Hacker Betrayed (White Hat Security Book 11), page 11
The young officer’s brows drew together. “Ms. Renolds, this is from the victim's apartment, and your brother's fingerprints are the only ones inside the place. Now I would like for him to tell me how they got on the table.”
My sister slammed her hands against the table, and the two men flinched. “Well, my fingerprints are on this table. Do you plan to call me in when someone is murdered in here and my fingerprints show up during the investigation? I already explained that is not the victim’s table.”
While I waited in the room earlier for my sister to show, I pondered how the hell someone stole my prints. The only places I went to were the club, work, and my house. Mia’s explanation of someone lifting them bothered me. I couldn’t think of a person who would only come after me.
For a while, I worried my sister wouldn’t show up to defend me. Cara was always annoyingly early. The second she found out one of us needed her, she would drop everything and run to our aid. She walked out on her date two months prior because I asked her a couple of questions about a service contract. The answer could have waited, but she rushed over. Except for today. I sat in the cold room and stared at the analog clock on the wall and waited. Higgins had come in and tried to ask me questions. Played up the fact we’d known each other for years. I asked for a phone call, and his lips went flat.
As each minute passed, I thought my sister wouldn’t show up, or that Mia didn’t call her. When Cara finally stepped into the room, I opened my mouth, and she quickly shook her head. With the added glare, I knew not to say a word.
“We have a video of your client with the victim an hour before her death,” Officer Fredricks stated with a smug smile. He’d rambled on about Mia being wrong, and how when his tech proved the video was real, he wouldn’t need any more evidence to send me away for years. He went on to tell me the Ellisons needed to be in jail. The conversation I had with Donovan in my study came to mind the more the police complained about my adoptive father and stepbrother. With everything going on with Mia, I hadn’t bothered to follow up or make a call to my siblings.
I still was stuck on who framed me. To retrieve my prints, the person had to be in my inner circle. The same person had to know about Mia. Neither Ruben nor Javion knew Mia existed. I hadn’t talked to my brother in a few years, and my conversations with Ruben were completely restricted to business. Nora was on a meditation retreat for the past two months, so I hadn’t had to field a call about when I planned to settle down. Out of my four siblings and my two stepsiblings, Nora thought I would marry first.
The second I met Mia, I could picture her as my wife. The plan I formulated in my mind was to wear her down until she said yes. Except now she’ll hate me when the truth behind her friend's death comes out. Someone was after me and used her friend to frame me. They’d kidnapped her son. Jesus, they shot her with a dart. But I still didn’t know why.
Cara’s voice pulled me out of my head. “You think the deepfake will stand in a court of law?” She didn’t wait for them to answer. “My brother has an alibi for the time the supposed lunch happened. Mia said you asked where my brother was at six p.m., but from the independent research done on this case, the murder happened at five p.m.” Cara’s voice held an edge. Outside the courtroom, she knitted baby blankets and sold them on Etsy. The woman had around six rescue cats and each had a knitted sweater—her career drove her, just like my brothers and I. I’m not sure if she ever broke the law in her life, a sterling record which would help her on her path to becoming the attorney general.
“This case will finally take down one of the Ellisons and prove Blackwood Mercenary is a fraud. Every person in this precinct knows Brock and Antonio are as corrupt as they come.” Officer Fredricks tossed a folder on the table and flipped to the coroner’s report. The top right corner displayed the time of death. My eyes scanned over the sheet of paper. Mia had the tech and weapon stuff down, but I understood medical reports. None of the other information contradicted the time of death. What caught my eye was the name at the bottom of the report. “You can see right here the coroner reported the correct information.”
I pointed to the name at the bottom, and the officer tried to pull the sheet back, but I needed nothing else to know who was behind everything. My damn partner and mentor. He had a brother who worked as a coroner in Texas. The name signed at the bottom of the sheet was his. Dr. Cliff mentored me through my residence. He’d told me the practice he ran was about to close. After a careful review of his books and a new business plan, I bought half the practice, and we turned the place into a gold mine. The Ellison family had created a trust fund for me. I used a portion of the money to buy into the practice. Since then, I have had more money than I could see possibly to spend.
Ruben and I spoke about business. He was never around much growing up. The hedge fund company he ran kept him busy. I think he also had women around the world, but I didn’t push the issue because Nora didn’t want to discuss the woman I caught Ruben with once. For life advice, Dr. Cliff had lent me an ear, and I considered him family. I told him about Mia and how she was everything to me. Fuck. I’d also told him we planned to bring her into the club to investigate.
“I think I’ve seen enough falsified records for today. If you want to speak to my client again, you call me first. Your chief wants to see you both in his office, by the way. For the record, your deputy chief is no longer employed. Maybe next time, follow the evidence, and you won’t make fools out of yourselves.” My sister turned toward Detective Higgins. “Also for the record, I don’t think you believed this shit. Chief already explained how this guy pulled a couple of strings on the case. He won’t have a job after today, I bet, and neither will the coroner.” My sister’s voice was stony.
