Youre a smart woman. You have to know what hes doing. You have to know youre going to get hurt.
Thats none of your business. She didnt know what Steve suspected about her relationship with Lucas. But she wasnt about to explain herself.
He paused beside her, lowering his voice, eyes cool and detached. I tried to make this easy for you. I offered my help. I paid for your lawyers.
Lucas slept on the couch, Steve. She didnt know why she bothered telling him that. It wasnt because she was trying to change his mind about helping her. As of this second, she wasnt taking anything from Steve ever again.
He shook his head. It would have worked, Devin.
She was tempted to ask what would have worked, but she held her tongue. The sooner this conversation was over, the better.
This might not be my house she steeled her strength and looked him directly in the eyes but it is my room for the time being, and Im asking you to leave.
He stared down at her. There was a chill in his brown eyes that sent a shiver straight up her spine.
But after a long pause, he stepped back, and so did she. He reached for the door, opened it and left without a word. She swiftly closed it behind him and found her hand shaking and her stomach in knots.
She stood in the bedroom for a few minutes, wondering what to do next.
Then she heard a car start up in the driveway below. She moved to the window to watch Steve pull away. Once his taillights disappeared beneath the canopy of oaks tress, she breathed a sigh of relief, pulling her shirt over her head.
She changed into a white sleeveless blouse, tucked her feet into a pair of worn sandals, then headed downstairs to find Lucas.
He was on the deck off the great room, sitting on a padded chair at one of the round tables that overlooked the yard. Fruit and croissants had been served, along with a carafe of coffee. Lucas was sipping a cup.
She asleep? he asked, rising briefly as Devin took the chair opposite.
Devin nodded, debating whether to tell him about the bizarre conversation with Steve. Though she was becoming more inclined to trust Lucas over Steve, she wasnt really ready to trust anyone in this strange family. Besides, how would it help to tell Lucas? He already thought Steve was plotting against him, which he was. Nothing new there.
I thought nanny number three had potential, said Lucas, holding up the coffee carafe in a question.
Devin pushed her cup toward him to say yes. Was she the one with the braid?
No. The one in the hat.
No uniforms, said Devin, adding sugar to her coffee.
Lucas lifted the plate of croissants, offering them to Devin. Whats wrong with uniforms?
She took a croissant. I dont like them.
So, youre going to have a dress code?
No. A uniform would be a dress code. I dont want Amelia to feel like shes in an institution.
A uniform is only a dress code if its not optional. By banning uniforms you are, in fact, instituting a dress code.
Youre being deliberately obtuse. The nanny can wear anything she wants.
Unless its a uniform.
Devin tore into her croissant. Nobody wants to wear a uniform.
Lucas selected a grape. You cant possibly know that.
I liked the one with the braid, said Devin. She took a sip of the hot coffee. I think her name was Beverly.
Lucass phone rang. He checked the number and then pushed a button, turning his attention back to Devin. She seemed disorganized to me.
How so?
First off, she was late. And then that big, ugly orange purse with
Youre giving demerits for style? You did.
Static crackled on the baby monitor. A mans muffled voice came over the speaker. The words were indistinct, but Devin felt her entire body go cold. The man spoke again. Steve.
She swore out loud, jumped up and shoved her chair out of the way. It clattered to the floor of the deck.
She took off running through the great room, down the hall to the foyer and the main staircase, while Lucas called out her name, rushing behind her.
She pounded up the stairs and sprinted down the hall. Then she rounded the corner to find two male staff members chatting outside Amelias nursery. The doors to both rooms were closed, and the men looked up in surprise at Devins entrance.
She quickly brushed passed them and cracked open the nursery door.
Amelia was sound asleep and completely alone.
Is everything all right, maam? one of the men asked.
Devin? Lucass voice came from the end of the hall.
Devins heart was pounding and her lungs drew in deep breaths. She gathered her wits. Everythings fine.
Lucas marched forward.
Can you please excuse us? he asked the two men. They quickly withdrew.
