Devil She Became (Devil's Angels Book 1) (23 page)

“As for me, I don’t give a damn what the two of you do, but remember this, Harrison, I know more than you think I do about your life. Don’t ever mess with this family. I will do everything in my power to see my granddaughters are safe. Do I make myself clear?” Pure hatred for Harrison glinted in his dark eyes. His nostrils flared with anger, reminding Reese of an angry bull.

Harrison swallowed a bit, but kept his cool. “The hell with you, Clarence. You always were a fucking asshole. Don’t ever threaten me again or it will be you who lives to regret the day. I have a lot more connections than you, old man. Now step aside, we are leaving.”

Harrison viciously shoved the older man to the side, much to Reese’s surprise. She clung to his hand as they stomped across the wooden floors to the nearest exit.

As she glanced back, Reese saw Jillian’s mouth drop open at Harrison’s hasty exit.

As they got into the limo, Reese began shaking.

“What do you think he meant by all that, Harrison? Do you think he knows anything?”

Harrison rubbed his chin. “I don’t think so, Reese. How could he? Her death has been ruled an accident. He’s just grieving, and he’s an asshole. He always has been. Just don’t pay any attention to what he said.”

Reese hugged herself, trying to alleviate her shaking.

“I don’t like him threatening us.”

Harrison shook his head.

“He’s an old man, baby. Nothing to worry about. Relax. We had a great visit with the girls, and I think they really like you.”

Reese smiled.

“Yes, I adored them. They are so sweet! I can’t wait until they come live with us!”

“I’m so glad you feel that way, baby.” Harrison hugged her to him.

“Be happy. Now we are off to visit your family!”

Reese laughed.

“Are you sure? They can get a little crazy!”

“After what we just endured? I’m just fine. Nothing can phase me now.” Harrison smiled at her.

Reese snuggled against Harrison, feeling his strong arms around her. No, nothing could hurt them now. They were safe and about to start their fabulous life together. Everything was perfect.

Arriving at the California beachside home, Harrison’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t imagined Reese’s family home being quite so upscale. When Reese had talked about her family, Harrison had assumed they were very middle-class, but this expansive home in Laguna Beach was obviously expensive.

Reese clutched his hand tightly as they pulled up the circular drive to her parents’ home. “So what do you think?” she asked, eagerly smiling at him.

Harrison nodded. “Very nice. I’m impressed. Gorgeous view here.” He looked around at the amazing view of the Pacific Ocean.

“I adore it here. My parents bought this house while I was in high school. I went swimming and tanned nearly every day.”

“So you are the typical California girl?” Harrison grinned at her.

Hopping out of the car, Reese reached in to grab her bags.

“I guess you could say that. I
was
Miss California Sun.”

“I can see that. You would win any beauty pageant.” Harrison wrapped his arms around her waist and began kissing her.

Just then, her mom came racing out of the house. She squealed when she saw Reese.

“Baby girl! How are you?” Reese pulled away from Harrison to embrace her mom.

Harrison glanced at Mrs. Vogel and found her to be a much older version of Reese. She was an attractive, trim woman with short blonde hair. She had Reese’s lovely smile and beautiful blue eyes.

Turning to Harrison, Mrs. Vogel reached out to embrace him.

“You must be Harrison. You are just as handsome as Reese described you!” Harrison returned her embrace.

“Mrs. Vogel, I’m so pleased to meet you. You look like a dream of loveliness. It’s easy for me to see how Reese got her beauty.”

She blushed. “Please, call me Meg. Thank you, but Reese is a true beauty. She was in pageants and was a model, you know.”

Reese groaned. “He knows, mom.”

“I’m just so proud of you, baby.”

“Well, quit hogging him, mom, let’s go inside and show him your beautiful house.” Harrison took one last glance at the beautiful Pacific Ocean waves crashing down on the beach below. He took Reese’s hand and followed her inside the beachfront home.

Upon entering the sprawling home, Harrison was greeted with the sound of a female shrieking.

“Reese! Is that you?”

Suddenly, a short-haired blonde came racing down the stairs towards them.

“Trish! I’ve missed you!” The two women embraced as Harrison stepped back.

“Trish, this is Harrison, my fiancé.”

Harrison studied her for a moment. He could definitely tell she was related to Reese with her blonde hair, but her figure certainly wasn’t anything like Reese’s. Trisha was nearly flat chested and slim. Her legs were long and she was certainly attractive, but not breathtaking like Reese. Her eyes were the same shade of blue as Reese’s, but her face looked several years older, suggesting she spent a great deal of time in the sun.

