Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) Read Online Free Page A

over the bar.
Derek stood a few feet away, leaning back against the other side of the
U-shaped bar, facing toward the room. Shit!
    Creeping away, Sara slipped
off in the other direction, toward the women’s bathrooms. She waited,
pretending to play with her phone just around the corner until Derek walked off
and mingled with other guests again.
    It’s time to see what his rival has to say about him. Another tip Sara had learned
was that it was always easier to get a person talking about an enemy than a
friend. You had to be more careful about sorting through the responses for the
real truth, but they were more likely to tell you damaging information that
could lead to unexpected avenues of research than friends were.
    Rex and his cronies were
still ensconced in their little nook on the far side of the room. Sara took
care to plan her route to take her through the opposite side of the dance floor
from the path that Derek had taken.
    She was about twenty feet
from her destination when she ducked around a pillar and came face-to-face with
dark gray eyes and a chiseled jawline—the
features of the man she was desperately unprepared to meet.

 
    “Why hello there,” Derek said. “I don’t believe
we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before, have we?”
    He held his hand out to the
blonde, who wore a surprised look that softened into a brilliant smile.
    Her hand was warm and soft in his own . Firm, but inviting.
    “I’m Sara, it’s nice to meet
you. Up close, anyway.”
    He smiled, “It took some
effort to track you down, I thought I would have to keep settling for looks
traded across the room all night. I’m Derek.”
    Sara’s face grew pensive.
“Derek…? Do you have a last name, Derek?”
    He didn’t know if she was
being serious or not, but either way he was surprised. Most women were more
than happy to pretend like they were old friends and knew each other
intimately. “Devereux.”
    “Derek Devereux.” He loved
the way the name sounded from her silken lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Are you friends with someone here?”
    Does she really not know me? He hadn’t thought fame had gone to his
head—maybe it had been getting a little too swollen. Two can play at this game.
    “You could say that,” he said.
“I like to show up to these things now and then. It’s fun to see the
self-important people squawk to each other about why they deserve to be more
famous than the other.”
    The surprised chuckle he
earned from her was music to his ears. “Do you not like famous people, then?”
    “Oh, they can be just fine.
Just not at events like this where they are on display, like exotic animals for
the masses to poke and prod and watch. It messes with your head. Or so I’ve
observed.”
    She put her hand on his arm
for a moment—a spark of heat traveled up his arm in a delightful crawl of
electricity. He’d never felt anything like it. “It sounds like you shouldn’t
even be here. Maybe a coffee shop is more your speed?”
    He smiled. “Is that a
suggestion?”
    A pretty blush colored Sara’s cheeks. “Oh, I don’t know, I like it here.
So many pretty people, delicious food, free drinks—what’s not to like?”
    There was a flood of
organized movement out of the corner of Derek’s vision. Rex, surrounded by
people, marched toward them.
    “Ugh. You had to say it.”
Derek readied himself for the confrontation. A scene like this played itself
out almost every year, and it wasn’t something Derek had intended to let happen
this time. It didn’t look like he would be given much choice.
    “Hey, Derek!” Rex shouted as
he got within range. “You ran away before I could finish earlier!”
    The surrounding space grew
quieter and deserted as guests noticed the impending confrontation and cleared
room. Soon most of the eyes in the building were trained on the two of them,
and the DJ even turned down the music so everyone would be able to hear better.
It was like being inside a scripted