Taming Lily (The Fowler Sisters #3)(63)

“And how do you know I took it from a woman?” I ask, turning to glare at Levi.

He laughs. “Give me a break. I know for a fact this laptop belongs to Lily Fowler, *. Forrest Fowler’s oldest daughter.”

“That obvious, huh?” We’ve run into computers in the past where Levi was never able to figure out exactly who owned it, they were that good at hiding their personal information. There are a lot of paranoid people out there.

Looks like Lily Fowler isn’t one of them.

“Yeah, there was no hiding for this chick. She’s as bold as she pleases.” Levi’s description of Lily is apt, making me miss her. It’s more than that. My entire body aches for her, and not just because of the sex, though it’s so damn good between us, I can’t deny it.

I just flat-out miss her. The sound of her voice, her sweet and sexy laugh. The way she looked at me, the things she said. How she so easily trusted me. And I screwed her over like a callous *.

An * who’s halfway in love with her, truth be told. I barely know her, but I know enough. I care for her, making what I did to her that much worse.

I felt like a shit the entire flight home, that laptop in the new backpack I purchased at the airport before the plane left sitting right at my feet. Mocking me, making me feel like the world’s biggest *.

I tried to sleep on that long-ass flight but I couldn’t. Was too wracked with guilt over what I did to Lily. Leaving her in her bed alone was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Taking the f*cking laptop from her scored right up there as well.

She must hate me. And I can’t blame her. I wronged her. Stole from her.

She should hate me. I hate myself for what I did. But did I really steal from her? Or do her a damn favor?

“And there’s no hiding for Pilar Vasquez, either.” Levi shakes his head, a faint smile curling his lips—a rare sight. The dude is beyond intense, serious all the time. “I was blown away reading a lot of this shit, and you know me. I don’t get embarrassed easily.”

The stuff Levi has stumbled upon while thoroughly investigating someone’s hard drive has shocked even me, but he’s usually as cool as they come. Completely unruffled and always composed—that’s why I enjoy working with him so much. He gets the job done and he knows how to handle himself.

“Nasty shit or what, bro?” I ask, curiosity filling me.

“More like evil stuff. She’s mean as f*ck. Like, makes me feel uneasy and afraid she’s lurking around the corner ready to jump me type shit.” Levi runs a hand through his dark hair, mussing it up further. The guy looks like he hasn’t slept or shaved for days and he probably hasn’t. He’s been too intent working on this case for me. I handed the laptop to him within a few hours of arriving back in New York after my search became stalled and he hasn’t let up since. “I’ll tell you this. I wouldn’t f*ck with this chick. Lily Fowler’s got balls.”

Hell, and I’m seriously considering f*cking with this chick. But I got balls, too. “So break it down for me. I need details.” We’re talking all around it and I need to know exactly what Lily did to Pilar—and what Pilar, in turn, did to Lily.

“All right, this is what I’ve come up with so far. Let’s focus on Fleur.” Levi holds out his splayed hand and starts counting down. “Let’s call your client PV. PV is a management employee at Fleur. She also happens to be f*cking the CEO of Fleur. Looks to me like she has another Fleur employee on the side, but he’s in another country, so I don’t know if he really counts.”

“She used to be involved with yet another Fleur employee,” I point out, needing Levi to know this bit of information as well. “Ryder McKay. Violet Fowler’s current fiancé.”

“Well, hot shit. PV definitely gets around. Okay, so that adds an interesting twist. Explains a few things.” Levi strokes his stubble-covered chin, like he’s some sort of old-world professor. “She hates the Fowler sisters, that much is clear. Specifically Violet, and now I understand why. She’s with Ryder, who used to be with PV.”

“Soap opera shit, right?” I ask, shaking my head.

“Definitely twisted. Okay, here’s where it gets … bad. Besides PV messing around via email with Violet’s ex, who seems like a real slime ball from the communication I read between them, and probably having a hate-on for Violet because she’s with PV’s ex … there’s another element to the story.” Levi pauses, returning his attention to the laptop and opening up another email. “Pilar has become recent friends with one Felicity Winston, who is president of Jayne Cosmetics, which is a company similar to Fleur. The company was named after Felicity’s mother, Jayne, who died many years ago of breast cancer. Her aunt Laura Winston recently retired and handed over the reins. Felicity has a younger sister and brother, and they both work at Jayne Cosmetics, too.” Impatience rolls through me, making me feel twitchy. Levi’s giving me a bunch of information as if he’s leading to the buildup, when I want him to just get to the point.

“So?” I ask. “Friendly competition is normal, right?” I’m acquaintances with plenty of guys who run private investigation companies in the city. So is Levi.

“This goes beyond that,” Levi tells me. “It starts out innocent enough. Read this email.”