CHASED (A Standalone Billionaire Romance Novel) (19 page)

I don’t really want to listen to a word she has to say because yeah, I don’t trust her and just the fact that she’s still fucking Brian tells me that she’s not worth a thought from me, but gosh, her eyes as she looks at me, so nervous and jumpy.

“I heard them the other day Rem.” She whispers, lowering her voice another decibel. “I was so confused at first, still am but…I heard them saying how somebody knew what
they did to you
. Brian was so mad Rem and he and Gareth were almost yelling at each other. And then he called someone and said they needed to take care of things. For good.”

Say what now?

“Lena, are you telling me that-”

“At first I thought he was talking to….but then the other three showed up and they weren’t dressed for golf, you know that Brian, Knox and those other three lackwits are still attached at the hip and…but they were all there eventually and then Brian made this call to someone and it sounded like he was taking orders and…what did they do? I know it’s something bad-”

I’m not even listening anymore as she keeps babbling and the first thing that springs to mind is that my cousin is alone and unguarded in a house with that madman.

“I have to go. Get away from them Lena and stay away.”

“I’m leaving right now. Daddy got me a ticket to Greece to go visit uncle Costa. I, I am so sorry for everything Rem, I need you to believe that. I’m not good or kind or even really very smart but I’m not interested in hurting you…I think Brian wants revenge for whatever is going on between you, him and Chase. You need to be careful Rem, he isn’t a very nice man.” She breathes tearfully, her eyes imploring me to give her a little measure of the trust I had before.

“I know Lena and I plan to see that he gets his. Now listen. Leave, don’t even go back to the house for your luggage. Just get out of here and get as far away as you can..things are going to get a lot uglier and I don’t want you caught in the middle.” I warn, almost bolting from the bathroom.

Before I can open the door she grabs me and hugs me hard, her face a study of remorse when she pulls back and takes a deep breath.

“Be careful Rem.”

“I don’t need to be, I have Chase.” I say, pushing her away as I force my lips into a tight smile.

“Good bye Remy.”

I don’t answer as I open the door and meet Hensely where he’s leaning against the wall, his pose relaxed even as he scans the hallway for threats.

“You okay Rem?”

“Not yet, but I will be.”

Lena doesn’t know what she’s just told me, hell, my family had played the whole incident off as me having a nervous breakdown so no one knows what really happened to me, but I now know something very important, something that Chase needs to know.

There’s a number six to consider in our plans.

I just need to find out who that is.

“Are you sure?”

I watch Chase’s eyes narrow before he starts pacing again and I lean back into the headboard with a sigh, feeling completely wrung out and flummoxed by the nights revelations.

Lena had been so afraid and I honestly think she was just trying to warn me, but Chase is not so forgiving and instead of trusting her words he had Dec pick my cousin up and take her to a secure location. For questioning.

While I hate to think of Lena alone and afraid cause yeah, Dec is one scary dude, I can’t help by feel a measure of relief that she’s with one of ours.

“That’s what she said. Brian was talking to someone else about ending the whole thing while the rest of them were there in the room with him. I don’t know…even when I realized that it was them, it still struck me as odd. You remember them in school hone, they’re not exactly leaders. Hell, Brian was only QB and captain because his parents put the screws to coach Reyner. The man can’t lead a donkey, even dangling a carrot for the beast.”

Chase starts muttering again and I lean back to watch him stalk and prowl around, his hair standing on end from minutes of combing through it in frustration.

“You’re right.”

That’s all that he says before he flops down beside me and stares at the ceiling. We remain quiet for a long time, just thinking, considering angles, I don’t know, just trying not to let it go unanswered and then he’s rolling into me and regarding me with a frown.

“You know that this has to be connected to what happened to you and Liv.”

“Yeah, but for the life of me…they made it sound like this was about you and Gabe.”

“Because it is in a way. We’ve been dismantling their shit for months, years even, and whoever is behind this knows that our only weakness is you. It was a message but I’m beginning to suspect that it was to throw us off the trail and keep us distracted. Whoever started this was not happy. And they were definitely worried.”

Yes, but that in no way clears up the mystery.

“You know, Lena could just be…”

“I’ve considered that.” I huff, turning to look at him from an angle.

He’s propped up beside me and so sexy in his tux bottoms and nothing else that I kinda regret telling him anything before we got home to have sex.

“So, what now?”

Chase grins down at me and starts gently tracing my features, his eyes going lazy when I peek my tongue out and lick at his fingers when they glide over my bottom lip.

