by Ivy Nelson
Jax laughed. “If you say so. You got a few minutes?”
Austin nodded. “Come on in.”
“Thanks. I’m here to talk about Patrick. He hired me over the weekend and said you might have some police reports and stuff I could look at.”
“I do. I probably shouldn’t give it to you here though. The file got taken away from me—long story,” she said when he raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m not supposed to have copies, but I do.”
Jax laughed. “I’m not asking questions then. What can you tell me about the situation? Are there people I should talk to?”
Austin pulled out a notepad and wrote down a list of people she knew to be involved in the investigation. “This is where I would start. I’m going to do some digging on my own. I’m not sure how much I’ll have to do with his defense though. My bosses want me on another project right now, but I’m here for anything you need that might help him.”
Jax thanked her and said he would call her if he needed anything else. “You and Patrick a thing now? I saw your little performance at the club this weekend.”
Austin felt her face heat. “Shh. We’re mostly keeping it a secret. As far as the members are concerned, I’m just a house submissive who volunteered for a demo.”
Laughter shook Jax. Good luck convincing anyone of that, sweetheart. There a reason you’re keeping it quiet?”
Austin shrugged, unsure of how much she should tell him about the email she got. “Ask Patrick. He’ll give you the details if he wants to,” she said.
The tall cowboy shrugged. “Don’t make no never mind to me.”
Austin stared at him. What did that even mean? He was southern to the core and she found it charming, but sometimes he said things that just made her scratch her head.
He stood to leave and tipped his cowboy hat. “Talk soon,” he drawled.
Austin spent the rest of the morning reading up on her new case.
A stern knock on her door made her jump. “Come in.”
The door opened and a folder landed on her desk. “I guess I’m taking the Rosaline Nash case,” Jack said, irritation clear on his face. “Here’s your damn file back.”
Austin stared at him. For someone who didn’t think the firm needed this case, he sure was grumpy about giving it back to her.
She feigned surprise. “What happened?”
“David Eastman called and threatened to pull his business from the firm if we didn’t put you back in charge of the case.
The feigned surprise became genuine. Damn rich people and their meddling. It was worth it though to see Jack so worked up.
Keeping the glee from her face was hard, but she managed to shrug and say, “I’m a familiar face. That’s all, Jack. I’m the one who brought the Eastman account into the firm, and I brought Patrick in as well. They know me. If you were facing prison, you would want someone you were familiar with too.”
Jack turned to stalk out of the room.
“Wait!” she called after him.
When he poked his head back in, she handed him the Nash folder. “Don’t you want your case file?”
He snatched it from her and stormed out again.
With a grin stretched across her face, she pulled her phone out to text Patrick.
Thank you for that.
His response was nearly instant.
You can thank me in person.
With your mouth
On my cock
Austin’s face warmed at the thought of his thick shaft hard on her tongue. Her phone ringing interrupted her fantasies.
“We’re having dinner with a friend tonight,” Patrick said when she answered.
“Oh. Ok. Who with?”
Patrick laughed. “Jax. You sound disappointed.”
“I was just thinking I could have you for dinner.”
He hummed. “I like the sound of that. How about for dessert instead?”
“Where are we going?”
“I thought you could pick. But no stunts like last time. I do not feel like dealing with a mob of reporters today.”
“I’ll avoid the popular press hangouts, but they’re good at their jobs. Don’t be surprised if they find us. I’ll text you a place and we’ll just meet there?”
Patrick agreed and Austin hung up, still imagining having him for dessert. Daydreaming about boys was not her usual style, but Patrick was proving to be different in so many ways.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Patrick sat next to Austin in the small Italian restaurant and listened to Jax lay out his plan for investigating the diamond heist. Jax wasn’t a law enforcement official so some things would be harder for him, but others would be a lot easier, as he wasn’t bound by law enforcement rules.
“Is there anything you need me to do?” Patrick asked when there was a break in the conversation.
Jax shook his head. “No, but there are a few things you should avoid. Eye-fucking your attorney when the media is likely to be watching is one of them.”
Austin’s mouth fell open and Patrick scowled. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be too irritated with the man, because his assessment wasn’t wrong. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Watching her was so fun and she was sexy as hell on top of it. Not to mention, he couldn’t keep sex with her off his brain for more than an hour at a time. Especially when she was sitting right next to him, where he could smell her perfume and reach out and touch her under the table.
Patrick glanced around the restaurant to make sure no one could hear them before leaning closer to Jax. “If you had a pretty little submissive like this one you would be eye-fucking her in public too.”
Austin blushed and smacked his leg under the table while Jax just laughed and shook his head. ‘Maybe, but I’m also not facing prison time.
Patrick sobered quickly. Funny how the mention of prison could do that to a person.
“You’re right. I’ll try to be on my best behavior from now on,” he said with a wink in Austin’s direction.
“Do you have any ideas about who might be setting you up for this?”
