Billy & The Beast (Ever After, New York #3) - Eli Easton Page 0,63

to Detective Simmons today. But I don’t have enough . . . proof of any crime to get him to investigate. And . . . I don’t know . . . I need help. I think I need your help. Please, Amanda.”

She shut her eyes and covered her face with her hands for a moment, shook her head. Then she dropped her hands. “Oh, dear lord. I really hoped this was over.” She got up and went to the birdcage. She took the little parrot out of the cage and stroked him, as if needing the comfort.

I waited. I could see she was trying to process it. Maybe she was weighing the risk to herself. I couldn’t blame her for that.

“You said Seb doesn’t remember the accident?” she asked carefully. “Does he remember what was happening at the company at the time?”

“He’s never said much to me about the company. But he told me he doesn’t remember anything that happened after his birthday. That was three months before his accident. He doesn’t even remember his father’s death. They had to tell him about it when he came out of the coma.”

She considered this. “Damn it. How terribly convenient for Emmanuel.”

“Why? What happened with Emmanuel?” I clenched my fists on my lap to keep from grabbing her, from jumping up and yelling at her to tell me now!

She looked around at the various windows in the room, and the door, as if she was worried someone would hear. Apparently satisfied no one was eavesdropping, she came over to the loveseat and sat next to me, placing the little bird on her leg. She spoke quietly and yet intensely, looking into my eyes. “All right. I can’t prove most of this. But I suppose Seb should know. You’ll tell him? Him and no one else?”

I nodded. “I swear.”

She began to speak. All the while the parrot hopped on her leg and she stroked it with one finger, as if she was talking about the weather and not about dark deeds.

“You know Sebastian Montgomery III was killed in a hit-and-run. Seb came to work at Montgomery Enterprises after that. His father’s death had a profound impact on him. He was devastated, poor boy. And determined to uphold his father’s legacy. He could have succeeded, filled his father’s shoes. I was there to help him. A number of us were rooting for him. He was smart, conscientious. He was ready to buckle down and be serious. He even has his father’s charisma. And he was a sharp investor. He understood business. The big picture. The global markets.”

That sounded like Aaron. I nodded. She shut her eyes as if in pain. “A few weeks before his accident, he came to see me in my office. He kept saying that it had to be someone who knew his father’s routine, his jogging route, maybe even someone who’d jogged it with him from time to time.”

It took a moment for my brain to catch up. My God. “You’re saying Seb didn’t think his father’s death was an accident?”

She gave a tight smile. “Let’s just say the timing was suspicious.”

Holy crap. “And the cops never got any leads on the driver?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Seb didn’t think it was . . . I mean . . . did it involve Emmanuel?”

She grimaced. “That’s certainly not something I would suggest without a hell of a lot of proof, young man. And if you’re smart, you won’t either. The lawyers at Montgomery Enterprises are fierce.”

“Yeah, I know,” I muttered. “But why? Why would someone want to hurt Sebastian Montgomery?”

She sighed and focused on the little bird for a moment. Its black beady eyes looked up at her with affection. Or maybe it was just hungry. She stroked its fragile foot. “I can tell you a few things that are a matter of public record. Montgomery Enterprises is about to close a multibillion dollar deal with a foreign company, Shar McGill. It’s a deal that will make the partners, board, and stockholders a lot of money. A lot of money.”

“Okay.”

“It’s also true that if you dig down into Shar McGill, you’ll find that they’re rumored to be associated with various unsavory activities. Drug trafficking. Human trafficking. Arms dealing. Rumored being the operative word. Nothing’s ever been proven, and they’ve never been charged with anything formally. It’s also a fact that in the country where they’re located, bribery is rampant.”

“Oh.” I tried to figure out what she was telling me. “So . . . Seb’s