Need Me by Cynthia Eden Page A

be.” She was fully dressed now, even her shoes were back on. But her cheeks were flushed and her eyes gleamed. “I’m not sorry. I wanted you.
Here.”
She gestured around the house. “The ghost doesn’t own me, and it was far past time for me to take my life back.”
    His brows climbed at that. “So you’re—”
    The lock jiggled behind them. He whirled at that tell-tale sound about two seconds before someone unlocked the door. He lunged forward, wondering who would have a key to Julianna’s place, even as that door swung toward him.
    A woman with long, blonde hair stood in the doorway. She wore a sleek suit and her green eyes—a deep, dark green—narrowed on him. “Who the hell are you?”
    “I was about to ask you the same damn question.”
    Her eyes brightened with fury
and
alarm. “I’m calling the cops! Get out of Jeremy’s home!”
    “Avery?” Julianna said. Then she pushed past Devlin. “What are you doing here?” She shook her head. “And how
dare
you just let yourself into my home?”
    If the woman had let herself in a few minutes sooner, she would have gotten quite the show.
    Avery’s disdainful glance swept from Julianna to Devlin, then back again. “It’s not your home,” Avery said, ice dripping from her words. “It’s Jeremy’s. You don’t belong here. You need to just drag your sorry ass out…but I guess the cops will be doing that soon enough.”
    He didn’t like Avery. Not one bit. He stepped forward.
    But Julianna put her hand on his chest. Avery’s cutting glance noticed that move. “Did you
seriously
bring your new lover into Jeremy’s home?” Avery took an aggressive step forward. “You slut, how dare you—”
    “Yes, he is my lover,” Julianna said that without even a hint of embarrassment.
    He blinked at her calm words. Now he wondered…if Avery had arrived a few minutes earlier, would Julianna have cared?
I don’t think so.
    “You might think your boss was a saint, Avery, but I’ve got a news flash for you,” Julianna said. “Jeremy was a twisted, sadistic bastard. He was only happy when he made others miserable. “
    Avery sucked in a shuddering breath. “You can’t talk about him like that.”
    “I just did.” Then, in an impressively fast move, Julianna reached out and yanked the keys out of Avery’s hand. “Don’t ever come into this house unannounced again. You do, and the police will be hauling
you
away. Not me.”
    Avery’s cheeks paled. “I just needed to check his desk. I-I’m working on a deal that needs to be closed and I thought he had the files at home.”
    “Then you should have called me to get them. Not broken into my home.” Julianna’s voice dripped ice.
    There was plenty of fury in Avery’s stare. Fury and hate.
    “Go search for the files,” Julianna ordered curtly. “Then get out.”
    Avery shoved past her. Her shoulder hit Julianna, and Julianna grunted at the impact.
    He caught Julianna’s hand in his. “What the hell is happening? Who is she and why did you let her inside?” Didn’t Julianna realize the other woman hated her with a killing fury?
    Julianna sighed. “Avery Glenn is—
was—
Jeremy’s personal assistant.”
    With
personal
being a keyword there. That woman was way too attached to her dead boss.
    “The company is still running. It employs hundreds of people, and the board is in charge. I mean, I own a majority share now, but they’re running things. If I weren’t under investigation for Jeremy’s murder….” Bitterness entered her voice. “I’d just sell all my shares back to the board and get out of this mess. But I’m stuck, for the time being.” Her gaze swept around the house. “Stuck in this house. A grave above ground.”
    Avery came stomping back. He’d never seen a woman stomp in high heels, not until then. “The files aren’t here,” she announced. Her glare said the missing files were Julianna’s fault.
    Julianna shrugged. “Then there’s no need for you to be here,