Break (The Breathe Series Book 3)

by Lila Kane

  He walked around the counter to see me fully, his eyes roaming the length of my legs, the swell of my breasts, and appreciating every other inch of me. “This is one of the best thank yous I’ve gotten in a long time.”

  “And I’m not even finished yet.”

  When I undid the latch on my bra, he took another step closer. “Charlotte,” he breathed.

  “Almost there,” I murmured.

  I let my bra drop to the floor. Finn’s eyes didn’t waver. They locked on mine with so much heat, I almost melted to the floor.

  “Hurry,” he said.

  I bent to pull off my panties, joining them with my discarded bra. I held out my hand, letting the diamonds of the ring sparkle. “Does it turn you on that I’m wearing nothing but the ring?”

  With a growl, he pounced, snatching me in his arms, mouth hot on my neck. “You haven’t stopped turning me on since you walked into my office tonight.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Then do something about it.”

  “I am,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to mine and making good on his promise.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The following morning, I rolled over with a contented sigh. A real bed. With real sheets and covers, real pillows and…really sore muscles from last night.

  Reaching out, I touched Finn’s side of the bed. My hand smoothed over the cool sheets. But no Finn.

  Groggily opening my eyes, I noted first that we’d forgotten to shut the curtains and light was blooming outside the window. Then I noticed a figure at the closet and frowned.

  “Finn?”

  “Sorry,” he whispered, walking over to drop a kiss on my cheek. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Am I late?”

  He smiled, sitting on the bed to pull on his shoes. “No. I’m early. I have a meeting this morning.”

  “I don’t remember…” I shoved my hair off my forehead and pillowed my cheek on my arm. “Did you tell me about this?”

  “No, I thought I’d let you keep sleeping and then meet you at work.”

  I sat up, drawing the sheet with me. “What?”

  He finished with his shoes and stood. “A last-minute thing.”

  “But…” My mind wouldn’t work properly. Finn always went into work with me. Dustin or Curtis—and probably Shane now, too—walked with us, but Finn waited for me. We went in together and left together. Or at least, that had been our routine this week. It didn’t make sense for him to be changing it unless something was going on. And he never had meetings this early.

  “Keep sleeping,” Finn suggested. “You still have a few hours yet.”

  “It’s kind of early for a meeting, isn’t it?”

  “Like I said, a last-minute thing,” Finn explained, which really wasn’t an explanation at all. “Curtis or Dustin will be here to take you to work. And I’ll be there when you get in.” He grinned. “With coffee.”

  He fixed his tie and walked to the bed again. “Really, Charlotte, you could probably use a little more sleep.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  There was just the briefest of hesitation before he kissed my cheek again. “We can talk at dinner tonight.”

  “I can’t.”

  He paused. “Why not?”

  “Leslie’s celebration. We’re supposed to go out tonight, remember?”

  “Shit.” He propped his hands on his hips. “Charlotte, I don’t—”

  “I told you about this, Finn.”

  “Probably while you were distracting me with your body,” he returned in a joking tone, though his face didn’t look amused. “We can talk about it at lunch.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. I told you about it, and talked with Curtis. Everything’s set.”

  Finn checked his watch. “I can’t do this right now. Lunch.”

  My hand clenched on the sheet. It came back to me now. Now that Finn didn’t have his arms wrapped around me. Now that he wasn’t sliding the ring on my finger and looking me like I was the most important thing in the world. It all came back. We hadn’t talked about Tracy yesterday, hadn’t even mentioned her. And I knew he was keeping something from me.

  Did his meeting this morning have something to do with it?

  “Lunch?” Finn prompted again, stopping at the door to look back at me.

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly.

  “Charlotte.” Finn sighed.

  “I might have plans.”

  “You didn’t have plans yesterday.”

  I met his eyes. “Neither did you.”

  “Fuck.” He shook his head. “I didn’t plan this Charlotte, I—” He broke off and checked his watch again. “I need to go. I’ll see you when I get into work.”

  He vanished from the room, and I listened to his footsteps walk down the hall and reach the door. It opened and closed softly, locking behind him.

  I flopped back on my pillow, closing my eyes. Okay, yeah, that had been petty. Saying I might have plans. But, God, that man knew how to push my buttons. I’d actually planned on talking with him at lunch about getting either my family or his mom out here for a visit. So we could tell them the news. But now…

  We’d talk about it later. We’d have to, because right now I was too upset to even think about talking to him.

  Grumbling, I got out of bed. I couldn’t sleep now. Now, all I could think was that Finn wasn’t telling me the whole truth, and I needed to know. I walked into the bathroom to take a shower, and then I’d get to work early to make sure I finished on time for my evening out.

  Curtis escorted me to work, calm and quiet like usual. When we reached the elevator, I hesitated to push the button.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “Did you go with Finn to his meeting this morning?” I asked.

  His eyebrows furrowed. “I wasn’t aware he had a meeting this morning. Dustin mentioned he left early, but he kept post by your door.”

