Hard Tackle: A Bad Boy Sports Romance

by Jessica Ashe

“They use a registered agent for legal stuff, so if you were planning to sue then you’d need to send it there.”

  “No, I’m not doing that. I just want a correspondence address for now.”

  “I’ll print it out for you along with information about the directors.”

  Chloe came back a few minutes later with the information printed out. Roddy wasn’t listed as one of the directors, but then I didn’t expect him to be. A quick online search showed that the address was an office block in a run down part of town.

  If he owned the company, then there would be shareholder records and that would have his address on it. I knew Roddy well enough to know that he was careful. He was like my dad in that respect. He was like my dad in a lot of ways, come to think of it.

  The company would be run according to the law. He’d even pay tax on the profits. The point of the company was to give him a legitimate source of income so if the IRS ever came knocking he could explain why he had ten cars and a big house.

  At least, I assumed he had lots of cars and a big house. The truth was, I didn’t really know much about him. Unlike Dad, he’d done a good job at running his empire from the shadows, rarely showing his face in public. He would be hard to catch.

  “Thanks, Chloe.”

  “Not a problem. You need any more help?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  Now I just had to wait. I’d stay in the office until after dark and then go to this address and break in. If Roddy’s company was anything like mine, most of the information would be on computer, but there would be paper files as well. Minute books, shareholder certificates, that kind of thing.

  Not long now Roddy. I’m coming for you.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chloe

  Denton was about as subtle as Lady Gaga at an award ceremony.

  That company he had me track down must be related to Roddy Barton. Denton would never get involved in basic debt collection--not of company debts, at least. He had a team of credit control guys to handle that.

  I made sure to print off two copies of the address, and then did some research of my own. The office block looked old and run down, but it was likely only a cover to funnel money anyway. A bit like this one, really.

  Denton mentioned that he would be working late tonight, so I knew he planned to make a move on the office this evening. God knows what he was hoping to find there given that everything would be on computers and password protected, but he was a desperate man and would do anything to get at Roddy.

  I considered offering to go with him, but there was no way he would have let me after the big fuss he made about it the other weekend. I’d have to follow him inside and not give him any say in the matter.

  After work, I stayed in downtown and hung out in a coffee shop for a few hours until it got dark. After two cups, and a dinner consisting of muffins and lemon slices, I finally saw Denton leave the office.

  I quickly jumped in a taxi and had it take me near to Roddy’s company. Knowing the way Denton drove, I knew he would be there before me, but just to be certain I had the taxi driver drop me off a block away.

  I rounded the corner just as Denton was checking over his shoulder while forcing the door open. I ducked back behind the wall, but he hadn’t seen me. It was too dark, and only about half the street lights were working.

  The weight of the necklace hung heavy around my neck, and not just from the physical weight of the damn thing. I’d turned it on after leaving the coffee shop, as Lois had insisted, but now the burden of what I was about to do really hit home.

  When I caught up to Denton in that office, I’d be recording every word of our conversation and then providing it to the FBI. I’d been spying on him from the moment I met him, but I’d always had the choice about what conversations I passed on.

  Denton had told me about Kara last weekend, and that hadn’t been easy for him. I hadn’t told Lois about that and didn’t intend to, but if he revealed anything else to me now, I wouldn’t have any choice.

  I was betraying the trust and confidence he’d placed in me, and what’s more, he didn’t deserve it.

  My only consolation was that his determination to find Kara’s killer would not likely lead to him giving away information about his father’s illegal operations. On the other hand, if Denton did kill Roddy, the FBI wouldn’t have to look too far for evidence.

  I had to stop him.

  Once Denton was inside, I looked around to make sure the coast was clear and then walked through the door.

  The ground floor was dimly lit from a few monitors that had been left on. The entire floor consisted of cubicles, and I doubted much in the way of confidential information would have been kept down here.

  Denton must have thought the same thing, because he’d headed straight upstairs. I heard a click as he turned on the lights.

  I followed him up the stairs and found him rummaging through some filing cabinets on the second floor.

  “You won’t find it in there,” I said, and then laughed as Denton jumped back from shock.

  “Chloe? Jesus Christ, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I told you I wanted to help, so I’m here to help. Like I said, you won’t find what you’re looking for in there.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because they’re out in the open and not locked. You want the files with employee and shareholder information. That’s probably going to be on the top floor and in a locked room. Follow me.”

  “You need to leave, Chloe. I appreciate you wanting to help, but you can’t be here.”

  “I do what I want. It’s not your job to protect me. Right now, I want to be here helping you. You clearly can’t do this by yourself.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  “Really? And it never occurred to you to bring a flashlight? You’ve turned on all the lights on the second floor. If anyone walks past, it’ll be obvious someone’s in here.”

  Denton snarled, but I could tell he’d given up trying to keep me out. “You’re quite stubborn, aren’t you?”

  “Yep. That’s what you love about me.” I cringed. “Uh, poor choice of words. You know what I mean.”