“Now we step things up a little and see how they try to cover their asses. Brick is on Brian, he even managed to get a full tap on his phones and Dec has the others covered.”

I accept his words and force myself not to worry or think about any of this because at the end of the day, no matter what happens I am safe here with Chase. He won’t let me go again and I don’t want to.

Even if he still hasn’t told me he loves me.

“No more thinking Remy.” He growls when I start biting at my lips.

His mouth swoops down and he bites into me softly, his teeth sinking in and dragging my lip free before he sucks it into his mouth and starts an alternate sucking, nipping rhythm that I feel all the way to my clit and the emptiness I always feel when he’s not buried deep inside me.

“I’ve thought about doing this all night. You looked so sexy in that dress and all I could think is that I want to run my tongue over every inch your underwear is hugging.”

Oh yes.

He keeps sucking at my bottom lips, his tongue flicking in a parody of what I want him doing between my legs and I feel myself respond almost viciously as arousal hits me and starts readying me for his possession.

The kiss is erotic and soft and so filled with a wealth of care that I feel myself aching with the implications of it. He has to love me, I know he has to because I feel it, even if he can’t say the words.

I feel it in every soft caress as he slowly strips my clothes and undergarments away, in every reverent kiss he places on my skin when he finally abandons my mouth.

I feel it when he licks me to the point of madness before settling over me and ever so slowly pushing forward to fill me. He keeps it slow and easy, gaining access till every part of me is filled and covered by his masculine body.

I feel it when he starts pushing in and pulling out, his rhythm faltering only when I moan and bow up, tensing beneath him when a slow, lazy, yet no less intense orgasms rips its way through me, the lingering jolts of pleasure ripping his own climax from his tenuous control till I’m filled and surrounded by his bliss.

As he pulls out and brings me closer into his arms, our limbs settling into a natural position that only familiarity can bring, I promise to be patient and wait him out.

I know what he feels, I just need to give him time so he can give me the words.

***

Sometimes you just know that something bad is going to happen and no matter how hard you try to analyse the feeling or just be cautious, you know it’s not avoidable.

I woke up with that feeling this morning and spent half the day walking around on eggshells, peeping around corners and just generally being a nancy.

And now I’m sick of hiding in the house behind the walls of Chase’s fortress so I’ve convinced Hensley to take me to Liv’s so that I can at least have a change of scenery and get the lowdown on some gossip.

“Chase wants you home by five. That dinner you’re going to with the Falcone’s is for six and he wants enough time to get you prepared for the security measures.”

I groan and nod once, though truth be told it’s starting to get a little annoying the way I can’t go to the freaking bathroom without somebody knowing if it’s a one or a two.

Liv greets me at the door, her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, her body decked out in a sleek black v-neck sweater and a pair of ripped jeans.

“Hey Girl! Come on up, I ordered Italian for lunch and we’ve got this chickie stopping by who does these amazing massages.”

“Did Gabe or Chase clear this?”

We both ignore Hen and walk up, rolling our eyes at his muttering. Security is one thing but having a baby sitter who calls your ‘parent’ every five minutes to narc on your every move is not cool, not even if you know that the babysitter in question likes you enough to take a bullet for you.

“Jesus, I cannot wait till they catch whoever this is and take care of Brian and those other assholes. I’m going freaking crazy in this place. Yesterday I tried to go for a walk and Chase came home just as I was sneaking onto the elevator.”

I snort and throw my purse onto the coffee table before falling onto the sofa.

“Try having to tell a grown man who looks like he eats nails for breakfast that you ran out of tampons. First time I ever saw Hen look like he wanted to cry.”

Liv snorts and starts laughing, making me join in when I finally admit that I’d had a perfectly good box of the suckers in the bathroom cabinet but that sending him out for feminine hygiene products had been my way of getting back at him for telling Chase that I wasn’t following the rules. Really, I took one walk close to the eastern wall-to check for easy escape areas of course-and all of a sudden I’m being treated like a flight risk.

All I want is a little freedom and they can’t understand it.

“I’ve kinda got a plan to break out of the asylum for today. I need to run on over to Mrs Cadenski’s place. It’s Libbie’s birthday and I promised her months ago that I’d be there.”

I nod because I would love to go to Libbie’s birthday. The little girl and her mom now live on the estate and have much better lives, but Libbie has a rare bone marrow cancer that is proving more aggressive and virulent than any of the treatments her doctors have given her.

There isn’t much hope, but that girl and her mom live every day as if it’s a celebration.

“What you got planned?”