  I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s not an issue, I was just curious.”

  I pressed the button for the elevator and then angled back. “Have you, uh…heard anything from Mark?”

  “We haven’t found anything new. I’m starting to think he created an alias.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “No new activity under his name, which is peculiar. He closed his credit cards and concluded all business up in Portland.”

  The elevator doors opened, but I felt frozen. “A new name? But…”

  “I’m still looking into it,” Curtis said, giving me a reassuring smile. “I’ll let you know when I have more information.”

  Nodding, more to myself than to him, I entered the elevator, surprised when Curtis followed.

  He offered another easy smile. “Just until Mr. Moore gets in.”

  We rode in silence, and upstairs, I walked to my office, stopping at Tucker’s desk when I saw he’d come in early as well.

  “Making up for last week,” he said, shuffling through papers. He handed me two messages. “Also, this came for you this morning. Tracy Portman faxed it with the signed lease and a request for you to call her.”

  Hearing her name made me cringe, but I accepted the file with a forced smile at Tucker. I scanned the pages, noting the signatures at the bottom. Her boss. Travis Holmes.

  Well, at least that was one step out of the way. But that meant they could take possession of the property and Tracy might be around a lot more often. Maybe then if she saw me and Finn together, she’d back off.

  Or it might make her try even harder.

  What had Finn been telling her this morning?

  “Is it too early to ask about this?”

  My attention snapped to Tucker, and then followed his gaze. He was looking at my index finger, eyebrows lifted. I instinctively covered my left hand with my right, and then gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, uh…that was supposed to be a secret.”

  Tucker leaned in. “A secret?”

  “Yes. No. I mean, not a secret but I
just—Leslie.”

  He leaned back in his seat, amused. “Leslie?”

  “She just got engaged and we’re celebrating tonight. I didn’t want to overshadow that.”

  “That’s nice of you. How’s Moore taking it?”

  I frowned, making him laugh, and self-consciously twisted the ring on my finger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You keeping it a secret.”

  “It’s definitely too early to talk about that.”

  His laughter continued behind me as I walked into my office. I opened the blinds to let light in and heard my phone buzz from within my purse. I hadn’t change the ring tone yet since I’d only gotten it yesterday morning, and it took a minute for me to realize I’d gotten a text message.

  I pulled it out and read the message from Finn.

  I’m on my way.

  Setting the phone and the file on my desk, I sighed. Then I stared at the ring again. It was beautiful. And I didn’t for a moment believe Finn wasn’t the right one for me. We belonged together. But I didn’t want to steal Leslie’s moment, and I didn’t want Finn keeping secrets from me, and we hadn’t even told our families. Okay, I hadn’t told my family, and that wasn’t a good thing, was it?

  Making a decision, I sat at my desk and dialed my sister’s number. When she answered with sleep in her voice, I grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Charlotte!” She sounded awake now. “Oh my God, are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in forever. I tried your old phone number and it was disconnected. Mom—”

  “No. Jenna. I’m fine. Really. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner.” I sank back in my chair, closing my eyes. “I really miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. Charlotte, what’s wrong?”

  I sighed, swiveling in my chair. “Nothing. Actually, everything is good. It’s just been hectic. And I think—”

  “I think I should come out there. Or you should come here.”

  “I might be able to plan something for next weekend or later.”

  “Then let me come there. I want to see your place. Mom needs details.”

  “I would love it if you’d come here. There’s a lot I have to tell you.”

  “Absolutely.” She started mumbling to herself, making me smile again. “Plane tickets, hotel room—”

  “You can stay with me.” I swiveled around again, opening my eyes and freezing when I saw Finn in the doorway. “Jenna, I’ve got to go.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yes. Just work. I’ll call you later.”

  I hung up the phone and watched cautiously as Finn walked into the room.

  “That was your sister?” he asked.

  I nodded. “She’s coming to visit.”

  “Really?” He propped his hands on the back of a chair across from me. “When?”

  I folded my arms. “Not sure yet. How was your meeting?”

  “A disaster.”

  I blinked, surprised he’d been so honest. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too. Did you get into work okay?”

  “Yes.” I stayed where I was when all I really wanted to do was stand and sink into his arms.

  “Listen, I’m not sure tonight is the best time to go out—”

  “It’s already figured out. I told you.” I stood with a tight smile. “You don’t have to worry about it.”

  “I’m worried about you.”

  “Lucky for you, I’m just fine. Thanks for checking in.”

  His eyes flashed with frustration, but he wisely kept his temper in check. “I think this is worth talking about.”

  “Are we going to talk about your meeting? About Tracy?” When he didn’t answer, I said, “I think those things are worth talking about, too, but it looks like we’ve both got other things on our mind.”

  “Charlotte.”

  “Speaking of Tracy,” I said, snatching up her message, “I need to give her a call.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she asked me to get back to her. Finn, what the hell?” I said when leaned in to look at the note.

  He eyed the message. “Regarding what?”

