Scandal Never Sleeps (25 page)

“You’re going after my dead father’s reputation? That’s very classy
of you. You’ll forgive me if I don’t stay around to help you out anymore than I already have, you bastard.” She darted away, racing for the penthouse’s front door, her heels clattering against the hardwood floor, echoing the pounding of his heart.

“Sara, I’ll have to call you back.” Because he couldn’t let Everly get away. God, not like this. She now thought the absolute worst of him. “Take care of you and the baby.”

“All right. I’m sorry, Gabe. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m being selfish. I love you.” Then she gasped. “I just saw online about you being caught in a fire last night? Are you all right?”

That was the Sara he knew, the sweet girl he’d played with during his childhood summers. “I’m fine. I’ll explain later. You have to trust me. I’ll call you soon.”

He hung up, resolving to ring Sara back as soon as he could, then took off after Everly. She must have heard the worst possible part of the conversation and coupled it with that fucking report he’d ordered. Now he had to find a way to make her understand. At this point, he hoped she’d even talk to him.

As he dashed to the front of the penthouse, he found Roman staring out at the private elevator door that only opened here and on the ground floor. Guests needed a code to come to Connor’s place . . . but anyone could go to the lobby. “What the fuck happened?”

“Shit. She ran off?” Gabe had expected her to be angry, upset. He’d suspected he’d be dealing with tears. He’d never imagined that she’d be impulsive enough to run. His whole body went into a deep freeze. “How the hell did she get that report? Where’s Connor?”

Roman’s eyes widened. “She saw the PI report? Fuck me. She must have walked in after Connor went to take a shower. I was trying to hunt down some breakfast. Shit. It was sitting on the table.”

Gabe didn’t reply. He was already out the door.

E
verly willed the elevator to move faster. The folder in her hand practically shook with her rage. God, he must think she was so stupid. The whole time he’d been telling her how much he needed her, he’d had an investigator pulling up all the worst parts of her past.

And those rumors about her dad. She knew who they came from—an ex-con her father had put away. He and his lawyer had tried every dirty trick they knew to get the conviction overturned.

While these rumors are likely untrue, the subject has a soft spot for her late father, according to many sources. Threats of ruining his reputation might silence her on the subject of her relationship with Maddox Crawford.

Or it might have the effect of her shoving something so far up Gabriel Bond’s ass he could never see straight again.

She’d climbed out of bed all but humming and come down the stairs with a satisfied smile.

After the night she’d spent with Gabriel, she’d been on top of the world. Cloud nine. Nothing would get in her way. She’d walked downstairs, ready to work. She needed to see if the receipts from the coffee
shop had yielded any leads on her mystery informant. The text from last night had been a bust. She’d already traced it to a burner phone.

She’d gone downstairs, ready to give Gabriel every shred of evidence she had. Connor seemed to know a lot about hacking. He might be able to help her, too.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t found Gabriel. She’d found this file.

She wasn’t going to cry, damn it. She promised herself. No tears. No moaning and wailing. In some ways, she’d earned this betrayal and pain by being so gullible. After all, what did a sex god like Gabriel Bond really want with her? But she refused to let him beat her down. Everly would not sit home alone with her doors locked, wondering where everything had gone wrong. She would pick up, move on, become even stronger.

But right now, the thought of shooting Gabriel Bond in his very talented man parts certainly appealed.

The elevator doors slid open. Through a watery film of her tears, she looked across the dark, private lobby. Crap. So much for not crying.

Trying to suck it up, Everly stepped out of the elevator. She had nothing with her except her purse, that folder, and her pride. She refused to need anything—or anyone—else.

She grabbed her cell and quickly dialed a familiar number.

Scott answered on the first ring. “Everly? What the hell is going on?” His shock was obvious. “Everything is insane here at the office. Did you really almost freaking die?”

She didn’t have time to explain last night or her private hell to him now. They could do that over cocktails at his place. “Can you pick me up?”

“Pick you up?” He hesitated for a moment. “I thought you were with Bond.”

She started across the lobby, eyeing the doorman ahead as he stood sentry in front of the lone door, its glass darkly tinted. “That’s done. I need help, Scott. You usually drive to work on Wednesdays, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve got my car here. Where are you?”