  Denton took the words as a light hearted comment, but that wasn’t what concerned me. Lois would hear this conversation soon. Did I sound too casual with Denton? I’d been told to get close to him, but the assumption was always that I would be like an employee, not a friend he joked around with.

  “I’ll have you know,” Denton said confidently, “I did bring a flashlight.” He pulled out his cellphone and used the flash as a light. “See. I can improvise.”

  I laughed and turned off the light as we headed up to the top floor. Human resources had their own section of the floor and, as I’d predicted, you needed to go through a locked door to get inside, just like you did at Denton’s company.

  “I’ll have to break it down,” Denton said, as he eyed up the door.

  “Then they’ll know someone was here.”

  “I’m not sure we have much choice.”

  “Give me the light a second.”

  Denton handed me his phone and I walked around the office. This floor had all the important people with large offices that got bigger as I walked down the hall. I looked inside each one until I found what I was after.

  A man had left his suit jacket on his chair, and sure enough, he’d left his door pass in there as well. The sign on his door identified him as the CEO, so he was bound to have access to HR.

  I went back to Denton and held the pass up to the door. A green light appeared and I heard the door click open.

  “Some problems can be solved without violence,” I joked.

  “My way was more fun,” Denton insisted. “But your way has its merits, I’ll give you that.”

  “You’re too kind.”

  We walked inside and headed over to the files. The company still kept a surprising amount of paperwork given that they had a scanner located
just a few feet away.

  “You hold the light,” I said, giving him back his phone. “I’m a little more experienced with filing systems than you.”

  Only by about a week, but Denton didn’t need to know that. It helped my image as a real PA if I knew about filing.

  I found two ‘Bartons’ listed as employees, but neither was Roddy. I handed the files to Denton.

  “These are his two sons,” Denton said. “They probably collect a nice legitimate paycheck from here for doing no work whatsoever. No address is listed though.”

  I kept looking through the files until I found a list of shareholders. The only shareholder was another company, but that was run from here as well. After a few more minutes, I had the minute book for the parent company.

  Roddy Barton was listed as a shareholder and it had his address. This was it. If I gave this file to Denton, he would be able to get at Roddy. He’d be able to kill him. Denton would get his revenge, but then he’d go to prison and might never be let out.

  “What’s that?” Denton asked.

  “Oh this, it’s just--”

  I squinted as all the lights on the floor suddenly came on at once. Denton ran to the door and peaked out.

  “Someone’s here,” he whispered. “They’re coming this way. Two of them.”

  “Let’s hide.” I looked around, but there weren’t exactly a lot of options in this small room.

  “Screw that,” Denton said. “There’s only two of them. I can handle them while you run. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Okay Rambo, but then Roddy will find out you were here. Come on, get under this desk with me.”

  The desk in the back corner of the room likely belonged to the head of HR because it was bigger than all the others. It also faced out to the corridor, so if we ducked underneath it we should remain hidden from view.

  I crouched under the desk leaving what I thought was plenty of room for Denton, but his large frame meant he still had to squeeze himself in. We were both sat awkwardly with our knees pointing up and legs slightly interlocking as we tried to remain still.

  “I’m not used to hiding,” Denton said, as he fidgeted and tried to get comfortable.

  “Apparently you’re not used to whispering either,” I said, a lot quieter than he had. “They might hear us.”

  Denton laughed and mouthed a ‘sorry.’ He didn’t seem overly concerned about getting caught, but I was terrified. It’s not like I could get into any real trouble. If I somehow ended up in a police station, the FBI would see to it that I was released without charges.

  However, that meant this operation unraveling and I still had work to do. Important work. That meant getting through this unseen.

  “Relax,” Denton said, a little quieter this time, but still too loud for my liking. “The worst that can happen is they find us. I’ll knock them out so quick they won’t even remember our faces.”

  I held my finger up to my lips and motioned towards the wall, that had the yellow glow of flashlight beams slowly spreading across it. They were getting close.

  The light got brighter. I could hear them now. They were talking about a basketball game that had just finished. At least they didn’t seem to be taking this too seriously.

  “Someone probably just forget their keys and popped back to get them,” one of the men said. “No self-respecting burglar is going to be stupid enough to turn all the lights on.”

  I looked back at Denton and laughed silently as he mouthed a curse word or two.

  “Better check all the rooms just in case,” the other man said. “Besides, it’s warm in here. Don’t know about you, but I’m in no rush to go back outside into the cold.”

  “Good point. You take the rooms on the right, I’ll take the rooms on the left.”

  The torchlight disappeared as the men both disappeared into nearby offices.

  They were going to come in here. If they did, they’d see the open filing cabinets and would have a proper look around. Shit.

  I started biting the skin on my finger just to control my nerves. Denton reached out and placed a hand on my knee.

  “You okay?” he asked, finally whispering quietly.