  “Regarding the lease. Finn—”

  “I’ll take care of it.” He snatched the note from my hand. “Was the lease signed?”

  “Yes, but—”

  He bit out a curse.

  “I think you’d better tell me what’s going on. This is business, Finn.”

  “And Tracy clearly wants to mix business with pleasure. I’m not sure how wise it is leasing a space to her.”

  His words sank deep into my stomach. “Why do you say she wants to mix business with pleasure?”

  Finn rubbed his jaw, eyes traveling anywhere but mine.

  “I was right,” I whispered. “She wants you back. That’s why she keeps calling you.”

  “Does it really matter? We’re engaged. You’re the one I want to be with.” His gaze met mine. “Is that still what you want?”

  “I can’t believe you’d ask me that. Finn, I swear—”

  “One day.”

  “What?”

  He stepped forward and caught my arms. I was too surprised to step back. “You asked me for one day before. One day to sort through what you needed to sort through before you talked to me. And that’s what I’m asking you for right now. One day, and then we’ll sit down and deal with this.”

  I wanted to say no. I wanted to shout at him and say that was a completely different situation—and it was. But he was asking. He was telling me he’d share the truth after he had time to sort this through.

  “You promise?” I asked.

  “I swear. Charlotte, I don’t want to keep things from you, but—” He put his hand over my mouth when I started to protest. “No, give me a minute. I have my reasons, just like you did. And probably will in the future. One day.”

  I pulled his hand aside. “One day,” I agreed, “but that’s it. You talk to me, Finn. You tell me the whole truth. We have to have that in our relationship. We have to. I can’t—with Mark, there wasn’t any trust and, Finn—”

  “I know. Okay, Charlotte, shh. I know.” He cupped my face between his palms. “I know. God, please don’t think I’m going to be anything like that. I want to know everything about you, and the other way around. It’s the right way for us. But everything is fucked up. This whole situation started off on the wrong foot and I don’t want to add more stress to your plate.”

  “I can handle it.”

  He kissed me, ignoring those words, and whispered, “One day. Just one.”

  I nodded. “You deal with what you need to deal with today and tonight, and I’ll do my girl’s night out. Good timing.”

  He winced. “How about girl’s night in?”

  “Finn.”

  He stepped back. “Lunch. Let me think this through and then we’ll talk at lunch.”

  “I’m not negotiating anything with you.”

  He smiled, stepping through the doorway. “I love you, Charlotte. Meet me for lunch.”

  I growled out a response that made him laugh, and he walked away.

  There was no way I was backing down on this. I needed my girl’s night out, and I planned on celebrating my own good news as well.

  CHAPTER THREE

  A few minutes before noon, I left my office at the sound of voices in the lobby, and then sighed when I saw the same detectives who I’d spoken with over the weekend about John. I’d forgotten they’d probably have follow-up questions, especially since I’d told them about Mark and my history at Curtis’s suggestion.

  It hadn’t made me feel safer. Curtis and his team made me feel safer, but even they couldn’t do much if we didn’t know what Mark was up to.

  Finn walked out the same time as I did, his hands going to his pockets. So much for lunch together.

  “Ms. Evans,” Detective Winters said. “I was hoping you had a moment.”

  “Of course.”

  “Your office?” Detective
Stone asked.

  I shared a look with Finn, and his eyes softened. “We can use my office.”

  Detective Winters looked at me.

  “There’s more room and privacy. I’d like Finn to stay if that’s all right.”

  Detective Stone smiled good-naturedly. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”

  We sat together at the large table in front of the window in Finn’s office. He held a chair for me, and then took my hand under the table, offering silent comfort.

  Detective Winters took the lead, his face unreadable, and he opened a small notebook in front of him without looking at it. “First, we wanted to follow up with you about your ex, Mark Dublin.”

  “I haven’t heard anything from him,” I said.

  “No phone calls, emails, messages of any kind?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  “We checked his record and it’s clean. No history of violence of any kind, particularly domestic. He’s on the board of…” Detective Winters checked his notes.

  Finn leaned forward in his seat. “We know this,” Finn said, “but he covered his tracks so far. He used John for the initial messages, as well as surveillance. John also—”

  “Broke into your cabin in Colorado and both your and Ms. Evans apartments here in Oasis,” Detective Stone followed up smoothly. “Yes, that’s what Ms. Evans said. However, without proof of this, there’s not much to hold against him.”

  I straightened, my heart pounding. “Wait. You’re not letting him go, are you?”

  “No.” Detective Winters shook his head. “He was talking about Mark. As far as John, kidnapping is still a serious crime. He’ll continue to be held for that. But we’d have more if he’d admit to the rest. He also hasn’t said anything about Dublin.”

  Finn’s fingers squeezed tight around mine when I tensed again. “Nothing?”

  Detective Stone’s eyes came to rest on my face. “He says he’ll tell us everything we want to know if you talk to him.”

  “No.” Finn pulled his hand from mine and stood. “That’s out of the question.”

  “Mr. Moore,” Detective Winters began. “I’m not suggesting—”