Somewhere on the Upper West Side. Last night she’d seen them drive past a couple of familiar landmarks. It would be best to walk to one of them. Everly had little doubt that Gabriel wasn’t done trying to control her, so he’d be hot on her heels. “Meet me at the Museum of Natural History. I’ll be waiting in the lobby. Text me when you arrive.”

“It’ll take me a while.”

So she’d get some overpriced coffee in the basement cafeteria and hang out with the blue whale until then. “That’s fine. Thank you so much.”

Everly hung up and bit her lip, glancing at the doorman guarding the exit. She marched toward him. No indecision. No hoping she’d misunderstood Gabriel. When he came down here, she didn’t want him to find her wringing her hands and waiting. She needed to be gone.

Everly didn’t have any cash with her or she’d simply hop into the first cab she could find. Yeah, she could use a credit card, but Gabriel would find her in two seconds on the grid. If he couldn’t track her, then Connor would.

Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed aside the pain in her chest. She’d deal with her broken heart later. For now she had to figure out how to counter everything in that damn report.

When she reached the doorman, he didn’t move a single tassel on his uniform, much less step aside so she could leave. “Miss, I don’t think you want to go out that way.”

“Yes, I do. Thank you very much.”

Reluctance crossed his face as he shrugged, opened the door, and stepped back. When she heard a ding behind her that sounded too much like the elevator, she dashed outside into a usual crowd of New Yorkers clogging up the sidewalk.

Suddenly, flashbulbs popped and a roar of shouts with the sound of her name startled Everly. These weren’t typical corporate drones walking to work. These people shoved video recorders, still cameras,
and more than a few audio devices in her face, all barking for her attention.

Crap, they were reporters, and they were everywhere.

Everly couldn’t move, couldn’t turn back around to the safe haven of Connor’s lobby again. They’d blocked her escape route and invaded her personal space. She felt panicky and sick, as if she’d either throw up or pass out.

“Ms. Parker, who’s the better lover? Gabriel Bond or Maddox Crawford?” A blond reporter thrust a microphone in her face.

A man with a camera elbowed the blonde out of the way. “Are you bitter that Maddox Crawford didn’t leave you his estate since you were his last mistress?”

“Is that why you’re sleeping with Gabriel Bond now, for the money?”

Everly tried to pull back, to push her way out of the crowd, but they circled her like hungry sharks refusing to be denied a long-awaited meal.

“Were you in on the plot to kill Maddox Crawford?”

“Did you set fire to the brownstone yourself? Or did Bond?”

“Did Bond and Crawford fight a deadly brawl over you?”

“Are you in love with Gabriel Bond?”

Her panic ratcheted up, threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t breathe or think with all of them in her face, hollering personal questions at a rudely impatient clip, as if the public had a right to know about her sex life and her feelings.

The tabloid journalists continued to hover. More cameras flashed in her face, their lights blinding her. Once more, Everly tried to backpedal, but the horde had closed ranks, creating an even tighter cage around her. She felt like a trapped animal. She couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, strong arms encircled and lifted her.

“Get back or I’ll have the cops arrest all of you,” a deep voice shouted behind her. Dax.

He’d come out of nowhere, but Everly sagged against him in relief.
She could handle herself in a one-on-one fight, but this was a mob. She was willing to do almost anything to escape this terrible harassment. She’d believed she would be safe here, but apparently that was another lie Gabriel Bond had told her to keep her compliant.

“Are you having an affair with Ms. Parker, too, Spencer?”

“Back off,” Dax roared, throwing a few elbows.

Finally, the vultures moved, parting reluctantly for his powerful body and insistent shoves. The doorman held the portal wide, and Dax hauled her into the dark lobby seconds later. As soon as the doorman pulled the opening closed, the overwhelming buzz of the reporters’ shouts receded.

Dax spun her around and studied her upturned face with a frown. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

Gathering herself, Everly straightened her hopelessly wrinkled skirt with shaking hands and told herself to use her head for once. She still faced the same problems she’d had before blindly walking into that mob. Dax might have been nice earlier, but he was Gabriel’s friend. He would always side with his pal. For all she knew, he’d helped put together the report on her.

“Leaving,” she answered finally, satisfied with the confident note in her voice. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”

Dax sent her a long sigh. “What the hell did Gabe do now?”

“Everly!”

She turned at the sound of Gabriel barking at her across the lobby. In that moment, she hated him with every cell in her body, and she still couldn’t help but think he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever known. When he stalked her way, her heart ached all over again.

