Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel)
Read Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) Online
Authors: D.G. Whiskey
TAKING
FLIGHT
A DEVEREUX NOVEL
D.G. WHISKEY
COPYRIGHT © 2015 D.G. WHISKEY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cover
Design—Mayhem Cover Creations
Editing—
Wyrmwood
Editing
DESCRIPTION
Handsome. Wealthy. Famous.
Derek Devereux is a
larger-than-life figure, a billionaire socialite whose influence dominates Los
Angeles. He and his brothers have captivated the country since they emerged
from anonymity.
The Devereux brothers have a
secret—no one knows where their wealth came from. The investigative
journalist Sara Flight is determined to find out and uses her skills to sneak
into a Hollywood party and meet Derek. He’s even more impressive than she’d
imagined, and she is forced to walk a delicate balance between investigating
the billionaire and dating him.
When a large knife is thrust
through her front door with an ominous warning pinned underneath, Sara suspects
her mysterious billionaire is more dangerous than she realizes. Can she uncover
the mysteries of the man she's falling for… or will her desire for the truth
only endanger them both?
ALSO BY D.G. WHISKEY
STANDALONES:
Steal: A Stepbrother Romance
—Coming
Winter 2016!
DEVEREUX
NOVELS:
Capturing
Liberty
—Included in this copy of
Taking Flight
, click to read now!
(Capturing
Liberty is located after the text of Taking Flight)
Taking Flight
Chasing Charity
—Coming Winter 2016!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TAKING FLIGHT
ONE
—SARA
TWO
—DEREK
THREE
—SARA
FOUR
—DEREK
FIVE
—SARA
SIX
—DEREK
SEVEN
—SARA
EIGHT
—DEREK
NINE
—SARA
TEN
—DEREK
ELEVEN
—SARA
TWELVE
—DEREK
THIRTEEN
—SARA
FOURTEEN
—DEREK
FIFTEEN
—SARA
SIXTEEN
—DEREK
SEVENTEEN
—SARA
EIGHTEEN
—DEREK
NINETEEN
—SARA
TWENTY
—GARY
TWENTY-ONE
—DEREK
TWENTY-TWO
—SARA
TWENTY-THREE
—DEREK
TWENTY-FOUR
—SARA
TWENTY-FIVE
—DEREK
TWENTY-SIX
—SARA
TWENTY-SEVEN
—DEREK
TWENTY-EIGHT
—SARA
TWENTY-NINE
—DEREK
THIRTY
—SARA
THIRTY-ONE
—DEREK
THIRTY-TWO
—SARA
THIRTY-THREE
—DEREK
THIRTY-FOUR
—SARA
THIRTY-FIVE
—DEREK
THIRTY-SIX
—SARA
THIRTY-SEVEN
—DEREK
“Your new assignment is Derek Devereux.”
Sara’s heart pulsed in a
staccato rhythm at the sound of the name. Despite her disdain for the work, the
mystery inherent in the name, the man, was undeniable.
Still, she refused to back
down.
“I will not descend to this
level,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It is pandering,
insulting, and I won’t do it.”
Ron
Scardy
leaned back in his worn leather chair. His dark brown eyes, eerily close to
black, stared at her as he chewed gum and twisted an object round and round in
his hands. He shifted forward and set it down on the desk.
In elegant font, the words
Ron
Scardy
,
Editor-in-Chief
were embossed on the front of the nameplate. Sara felt bile
rising in the back of her throat at the sight.
“I’m afraid that’s not in
your power anymore, Miss Flight.” His voice took special delight in emphasizing
the
Miss
. “The paper is struggling,
and that’s why the executive board brought me in. I know how to move copies,
and it’s not with some shit about starving kids that no one gives two flying
fucks about.”
His words were like a
physical blow, and Sara’s breath fled in outrage. “How dare you,” she hissed.
“That report saved lives! It brought attention to a pressing humanitarian issue
and won awards. That was true journalism, not celebrity gossip drivel.”
It was the last piece that Michael ever…
Sara stopped the thought
before she let it choke her up. Now was not the time to go to pieces.
“The only thing that matters
is what sells.
End of story.
You want to save the
world, you do it on your own time, you got it?” He pointed a stubby finger
across the desk at her. “From now on, your expense account had better only ever
be used chasing down the stories I tell you to write, not whatever flight of
fancy catches your interest.”
She set her jaw. She
wouldn’t win this fight.
“So what, you want me to
report on Derek Devereux’s latest fling, or which parties he’s attending? Is
that the best use of an investigative journalist? You could get a teeny bopper
right out of school who would be more than thrilled to go down to L.A. and follow
around some big shot.” The more she thought about it, the more insulted she
felt. “Hell, you don’t even need to send someone, you can just take a look at
what every tabloid in the country prints out daily. How the hell do you expect
to sell more copies by being exactly like everyone else?”
Ron’s expression changed
from indolent swine to savage predator in a heartbeat. Sara was already wary of
him based on his reputation, but this was the first time she saw for herself
how shrewd and calculating he could be.
“You aren’t going down there
to report on what he does,” Ron said. “You are going to find out who he
is
.”
He said it in such a
self-satisfied way that Sara almost let herself be intrigued. “What do you
mean?”
He scoffed. “What, an
excellent journalist such as yourself doesn’t know the big deal about one of
the most famous men in the country? On second thought, maybe you aren’t worth
sending.”
Just keep calm, Sara.
Don’t let him get your hackles up.
It was too late for that.
“Just because I don’t follow
celebrity gossip, I’m a bad journalist? Get your head out of your ass, Ron.”
Sara delighted at the dark look that crossed his face.
The large man leaned
forward, placing both hands on the desk. “No one, and I mean
no one
,” he paused for greater effect,
“knows how the Devereux brothers got to be so rich, or why they appeared out of
nowhere.”
That makes no sense.
“What do you mean? Nobody
has secrets like that.” Sara stared back, dumbfounded.
“Precisely. Think about it.
Had you ever heard of the Devereux brothers before two years ago?”
Sara winced at the mention
of two years, but she didn’t even need to think about it to answer the
question; she hadn’t paid attention
to
much of
anything since the accident. She shook her head.
“No one has. And yet they
turned up on the scene, spending massive amounts of money, entertaining the
rich and famous, mingling with the most powerful people in the country. Do you
know Derek’s older brother, Evan, had dinner with the president last week?”
“Are you serious?” Sara’s
mouth dropped. “Evan Devereux met with the president? What did they talk
about?”
“No one knows.” Ron grinned
a greasy smile, seeing she’d taken his bait. She was hooked. “It was very hush
hush
. I’m one of the few people in the world who even knows
it happened.”
“So you’re telling me the
Devereux brothers wield that much power and influence over the country, and we
don’t even know how or why?”
It was a legitimate mystery.
Sara loved mysteries—it was why she’d chosen this career path and fought
tooth and nail to be successful.