  I nodded in return, but I was nervous. I wasn’t cut out for this undercover stuff. I could handle just working in an office and pretending to be someone’s assistant, but I didn’t have the strength or mental fortitude for sneaking around after dark.

  The light shone into the room again.

  “This one’s locked,” one of the men said.

  “Well open it then,” the other replied. “That’s what your keycard is for.”

  Shit. They have a keycard. Shit, shit, shit.

  Keep calm, Chloe. Come on, keep calm.

  One, two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-nine…

  The door beeped, and the guard pulled down the handle. I heard him push the door, but it didn’t open.

  “Still locked,” the guard said. “Our cards don’t get us in here.”

  “Not likely any intruders got in there then, is it? The door isn’t broken in. Come on, let’s keep looking and then head out.”

  I relaxed slightly as the guards walked away, but I kept counting prime numbers anyway. They took an insufferably long time to check all the rooms. I almost got to the limit of the prime numbers I knew.

  Finally they left and we were in the clear.

  “You were talking to yourself,” Denton said. “I saw your lips moving. What were you saying?”

  “I count prime numbers in my head to calm my nerves. Just a silly little habit I have from when I was a kid.”

  “It’s cute.”

  Denton ducked his head down and pushed himself out from under the desk, before standing up and stretching himself out. He reached out a hand and helped pull me out.

  Denton lifted me to my feet, but my leg had gone to sleep. I fell into him as soon as he let go, grabbing hold of his shoulders to stop myself falling to the floor.

  “I knew you’d throw yourself at me eventually,” Denton joked, as he grabbed hold of my waist to hold me up.

  “Dead leg,” I replied, looking up into his eyes. I didn’t let go of his shoulders and he didn’t take his hands off my waist.

  Blood started flowing again, but I didn’t want to stand by myself. This was much more comfortable.

  “Any excuse,” Denton said softly.

  “Yeah,” I replied. I didn’t have the energy to argue. Lying always took far too much effort. I felt completely and utterly helpless in his arms. I hadn’t fallen into him on purpose, but I was in no rush to leave his embrace either.

  I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. This had been a tense, exciting evening. What I was feeling right now--the desire between my legs--was just the result of adrenaline flowing through my body. That, and the shocking lack of a sex life since leaving college. That’s all it was.

  My hands pressed against his chest as I went to stand up, but Denton wouldn’t let me go.

  “I’m okay now. I can stand.”

  “That’s not why I’m holding you,” he replied.

  Then he kissed me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chloe

  The ferocity with which I returned his kiss took us both by surprise.

  I think Denton had been expecting me to reject him, or at the very least be reluctant, but the second his lips touched mine I wrapped my arms around him and let him pull me tightly against his body.

  I’d wanted this for so long. I might have even wanted it from the second I’d laid eyes on him. It was just my brain had been so preoccupied with the assignment that I hadn’t let myself think about it.

  Denton’s hands ran all over my body, as if he wanted to touch every part of me and claim it as his own. I stiffened as he ran his hands over the backs of my thighs before coming up and grabbing my ass. His fingers were agonizingly close to my sex as he squeezed hard and pulled me tightly against his hard body.

  I pr
essed my hips against him, rubbing my sex against his cock as it stiffened in his pants. That seemed to be all the encouragement he needed. The second his cock was hard he lifted me effortlessly into the air and lowered me down onto the desk.

  My legs parted as he slipped his hand between them and grazed his fingers against my wet silk panties, before gripping the waistband and pulling them down hard. My legs flung up into the air as he pulled my panties down my legs and over my heels.

  In all the commotion, the necklace clanked against the desk, giving me a much needed reminder that all this was being recorded. I squeezed the fake gem and turned it off, before lifting it over my head and throwing it on the floor. Lois didn’t need to hear this.

  Denton’s fingers went back between my legs and touched the wet, delicate flesh that lay between them. Flesh that hadn’t been touched by anyone’s hands but my own in months. I was already hot and dripping wet as his fingers ran up and down my slit, exploring the folds and touching every nerve in the process.

  I reached my arms back and rested on the desk as Denton slipped two fingers inside me. I whimpered as he pressed against the front of my wall. I needed this so fucking much.

  Denton bent forward and kissed me hard on the lips while his hand kept thrusting into my tunnel. I had to tear my lips from his as the urge to scream became impossible to resist. He moved down to my neck, and started nibbling gently against the soft skin while I lay there helpless to do anything. He had me under his complete control.

  “Look at me,” Denton commanded as his thumb started lightly brushing my bud. “I want you to be looking at me as you come.”

  I fought the urge to close my eyes, and instead looked directly at him. I rocked my hips against his hand. I was so close now.

  My sex was contracting around his fingers, pulsating as he brought me closer and closer to climax.

  I could hear my wetness as his fingers slipped in and out of me with ease. I’d never gotten this wet this quick. Denton moved faster as I got closer to the edge, but his eyes never left mine. He stared intently at my face, as I turned bright red and panted heavily.