Patrick shrugged. It was something he’d been thinking about since the police first questioned him. “The only name that comes to mind is my father. But if that’s the case, I don’t understand why he’s not going after Holly too.”
Jax picked up a breadstick and dunked it in the garlic butter. “From what I could tell when I was investigating him before the arrest, he really does care about your sister in his own twisted way. I hate to break it to you, but she was definitely the favorite.”
Patrick leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “Believe me, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
“So, there’s nobody else that comes to mind?”
Patrick shook his head. “I suppose Troy Wilson should be on the list since he kidnapped Holly and tried to burn my lab down. I did hire someone who worked for my father, but he passed multiple background checks.”
Jax stopped eating, a forkful of spaghetti in mid-air. “Now why in the Sam Hill did you hire them?”
Patrick shrugged. “My father going to jail put a lot of people out of work. Not all of them were familiar with his criminal activity. He was good at compartmentalizing.”
Jax nodded. “And what does this person you hired do?”
“He’s a tech in one of my production labs now. Since he was a quality assessor for the jewelry stores, I figured he could help us improve our quality and put an even bigger dent in the mined diamond market.”
Jax just shrugged and resumed shoveling pasta into his mouth. “No idea what any of that means,” he said between bites, “but I’ll take your word for it.”
“How did you get the idea to hire him?” Austin asked.
Patrick let his mind wander back to a couple of months after the arrest. “I had an offhanded conversation with Grant Sterling. He mentioned some of the folks who lost their jobs were having a hard time getting back on their feet, so I looked into it and put Tim Reyes to work. His daug
hter has some rare disease and her medication is expensive.”
Jax frowned. “That sort of thing makes a person very easy to blackmail. And who is Sterling in all of this? I remember the name coming up months ago.”
“He was technically head of my father’s PR. Has his own firm, but my father was his only client for several years. He managed to keep himself clean when the arrests started happening. Dated my sister for a while, pretty sure he’s still hung up on her, but I can’t prove that.”
Jax nodded. “OK. I’ll dig into him too.”
Austin reached for the salad bowl and dished more onto her plate. “I’m going to be conducting pre-trial interviews of a lot of people in that circle. Let me know if that helps you in any way. I’ll mostly be looking for character witnesses and people to confirm his alibi, but if there are specific questions I should ask, just let me know.”
Jax smiled. “Just tell me if anyone says anything that might give them a motive. We can talk again after I’ve done my initial investigation.”
The conversation moved from the pending legal battle to more friendly topics, and the threesome spent the rest of their dinner laughing and enjoying each other’s company. The atmosphere was quiet and friendly and delightfully reporter free.
Patrick had always admired Jax, a rough and tumble cowboy from Texas who went from the military to private security. He had a knack for investigative work and launched his own firm that included private investigation as well as security work. Solitaire had been among his first clients and now, thanks to word of mouth, his business was thriving.
When Jax stood to leave, he pulled Patrick into a hug. “See ya at the weekend,” he said. Turning, he bent and kissed Austin on the cheek. “Keep him in line, sweetheart.”
“Gotta keep him out of jail first,” Austin said with a wink.
When he was gone, Patrick turned to Austin. “You ready to get out of here, baby girl?”
She nodded. “How long before you have to go back to California?”
“I fly out in the morning. David’s coming into town.”
Austin’s smile was wide. “I’m so glad he’s doing better. He scared us all for a bit.”
Patrick nodded as he remembered his friend and mentor’s cancer diagnosis. He’d beaten it, though, and was on the verge of being able to come back to the helm of Eastman Enterprises. When he did, Patrick would gladly step aside and be his right-hand man again.
Patrick signed the check for their meal and stood with Austin. When they stepped outside, a small group of reporters accosted them. Austin repeatedly said no comment as they walked to the waiting car. When he opened the door, she leaned in and whispered. “I’m going to get a cab, or they’ll all follow us to the hotel. At least this way they have to split up.”
Patrick frowned, but Austin was already stepping away. “I’ll call you next week, Mr. Sutton,” she said loud enough for reporters to hear. Patrick shook his head and slid into the backseat. He watched in the rear window as Austin slipped into one of the many cabs parked in the waiting zone. His phone buzzed as his car pulled away.
I’ll be at your hotel in an hour. Just going to give them some time to lose interest.
It was the smart thing to do, but he’d had plans for the car ride home that involved her having him for dessert. He would just have to remind her who was in charge when she showed up at his room.
• • •
Austin and Patrick sat snuggled on the couch watching TV together three hours later. He’d forced her to her knees the second she’d stepped through his door, but now they were done playing and were enjoying each other’s company.
“I realized today that I don’t actually know that much about you,” she said. Her head was resting in his lap, and she had stretched her legs over the arm of the couch.
He smiled down at her. “What would you like to know?”
“Anything you’re willing to tell me.”
Patrick chuckled. “I’m willing to tell you anything, baby girl. I just need to know what you’re looking for. I don’t want to just bore you with my life story.”
