again, he’d certainly prompted Devon’s attention this time.
What better way to send a message than to resurrect the dead?
Arbor Drive, Lake Bluff, 8:00 p.m.
Isabella Lytle was surprised when the gate to the Pierce property opened without her having to buzz the enigmatic owner for admittance. Instead, the instant her car nosed up to the entrance, the towering iron gates parted and opened wide for her.
She rolled up the long drive, coming to a stop in front of the palatial home. Bella shook her head. She never liked to judge anyone, but Dr. Devon Pierce grated on her somehow. She’d never met the man in person but she had studied his background until she knew it by heart. Victoria had first assigned Bella his case one month ago, but then Dr. Pierce had decided he didn’t need the agency’s assistance after all.
That should have been the end of it.
But it wasn’t.
Even before this latest call for assistance, Bella had not been able to stop attempting to dissect the man. What made him who he was? What event or events in his childhood and then as an adult had narrowed his focus to a singular purpose—his work? What secrets did he keep? The man had secrets, Bella had no doubt.
The many photos she’d discovered of him on Google sucked her into his world. She knew the clothes he wore, the way he held himself. In recent years, he’d attended endless fund-raisers seeking support for his development of the emergency department of the future. Urbane and sophisticated was the best way to describe his style and the way he carried himself. Beautiful women with money flocked to him as if he were the most eligible bachelor in Chicago, which he probably was. On top of everything else, he was intensely handsome and mysterious.
That was the part that kept reeling her in.
She closed her eyes and gave her head a little shake. Her need to figure him out had become a bit of an obsession.
She forced the thoughts away as her gaze swept over the mansion that would be more suited for a royal estate in England. Who needed twenty-six thousand square feet of living space? A six-car garage? Not to mention an ostentatious fountain perched right in the middle of the parking courtyard. Her eyes rolled upward as she climbed out of her practical sedan. No one. Especially not a man who lived alone. Maybe he was attached to it since he’d lived here with his wife. The estate was an hour’s drive from his work in the city. Was this his way of escaping the twelve-to sixteen-hour days?
Was this his hiding place?
Five acres loaded with lots of trees and lush landscaping backed up to Lake Michigan. The main part of the house was large enough but then it winged off on both sides, extending along the manicured grounds, eventually connecting to triple-car garages on either side of the drive, creating a sort of fortress. The iron-and-brick fence was at least twelve feet high and stretched as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the dense woods.
“Lovely.” She made the assessment grudgingly with a heavy dose of reluctance. The house was undeniably, extravagantly attractive. Really, it was. She shouldered her bag and shoved her car door shut as she sent a final glance back at the massive gates that had already closed. Dusk had settled, awakening the discreet and well-placed landscape lighting. Did he have the interior lights on timers as well? Every light in the house appeared to be spilling through the windows to greet her.
“I’d hate to pay your electric bill, Dr. Pierce.”
She exhaled a big breath and decided she’d dawdled long enough. The cobblestone was damp beneath her shoes from the early-evening rain. Three steps up and she was at the front door.
Victoria, her employer, had sensed Bella’s strong reaction to this client. Bella had assured Victoria that she could handle Devon Pierce. The real question in Bella’s mind was whether or not Pierce could handle her. To do her job, she would need his cooperation. Not in a million years could she see him cooperating on the necessary level. He was accustomed to being in control...of keeping his secrets. Pierce was a man who preferred doing things his way.
As brilliant as he was, he couldn’t be the best at everything. If that was possible, he wouldn’t need the Colby Agency’s help now.
A part of her—one she intended no one to ever see—wanted him submissive on every level. Chasing away the notion and bracing for the icy glower for which he was known, she pressed the doorbell, listened as it chimed through the house. The door opened and she stared at the man from her numerous Google searches. To her dismay, he was even hotter in person than he was on the computer screen.
She stood under his scrutiny and felt her temper rising. His gaze roved over her, head to toe and back. She’d taken great care with what she chose to wear tonight. A navy skirt, the hem landing just above her knees, and the matching jacket. Her favorite silk shell with its high neckline in the same dark blue color. She never wore heels. At five-nine, she’d always preferred flats. A good pair of shoes with rubber soles and sturdy straps had served her well.
Deep inside she fully comprehended that she would need every part of her professional armor to protect her from his dark lure. She was well aware that her obsession with him hovered on a very narrow ledge. One wrong move and she would slip.
Even as the warning echoed in her brain, her gaze swept over his handsome face. Square jaw darkened by the stubble of a day’s beard growth, dark blue eyes analyzing her even as she did the same. He wore a tailored charcoal suit, probably silk. A paler gray shirt peeked from between the lapels of the jacket. He had dispensed with his tie and left a couple of buttons undone. The platinum cuff links remained nestled at the center of his perfectly folded French cuffs. Bella suspected this was as relaxed as he allowed himself to be in front of company.
“Ms. Lytle.” He opened the door wider in invitation.
She concentrated her attention on the details of his home rather than on the man. This was the one aspect of Dr. Devon Pierce that remained private. Though there had been plenty of photos of the exterior of the home on the internet, there was none of the interior.
Black and white marble flowed across the floor in a diamond pattern. The walls as well as the ornate trim were coated in an old-world white paint, the aged matte finish an elegant contrast to the glossy floors. A chandelier drenched in crystal hung twelve or so feet overhead. The rich, ornate mahogany table to the left and the cushioned gray bench to the right lent a warm hue to the boundless canvas of sleek black and white.
“I have coffee waiting,” he announced.
She nodded. “Lead the way, Doctor.”
The large entry hall flowed straight ahead. Some twenty or so feet from the front door, the hall parted to the right and left. On each side, a grand staircase led up to the second level. A wide door beneath the staircase on the right provided a glimpse of the kitchen—opulent wood cabinetry, acres of sleek granite and an expansive wall of windows. The double doors to her far left were closed. A library or his office, she supposed.
Moving straight ahead, the entry hall progressed into a truly stunning great room. The whitewashed walls soared to a vaulted ceiling, complete with rustic wood beams that looked as though they might have held up a bridge somewhere in the Mediterranean in another century. The stone fireplace was huge. The marble floors of the entry hall had given way to gleaming hardwood. The furnishings were upholstered in
