by Raven Dark
CHAPTER 11: UPPING THE ANTE
By Monday morning, Ella was in higher spirits than she’d been in a long time, possibly in the whole six years since Rock left. Three nights of his rough, intense lovemaking and her pussy was raw, but it was the sweetest pain she’d felt in forever.
In the elevator on the way up to the office, Ella wrapped his hand in hers. She wouldn’t do more than that in a glass-walled elevator where people could see, but she made sure her grip left no doubt of their relationship.
“I had a fantastic time this weekend…Rock.”
“Did you now?” He didn’t try to touch her more intimately, but a muscle in his jaw jumped. Her own muscles tightened with the thought of what he might want to do once they were at his hotel again.
“Absolutely. I can’t wait until you own me next weekend.”
His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close, but she stopped him.
“Behave. You know how I feel about public displays.”
He growled, but returned his hand to hers. “Do you know how crazy you make me, Annabella?”
“I’m beginning to get the idea.”
The elevator dinged and she made her way down the hall, Rock keeping pace at her side. They’d go their separate ways at the Moss’s office. Much too far away.
A faint sound of a woman sobbing drifted from the Moss’s open office door. Rock and Ella exchanged a look before hurrying down the hall and inside.
Judy Moss knelt in the middle of the office, face in her hands, crying softly, while Mike held her and murmured what sounded like reassurance. Ella rushed to her side and Rock went to her other shoulder.
“Judy, Mike, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Judy lifted her head. One of her eyes was black and swollen. Ella drew her into an embrace and widened her eyes at Rock.
“Christ Mike, what happened?” Rock bent, examining Judy’s face.
“It was that asshole, Scalder.” He stroked his wife’s hair.
Ella drew back. “Scalder actually hit her?” Dangerous as she knew he was, she hadn’t thought him to be the type to hit, instead resorting to more psychological tactics.
“No,” Mike said. “Judy came here earlier to do some paperwork and a man in a mask attacked her.”
Ella rocked a shaking Judy while Rock held her hand.
“The man came at me from behind. It was too early for the secretary and he must have had a passkey to get in the building. I thought he was going to…” She trailed off until they nodded, letting her know they understood.
“But instead, he punched me in the face, forced me up against the desk and said, ‘You better give up, before you get hurt,’ then he left.”
Rock scrunched his brows at Ella before he stood and scrubbed a hand down his face.
“Then she called me,” Mike said. “It must have happened less than a half hour before you two showed up.”
Ice poured into Ella’s veins. With Rock here, the man wouldn’t have been able to do much to her, but had he tried...
“You think it was Scalder, warning you to give up the company?” Rock asked.
“I know it was.” Mike’s fist clenched. “I can’t prove it, but no one else in this town would have a reason to attack us.”
He was probably right. Even in a town as safe as Clayton-Moss, there were criminals, but not many who’d attack someone as high profile, and this sounded too personal to be random. Ella helped Judy to her feet and got her a drink from the water cooler.
“I’m sorry, Ella. Rock.” She looked painfully at them both. “I feel like such a wimp, blubbering like this. He just shook me up, you know?”
“Don’t do that.” Ella refilled her water. “You don’t have anything to be ashamed about. Being attacked by a masked stranger would scare the hell out of me, too.”
Rock squeezed Judy’s shoulder. “Did either of you call the cops?”
“I just did,” Mike said.
“I should have called them, but all I could think of was getting Mike here.” Judy shook her head. “Stupid, right?”
“Everyone handles trauma differently, Judy,” Ella said. “As long as the police are on their way, that’s the important thing.”
Ella and Rock stayed with the Mosses until a couple of officers showed up, then Rock took Ella to her dad’s office while Mike and Judy gave their statements.
Once the door to the office was closed, Rock turned to her. “Annabella, if you don’t want to stay here after what happened to Judy, I’ll take you back to your house. I’d rather you weren’t here without me.”
Down the hall, she heard one of the officers tell the Mosses to go home and try to relax, not to be at the scene of the crime. Ella knew they were probably investigating the room for evidence of Judy’s attacker.
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Ella smiled at him, hoping it looked stronger than she felt. “I doubt the guy would come back, and Scalder will know he doesn’t need to hurt me. Getting to the head of one company means the message gets to the other.”
Protectiveness hardened his features. “You’re an obvious target. Let me take you home. You can work to your heart’s content, but I want you safe.”
She clicked her tongue. “Always the Dom, right? All right, we’ll go, but only because I know you’ll worry all day. God, I can’t believe Scalder actually went so far as to hire some masked thug to attack Judy. So much for the polite gentleman.”
She couldn’t help wondering how long she had before he went after her, or worse, someone she cared about.
“On second thought, take me to Dad’s. I know he’s not likely to go after one of us, but…”
“Say no more. Let’s go.” Rock led her from the office, slipping an arm around her.
“You know what this means, right?” She couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. Rock glanced sidelong at her. “Scalder’s getting desperate. I don’t know what he’ll do next, but I know we’re running out of time.”
