Bodhi said. “Probably best if we hang out here until our meeting. You’re too much of a liability.”

Eli laughed and sat back down. “Whatever, amateurs.”

“Maybe,” Devon said. She stood with her back to the wall,
facing him. “But if you’re lucky, the amateurs might keep you out of prison.”

W
HILE THEY WAITED
, B
ODHI
sent the email to Raven, who started tracking down the origins of the account. Even though Maya was the most likely culprit, Devon didn’t want to believe it until she saw Maya walk into that library.

Why Maya? She couldn’t figure it out. Had Maya planned this to get back at Devon for getting Eric to confess? The thought that Maya was actually her half sister and probably knew the truth about Devon hurt the most. But maybe the “why” was that simple. Maybe Maya had known about Devon her whole life, and had hated her illegitimate half sister before they’d even met.

At 12:55
P.M.
, Eli led them upstairs. Above the dining room was an ornate hallway, private rooms lining either side. The library’s thick mahogany double doors stood closed at the opposite end.

“So what? Members hire you for their dirty work?” Bodhi asked. He studied the framed photos of older club members that dotted the walls between the doors.

Eli sniffed. “You’d be amazed how much people will pay for a little muscle.”

“Saber,” Devon said. “That’s the email address. That’s your little side group?”

Eli smiled and shook his head at Devon as he opened the door to the library. Inside, it was exactly as Devon expected, almost like a movie set. Massive shelves with leather-bound books, wingback chairs, and crystal decanters full of Scotch. Bay windows offered a view of downtown.

Eli flopped into one of the wingback chairs with a
humph
. Bodhi opened a decanter. After sniffing the Scotch, he gave a low, impressed whistle. Devon sat across from Eli. She knew she would fidget too much if she was standing, and she wanted to come across as calm and in control as Maya had while orchestrating this whole mess.

The brass door handle squeaked. Devon sat up straighter in her chair. The first thing she spotted was a leg wearing khaki. Her eyes shot up, and the red birthmark confirmed it. This was the same scary guy that followed her in Berkeley. Afraid, she reached a hand out for Bodhi, but he was already standing beside her with a protective hand on her shoulder.

Khaki’s gaze switched from Devon to Eli. He backed up and reached for the door, but it was too late. Maya had already stepped inside.

She looked from Devon to Bodhi to Eli, struggling to put on a calm façade. Then she turned to Devon’s mysterious stalker. “It’s fine, Soto. Wait for me outside.”

Khaki nodded and left.

Maya rubbed her bulging stomach and made her way to the tufted couch, awkwardly easing into the cushions with a groan. Her cheeks flushed. “So you two are friends now? When did this happen?” She was talking to Eli, ignoring Devon.

He stared at his scuffed black waiter’s shoes.

“I think it was New Year’s Eve when we first met,” Devon growled. “Followed by a short meeting here in the kitchen, after which I met your good buddy, Isaac. Oh, and then Soto there stalked me across the bay. But then Eli came back and tried to run Raven over and steal her brother’s car. Does that about cover it, Bodhi?”

She glanced up. His eyes were squarely on Eli, watching for any sudden move. “There’s also a road trip to Montana,” Bodhi said.

“Right, that whole game with my scholarship to get me to rescue you. I should have left you with the nuns and a shotgun. I’m sure you’d have been fine.”

“So then you covered it all,” Maya said. Her voice was toneless.

“How did you get them to yank my scholarship? Was that your mom?”

Maya shook her head. “I made a deal with my father once I found out who you were. He could send you to Keaton as long
as you didn’t make a claim to your inheritance. Once we saw that you found the original agreement, you’d be too unpredictable. He agreed you had to go. Off campus, that is. I would have preferred a cleaner, more permanent solution like the one I tried on New Year’s Eve, but that’s just my luck. Eli couldn’t deliver.”

Eli was studying his fingernails.

Devon tried to process the words. Maya’s round belly and glowing cheeks made it difficult to grasp all the horror spewing from her mouth.
This girl is about to bring a life into this world. This sick, greedy sociopath …

“What do you mean, the original agreement?” Bodhi asked.

Devon gasped. “You mean between Reed and Keaton and Dover?”

Maya tilted her head, her eyebrows arched, waiting for Devon to continue.

“Oh my God,” she breathed. It hit her then:
Reed knew I’d never see the agreement unless I found the copy he’d hidden
. “All descendants have to agree. That’s what this is. You don’t want me to make a claim. You and Eric used the baby to bring your two families together. And with Hutch and Reed both gone, Keaton’s descendants long gone, I’m the only one left that could possibly stand in your way.”