“Like fuck you’re taking him out of here.” Officer Fredricks jumped up from his chair, and it flew back and hit the wall. “He killed Tabitha. I know he did.”
“Little advice, Officer. Your brother-in-law, the coroner, already admitted to the false claims. It’s already come out how you’re married to the coroner’s sister-in-law. She had him to falsify the information. And Dr. Cliff is in the room next door because when you walked out of my brother’s practice with him, Dr. Cliff and his wife pulled a gun on Mia.”
“What?” How the hell was my sister so calm?
“She’s fine and waiting for you out front. I needed to see if we could get any more information out of these two.”
My sister could handle the rest of whatever she needed. The officer argued with my sister as I rushed out the door and down the hall. I caught sight of Mia through the police door window. She wasn’t alone. My brothers waited next to her, along with everyone from Blackwood Mercenary. Hell, there were people I didn’t even recognize as I walked through the door.
Mia ran across the small room and leaped into my arms. I caught her midair as she wrapped herself around me like a monkey. “You came.”
“Of course, I did. Sorry I was late, but I got a little tied up,” she giggled.
“You should hate me. I’m the reason your friend is dead.”
She pulled back and narrowed her eyes. “You can’t control crazy. Didn’t you make a promise to take me to the club?”
Mia's fingers twined with mine as we walked through the club toward the private rooms. Tonight, the only eyes I wanted on her were mine. “You didn’t tell me the club was doing an eighties night. I’m not dressed correctly.”
The original plan was for me to drop the items I bought for her in the locker room, but they were at the house. My arrest cut into my time with her. Technically, the club was open all night, and I could easily have run home to grab the gift, but I wanted to strip her naked and look over her body myself. She’d promised me, my former partner and assistant hadn’t hurt her, but until I traced my hand over her entire body, I didn’t believe anyone.
“You won’t have clothes on very long, and if you are so upset you don’t match everyone else, you can go naked the rest of the night. Now get your ass in the room.” I slapped her ass, which was only covered by a small black skirt. The outfit was a spare the club had for when subs didn’t have an outfit for the night.
Mia walked to the center of the room and dropped to her knees. She bowed her head, a perfect sign of submission. “Has anything changed since you filled out your original limit list with the club?”
We had many of the same no’s on our sheets. A few things she was open to, but I knew I could never share her, not even with a female. I wasn’t past admitting I was jealous, even when other men looked at her.
“Nothing’s changed, Sir.”
“Brock said Dr. Cliff came after me because of money. He was the mastermind that used my club. You aren’t here because of a mission.” I pressed a finger under her chin until our eyes connected. “If we continue tonight, I will not let you walk away. Do you understand that, Mia? Think long and hard about your choice. I won’t blame you if you walk out the door.”
She rolled her eyes. “You weren’t the only one to blame. Felicity recognized me the first time I came to the club. The corset showed the small tattoo on my shoulder. She and her husband used connections at the club to assist with the kidnapping of the woman. They owe millions to a bookie. They followed me and I led them to Lucas. They thought they could leverage more money out of me with a ransom. When you told Dr. Cliff about the investigation, they came up with a plan to blackmail me into helping them instead.”
I tugged the tie out of her hair. “Why jeopardize everything for more money? The practice brings in millions of dollars.”
She sighed. “If we try to figure out why people turn to greed, I’ll be on my knees all night, and not in a fun way.” I stepped to the side as she reached her hand out.
Brock had told me I had nothing left to worry about, but I couldn’t help but feel a piece of the puzzle was missing. Mia was right. We would solve nothing in the room, but I could feast on her sexy body.
I sat down in the padded red chair and stared at the sexy woman in the center of the room. “Stand up and take your skirt off.”
She kept her eyes on me as she gracefully rose from her knees. Her thighs flexed as she stood on her six-inch high heels. When I pulled up to the club, she opened the door to her backseat and pulled out a pair of cherry-red high heels with diamond studs. Shoes were never something I cared if a woman wore, but when she stepped out of the dressing room, I suddenly wanted to buy her a million pairs. “Leave the shoes on.”
“Why, Dr. Renolds, do you have a shoe fetish?” She turned her back to me and bent forward. She didn’t have any underwear on under the damn skirt.
“Woman, you are going to kill me. When did you lose your underwear?”
She looked over her shoulder. “They were so wet earlier. I didn’t want to put them back on, so I placed them in your top drawer.”
Her ass wiggled as she shimmed the skirt down her legs. “I guess on Monday I’m going to have to inspect them. It seems like you will need to tell your boss you’ll be late because I’ll need you to answer questions during my investigation. Now your top.”
“What will you do during your investigation, Sir?” she asked as she unbuttoned her shirt and exposed the top of her breasts.
“Fuck. That’s hot.” I wanted to swoop her up into my arms and fuck her against the wall. Instead, I kept myself planted in the chair and watched as she reached behind her back and unclasped her bra.
The tension of the day drained from my body as she sauntered toward me. Brock wanted to meet, and my brothers wanted me to answer more questions. Another reason we were in a private room. I was sure they were all out in the main area, but tonight I wanted to spend time with only Mia. “You never answered me, Sir. What will happen on Monday when I’m ordered to your office?”