* * * * *
A week after Judy’s attack, Ella paced back and forth across her living room while Rock sat by the phone, fingers tapping the armrest of her couch. There’d been no leads on Judy’s attacker. Hunting through Scalder’s files for dirt hadn’t worked, so Rock and Ella had tried pressing the police to dig deeper.
Days went by with no word and Ella got a bad feeling they weren’t doing anything at all. Both agreed too many cops were too scared of Scalder to investigate him. Ella had asked if he knew any cops who might be willing to look into the matter. He’d called a friend who used to work on the Clayton-Moss PD. The man was a special agent with the FBI who wasn’t afraid of the worst criminals. His secretary promised he’d get back to them by the end of the day, and the sun was nearly setting.
“Annabella, will you stop pacing like that, you’re making me edgy.” Rock signaled for her to join him on the couch.
She stopped and went over to him. “Sorry, it’s just the thought of Scalder—”
Rock’s cell rang, making Ella jump. He snatched it from the table.
“Yeah, hi Avery. Yeah, she’s here.” He paused, laying his hand on Ella’s knee. “Right, I’m helping her take him down.” Another pause, then he took the phone from his ear and pressed a key on the phone pad. “Ok, you’re on speaker, go ahead.”
Ella sat beside him and they both leaned forward while a deep male voice crackled over the speaker.
“Miss Clayton, Special Agent Sloan, here. I’ve spent the last hour digging through every file I could find on Jake Scalder, and I think I found something.”
Rock squeezed her hand and Ella knew he was as hopeful as her.
“You have no idea how slimy this guy is. It doesn’t surprise me the CMPD dropped the ball on this. They turn tail at anything bigger than a car thief.”
Ella widened her eyes at Rock, who just shrugged. She’d never heard anyone show so much contempt for the Clayton-Moss police before.
“He hasn’t killed anyone that I can see, but he’s done ju
st about everything else to intimidate anyone who won’t sell the lands he wants. I asked around, and word is, Scalder’s got a deal going on in Kranton. You know where that is?”
“Yeah.” Ella leaned forward a little more. “That's about two hours west of here, why? What’s he up to?”
“Well, people I know in real estate down there say some of his buildings aren’t up to code. If what I’m hearing is right, he’s got some serious violations going on.”
“Wait, how serious, Avery?” Rock asked. “With a lot of those codes, any good lawyer can get a guy like Scalder off.”
“My contact said one of the apartments had a fire because of faulty wiring, and apparently Scalder tried to cover it up. An elderly woman died in the blaze.”
“Holy shit.” Ella stared at Rock.
“Negligence causing death, I’d say that’s serious. Okay, send me the details, we’ll go talk to the owner of that building first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Already sent to your phone, Rock.”
“Perfect. Thanks, a million…old timer.”
Sloan laughed, like he’d told an old, private joke. “Welcome, kid. And Rock? Glad to hear you’ve cleaned up.”
“Thanks. See you.” He hung up.
Ella raised her brows at him. “He really hates the cops here, doesn’t he?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Why?”
Rock stood, stretching. “Long story. Let’s just say, someone on the force screwed him over for doing the right thing. That's why he left and became FBI.”
She pushed to her feet and grinned. “Old timer?”
He laughed. “Yeah. It’s a thing.”
“How old is he?”
“Forty-seven.”
“That’s old?”
“No. But, see, Avery arrested me the first time in high school. I was sixteen. He always came to check on me after things got real bad with my father.” He looked away a moment, then smiled. “He was old then. I always called him that. I just never stopped, ‘cause I know it bugs him.”
“You guys sound like you have a great friendship.”
Rock shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you had someone who cared about you back then.”
“And I do now.”
Excitement whirled through Ella, mixing with hope and she hugged Rock tightly. “Finally, we’re gonna get Scalder at his own game.”
Rock held her close and kissed her ear. “Yes, we are.”
* * * * *
“I want you to stay in the car, Annabella.”
“What? Rock, forget it.”
Fists too tight on the wheel, Rock parked the car in front of the high-rise condo at the edge of Kranton and cut the engine. They’d driven up early morning as planned, and Rock rented a car instead of taking his bike. He’d said it was because some of the mountain passes they had to go through were too dangerous on a motorcycle. But now that she knew he expected her to stay in the car, Ella had a queasy feeling he knew a car would be safer for another reason. If something happened, an assailant would have a harder time reaching her in a locked vehicle.
“Annabella, damn it, don’t argue with me. Scalder might know we’re here. He might have sent someone.”
A hint of worry trickled in as she looked around. The cluster of condos gleamed sharp and grey in the mid-afternoon sun. The name, J.W. Estates, glinted on the large gates that led into the property. Tiny Kranton hardly looked like the place for crime, but neither did Clayton-Moss.
“And if he did, I know you’ll protect me, since God forbid I protect myself and stab whoever he is in the eye.” She put her keys between her fingers, showed him the weapon with a big smile and hopped out of the car, ignoring his angry grumble.
All right, so she had to keep her hands in the pockets of her pantsuit to hide their shaking, but damned if she was going to sit here like a scared rabbit and let him fight her battles for her. Not with her city, and her dad’s company at stake.
“You’re gonna get it this weekend, girl.” He got out of the car and slammed his door, then stalked to her side.
