Rules of Her Sins (Their Sins #1) (16 page)

Chapter

Thirty-three

Aedan

I might have to buy one of these chairs for my house. Ahh, I so could use a massage. They are amazing. I’m about to close my eyes when I hear a scream come from the store that Jesse and Laney went into.

I get up and make my way into the store. I scan around for Jesse and Laney, and I can hear Laney talking frantically. I run toward her voice. Shit! Jesse is lying on the floor and Laney has her head in her lap.

“Laney, what happened?” I say with a raised voice.

“She read a note and she passed out,” Laney says while attending to Jesse.

“What note?”

“The sales associate handed her a note and we thought it was from you. It obviously was not. Here, read it.”

“Put it down. I’ll send it to the guys back in the office.” I look at the sales associate and say, “Can I please get a shopping bag?”

He hands me one and I put my hand in the back and pick up the note. I coax the note open. After I read it, I start looking all around. Shit, shit, shit. Whoever is doing this is following us. I need to get the girls out of this mall now.

“Do I need to call an ambulance, sir?” the worried associate asks.

“No, but can you tell me anything about the person that handed you the note? Or can I look at your cameras?” I say in a clipped tone.

“Well, sir, I was on the phone and the guy handed this to me to ‘give to Jesse, the redhead in the changing room.’ He had a black hat on and a black shirt and jeans. Hmm. He wasn’t from around here. He had an accent. Not a foreign accent, but one of someone who may be from the East Coast, like New Jersey or New York. I’d let you see the recording but our cameras are down. Maybe you can try the mall’s security cameras?”

“Thank you. I’ll contact them. Can you please finish checking the ladies out so we can get out of here?”

“Yes, sir.”

I bend over and talk to Jesse, trying to get her to wake up. Her eyes start to flutter. She is trying to get them to open up so she can focus on her surroundings.

“Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed,” she says while she tries to get up.

“Don’t be. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”

“No, I’m fine. I want to get out of here and get home.”

“That we can do.”

I pick her up as the store employee hands Laney all their bags. I take her out of the store and head toward the exit. I am looking around, checking if I can see anyone that looks out of place. I don’t see anyone that looks like they don’t belong, and I head out the doors that will take us back to my SUV.

I need to get this letter to Craig, and I’ll call Johnson on my way to my house. I hope that he can be there when we get there so I don’t have to wait on him. This shit is getting insane and it’s escalating quickly, almost as if they plan to attack when Jesse is the busiest.

I get Jesse into the passenger seat of my SUV and all buckled in with Laney’s help after Laney puts all their bags in the back. This is not the way I wanted this trip to go. I get in the SUV, get situated, grab my phone, and call Johnson.

“Johnson.”

“Can you be at my house in twenty? We have a code red situation. This situation is quickly escalating.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” he says before he hangs up.

The ride back to my house is quiet. Jesse is asleep in the front seat and Laney is on her cellphone in the back. I need to call McCoy, but it needs to be a private call and on a secure line. We are going to have to utilize an emergency plan we’ve never used.

***

Jesse

What the hell. Why can’t I stay awake when I’m stressed out? The fact that I always seem to black out drives me crazy. The ride back to Aedan’s house is really quiet. I’m surprised Laney is keeping her mouth shut. She’s a nervous talker.

I hear Aedan on the phone, but I don’t know who he is talking to. I’m surprised he hasn’t called my father. I really want to talk to him. I wake up enough to get my cellphone out and call him.

Aedan looks at me with a questioning look. I find my father in my contact list and wait for him to answer. He does on the third ring.

“Jesse-bug, why are you calling me so late? Is everything okay?”

“No, Daddy, it’s horrible. I need you,” I sob into the phone.

“I’ll be home first thing in the morning. The company jet is taking off at five in morning Denver time, so I’ll arrive at the airport around eight. Did something else happen since I talked to Hughes a bit ago?”

“Yes, but we will be back to his house in few minutes. I’m sure he will call you when we get settled inside,” I say quickly, hoping I didn’t get Aedan in trouble.

“Sounds good. Love you, Jesse-bug. I’ll see you in the morning. I’m assuming you will be with Hughes when he picks me up.”

“Yes, Daddy. Love you too.” With that, he hangs up.

I lay my head against the coolness of the window and close my eyes. Why can’t I have a normal life?

