Chapter 16

Chase arrived before Piper for the sole purpose of braving his father’s personal space by himself.

Dinner with her the night before had been the highlight of his month, probably longer. Once they put to bed the subject of his father, he found conversation with her both delightful and entertaining. She did not have a filter and had no problem saying whatever she was thinking. Somewhere in the middle of their dinner, he thought about how much his mother would like her. Their deep dislike for his father would be the glue to bond them for life.

The only subject she didn’t press was Chase’s unease in his father’s home.

She saw it, though. He could tell by the way she softened her gaze and dropped the subject when he didn’t respond to her questions. But she didn’t press.

Chase appreciated that.

The thought of digging through the clothes his father was wearing on his last day alive left a bad taste in his mouth. Truth was, Piper’s conclusion that the keys they were looking for were probably in that pile was likely correct.

Somewhere close to midnight, long after he’d followed Piper down and out of the Beverly Hills driveway, he chided himself on not paying the locksmith to break the lock in question. He’d been so hyperaware of the house locks and letting Piper sleep as long as she needed to, he didn’t even consider that option.

Today they’d get into the drawer one way or another. Both would require a trip to the garage. One to find the keys his father carried with him on a daily basis, and if that failed to manifest . . . a sledgehammer would do.

But first, Chase climbed the stairs and wandered into his father’s bedroom. The bed was perfectly made. The number of pillows was just enough to be attractive but not overdone, as so many women liked to do. The knickknacks were less personal and more out of a magazine. No pictures of fond memories. Then again, what could the man be proud of? The wife he knew was there for the money he gave her? His children that he all but ignored growing up and didn’t know as adults? No, Aaron Stone could take a selfie with himself and a handful of hundred-dollar bills. He spent his whole life building an empire and not cultivating one meaningful relationship in the process.

Chase walked around the room and into the closet.

He found the drawer with several watches, another with belts, ties . . . wallets and sunglasses. And tens of thousands of dollars in suits. Everything had a brand name and was likely tailored to fit him perfectly.

Chase was staring at his father’s shoes when his phone rang.

It was Alex.

“Hey.”

“How are you doing?”

She knew he was going to dig deeper today at the estate and had thanked him repeatedly for taking one for the team. “Our father had a lot of stuff.”

“I’m sure he did.”

He put the phone on speaker and set it on the island in the closet. “What do you want to do with it?”

“Is arson out of the question?” she asked.

“We’d have to cancel the insurance and make sure the fire didn’t spread. Even then, it’s still risky.”

Alex moaned. “Any sign of Melissa today?”

“No.”

“That’s a plus.”

Chase moved hangers and looked at the suits. His father did have good taste in clothing.

“How is everything there?” Chase asked.

“Definitely getting the icy shoulder from Gatlin. Anytime I ask a question, he seems annoyed I don’t already know the answer,” Alex said.

Chase paused his inspection of the clothes as a memory crept in. “Do you remember that guy that came to the funeral?”

“Could you be more specific?”

“The hotel one . . . Morrison?”

“I didn’t meet him, you did,” Alex reminded him.

“He opened the door for us to call him. I bet he could help us navigate this transition. Without an ulterior motive.”

“What are we waiting for?”

“I’ll give him a call.”

Alex let out a huge sigh. “How hard would it have been for our dad to mentor us for this?”

“Too hard, apparently.”

“If I ever have kids, they’re going to grow up in this building.”

Chase knew her frustration. “One thing at a time, Alex. What do you want to do with Dad’s clothes? You don’t think this mystery brother of ours would want them, do you?”

“Considering this man was even further removed from our soulless father, I doubt it.”

“Some fresh-out-of-college kids would bend over backwards for these suits. I say we donate all of it. Stuart said we couldn’t sell anything until we find the brother, he didn’t say anything about personal donations. Sadly, Armani suits aren’t considered an asset.” Chase lifted a pair of shoes, realized how little wear appeared on the sole.

“Perfect. Want me to look into that?”

He dropped his hands to his side. “No. Piper has a knack for that kind of thing.”

Chase’s words fell out of his mouth as movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Piper stood there staring, arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face.

“Even better,” Alex said.

How much had Piper heard? “Listen, I’ve got to go.”

“I’ll check in tonight if I don’t hear from you.”

“Sounds good.”

Chase ended the call. “Hi.”

Eyes lifted in accusation. “Brother?”

One word, and Chase knew exactly how much she’d heard. “Yeah,” he said on a sigh.

“You were going to tell me . . . when exactly?”

“Eventually.”

She pointed toward the door. “I’ve been busting my ass looking for a woman, not a man. This information would have been helpful.”

“We are looking for a woman. The mother . . . which should lead us to the brother.”

“The brother. Aaron had another son?”

“Apparently. We just learned about it . . . him. We can’t let this get out. Not until we find him.”

Piper moved into the closet and stood on the opposite end of the room. “The hush money was I don’t want to be bothered with a kid, so here’s money and go away money.”

“Essentially.”

Why did she look so stricken with the news? Surely, she couldn’t think this was out of the realm of possibilities when it came to his father. “Makes me sick.”

