Page 25 of His Wisconsin Wallflower (Stateside Doms #25)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Raisa sat on the couch, curled up in one corner, wearing one of his old Packers hoodies that looked two sizes too big for her. The sleeves swallowed her hands, and the hem brushed against her thighs as she wiggled her butt to get into a more comfortable position.

She didn’t know it—she never seemed to—but she looked effortlessly sexy. The way her bare legs stretched out along the cushion, the hoodie slipping off one shoulder just enough to tease, made him shift in his seat and adjust his position.

She was completely at ease, radiating a quiet confidence he hadn’t seen before. He enjoyed seeing her like this—comfortable, safe, and utterly herself. It made him want to pull her into his lap, kiss her until she melted into him, and forget all about the outside world.

As if his thought about the outside world had summoned it, the doorbell announced a visitor. Quinten rose, strode to the door, and opened it to reveal detectives Maloney and Zanetti.

“Good evening, Mr. Carrington,” Maloney said with a slight nod.

After greeting them, he led them inside and into the living room. “I figure Raisa will want to hear what you have to say.”

Maloney’s gaze slid past him to Raisa, her lips quirking into a knowing smile. “Ms. Winslow. Excuse us for intruding on your evening.”

“No problem.” Raisa moved to sit cross-legged on the sofa, hiding her gorgeous legs from view.

Quinten narrowed his eyes. On the one hand, he didn’t want to object to her modesty, on the other hand, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

“Baby.” He stepped in front of her and held out a hand, pulling her upright when she grabbed his fingers.

He leaned forward and whispered too low for the others in the room to hear.

“For now, I accept it when you put on some leggings or jeans to make you more comfortable. In the future, we’re going to work some more on your self-esteem, until you can walk around naked while keeping your head high.

” He kissed her, keeping it light and casual, and swatted her ass as she scurried around him and through the door.

The detectives settled into the armchairs opposite the couch, exchanging smirks with more familiarity than colleagues might have.

Quinten narrowed his eyes on them. “Are you…” His words drifted off as he tried to decide how to continue.

“More than partners at work?” Maloney seemed to derive pleasure from his unease. “We are.” She smirked. “It’s fun to witness the unflappable Quinten Carrington being tongue tied.”

Before he could retort, Raisa reappeared in leggings but still wearing his hoodie and nothing else. “I’m sorry, detectives, would you like something to drink?”

After they both politely declined, Raisa sank back into the seat next to him and sought his hand. He intertwined their fingers and tilted his head at Maloney, who operated as the spokesperson in the detective duo, in a not-so-subtle invitation to speak.

She leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees, while Zanetti set a file folder on the coffee table. “Thank you for inviting us in.”

Raisa straightened slightly, her hands still clasping her sweater. “Do you know more about Vanessa?”

Zanetti’s mouth pulled down. “You could say that.”

Quinten tilted his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against the couch’s armrest. “We’re listening.”

Maloney straightened and made direct eye contact with Raisa. “First, we want to thank you again, Ms. Winslow. The observation about the shoes in the video footage was a pivotal moment in this investigation. Without it, we might not have realized someone else was involved.”

Raisa’s lips parted in surprise. “It was that important?”

Maloney nodded. “Absolutely. Sometimes, it’s the smallest details that crack a case wide open.”

“Did Devaney confess?” Quinten asked, his tone sharp with curiosity.

“She did.” Zanetti flipped open the folder. “It took some time, but she eventually admitted to her role. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming at first, but the evidence we gathered left her little choice.”

“And why?” Raisa’s voice trembled, and she twisted her hands together until her fingers were bent almost unnaturally.

Maloney exhaled audibly, her expression hardening.

“It’s a long story, but in short, Devaney was profoundly unhappy in her marriage.

She had tried to initiate a divorce, but Archie wasn’t cooperative.

She turned to Gavin, attempting to convince him to leave with her, but he declined, telling her he was obligated to help his uncle”—she turned her gaze to Quinten—“your father with the business. Angry and frustrated, she decided to leave on her own. But she needed more money than her trust fund would allow and knew she wouldn’t get anything from Archie in a settlement. ”

“So, she targeted the company she held responsible for Gavin’s refusal to go with her.” Raisa’s voice might be sweet and soft, but her understanding was sharp as blade.

Again, she amazed him with her brilliance.

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” Maloney confirmed.

“Using her friendship with Vanessa, she manipulated her way into gaining access to the company’s financial records.

Devaney created fake invoices in the names of legitimate subcontractors and used a complex algorithm to funnel payments into her own account.

Apparently, she had taken an advanced online course at MIT, which gave her the skills to pull it off. ”

Raisa rubbed her forehead, as if trying to process the avalanche of information. “It’s such a waste. If she had those skills, she could have made good money as a software engineer.”

Quinten reached over and soothingly placed a hand on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“And Vanessa?” Raisa darted her gaze back to the detectives.

Zanetti’s jaw tightened. “Vanessa found out about the discrepancies in the books and confronted Devaney. Which brings me to inform you that we’ve found Vanessa.” Zanetti’s voice was steady but carrying the weight of what was to come.

Raisa’s breath hitched, her hand flying to her chest as Quinten instinctively shifted closer, curling his arm around her shoulders.

“She’s… she’s dead, isn’t she?” Raisa’s words were almost inaudible, like saying the words out loud would make it more real.

Zanetti nodded solemnly. “Yes. Her body was recovered earlier this morning, in a remote area outside of town. We have a positive ID. Beth Ashford came in and made the formal identification.”

Raisa’s eyes widened. “Beth? Why was Beth… Oh, her mother isn’t well.”

“That’s right. Besides, Beth and Vanessa were close for years, even if things were complicated recently,” Maloney continued. “Given the circumstances and their shared history, Beth wanted to help. She insisted on coming down to confirm it was her instead of putting that on a struggling mother.”

Quinten’s jaw tightened, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists on his lap. “Do you know how she died?”

“Blunt-force trauma to the head.” Maloney focused on him, and her expression hardened. “We’re still investigating what exactly happened with her.”

Raisa’s shoulders sagged as tears welled up in her eyes. “I can’t believe this… Vanessa… I thought maybe she was alive, that she just needed to be found…”

“I know this isn’t the outcome anyone wanted.” Zanetti leaned forward and clasped her hands in front of her, letting them rest on the folder.

“Do you think Devaney killed her friend?” Quinten had to ask.

“Devaney admitted to framing Vanessa as part of the cover-up, but she insists Vanessa’s death was either an accident or self-defense.”

“Do you believe her?” Quinten asked.

Maloney shook her head. “It’s hard to say.

Her story has gaps, and we’re not taking anything at face value.

What we do know is that based on her confession, we were able to locate Vanessa’s body.

We’re waiting on the medical examiner’s full report, but the initial findings suggest what lead to her death.

We’re not sure at this moment how that injury occurred. ”

Quinten pulled Raisa close as she leaned into him, her body trembling.