She was only a foot away when I reached out and captured her wrist. I caught her as she stumbled forward. “I’ll bend you back over my desk. I’ll need to compare the ones you have on Monday to the ones in my desk.”
Mia straddled my legs, and she nipped the bottom of my ear. “What will you do if I make another pair wet and can’t wear them?”
The woman was intoxicating, and I was sure I’d never get enough of her.
“You’ll find out on Monday, but tonight I have another idea. Are you scared to be tied up?” She’d said nothing changed on her limit list, but I wanted to check her headspace.
“I trust you, Sir.” She placed both her hands together in front of her.
I grabbed the rope next to the chair and wrapped it around her wrists. Not too tight, but enough so she wouldn’t move.
After I tied the last knot, she tested the tension and frowned. “I’ve escaped ropes in my job many times over the years. This might be the first time I can’t get out. How did you learn this?”
If she tugged on the piece I left loose, the knot around her wrists would fall apart. I’d tell her the secret later.
I cupped her naked ass and stood with her in my arms. My cock pressed against my scrubs. I laid her in the center of the bed and hooked her hands through the hole in the center of the headboard.
The club manager had stocked the room for me before the shit show at work. I’d wanted to watch the club, and then when everyone went home, I planned to scene with her in the room.
Mia tried to lift her arms when I grabbed a pink clamp from the side table. “Time for a little decoration.” My lips wrapped around her nipple, and she squirmed under my touch. Before she could register my plan, I slipped the clamp in place.
I repeated the action on her other side. “Sir, my nipples are sensitive.”
Oh, that would make this even more fun. “Good to know. While you breathe through the pain, I think we should talk about what’s next.”
Yep, I didn’t plan on playing fair when it came to Mia.
“I’m not sure this is the right time to have that discussion. My head is not thinking clearly.”
I cupped her breasts and tugged on the clamp in a way that made her purr. “Well, I’m in the mood to discuss what’s next. Did you forget I’m in charge?”
I rolled her nipple in a way that made her writhe against me.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re in charge when it comes to sex. Outside of the bedroom, we are equals. You can’t bring those conversations in here and not let me have a say.”
I gave a quick flick to the clamp. “The sex part I am in control of. That’s why I want to have a conversation about the other part. I said we could talk about what you wanted next.”
“Damn it, you know what I mean.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and laid down on the bed next to her. “I worry you will keep delaying the conversation. You said earlier you and Lucas are a package deal. I wouldn’t want it any other way. We can fly up and get him tomorrow and bring him back to my house.” My brothers would start with how I moved too fast, but the only person whose opinion I cared about was Mia’s. Society crafted rules and thought everyone should conform to them. I wasn’t interested.
“What happens if I want you to move in with me?”
“Okay.” My place is just a house. Wherever Mia and Lucas were would be home. If Mia wanted us to live in a cardboard box, I would. “We can swing by my house and grab my clothes.”
She shook her head. “No, I was making a point. I like you, Paxton. This is moving fast. Do I have to decide tonight?”
“No,” I whispered. “Just so you know, Mia, I more than like you. I fell in love with you the second you walked into the conference room. I’ll wait until the end of time for you.” Before she could reply, I pulled the clamp from her nipple and replaced it with my lips.
“Damn you,” Mia grunted as I took the second clamp off.
“I need you, Mia.”
I discarded my pants and climbed between her legs. “You’re so damn wet, Mia.”
“Please, Sir.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. I grabbed a condom and rolled it down my cock before I sank into her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist.
“I feel the same, Sir. I’m scared to say it.”
Her eyes rolled back as I pushed deep inside of her. I didn’t need to hear the words. I had enough love for both of us. Her sex gripped me, and I couldn’t hold on any longer.
“Can we start with me staying with you?”
I placed a kiss on her lips. “Yes.”
And I planned to never let her leave.
Ashlyn
I stared at the man to whom I owed everything. We came from the same background, except I trusted him to have my back.
If he ever found out I was madly in love with him, he would stop our friendship. The one time we kissed in the fourth grade stayed in my mind. I thought it would be the start of something. But he told me we couldn’t be together. Since our families were rivals and my sister made things even worse. Also, it didn’t help he spent so much time away at boarding school.
Then when I got ready to go to college, I asked around until I knew where he planned to go. In my life, I always tried to fit in. I wasn’t the pretty sister or the smart one. My damn business was about to cave. And all I could think about was what one night with Jordan would be like.
“Did you hear me, Ash?”
“Sorry, spaced out for a second.”
“I was saying the party your parents are having tomorrow will be the perfect opportunity to put our plan in motion. The number of people present will give you an alibi.” His plan to take down my enemy wasn’t perfect, but the party would be a perfect cover.
Jordan stood and fixed his suit. “I’ll put everything into motion. In case something goes wrong, nobody will link our plan back to you. You know I would go with you, but…”
His presence at my parents’ house would draw too many questions.
If our plan worked, I could walk away from my family and forge a new life.