“I would have told you sooner, but I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

“You didn’t tell me now.”

All right, that was true. “I’m explaining things to you now. No one knows about this person outside of the lawyer, Alex, me, and our mother. We think that whoever this guy is, he has no idea about who his father was, or he would have come forward by now. But the mother must know about our dad.”

“Yet she hasn’t come forward.”

“Or she’s waiting.”

“For what?”

“No idea. Either way, we need to find her and him. We can’t even sell this house until we do.”

Piper lifted her arms to the room. “This house, or that hotel . . . or that resort.” Their eyes met. “Or shares in the company.”

“That’s not our intention.”

“Your collective stock split three ways . . . if this brother wanted to sell, that could throw controlling interest over the line, depending on who buys it.”

Chase waved a hand in the air. “Barely.”

“There are some sharks on the board that would find a way to push that line. Yarros comes to mind.”

“That’s tomorrow’s problem.”

“It’s a huge problem if someone finds him first and talks him into selling. Why are you being so casual about this? It’s a big deal.”

“We know that, Piper. That’s why we’re here digging into everything of Aaron Stone’s so we can remain in control of the situation. Alex and I know what’s at stake.” Chase tried to keep his voice even but found it elevating to match Piper’s.

“Damn.” Piper sucked in a breath. “Wait . . . can you even take a vote on the board without this guy?”

Well, hell, that didn’t take long for her to catch. “It’s questionable.”

Piper shook her head. “You can’t vote with someone else’s shares. You need to find this guy before the board catches on that you’re stalling.”

“And so we can sell things like these.” Chase picked up one of the many watches sitting in their own drawer in an effort to change the subject.

Piper started to nod, then narrowed her gaze at the drawer. “Where are they?”

“Where are what?”

She walked to his side and opened the watch drawer farther. “The watches.”

“These are watches.”

She ran a finger over each one. “There were over two dozen of them yesterday. One had diamonds all over it. God-awful gaudy, but probably worth a small fortune.”

Chase looked back in the drawer. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She lined the watches up close together. “This was completely stuffed with only one unfilled spot. That’s what made me think about what your dad was wearing the day he died. He probably had one on.”

He ran a hand over his jaw. “Melissa.”

“You think—”

“Who else? There’re security cameras, but I doubt we’re going to see anyone coming and going in this house other than us and Karina.”

“Karina wouldn’t. Besides, she wasn’t here yesterday.”

“But Melissa would.”

“Do you want me to call the police?”

Chase shook his head. “No. I’ll call Stuart. We’ll handle this a different way. Truth is, I don’t even care. Nothing in this house is of value to me. But this brother of ours . . . who knows. Alex and I need to manage this estate as if we did care, and we wouldn’t be doing that if we ignored someone stealing right before our eyes.”

“Wow, your dad did a number on you.”

That sounded like Piper thought he needed therapy. And maybe he did, but not today. “I want to minimize that number by getting through as much of this crap as possible as quickly as possible.”

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s check out his car, the garage is a space we haven’t overturned. Or smash open the file cabinet with the locked box.” She started walking out of the closet. “That might be therapeutic. Beating up something your father owned. Like the car scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

He hadn’t seen the movie. “What did the car do?”

“Nothing. The dad loved and spent more time with his car than he did his kid. So, the kid beat it up.”

“What kind of car was it?”

“I don’t know. Something old and vintage. Jaguar, Ferrari? I’m not a car buff.”

“Was the dad pissed?”

Piper stopped halfway down the stairs and turned to look at him. “You haven’t seen the movie?”

He shrugged. “Is it recent?”

“You’re kidding, right? It’s an eighties classic. One of the best films ever made.” She started back down the stairs. “Teenager coming of age.”

Chase went back to trying not to watch the sway of her hips as she led the way.

He failed miserably, but he was trying.

“I’m not a teenager.”

“You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy it. I think it reminds all of us about the joy of living. You need to put that film on your bucket list.”

Piper headed for the front door since it was faster to get to the freestanding garage from there.

“I’ll make you a deal, I’ll watch the movie as soon as you get your passport.”

By now, he was at her side.

She looked up at him. “How much does it cost to get a passport?”

“I don’t know . . . a hundred bucks, maybe.”

She pointed to her chest. “You pay for my passport, and I’ll pay for your movie rental, Mr. Gazillionaire.”

“Deal.”

She lifted her hand, extended her pinky.

“What’s that for?”

“Pinky promise.”

He laughed. “How old are we?”

“Young enough to know the power of a pinky promise. Handshakes are for business professionals that have no intention of making good on their deals without a lawyer tweaking them. So how good are they?”

He went ahead and looped his pinky to hers and enjoyed the spark that rolled up his arm with that brief, innocent touch. She let go way too soon.

“No Kit today?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I can’t let him get used to coming to work with me. He doesn’t fit at the office.”

“He could. As long as he doesn’t eat anyone.”

“Too much of a distraction.”

He didn’t have a problem with dogs in the office so long as they were behaved.

They walked around to the side door of the garage and walked in.

Chase flipped on the overhead lights as a line of cars came into view.

Piper blew out a slow breath. “Wow.”