“Why the fascination with the pumpkin diamond?”
He winced. “You don’t want to start with an easy one, like my favorite movie or something?”
Austin laughed. “Nope.”
He sighed and trailed a finger along her jawline. “It was my mom’s diamond. That’s the only reason dad got that one. She was obsessed with Halloween. Holls and I were always dressed in crazy costumes that she made for us when we were kids, and she decorated the entire house, inside and out. She had followed the history of the pumpkin for years. One day, dad brought it home. I don’t know if he stole it or bought it legally to be honest, but it thrilled mom.”
Austin felt her eyes begin to water, knowing how his mother died.
“When mom died, I wanted to take the diamond with me, but dad wouldn’t let me have it. He was just pissed that I was leaving and accusing him of having her killed. When I started working with David on lab produced diamonds, I started trying to duplicate the pumpkin as best I could. I haven’t gotten it right yet.”
Austin shifted on his lap to get into a more comfortable position. “You will. I believe in you.”
Patrick smiled. “Thanks baby girl. A lot of people believe in you too, you know.”
She closed her eyes, still not wanting to discuss this. “How did you get into business with David?” she asked, hoping to divert his attention.
His face lit up and she knew it worked. He clearly loved David. “I’m an investor at heart. I took my trust fund the day I was old enough and started investing it. I made some smart choices, and it wasn’t long before I had an impressive portfolio. I started investing in upstarts that were either in direct competition with my father or who had the potential to be with the right guidance. I met David at a tech convention where he was touting an improved way to produce diamonds in a lab.”
He paused, running a hand through his hair. “You sure you want to hear all of this? I can ramble.”
Austin nodded. “Yes, please. I think it’s all very fascinating.”
“OK. So, David has way more money than I do. That was even more true back when I met him. I think he saw me as someone he could take under his wing. That’s really David in a nutshell, always looking for people to teach and help. But I was intrigued by what he was doing with lab produced diamonds, and he was impressed with my portfolio enough to offer me a job. I didn’t really need one, but I took it because I wanted to work with him. I guess the rest is history. When he comes back to run his company, I’ll still work with him, but we’re talking about branching out and trying to bring other lab producers into the fold to form a giant coalition.”
Austin didn’t completely follow everything he was saying but knew it was important to him, so she listened intently. “That all sounds really amazing.”
“What about you? How did you meet David?”
Austin clapped her hands over her face and shook her head laughing. “I met him while I was strapped to a St. Andrew’s cross in Vegas at one of Hunter’s parties. It was my birthday, actually.”
Patrick laughed, the vibrations of it coursing through her as she snuggled him. “How did you go from that to being one of his attorneys?”
“We played together that night. I was mouthing off—as I do—and he told me I’d earned the cane, but that I could get out of it by reciting a specific section of contract law while he used a flogger on me. Then had the audacity to tell me he didn’t think I could do it.”
Patrick raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”
Austin nodded. “Of course I did. He was impressed, and as it turns out, he was looking for an attorney who knew contract law. Criminal law is my first love, but I bill the most hours on contract law. He asked for my card before the party ended and called me the following Monday.”
“See?” Patrick said. “He’s just one more person who really believes in you, baby girl. I’m not the only one.”
> Austin sighed and sat up. “I know. I really need to just take the leap. It’s on my mind and I think I’m almost ready.”
“I’m here to support you every step of the way, but that’s enough talk for now,” he said, his voice growing husky. “I need to fuck you again.”
Austin whimpered as his hand found her pussy, and soon they were lost in each other.
The next morning, she woke early to find Patrick had already left. There was a note on the table along with coffee and donuts.
Baby girl,
Here is the card for a property manager. I know the owner of a building with space to rent. I’ll call you when my plane lands.
A slow smile spread across her face as she read the business card that had been resting under the note. His belief in her was heartwarming. Her mind drifted through all the people who had expressed their belief in her recently. Why did she have so much doubt in herself?
With trembling fingers, she punched the number on the card into her phone and hit call.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Austin sat in her office staring at the list of contact information she had compiled. As much as she hated it, she was about to start digging into Patrick’s life in search of the best witnesses to call in his defense if the case went to trial.
She hoped against all hope that Jax would uncover something that would lead to the charges being dropped.
With a sigh, she picked up the phone and dialed the first number. Lydia Stewart.
“Eastman Enterprises, Lydia speaking.”
“Hi Lydia, this is Austin Yates, I believe we’ve spoken a few times.”
“Of course, Miss Yates. Mr. Sutton hasn’t landed yet, but I can put you through to his cell phone if you like.”
She smiled. “No thank you, Lydia. I’m actually calling to talk to you.”
“Oh. What can I help you with then?”
“I’m compiling a list of potential witnesses if his case goes to trial. I was wondering if you would be willing to sit for an interview. We can do it via video call if you like. I just need to ask you some questions and see if you would be a good witness for him.”
