Page 54 of My Cruel Salvation

“Yeah?”

“But I pay her for publicity and PR because that’s not what I do. We’ll talk with her after we see how tonight’s speech is received, okay?”

I grin. “Absolutely. And we’ll be sure to tell her that the articles will be leading up to a book, either published by a major publisher or the foundation itself if we can’t find one. But you know we’ll be able to find one.” I rise up onto my toes and kiss him. “Especially if we add me to the narrative. Sex sells, you know.”

“That we dated, yes. Any more detailed than that, and I’m going to axe the project.”

“Agree. But maybe I’ll write those pages just for you…” I trail off, a sensual lilt in my voice.

He laughs. “Careful. I have to go stand in front of everyone in a minute, and there’s no podium in front of me.”

I’m fishing for a lurid reply when Lamar joins us. “I don’t know how you do it, Saint. You don’t look the slightest bit nervous.”

“I’ve given a lot of talks, though never this focused on me. Thankfully, Ellie is distracting me.”

I bat my eyes innocently. “Any time…”

They chat for a bit before Tamra pulls Devlin away, then announces that he’ll be addressing the room in just a few minutes. Lamar leaves me to go find the Chief, and I glance around the room looking for Brandy. I finally find her on the far side of the room talking with Eric. I join them, and we make polite conversation until Eric wanders off to circulate, making sure he greets the various VIPs who are attending.

Brandy turns to me, but I don’t know what she intends to say, because the lights dim, and a single light focuses on the staircase where Devlin stands, about halfway up. He looks calm and in charge, not the least bit nervous.

Then the entire room falls into silence as Devlin’s eyes sweep the room, lingering on mine before he looks out over the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he says. “Tonight, I’d like to tell you a story.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Devlin pressed his hands to the rail as he looked out over the crowd, at the faces looking up at him, all filled with curiosity. He hated the circumstances that had brought him to this moment, but he had to admit that he felt a bit of relief, too. Keeping secrets was exhausting work, and so long as he could manage the fall-out, he was glad to have one less thing to juggle.

“First of all,” he began, “I want to thank you for coming tonight on such short notice. I realize there’s a curiosity factor involved, and I promise I haven’t pulled a bait and switch. You’re not here simply to learn that I recently bought real estate for a children’s hospital in Riverside. Though, of course, I hope you cover that story as well.”

He paused, appreciating the low rumble of laughter. He knew damn well that many of the reporters and foundation supporters felt conflicted. On the one hand, they wanted to hear the truth behind the sensational story about Devlin Saint’s parentage. On the other, they genuinely admired his work, and hated that they were participating at all in something that Devlin hadn’t released to the public himself.

“I’m here tonight not to talk about the foundation—not directly, anyway. I’m here for one very simple reason. Me.”

He paused a moment, his gaze finding Ellie and her supportive smile. “I’m here to paint you a picture of a Devlin Saint you haven’t met before. Except, of course, you have. My past shaped who I am now. Who I’ve been for all the time my foundation has been in existence.”

So far, the crowd looked rapt, and he made eye contact with a few as he continued to speak. “Because of what this foundation does, maybe some of you assumed that my childhood was not sunshine and roses. Or perhaps you assumed I simply had money and wanted to either do good or find a tax shelter.”

As he’d hoped, a smattering of chuckles drifted up from the audience.

“But what I really hope is that you weren’t thinking about me at all, but about the people this foundation has helped. We’ve rescued those who’ve been abused. We’ve helped train and educate those who needed a hand up. We’ve worked with law enforcement to shut down the drug rings that enslave the innocent, and we’ve helped rescue hundreds of victims across the globe who became caught in a deadly web of human trafficking.”

He leaned forward, his hands on the rail. “That is what you should be focusing on. What you had been focusing on. You helped tell the stories of the good work we do here. You helped spread a message of hope to those who had lost a loved one or who themselves needed help.

“But then one story—one prurient fact shifted that focus. Suddenly it wasn’t about the good that the foundation has done and will do in the future. Instead it became about my father. A man who is exactly the type of horrific human being this foundation was created to fight.”

He closed his eyes and drew in a breath, not caring if he showed a hint of weakness. Because the truth was, he was weak where his relationship to his father was concerned. He’d fought and suffered to leave that man behind, but you could never really escape your past. That was a lesson Devlin had learned the hard way.

He tamped the anger down to continue his speech, seeking out familiar faces in the audience as he said, “There was never a time that Daniel Lopez—my father—wasn’t a vicious, violent bastard. And now that man—that cruel excuse for a human being—is stealing the spotlight from those who deserve it. Now, a man who never felt love and who ruled with fear and intimidation is reaching out from the grave to weaken the very organization that I built to be a stronghold against men like him.”

His voice had taken on a hard edge, reflecting the hatred that he was allowing to bubble to the surface.

It took some effort, but he managed to dial it back, wanting to keep this conference professional. He’d show emotion, yes. But there was a limit to how much he was willing to expose of himself to anyone other than El.

He drew a breath. “This isn’t a conversation I ever wanted to have, but it’s one we must, because Daniel Lopez—the Wolf—has no place in these halls. So I will tell you a story. Once, and only once. And then this foundation will return its focus to our mission of battling the disease of human trafficking and other similar crimes and providing help, education, and training to those who need it.

He paused, looking out on the crowd. Finding El in the audience, the pride in her eyes bolstering him as he paused before continuing to sing the praises of his foundation and the good, work they did, raising up those who needed help and supporting law enforcement as best they could.