He pressed several buttons and opened the individual doors to each bay. Only one slot was empty. The one Melissa had used, presumably. There were still five cars lined up.

Chase rubbed his hands together. “Which one should I beat up?”

Piper started shaking her head. “Not that one, or that one.” She pointed to the Aston Martin DB9 Volante convertible and a Porsche 911. The Aston had been Melissa’s, and Chase assumed the red Porsche had been his father’s.

“You have good taste in cars.”

Piper walked in a trancelike state to the DB9 and opened the door. “What does something like this cost?” she asked as she moved to sit in the driver’s seat.

“That one . . . probably about three hundred and fifty thousand.”

Piper jumped up and out of the seat before she could swing her legs in. “Holy crap.”

He laughed. “It won’t bite.”

“You sure? I don’t want to scratch it.”

Chase opened the door wider.

She lowered herself in . . . slower this time. “It still smells new.”

“Rich people don’t drive old cars. They collect them. My dad wasn’t a collector.”

On the passenger seat sat a large-brimmed hat.

That she had no problem grabbing and plopping on her head.

“I take it this was Melissa’s.”

“She drove it, but it belonged to the estate. Like the house.”

Piper sighed and ran a hand over the steering wheel. “Your dad had billions, why did he care if his wife got the car after his death?”

“According to my mother, it was because he didn’t value women. Only what they could give him.”

Piper looked up at him. “Then why did he leave a portion of everything to his daughter?”

“My best guess is that he knew how close Alex and I are. I’d have given her half anyway. Or a third, as it stands. This way, he doesn’t look like the ass after his death.”

“And taking the house and the cars away from the wife makes him look good?” Piper asked.

Chase shrugged. “Melissa signed a prenup. On top of what she was promised, she was allowed to keep any gifts he gave her. He gave her a lot. Any more and who knows . . . she might have been motivated to end his life prematurely.”

“I admit, when the news came about your dad, my first thought was someone had killed him.”

“We wondered that, too.”

Piper pushed out of the car, which was a bit of a chore considering how low to the ground it was. “Such a soap opera.”

“Don’t forget the missing brother.”

“Any other craziness that your dad did that we don’t know about?”

They walked behind the other cars. Piper pulled the hat farther down her head. It was over the top and didn’t look like her at all, but it made him smile. “He hasn’t been gone a month. Who knows what we’ll find.”

“Seems longer than that,” she said.

He agreed but left the words unsaid. “Which car did he drive to work?”

Piper nodded toward a black sedan. “The BMW.”

Chase moved around to the driver’s side, opened the door, and peered around inside. No bags, nothing personal.

A single smart key had been tossed into the cup holder, probably by whoever had picked it up from the hospital and driven it back to the house. There weren’t any other keys attached to the ring, suggesting that this was a spare.

Using the key, he popped the trunk.

Piper was standing a few feet away, looking out over the driveway.

“Is someone coming?”

“I thought I heard something.”

Not seeing anything, Chase lifted the lid of the trunk and saw two white bags with the words Patient Belongings on them. “Found it.” Finally, a break in finding what they were looking for.

Piper turned, a smile on her face, and moved to his side.

Instead of removing the bags, he picked up the ends and dumped them right there.

A suit jacket, shirt, and pants . . . all wadded up, came out first.

Chase heard Piper moan. “Oh, yuck.”

He looked at the clothes to see what it was she was referring to. “What is it?”

“His cologne,” was all she got out before she darted away.

Outside the garage, Piper had one hand on the wall, another holding her stomach as she doubled over as if she were going to be sick.

Chase came up behind her. “Are you okay?”

She coughed a couple of times and gulped in air as if she was fighting the urge to be ill. He looked at the ground, nothing was there.

Piper stood sharply and pivoted his way.

Her face was stone white, and she wavered on her feet.

Chase reached out to steady her. “Whoa.”

She stumbled a step in his direction.

“Do you need to sit down?”

Her breathing started to slow, her eyes closed. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay.” He was a half a second away from picking her up and finding a bench to sit her on.

Her color started to return.

“It passed.” She tried to smile. “I’m sensitive to strong smells.”

“Or maybe the man who the scent reminds you of?” Her reaction made him wonder if there was something his father had done to elicit such a strong response. He rubbed his hands over her arms.

“That could be it.”

She tilted her head back, the ridiculous hat making her exaggerate the move to look at him with how close they stood to each other. “There you are.”

“Oh,” she whispered.

God, she was beautiful, dusty rose lips and such innocent eyes.

Piper placed a palm on his chest, and they both froze. The only sound was that of their breathing, and the beating of his heart, which, from the pace of it, should have been heard over the birds in the trees.

How bad could one kiss be? Chase wanted nothing more than to brush his lips against hers.

The lift of her chin was so slight he almost missed it.

He leaned in.

She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I feel better now, thank you.” One giant step back, and the spell was broken.

Chase dropped his hands, rocked back on his heels. “Right.” He raised a thumb toward the garage. “I’ll finish my search. Probably best if you stay away from the cologne.”

“Ah-huh.”

Fuck!

That had been close.

He wasn’t sure if he was cussing that it almost happened or that it didn’t.