Chapter

Thirty-Four

Aedan

Johnson is sitting in the driveway when I pull up to the gate. The members of the Alpha Team have the gate combination to get in and the fingerprint ID to get into the house. He is on the phone when I pull into the house, but he meets us inside of the garage when I turn off the SUV.

“Let me get Ms. McCoy and Ms. Spears into the house and settled. I’ll meet you in the office. Go ahead and get Craig on video conference.”

“Yes, sir.”

He opens the door for the ladies and myself, and then walks off to head to the office.

“Mmm. Look at the ass on him, Jesse,” Laney purrs.

“Excuse me, Ms. Spears. Jesse will not be looking at anyone’s ass but mine,” I say.

Jesse giggles and my heart flutters. Damn all this flowery shit.

“I’ll be right back in. I’ll grab your bags from the back of the SUV. Shit. Laney, I need to show you to your room. Give me a few and I’ll be right back.”

Damn, today has me all over the fucking place. I hate being a fucking space case. I run out to the SUV and notice a light shining on the other side of my gate. I pull my gun and creep around the SUV. Jesse comes out the garage door and before I can tell her to be quiet, the person turns off the light and runs away. I can’t see what they look like because they were darkly clothed and my lane is a quarter mile long.

“Sorry, Aedan. What was that all about?” she says.

“It’s probably nothing,” I say as I look around the gate again.

“I was going to ask you to grab my purse, but I’ll get it.”

“I have the bags. Let’s get in the house.” I make sure the garage door is down and go back into the house.

I take the bags up to my bedroom. Then I show Laney her room on the other side of the rotunda, the room next to my media room, or I guess I could call it my second office. She shouldn’t be able to hear Jesse and me if we get a little crazy. I hope she will feel up to it tonight.

I walk back downstairs and Craig is updating Johnson on everything that has been going on.

“Craig, any updates on the emails, phones, calls or who might have gained access to McCoy’s house?”

“Yes, sir. There is a break in the emails. The two that we know about were sent from an internet café in Greenwich, but I have linked over three dozen emails coming from there over the past year. Our server has been stopping them until recently. It’s like they wised up to our security measures we have on our servers.”

“Fuck. Okay. Let’s get Wade on this call. Most of these internet cafés are open twenty-four hours. Maybe we can get him to go there before he takes the McCoy’s to the airport tomorrow.”

Johnson dials Wade’s phone and he doesn’t answer, which is totally unlike him. I tell the guys to keep trying while I go and check on the ladies.

I take the stairs two at a time. Soon, I hear giggling coming from my bedroom. I’m afraid what I’ll walk into, so I try to announce my presence.

“Ladies, are we doing okay? Just checking in on you.”

Holy shit. They are both in lingerie, trying to cover up their bodies.

“Aedan! Turn around!” Jesse screams while Laney smirks.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would be modeling lingerie at this time of night!” I say, almost embarrassed.

“Laney brought some things back from Indy. That was what was in her suitcase,” she says, laughing. “Okay, we have normal clothes on now.”

I walk into the bedroom. “Wow. I should have known you two together would equal trouble! As I was saying before, do you ladies need anything? I have wine downstairs, along with cheeses and fruits. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. If you don’t want wine, the liquor cabinet is in the movie room. And it’s fully stocked.”

“Food and wine does sound good. Thanks, Aedan.” Laney smiles.

“Help yourself to whatever.”

I give Jesse a kiss on the cheek and head back downstairs.

I hope the guys have been able to get a hold of Wade.

Chapter

Thirty-five

Jesse

Laney and I are still laughing at the look on Aedan’s face when he walked in on us. Serves him right. Now I have to figure out something else to wear tonight. We both need to relieve some stress after today.

I know my father will make sure that whoever is doing this will pay. I really don’t know what I did to deserve this. I mean, I know I was spoiled when I was growing up, but after I lost my baby, my attitude on life changed. Maybe not the direction it should have, but I think I’m getting there slowly.

A child, even unborn, can change you. I am sad that I haven’t been able to bring one into the world yet. However, I am glad that it wasn’t with Chet. I couldn’t imagine going through all that he put me through with a child. Actually, I probably would have lost the child in a custody battle since I was accused of being a psychotic drug user. I’m so glad all of that is behind me now.

I thought life was going pretty good. My personal hells have taken a while for me to escape from, but having Laney around has helped me tremendously. I think I’ve finally found a good man and I have nothing but positive thoughts about him. My father is starting to lighten up on me and I am getting ready to graduate from college.