Harrison smiled broadly at Trisha and extended his hand.

“This is my sister, Trisha.” The pair shook hands.

Trisha smiled and let out a low whistle.

“Damn, Reese. He is gorgeous just like you said!” Trisha gave him a wink and Harrison just gave her a smile in return.

“Isn’t he, though?” Reese squeezed Harrison’s arm.

“Definitely. Wow, Reese, you actually found a man sexier than my Salvatore. Congratulations.” Trisha’s eyes moved over Harrison so closely he felt uncomfortable. It was odd being ogled like that. Now he knew how Reese must feel every day with all the stares she received from men.

“Hey! What’s this about someone being hotter than me? Trish, take your hands off the pool boy already!” A good-looking, dark-haired young man with a strong Italian accent came down the stairs.

“Harrison, this is my obnoxious brother-in-law, Salvatore.” Reese gestured at the young man.

“Hey, great to meet you. Finally, someone tames the wild beast. Thought nobody was going to catch this little beauty.” Salvatore laughed and shook Harrison’s hand.

Harrison eyed Salvatore. He thought he saw him give Reese a special look as he joked about her. As they all stood around talking, he caught Salvatore staring at Reese’s plunging neckline several times. Seeing Trisha, Harrison could understand why he would stare at Reese. The girl was as flat as Lisa had been. Ugh.

Reese took Harrison’s hand. “Come on, I want to show you my bedroom.”

Trisha cocked an eyebrow at Reese.

“Where are you two sneaking off to?”

Reese smiled at her. “Just showing him my old room.”

Trisha laughed and Salvatore smirked.

“Dinner’s in an hour, guys. Don’t be too long.”

Reese flipped her middle finger up at her sister in jest. Harrison laughed as she led him upstairs to her old childhood bedroom.

When they reached her former room, Reese turned and kissed him deeply.

“You’re about to enter my past. Think you can take it?”

Harrison smiled. “I think I will survive. I want to see your old cheerleading photos.”

Reese threw open the door to a large bedroom. The walls were painted a light-pink and covered in posters and photos of Reese and her friends. Trophies from beauty pageants and cheerleading competitions covered her large oak dresser. As Harrison walked around, he glanced at photos of Reese looking darling as a little girl dressed as Cinderella. Something struck him as odd. Every year, Reese had dressed as Cinderella for Halloween.

“So you were Cinderella every Halloween?”

Reese laughed. “Of course. Can’t you see me as a princess?” She twirled about the room.

Harrison chuckled. “Definitely!”

He continued to view her pictures as a sexy high school cheerleader in a blue and gold uniform.

“Ugh, don’t look at those pictures! My hair is terrible!” Reese covered some with her hands.

Harrison seized her wrists forcefully. “No, I want to see you. You look absolutely beautiful.”

Surprised, but aroused by his forcefulness, Reese backed away. Harrison continued to move about the room, picking up her trophies and studying her things.

In the center of the room was a large four-poster bed with a lacy pink duvet. On the wall above her bed were large cutouts of sayings like “Someday my prince will come” and “Happily ever after”.

“Wow, you really were looking for a prince charming, weren’t you, baby?”

Reese bit her lip and nodded. “Yes, I suppose I was.”

Grabbing her and pulling her to him, he bent to kiss her. “Guess I fit the bill okay, don’t I?”

Reese smiled. “Absolutely.”

“And you are every bit my princess, baby. I can only imagine how beautiful our wedding will be. I will give you everything you ever wanted.”

Falling back onto her bed, they began kissing. Hot and panting, they rolled around. Suddenly, something caught Harrison’s eye. Her nightstand drawer was partially open. Inside, there were several stacks of old newspaper clippings. One looked like a clipping from an old tabloid magazine,
The Chatterer,
which used to regularly run stories on him and his family. Interesting. Back when it was in print, it was primarily a New York publication. It was seldom seen anywhere else. He wondered why or how Reese would have it. She claimed she didn’t know anything about him or his family until he’d told her.
Strange
, he thought.

A sharp knock on the door made the pair jump up from the bed.

“Dinnertime, you guys! Get dressed already!” It was Trisha laughing outside the door.

“Ready to eat, baby?” Reese asked him, pulling her dress up.

“I’m always ready to eat you, baby.” Harrison caressed her under her dress.

Reese playfully slapped his hands away.

“No, real food, silly.”

“Well, if you insist, but I want you for dessert…” Harrison allowed himself to be led downstairs.