She decided to talk to Dax. He looked like he would be infinitely more reasonable. Even though he would side with Gabriel, he wouldn’t break the law to do so. She hoped.

“I want to leave here.”

Gabriel huddled in beside her. The instinct to move away pressed down on her. She refused to give him the satisfaction. Instead, she
focused on Dax. “I want nothing to do with that man. If I can get out of this building, I already have a ride out of the city.”

It was a little bit of a lie, but she didn’t care. Gabriel had apparently told her many. What did her one hurt? She could easily take a bus if Scott couldn’t drive her that far. She would head to her aunt’s house in Connecticut. Let the press try to find her in the ’burbs. She wouldn’t leave the house. In fact, she could hide for weeks, maybe months. Her widowed aunt would be thankful for the company. Then Everly would move somewhere else. The West Coast sounded good.

“What did you do to make her run?” Dax demanded, sounding pissed off. His eyes went to the folder in her hand and he cursed. “I told you that was a mistake. Why the hell does she have that report?”

“Connor left it on the dining room table and then she overheard a conversation I had with Sara,” Gabriel began. “My sister was upset, so I told her what she wanted to hear. She’s already come close to losing the baby.”

So Gabriel meant to play it that way? Really? She wasn’t buying a word. Sometimes the best way to win an argument was not to engage. If she meant so little to him, then she needed to treat him similarly. People only fought for something if they cared, and Everly wouldn’t allow Gabriel to think she did.

“I want to leave. If you don’t allow me to do so, then I’ll call the police and explain that you’re holding me against my will.”

Dax gestured toward the door. “There’s the exit. Good luck.”

“Everly, you can’t go out there. They’ll tear you apart. Come upstairs with me, baby. Please give me a chance to explain. What you heard wasn’t the truth. I was trying to keep Sara calm. She’s in a bad place emotionally. And I can explain that report, too. Please come with me.”

She turned away and considered the door. She’d been shocked and overwhelmed when she’d first stepped out there. Maybe she could handle it now that she knew what to expect.

“I won’t save you this time,” Dax explained. “If you get stuck, you’ll have to get yourself out.”

So she knew where he stood. “That’s very gentlemanly of you.”

“I’m not a gentleman when people I care about are getting hurt. You aren’t thinking straight.” Dax shot Gabriel a dark glare. “Neither one of you is.”

The elevator doors swooshed opened. Roman and Connor stepped out.

Roman heaved a big sigh as he spotted them. “Thank fuck you caught her before she darted outside.”

Dax shook his head. “Nope. I was too late to prevent that. I was getting a cup of coffee—that’s now cold, I’m sure—because I thought my responsibility was simply to keep people out. No one mentioned that we’d have to keep them in, too.”

Connor frowned at her. “What were you thinking? Have you forgotten that barely twelve hours ago someone tried to kill you?”

She would never forget last night’s terror. She would likely go to her grave remembering her relief at taking her first smoke-free breath, and how good it had felt afterward to sleep in Gabriel’s arms. Too bad that amazing feeling would always be entwined with this morning’s humiliation. “Somehow I think I’ll be safer the farther I get from Mr. Bond. This is about him. Not me.”

“I disagree, Ms. Parker. And this is a conversation better conducted in the penthouse. So, if you’ll come with us . . .” Roman gestured to the elevator.

She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere except away from here and Mr. Bond. If you won’t help me, I’ll take my chances with the reporters.”

She turned away from them all. The last thing she wanted to endure was a lecture from these four men. They didn’t have anything close to her best interests at heart.

Someone caught her elbow. Everly glanced over her shoulder to see Gabriel with his hand on her and determination stamped across his face as he started to haul her back.

She had to stop treating him like her boyfriend. It was long past time to shut all the girly love shit down.

“Get your hand off me.” She forced every word out between clenched teeth.

“You can’t go out there. It’s dangerous,” he insisted.

“Last warning. Let go.”

“Everly, listen to me, baby . . .”

No, she was done listening. Instead, she plowed a fist right to his gut. Her street-smart dad had taught her how to defend herself. The time to be her father’s daughter again instead of Gabriel Bond’s stupid sex toy had definitely come.

Gabriel groaned and staggered back, clutching his stomach.

“Touch me again, and I’ll make it hurt worse,” she threatened.

Dax chuckled, looking almost impressed. “That must have stung, buddy. She’s had training.”