What the hell? Lucas demanded, voice low. Youre white as a ghost.
Its okay, Devin gasped. The mens voices outside the nursery had obviously been picked up by the monitor. What happened?
I thought she began, wondering how much to tell him. She realized she was going to sound like a hysterical idiot. But she couldnt come up with anything to replace the truth.
You thought what?
Steve was here, she admitted.
Lucass brows knit together in obvious confusion. You thought Steve was here?
No, Devin corrected. Steve was here. Earlier. I came out of the nursery and found him in my room.
Lucass brows drew together. His eyes went stormy, and his mouth thinned.
He seemed annoyed that youd stayed over at my place. He knew you were there all night, and
Hold on a minute, Lucas interrupted. Did he tell you that, or did you tell him?
He told me. Devin resented the implication that shed rushed to Steve with the news. Then again, why should Lucas trust her any more than she trusted him?
She continued, suddenly wanting to get the whole story out. Then he said he had tried to make this easy for me. I got the impression he wasnt going to make it easy for me anymore. I didnt know what he meant. But then I heard a mans voice. She paused. On the baby monitor. And for a minute, I thought.
You thought Steve might harm Amelia?
I thought hed come back. Beyond that, I didnt know what to think.
Lucas wrapped a large, warm hand over her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Steve is not going to hurt Amelia.
Devin nodded, but it was only to be agreeable. Her radar was up when it came to Steve. If she had her way, hed never be near Amelia again.
I mean, even if he would, which believe me, he wouldnt. Hes a jerk, but hed never go that far. Well increase security, Devin. We can get Amelia a bodyguard instead of a nanny if it makes you feel better.
Devin closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath.
Okay? he asked.
She gave a jerky nod.
His hand tightened on her shoulder, and the next thing she knew, she was being drawn into his embrace.
Its going to be fine, he promised her in a gruff voice.
His arms felt wonderfully strong as they wrapped around her. His chest felt broad and solid against her cheek. And though she knew depending on Lucas was the most dangerous thing she could do, for just a moment, she let herself sink into his strength.
Lucas couldnt bring himself to believe that Steve was a real danger to Amelia. But he was beyond furious with him for approaching and intimidating Devin. And hed done it right here in the mansion. The mans audacity knew no bounds.
Lucas had immediately contacted Theodore Vick, the Demarcos head of security and assigned extra full-time protection to Devin and Amelia. Hed also talked to Byron about Steve pulling his legal support from Devin and what it could mean. Despite his down-home manner, Byron was a shrewd strategist, with an impressive network of contacts and a gift for sleuthing out information. If anyone could ferret out Steves new plan, it was Byron.
Now, Byron appeared in the doorway of Lucass office on the lower floor of the mansion.
Anything? asked Lucas without preamble. Hed spent the morning trying to focus on a problem with new high-tech foreign ownership regulations in Sweden. But he hadnt had much success forgetting about either Devin or Steve.
Byron shut the door behind him and entered the room. Did Steves mama drop him on his head when he was a baby? he asked conversationally.
Lucas wasnt sure how to interpret that question, so he didnt offer an answer.
If not, she should have, said Byron. There is something terribly wrong with that boy.
Lucas stood from his chair and came around the desk that was positioned at one end of the rectangular room. The sliding glass doors were open to a small patio, and Byron motioned for him to pull them shut.
Now Lucas was very curious. What did you find out?
You remember this? Byron tossed a red-labeled videotape on the square meeting table that took up one corner of the room.
Is that the one from Granddads will?
Byron gave a curt nod. Lets just refresh your memory a tad, shall we? He slid the tape into the old VCR that was connected to Lucass television set. Then he took up the remote and gestured to the chairs around the meeting table.
Did we miss something the first time through? asked Lucas, lowering himself into one of the charcoal-gray, sling-back leather chairs.
It was right there under our noses the whole time. Byron pressed a button on the remote, and a poorly lit picture came up on the screen.