“Everyone, shall we continue this little gathering on the deck? We have an amazing dinner tonight! Fresh grilled lobster!” Meg gathered them all out on the deck.

Harrison, still holding Reese’s hand, inhaled a deep breath of the salty sea air. It was beautiful here. He wondered why Reese would leave when she was so close to her family.

“Take a seat anywhere, Harrison. Would you like a drink? Meg was standing in front of the outside bar.

Harrison nodded. “Sure, I’ll take a scotch on the rocks if you have it.”

“I have Johnnie Walker. Is that okay? I’m afraid we aren’t big scotch drinkers. Ever since Reese’s father left, I haven’t kept much around,” Meg said with a slight smile as she pulled out a crystal tumbler.

“That would be fine, Meg.”

As Meg handed him the glass, he sat down next to Reese to enjoy the beautiful ocean view.

“It’s very beautiful here, Meg. Do you enjoy the water here much?”

Meg nodded. “Yes, we do. Salvatore has a boat, and we all go out every now and then. I adore living on the coast. I understand your family is from the East coast?”

Harrison swirled the ice in his drink. He nodded.

“Yes, I am from New York originally.”

Salvatore, who had been quietly sipping his own glass of scotch, stopped and looked at Harrison.

“Wait a minute, is your father Harlan Grantham, the billionaire?”

Both Meg and Trisha held their glasses in mid-air. Reese just smiled and squeezed Harrison’s arm.

“Actually, yes, he is.”

Salvatore let out a low whistle. “Wow. So you’re the heir to the Grantham fortune? Holy shit.”

“What fortune?” Trisha was taken aback.

“I don’t get all of it. I have a brother too.”

“Holy shit, I didn’t know you were one of
those
Granthams! Wow. Reesie, I’m impressed! You are going to be living large.” Salvatore grinned and gave Reese a playful nudge.

Harrison kept his arm around Reese protectively. He didn’t like Salvatore’s ‘friendliness’ with Reese, nor did he like the implications of what he was saying about the Grantham family.

Sensing Harrison was uncomfortable, Meg asked the housekeeper to bring out the meal.

“Harrison, this is Antonia. She is our part-time housekeeper and sometime cook. I love to cook myself, but I am not very good at grilling. Reese’s father used to do it, but now he’s gone, so I let pretty much anyone else grill.”

Harrison chuckled. “No problem, Meg. Nice to meet you.” He shook the petite housekeeper’s hand.

As Antonia brought the lobsters out to be grilled, they continued talking. Meg got up to get more ice from the kitchen.

“Where is your brother, Reese?” Harrison looked around.

“Oh, he was called away for business. Didn’t Reesie tell you?” Trisha looked at Harrison, still eying him. Suddenly, her straw for her drink fell. She stood up to retrieve it, bending over right in Harrison’s face. He could see straight up her skirt to the tiny black panties she was wearing wedged up between her lips.
She has a decent ass
, he thought,
but nothing like Reese’s.

Reese pursed her lips, seeing what her sister was doing. Always flirting with her boyfriends, and none of them ever liked her or gave her a second glance. She was happy to see Harrison glance and then look away. She nearly laughed out loud.

“Sorry to hear that. I wanted to meet him. What about your father, Reese?”

A hush fell over the group. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Reese whispered, “Harrison, very recently, my father decided he needed his ‘freedom’ and left. He moved to Seattle, and we haven’t seen him in nearly a year. My mother was particularly devastated when he left.”

Harrison bit his lip and nodded. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me? I thought they had divorced years ago.”

“No. They aren’t divorced yet. My father does still send her money so she can remain in the house, but we have not spoken to him since. I really don’t have anything to say to him. He hurt my mother, so I don’t know what to think or say about him.” Reese’s eyes flashed with anger.

Harrison hugged her close. “I’m sorry, Reese. I didn’t know. I hope I wasn’t being rude.”

“You didn’t know. It’s fine.” Trisha reached over to hug him too.

“Let’s not speak of it in front of my mom though, okay?” Reese watched Meg in the kitchen from the deck.

“Sure.”

After the meal had been prepared, they all sat down to a delicious dinner of grilled lobster and corn.

“This is wonderful, Meg. I love lobster.” Harrison smiled as he enjoyed the rich meal.

“Thank you, Harrison.” Meg smiled at him.

“Bet a rich boy like you eats lobster all the time, don’t you?” Salvatore gave him a mean smirk.

Trisha jabbed him under the table.

Harrison’s face reddened a bit and his eyes flashed. From the tone of voice and the look on Salvatore’s face, it was obvious he had meant the comment to upset Harrison.