Trust Game (23 page)

Reese

The orgasm temporarily
paralyzes me. Everett is leaving his mark on the inside today, causing every cell of my being to become more hooked on our enthralling bond and erotic play.

I’m
tuned in to the possessive pleasure as it ravishes through me. His name whips from my lungs, and knowing what will excite him further, I find the words to whisper, “I want a taste.”

“I think you’re trying to beat me at my own games, young lady.”
As he stalks his way up, with a hand and knee on each side of me, his fingers brush my legs and torso. It sends a shiver along my spine and bumps to the surface of my skin.

H
is lips gently press to mine. “One sense left. Breathe in your scent, Reese. It does insane things to me, and so does your taste. I’m hooked.” His mouth hovers above mine before he’s feeding me my flavor with his eager tongue and giving me more of his intense love.

***

My finger
s graze up and down Everett’s firm chest. He’s relaxed and content, and I don’t want to destroy that with devastating news. His arm is around my shoulders as I lie nestled against his side. I could do this with him forever.

“Can I ask how you ended up with this property?”

“It belonged to my parents. My mother stayed in the house after Dad died, but she continually complained that it was too much house for her. Four bedrooms, two baths and an upstairs was too much to take care of, and I think she felt guilt that my brothers and I had to maintain the grounds for her.

“After Krystal died, my mother approached me about buying it from her. I didn’t want her to sell it to a stranger, so after getting my brothers’ approval, I purchased it.
”

“
I love it here.”

“It’s a lot of house for one person, but I knew it would keep me busy. I received some insurance money from Krystal’s death, so I used that to redo the inside and put in the dirt bike track. The distraction got me through the last two years.

“Krystal hated to even come here to visit my parents. There is no way she would’ve wanted to live here, but I always dreamed about how nice it would be to own it. That’s why when I brought you here the first time, I was so touched that you instantly saw what I did.”

I lift my head and kiss his cheek.

“I think it’s wonderful you kept it in the family and made it even more beautiful. It’s still a place where all of you can get together, and your mom can still feel your dad’s presence when she wants.”

“She moved into a
condo, which she enjoys since it’s low maintenance, but she does like coming out here, too.”

“You excite me beyond belief one minute and warm my heart the next. You genuinely love your family, and I love you, Everett.”

Reese

“Sis, what’s with the urgency? Why did you have to come straight over?” Becca asks, seeming a touch irritated.

“I need to talk to Molly. Is she here?”

“Yes, but Trav is picking me up soon, so make it quick.”

“Fine, but you’ve seen him every day for weeks now. I don’t think it will kill either of you to wait a few more minutes. Although, he can’t find out about this.”

“What’s going on?” she asks with a cautious curiosity.

“I don’t want to get you involved because of Travis.” Molly’s bedroom door opens, and she strolls out.

“Hi, Re
ese. How’s it going with the new guy? I’ve seen Bec’s man, and he’s a damn cutie. I hear you have the real bad boy, so I need a peek.”

Molly winks and smiles
as she takes hold of her dark hair and ties it into a ponytail with the band around her wrist.

She’s
been Becca’s best friend since high school and roommate since they began college. I’ve always loved her like another sister since she watches out for mine.

 
The doorbell rings. “Shit, is he here already?” I ask anxiously.

“Yes, I tried to tell you.”

“Just go. It’s Molly I need to talk to, anyway.”

“I want to know what is going on,” Becca says.

“I’ll tell you soon.”

Looking frustrated, she opens
the door. Her irritation is history the second Travis gives her his heart melting grin. “Hey, babe. Ready?” He glances in and spots us. “Oh, hi, Molly … Reese.”

I give him a nervous wave. “Hi, Travis. You two have fun, wherever it is you’re going.”

“Always,” he says, jacking up the wattage on that smile. He kisses Becca’s temple as his arm slips around her back to guide her out the door. It makes me miss Everett, and I was with him only an hour ago at work.

“What’s up?” Molly asks.

“I need your help …” I proceed to tell Molly the scandalous details about Krystal, making her swear she won’t breathe a word of it to anyone, including my sister.

“So, you only want me to look to see what happened to the account?”

“That is it. His wife was anal, so I believe every transaction is written in that check registry. I only need to know where the one hundred and ten grand went after her death.”

Molly bites on her nail and concentrates.

“She would’ve had a beneficiary listed, and that person would’ve needed a death certificate to collect. The funds in her account should’ve been included in her estate, but if her husband was in the dark about the whole thing, it’s likely it wasn’t.”

“Please tell me you can find out.”

She sighs. “Alright, I’ll look tomorrow, but you cannot tell how you uncovered the information. I need the bank as a reference after college, and I definitely don’t want to have to say I was fired from my last job.”

“I won’t. Thank you so much,” I say as I lean over and hug her on the couch. I give her the company name and the account number from the checks I found.

“I’ll look first thing in the morning and call you.”

***

“I’m sorry, Reese. I was hoping, too, that you were wrong, but you’re not,” Sarge says from his chair. “Her damn signature is on every one of these.
” He fans out an entire stack of papers on his desk. They’re the check images printed out on documents from the bank.

“I’m surprised she picked a cleaning company when she knew Sheryl’s fami
ly handled that around here.” Sarge entwines his fingers behind his head and leans back in his squeaky chair.

“Sarge, she had little reason to worry. Had she lived and quit working at Casteel, that vendor number
would’ve basically gone dormant. Without activity, it wouldn’t have shown up on any new reports, and most likely, if anyone had to skim over old ones later, the name wouldn’t have jumped out, especially not for a new employee.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Holly and I didn’t notice that there were two cleaning services in the system, and we spent days going over invoices and reports. No one since Krystal has noticed since there weren’t any new checks being written.”

“Unreal,”
he says, shaking his head.