The threat sent thrilling tingle up her spine. Had they been in private, she would have wiggled her ass in invitation of a whipping, but instead, she gave him a sassy grin. “Give it to me, bad boy.”
A grin softened his face and the anger dissipated behind desire. He shook his head and took her arm in his, leading her to the front doors of the building. “All right, you little hellion, I’ll hold you to that. Let’s go then.”
* * * * *
Ten minutes later, they got back in the car. Ella leaned back in the seat, shoulders slumping in defeat while Rock sighed and gunned the engine with too much force.
“I can’t believe this. Struck out again. Two weeks going in circles trying to catch this guy, and nothing.”
Rock squeezed her hand. “I know. I’m sorry sweetheart. We’ll just have to find another way. God, I’ve never seen a man so scared in all my life. I swear when I mentioned Scalder, I thought the landlord was going to piss himself.”
Ella bit her knuckles and looked out the window at the still-shining towers. She hadn’t noticed how dark and foreboding they looked coming up here.
“Do you get the feeling Scalder’s done something more than threaten him because he tried to blow the whistle about the building violations?”
“That's possible.” Rock pulled out of the lot and onto the dirt road leading out of Kranton. “A week ago I’d have said no, but after Judy…”
“Right.” Ella put her head back. Hopelessness settled over her, a dark and oppressive cloud. She looked at him. “I hate to tell you this Rock, but…”
“What?”
“We can’t beat him. If people like that landlord are too afraid to talk, and Scalder’s covered his tracks as well as he has in his business deals, we’re screwed.” She sighed. “He offered a lot of money for Clayton Enterprises and Dad isn’t as strong as he used to be. Maybe I should, just…”
Rock jerked the wheel hard enough that she gasped as he swung onto the side of the road. He threw the car in park and turned to her.
“No way. No way, Annabella Clayton.”
“What? You’ve seen—”
He seized her shoulders. “No way in hell are you giving up now. Where the hell is Mistress E? The strong matriarch of real estate who busts the balls of anyone who messes with her business.”
“Oh come on. How long do you expect us to be able to run around digging up dirt on a man who’s obviously five steps ahead of us?”
“As long as it takes!” When her eyes widened, he gentled his grip. “Look, I promised I’d help you and the Mosses, and I will. We’ll get him. We just have to find the chink in his armor.”
“How, though? He already hurt Judy, and he’s proven he doesn’t care who gets hurt with that fire. A woman died. Maybe we should just give in before someone else gets hurt. My dad, Shayla, you.”
Rock drew a strong breath and cupped her nape with one warm hand. “Annabella, trust me. This is how things work in the courtroom, too. You go up against a shark of a businessman and you find something, anything you can to make him back down, lose interest. Or send him to jail where his crimes prevent him from getting his hands on anything.”
“And if you don’t find anything?”
“Then you keep digging until you do. Sweetness, everyone makes mistakes. The best businessmen fuck up, and in my experience, men like Scalder who think they’re entitled make more. He’s got a skeleton. W’ll find it.”
Ella pulled his head down, resting his forehead against hers. “Thank you, Rock. Thank you for setting me straight.”
“Anytime.” He traced her mouth with his finger. “Now, after what’s happened to Judy and with what we know Scalder is capable of, I want you to stay with me, at least until we know he’s not going after you.”
Ella sighed, but lowered her eyes, unwilling to let him see her worry. She nodded. After everything that had happened la
tely, she didn’t have the strength to argue. Besides, for the first time in her life, being alone in her house held very little appeal.
* * * * *
Something was bothering Rock.
Ella knew it Friday night when she’d returned to his place from work. It wasn’t what he said, it was in the little things.
Oh they talked, shared a romantic dinner and watched movies together. But he seemed distracted, holding her a little less tightly, missing something she said, rarely opening up. Distance had never been his style, not when they dated before, and not now, so the change sent off a chorus of alarm bells in her head.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t ask. She did, and he said he was fine, growing snappish by the third time she pressed. Worry niggled in the back of her mind, a small voice that started on Friday night and grew progressively louder by Sunday night. To make matters worse, this had to happen now when she was beginning to think she was ready for something more.
After the night he bound her hands, the memory of why she’d loved bondage when they were together before came flooding back. Being bound by him brought a new level of delicious helplessness no amount of domineering words could accomplish. Was she ready for the more restrictive bondage she knew he wanted?
His pulling away made the feeling of readiness too confusing, so in the middle of a racy movie they’d sat down to watch that night, she resolved she would get it out of him, even if it meant setting off the wrong kind of fireworks.
Curled up on his couch, she pulled back and looked up at him. “Er…Sir?” The urge to dispense with protocol and address him by name welled up strong and fierce.
“Yeah, girl.” He ran his hand over her hip, but it was a distracted gesture, and he didn’t take his eyes from the screen.
Ella debated reaching for the remote. Halfway through and she still had no idea what the movie was about, other than something to do with a woman having lost her fiancé. Instead, she reached up and kissed his neck.
“Hey.” He turned his head to her, a smile pulling at his mouth. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get your attention, Sir.”
“Sorry. The movie’s a little boring, isn’t it?”
