He’s not a bad guy.
The idea washed over her with a surety that anchored Everly.
“She’s everything to me,” he’d told her on day one. “This business, this house, the security, cooks, tutors, nannies, everything I do is for one main purpose: to keep Bella safe and happy. Nothing else matters.”
This man had integrity. He lived and breathed his values every day. In her heart of hearts, Everly knew Bella was right where she belonged. But it was one thing to know it, another to prove it. Especially when people as powerful as the Seavers were working against the truth.
“Pauli’s not on Daddy’s desk chair,” she called, surprised Bella had stayed put this long.
Her gaze scanned a few open files on the desk. A combination of computer and handwritten notes filled the pages inside. She lifted a few folders and found more of the same. But in the file on the bottom, she found photos. Everly pulled them forward and instantly recognized an image of Paige Seaver at some kind of political event. She focused on the faces surrounding Seaver—her husband, a notable congressman, and the current first lady.
When she glanced toward the hall and found it empty, Everly scanned the contents of the files. With her intuition counting down the seconds remaining to safely search his desk, Everly scanned the information—and quickly discovered all the hallmarks of asset mapping. She flipped through pages of the Seavers’ financial accounts, lists of political allies, diagrams of friends and family.
She huffed a laugh. Everly was mapping Hix, while Hix was mapping Seaver.
“How ironic is this?” she muttered.
Without searching for specific information, Everly turned pages and took photos with her phone as quickly as she could. She was hungry to see all the intel he’d gathered but had only made it through one of the five folders when Hix’s voice echoed through the house. His tone made it sound like he was still talking on the phone, but before she could move, he turned up the stairs.
Shit.
Everly straightened the folders and dropped to her hands and knees, just before Hix stepped into the office. She crawled around the floor behind the desk, singing, “Pauli, come out, come out, wherever you are.”
His gaze went razor sharp on Everly. A moment of shock transitioned into an I-finally-fucking-caught-you glint. “I have to call you back.” His voice was crisp, edged in anger. He tapped the button on the headset attached to one ear, then pulled it off and tossed it on his desk. “What in the hell—”
“Here I am!” Bella ran into the office and grabbed Austin’s legs. “I here, Everyee.” Her baby teeth flashed with her smile. “Pauli hiding behind the chair.” She bopped that direction, crawled behind the chair, and lifted the stuffed monkey over the edge. “I right here!”
Everly sat back on her heels and exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “I looked everywhere for you, Pauli.”
Hix rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ladies,” he said with an irritated edge, “you can’t play in here.”
Everly used the corner of his desk to pull herself to her feet. On the way up, her gaze caught on a barely visible imperfection along the side edge of the bookcase right at chest level.
Hidden door.
The idea lit up Everly’s brain like fireworks. She’d seen hidden compartments before—panic rooms, tunnels, entire wings of a building concealed behind walls or underneath floors. She was nearly giddy with the realization.
As her mind spun with the idea of returning to investigate, Everly forced her gaze from what she believed was a release latch. “I’m sorry,” she told Hix. “I should have put more parameters on the game. We won’t come into your office again.”
With her heart pounding, she rested a hand on Bella’s head. “You win. Ready to hit the pool?”
“Yay!” Bella jumped and grabbe
d Everly’s hand.
Austin never took his gaze off Everly, and he was processing all kinds of information in that sharp brain of his.
Bella released her hand and ran ahead. Everly followed, picking up an unmistakable electric buzz suffusing the air around Hix. Just when she thought she’d escaped discovery, he wrapped his fingers around her forearm.
Everly halted, swallowed her dread, and faced him. For a long moment, he simply looked at her. She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking, but his hold was gentle, his fingers warm.
“That company I told you about?” A smile turned his lips. “They agreed to Turks and Caicos.”
She gasped as if thrilled, but nerves tingled deep in her gut. Unless Everly could convince Roman that Hix wasn’t the devil Seaver claimed, her boss would want to take the girl when Hix’s security was low.
“That’s awesome,” she lied. “When?”
At least a week. Please say a week.