“Here is the information I got from the bank the account was through. Do you know who this person is?” I hand him the scrap piece of paper where I scribbled the name down that Molly gave me.

“This is Krystal’s sister’s name. She’s a bigger bitch than Krystal ever was. What does this mean?”

“That is who cashed out her account after her death. I’m taking it she and Everett didn’t get along?”

“No, not at all, but I don’t imagine anyone could’ve gotten along with her from the stories Ev told me.”

“That means she would’ve felt n
o remorse in keeping this money.”

“Was she in on it?” Sarge asks.

“I don’t see how she could’ve been or how it would’ve benefited Krystal. I imagine the authorities will have to investigate that. If I had to guess, Krystal told her about the account in the event something happened to her.

“
Hell, she might’ve even told her that she was embezzling. If her sister is dishonest or didn’t like Ev, then she probably encouraged Krystal to take what she could get.”

“Fuck, she probably couldn’t wait to get that death certificate and go collect. Reese, do you want me to tell Everett alone?”

“No way. I have to explain to him why I even investigated her. I don’t want him to think I went looking to find her guilty from the start.”

“Are you OK?” he asks.

“I feel better about telling him now that we have so much evidence. Although I haven’t been in Everett’s life long, I believe he trusts me, and knowing another woman loves him the way he deserves is what I believe will get him past this.”

“Do you want to get him?” Sarge asks before running his hands down his red face. I
’m beginning to think he should get his blood pressure checked.

“Yeah, I will.” I grab my stomach as I cross the hall and open Ev’s door. This breaks my heart.

“Hey, baby,” he says before seeing the stress on my face. “What’s wrong?” he asks as his brow furrows.

“I need you to come over to Sarge’s office. We found the discrepancy for the audit, and we have to discuss it with you.”

“You look distraught, Reese. Tell me what it is.”

“Not here. You have to see the paperwork.”

His brow only furrows more as he approaches me. I wrap my arms around his waist and cling to him.

“I love you,” I say.

“I love you, too, but you’re freaking the shit out of me right now. Come on.” He begins trying to exit, so I let him go.

“Alright, you two need to tell me whatever this is,” he says once I close Sarge’s door behind me.

“I …” Closing my eyes for a second, I dig for courage. “I discovered a checkbook hiding in my office, taped inside the back wall of a file cabinet. Upon investigating, I found evidence to support that Krystal was embezzling from Casteel.”

Ev’s eyes dart to Sarge’s. He nods at Everett with a weary, sad look, backing up what I said.

“I can’t fucking believe this,” he says.

I go to touch his arm, but he jerks away.

“I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“I meant I can’t fucking believe
you
.” His eyes narrow on me and fill with fury. “All along I’ve known you were jealous of her and insecure. You’ve worried that I still love her, yet I’ve done nothing short of giving you all of me.”

“Everett, she has proof.”

My eyes flood with tears as his words stun me.

“Proof she has somehow concocted. How can you believe her over Krystal after all the years she was in our family, not to mention the countless hours she put into this place?”

“How can you believe her over Krystal?!” I shout, wondering if I heard him right. “This after you tell me you’ve given me all of you?”

“OK, you both need to calm down, and Everett, you need to let us explain to you what we found.”

“I don’t need to do shit since I know my wife wasn’t a thief. She wouldn’t have betrayed me that way,” he says, pointing to Sarge.

“But I would, right?” I ask as tears fall to my cheek
s.

His eyes slowly turn back to me with a glare full of hatred that I didn’t know he could find in himself.

“How pathetic, Reese that you need to hurt me and tarnish her name to feel secure,” he says.

I hear the smack
and Sarge jumping from his chair before I realize what I’ve done. Everett’s head is turned to the side, the red mark clearly evident on his face. He turns back to me, and I get a glimpse of sadness and confusion now mixed with his fury.

“I guess I am pretty pathetic. Pathetic
to have believed a single word you have said to me. ‘Trust me, Reese’ is all I ever hear.”

“
And I was obviously a fool to trust you,” he sneers.

“Everett, you’re going to fucking regret this, so shut your damn mouth!” Sarge yells.

I throw my finger out.

“
I gave you my heart and spent countless hours trying to save your ass from losing this whole fucking business and going to jail.

“
Well, you’ll have plenty of time in your cell to think about how perfect your wife was because if you don’t say she did this, then that’s where your ass is going, and I hope hell is waiting for you after.”

I s
torm from Sarge’s office and grab my purse. When I get to the car, I don’t even recall fleeing from the store. I’m shaking uncontrollably as I sob, livid that I ever allowed myself to be this vulnerable. Why did I ever let him in?

Everett

A growl roars from me as
I tear into my office and clear everything off of my desk with the powerful strike of my arm. I grab hold of my head and envision pulling my hair out. I can’t remember a time when I felt this angry.

“What the hell is going on?” Roman asks from my doorway. I glance back and see Travis, too
, the look of panic and confusion on their faces.

“Get the fuck out!”

“You should listen to him,” I hear Sarge say. “Everett you need to calm down. I’m sure customers can hear you,” he adds before he shuts the door behind him.

“Get out, Sarge.”
I’m pacing my office with a firm grip still on my hair. He walks over and slaps a folder on my desk, so I turn away from him.

“When you calm down enough to drive without killing yourself, you need to go home and read this. The proof is still going to be here whether you accept it or not, but I guess you’re calling me a damn liar, too.

“You know, I pray Reese forgives you when you come to your senses. She’s the best goddamn thing to ever happen to you, but there’s a part of me now that doesn’t believe you deserve her.”

He leaves, and I slam my fists onto my file cabinet. I have fucked up. I feel it. My past was a fucking lie, my present is a nightmare, and I just threw away my future, like it never meant shit to me.