It was a younger-looking Granddad, sitting in this same office, vintage railway photos on the wall in the background.
Byron fast-forwarded through part of the tape.
Here we go, he said, switching the video back to Play.
Granddads familiar, gravelly voice came through the twin speakers. The reason for this is that you boys need to understand the difference between work and family. This great company youve inherited was built on a foundation of family. Your grandmothers and great-grandmothers may not have had their names on the stationery, but they played pivotal roles in the building of what is now Pacific Robotics. His old eyes softened. Lucy was my rock. She was there through good times and bad, through success and failure, always believing I could do the impossible. And, you boys, you need to find your own rocks. Granddad folded his hands on the desk and leaned toward the camera. And if leaving my estate to a future great-grandchild gives you inspiration to get out there and look, so be it. I can live with that.
Byron clicked a button to stop the tape.
I dont get it, said Lucas, tapping the tabletop in front of him. Weve seen this all before. Whats the point?
You gotta want it, said Byron. Look between the lines. Thats what Steve did.
Lucas gave his head a small shake, still not following.
Steve and his lawyers have rustled up a set of legal precedents for videotapes being used as a preamble to a will.
Lucas gestured to the blank screen. Granddad only reiterated that his firstborn great-grandchild inherits.
Byron nodded. You got that right. Your granddaddy hoped you boys would find yourselves some pretty gals, fall in love, get married and have children.
Yes, he did, Lucas sighed in exasperation. It was a ridiculous way to structure an inheritance.
His grandfather should have left his shares to the person who would do the best job of managing the company. This crap about family being the rock of a mans existence was just the ramblings of an old man. Single men could be great managers, and married men could be terrible managers. There was much more to it than marital status.
And Steve has entered a brand-new petition that asks for this videotape to be considered the spirit of your granddaddys will.
He can do that? As far as Lucas was concerned, the will was already settled.
It appears as though he can, said Byron. It seems the court can decide to balance the letter of a will with the spirit of a will.
But, the shares are already in Amelias name.
Its like an appeal.
He could get the will overturned?
He might. Hes swearing Konrad only married Monica to get the gal pregnant. Thats a clear violation of the spirit of the will. And Steves got a lot of lawyers hunting up precedents to back him.
Amelia could lose her shares?
She could.
Seriously?
Yes.
Does he have a chance in hell? Im told he does. And it gets worse. Lucas paused, eyes narrowing.
His star witness? asked Byron. The person wholl get up there and testify that Konrad and Monicas marriage was a sham?
Lucas brought the end of his fist down on the table, rattling the water glasses as he swore out loud. Byron nodded. Devin, said Lucas.
Devin, Byron confirmed. He rose and ejected the tape from the machine, stuffing it back into its cardboard cover. When she takes you on over custody, that lady will sit up there on that witness stand and hand Steve his evidence on a silver platter.
Six
Devin had said yes when Lucas offered to join her on her evening jog around the grounds. She was still rattled from her encounter with Steve, and company didnt seem like such a bad idea.
A security guard was posted in the hallway outside the nursery, and one of the housekeepers was watching the new video baby monitor. Deep down, Devin knew it was overkill. But she didnt care. It was hard to forget the fact that Steve had simply sauntered into the mansion and into her room.
She realized he was a member of the Demarco family, so there was no reason for anyone to stop him. But Lucas assured her the staff had been instructed to announce all guests, including family members, from here on in.
Theyd followed the pot-lighted mulch pathway as it wound through the grounds. In contrast to the last time theyd jogged, Lucas kept his pace easy, chatting about maintenance on his sailboat and upcoming events for the new hospital wing. Devin found herself relaxing.
They rounded the stables, where two tall chestnut horses stood near the rail.
Do you ride? she asked, her breathing heavy.
Occasionally. Byrons the family cowboy. Hes got quite the spread down there in Texas, and hes firmly committed to the country lifestyle. I half expect him to show up with a few steers one of these days. Apparently, we have some grazing potential on the north side of the property.