Half an hour later the masseuse is happily munching on Italian and Liv and I are sneaking down the hall out the back door and into the service elevator.

“See? Stick with me kid.” Liv laughs, throwing an arm around me and pulling me closer to avoid the camera in the upper left corner.

“Always Livvie doodle.” I giggle, taking in her disguise of baseball cap and huge, clear lensed glasses.

Never let it be said that Liv doesn’t always dress for the occasion.

“You know what I find really funny Remy?”

I shake my head as the doors open and Liv leads me to the back entrance, her movements stealthy and ingenious as she avoids the cameras and pulls me out the back door behind her.

“What do you find funny Liv?”

We’re outside now and the cold air hits me with a punch that steals my breath as we skirt down the alley and tiptoe down the street, keeping Gabe’s building’s door in view.

“I find it really funny that not one of you ever thought about me.”

I turn to her, a little confused by her tone and my heart just knows…

“I mean, think about it Rem, who had access to your car? Who knew that we were making plans to go away for the weekend? Who has been one step ahead of you this whole time?” she asks quietly, looking at me with a wealth of pity.

“You…I don’t understand.” I gasp, shrieking when a set of strong hands grips my shoulders and pulls me back, into a car I hadn’t even heard pull up.

Liv follows me in and shoves me to the opposite seat, her face a portrait of cool satisfaction when she leans in and plants her lips on…Gareth Knox.

They attack each other, their mouths and groans making my stomach turn, before Knox pulls away and leans back, his demeanour calm and relaxed.

“You’ve been a cause of great annoyance for me lately Remy. Your husband went on a very intensive mission to avenge those photos we put on the net. He’s systematically taken over every company and asset owned by myself and a few of your long lost friends. Even poor Brian hasn’t escaped the man’s wrath.”

My mind is whirling as the car pulls away and starts making its way through the streets. I lunge for the door and grab the latch, gasping when Gareth back hands me and calmly shoves me back, my head ringing from the blow.

“Why Liv?”

She smiles regretfully and shrugs.

“Brian is no fool Remy, he’s kept an eye on Alex since the beginning and he kept you under his thumb as a bargaining chip. When you forced the divorce and shacked up with Marshall he knew it was a matter of time before his whole house of cards came crashing down. So he made a deal. He’d get rid of you and in return, every one that Marshall is after will get a free pass.”

“But you all deserve this!” I yell at Knox, not even bothering with Liv anymore. “You and Brian are monsters! You ruined Chase and then you attacked me.”

He cocks a brow and I have to force myself not to lunge at him across the car and wrap my fingers around his throat.

“We warned him not to touch you. There were already plans in place for you and he was ruining everything. You…we had to find a way to drive you back to Brian.”

“Why! I’m just one person. One woman. What difference could I have possibly made?”

I’m yelling now because I’m getting truly scared. They’re talking as if I’m disposable and yet they seem to be implying that I’m as central to their plans-

“Simple. We needed you to keep Brian in line. He’s in a position to work those all-important defence contracts our way and we in turn make a shit load of money without going through all that red tape. We’ve had the guy by the balls since high school.”

Liv laughs as if the thought of Brian being controlled is hilarious.

“Let me get this straight. The five of you are the masterminds behind arms corruptions and deals?”

Knox laughs loudly and shakes his head.

“Family businesses sweetheart. Our parents started this shit and handed it down. Once we got Brian into a position of power things got easier.”

“Parents?”

Oh God.

“Why want me involved?”

Keep them talking Rem, you have to find all the players.

At that I see Liv’s lips twitch.

“Because mommy dearest used your name on all the documents and Brian got your stupid ass to sign away a lot of your….you know you’ve got a trust fund right?”

They’re both laughing so uproariously that it takes them a while to calm down. I use the time to think and then realize, they’ve all been playing me this whole time and using me and-

“My grandmother left me money?”

“She left it to you and your mom has been dipping her sticky fingers in since your twenty first Birthday. She got access to it the day you signed your marriage certificate. Slipped a few extra documents in there.E asy peasy.”

When they say that last I reach into my coat, the heavy coat Hensley had put on me and grip the gun that I never leave home without. I feel pretty damn good about keeping my shit together as I bring it out and aim, my mouth curved in a slow smile that very quickly has these two dirtbags calming and looking back at me I horror.

“Wanna know something that you didn’t know two days ago? Gabriel may be in love with a woman that doesn’t exist but the guy is no fool. He knew there was something hinky about you the moment Chase told him you ‘got into his computer’. See, Gabe doesn’t leave sensitive information out in the open like that.”