DEVAN
I sleep on the couch.
It’s the right thing to do, since we’re strangers.
I wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
Did I say sleep?
I only end up having a rough night.
This is usually the hardest night of the year.
The events of the tragic day replays in my head over and over again.
I can’t close my eyes in peace.
The explosion makes me open my eyes every time.
I see my father’s death right in front of me.
Each time, the pain pierces through my heart like a sword.
My mother’s scream is still in my head.
It happened eleven years ago but it feels like yesterday.
Losing a father.
I was only a teenager.
How does one recover from that?
How does one forget that?
Some nights it messes up with my mind.
It’s the reason why I haven’t given up on searching for his killer.
And after hitting so many dead ends, I finally have something.
So far my investigations are leading me to one man.
Benjamin Mendoza.
The head of the Mendoza syndicate.
The same syndicate we’ve been frenemies with for years.
Even though it’s just a hunch, at least it’s something.
Thoughts of my misery keep me from asking questions about her.
The stranger from the cemetery.
But they don’t distract me for long.
I lift my head to have a glance at her.
She’s quiet.
Peaceful.
Calm, for now.
I have so many questions that should be none of my business.
Why she didn’t want to go back home.
Why she really wanted me to kidnap her.
Why she said men are complicated.
Yes, none of my business.
Yet I asked Matias to look into her.
I know Matias is the best.
I’ll have my answers by morning and I’m going to hear about how competent he is for the rest of the year.
I wake up earlier than usual to make sure my visitor has everything she needs when she wakes up.
Why I care so much?
Well, I have no idea.
She should wake up and leave, but here I am ensuring she’s comfortable.
I walk to the bed.
She’s still peacefully asleep.
Her breaths are soft.
I’m lost in the moment taking in her features.
This woman is unintentionally beautiful.
She has her black hair in a messy bun, framing her breathtaking face.
Her skin looks soft to the touch.
My hands itch for it.
Her breaths rise and fall in a quiet rhythm.
Her lips are parted letting out soft breaths.
She suddenly looks like something fragile I should take care of.
I walk away before crazy thoughts start flooding.
I take a quick shower and head to my office.
When Miranda brings me coffee, I ask her to take care of everything my visitor might need.
She has so many questions about her but I dismiss all of them.
“I’ll just ask her when she wakes up,” Miranda says before she leaves.
Truthfully, my coming home late with a woman and taking her to my room is going to bring up a lot of questions and talks.
Lately, my position in the syndicate is being threatened.
Some old geezers have been eyeing my position for a very long time.
Creating issues after issues.
The most recent one has been about a wife and an heir.
Marriage has never been on my itinerary.
But with the ongoing pressure, I need something to shut them down temporarily while I figure out how to permanently deal with all the stubborn members in the syndicate.
Disunity in the organization is recipe for disaster, and the sooner I handle it the better.
I’ve been so caught up in finding my father’s killer that a lot of things have happened behind my back.
I need a balance.
About an hour later, my mother walks into my office wearing a mischievous grin.
That’s the last thing I expected this morning, considering what day yesterday was.
And how I left her last night.
Sleeping with my father’s photo.
“What’s gotten you in a good mood this morning?” I ask as soon as she takes the seat opposite me.
“Are the rumors true?” She squints at me, eagerly waiting for the tea.
I cock a brow.
“What rumors?”
“You know how the maids can get. They usually have the news before anyone.”
I narrow my eyes on her.
“Do I have any idea of what you’re talking about?”
“Oh, so it’s like that? You want to play games with your mother now? Do you know how long I’ve waited for a day like this?”
“I really wish I knew what you were talking about.”
“I’m talking about the woman you brought home last night, stubborn head.”
Oh…
This is what I was talking about.
It’s only morning and everyone is already drilling me about it.
She’s a stranger, and I’m pretty sure the first thing she’ll do when she wakes up is hightail the hell out of here.
Yet my people have already started getting ideas.
“Come on, I’ve never seen you bring a girl to your room, Devan,” mother comments.
“That’s because I like using hotel rooms.”
“Except yesterday. She must be special, huh?”
Yeah, I walked right into that one without thinking.
“It’s not what you think. She’s a stranger I met.”
She raises her brows, not buying a word.
“A stranger? Come on. You can do better than that.”
“I don’t even know her name.”
My mother bursts out laughing.
Just then the door cracks open and Matias walks in.
Just the man I was waiting for.
“We need to talk,” he says, and then looks at my mother.
“Morning, Mrs Galloway.”
Mother smiles at him.
“What’s good today?”
He walks in and takes the seat next to my mother.
“I just need to have a word with stubborn head here,” he says.
“I assume, in private?” Mother probes.
Matias nods.
She stands up.
“This conversation is far from over. You can’t hide her for good, you know.”
“Yes ma’am.”
As soon as she leaves, Matias looks at me, confusion written all over his face.
“What was that about?”
“Am I dreaming or is she in a good mood just the day after…”
“Where are my findings?” I cut him off.
He shoots me a glare.
“Only Devan Galloway would give me a picture of a woman and ask me to find out everything about her in a night.”
“Which is a piece of cake for you. Now, what do you have for me?”
“Wow,” he smirks.
“Look at you. Curious about a stranger. What are your plans for her? Are you going to release her or should we hold her captive.”
“Give me that file,” I order, ignoring his questions.
Admittedly, I also don’t know why I’m curious about this woman.
My mind goes back to how beautiful she looked while asleep…
No, no, Devan.
Focus.
Matias opens a file, and starts reading.
“Scarlet Miller,” he says.
“Twenty six. The only daughter of Patrick Miller, the owner of MPH.”
“MPH?” I raise my brows.
“Miller Private Hospital, numbnuts.” He glares at me like I have two heads.
“What?” I ask.
“You don’t know what MPH is?”
“Am I supposed to be the hospital’s expert?”
He shakes his head and proceeds.
“She is the sole air to MPH. Doctor by profession. Oh, she’s beautiful. Extremely beautiful. I should have led with that.”
Suddenly I want to throw a pen at him.
Or a book or a gun.
Or anything to bring his stupid head in check.
Why would he admire her like that?
And I don’t understand where this possessiveness is coming from.
“Just curious,” he looks up at me with a squint.
“What are your plans after I give you all this information about her?”
Truth is, I have no idea.
“I need to know about the woman who slept in my bed.”
Matias’s eyes light up.
“She slept in your room? Oh my God. You want to wife her, don’t you?”
Not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind.
A wife to shut the old geezers down.
I dismissed it as soon as it appeared.
Who in her right senses would agree to play wife to a stranger.
Besides, she seems to hate men a lot.
“If that’s your plan, you should unplan it,” Matias interrupts my train of thoughts.
“What?” I pry.
“Today is her wedding day.”
Now that’s the last thing I expected.
Her wedding day?
Why does that news suddenly annoy me?
Something doesn’t add up.
The woman I met yesterday didn’t look like it was the eve of her wedding.
Is it a forced marriage?
If so, they’ll have to unforce it.
The thought suddenly annoys me.
“Ohh, did I break your heart?” Asks Matias.
“Shut up, you idiot.”
“I can’t. Because I haven’t dropped the best part.”
There’s a best part?
“You, my friend, are harboring a missing person.”
I cock a brow and he proceeds.
“Scarlet Miller is trending because she’s missing. Her father is offering two million dollars to anyone who finds her.”