Holy shit, I can’t believe my life is starting to come together and fall into place like I dreamed it would. I haven’t felt like this since I met Chet. I honestly thought Chet would have contacted me over the years, but I guess the two years we were together meant nothing to him.

I’ve accepted that I was nothing to him long ago, but all of this drama is digging up old wounds and pulling me down. That is why I want to do something special for Aedan. Or Denny. I love that his family calls him that. The nickname is cute. I’ll have to get that story out of him one day.

Laney and I head downstairs and hit the kitchen. We can’t hear the guys talking in Aedan’s office, but I am assuming they are still in there because the door is shut. I walk over to the fridge and open it. Damn. Either the guy knows how to shop or he has the housekeeper do his shopping. I miss having one, but it’s something I can’t afford right now.

“What are you in the mood for, Lanes? Everything you can think of is in here. There’s a wine chiller under the bar too.” I look back at her to get her answer.

“Girl, I don’t want wine. Beer or a mixed drink sounds good. Liquor before beer, I have totally no fear! Let’s do a few shots and then decide.”

We go into the family room bar and see what he has. He wasn’t kidding. The cabinet looks like he has an actual bar in here. We opt for Jack and down three shots quickly.

I’m feeling the buzz from the fiery liquid that I just poured in my belly. I better eat or everything will be coming back up.

“Okay, what sounds good?”

“I wonder if he has a pizza place on speed dial.”

“Maybe we should ask him because he was kind of weirded out when I went out to the garage earlier. I’ll go ask.”

“Really? Just for a pizza, Jess?” Laney whines.

“Yes. In addition, I don’t know how to get through the gate. I kind of feel like I’m locked away here, but that means that no one can get in as well.”

I get off the bar stool and stumble to Aedan’s office. I get there and knock on the door. After the forth knock, Johnson opens the door.

“Hi, um…can I have a pizza? I mean, we want to order a pizza but I don’t know what to tell him about the gate.” I giggle.

Aedan stares at me. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Just a few shots. I’m not drunk.” I giggle again.

“Gentlemen, I think we are finished for this evening. I will be picking up McCoy at eight hundred hours tomorrow. If anything else comes up, call or text my cell.”

He gets up, walks over to me, and pulls me out of his office.

“Oh, Jesse. Maybe you should lay off the hard stuff for a bit. You haven’t eaten much today. How about I make you ladies a pizza? I think I have everything to make one and I will be a lot faster than delivery.”

“Yes, sir. Sounds go—!”

He pulls me into his arms and his lips crash onto mine. His tongue is tracing my bottom lip, begging for entry into my mouth. I open and once our tongues meet, I groan. He tastes like bourbon and mint. His hand goes to my hair while he pulls me even closer to his body with his other hand. Out of nowhere, someone starts clearing their throat.

“Can you two please come up for air? I’m hungry here. Are we getting a pizza or not, Jesse?”

Way to kill the mood, Lanes
.

Aedan pulls his mouth and my body completely into his and laughs.

“Give me a few, Laney. I will make one for you ladies. Normally the housekeeper makes crust and freezes them for me. I like pizza a little too much.” He smiles at her.

“Do I need to have the fire department on standby in case you burn the house down?” She smirks at him.

“No, I happen to be able to cook, thank you. Ask Jess. I can make a mean sandwich.” He lets go of me and grabs my hand. Then he pulls me into the kitchen with Laney trailing.

True to his word, his pizza was amazing. I don’t think I could even make something this good. We drink a beer while eating and then go into the family room with the comfy couches to watch TV. We pick out a girly movie and spread out to watch it. The beginning credits of
Bridesmaids
is all I remember. Then, before I know it, I hear Laney’s whiney voice telling Aedan she can walk herself up to her room.

Aedan gently places me in his bed and removes my clothes, except my tank top and panties.

“You’re absolutely beautiful. I love you,” he whispers.

I’m sure I’m dreaming the whole thing.

***

Aedan

I check to see if she’s awake, hoping she is, but she’s out cold. Still, I’m glad. Today made me realize how much I love her. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that she stays safe. If I have to give my own life, I will.

Wow, maybe I really am in love with her
.

I’ll do whatever it takes to make this relationship a reality and have her in my bed every night for the rest of our lives. I need to find the person behind these unusual personal and company threats and punish them so we can put this drama behind us and move forward with our lives.

After taking off my clothes, I slide back into bed and pull Jesse to me. I have to tell my dick to stay down. I hope it gets some action tomorrow. Four in the morning is going to come way too early.