She was cocky now. ‘We are honest with each other.’
‘Making plans together?’
Another smirk. ‘Is it any of your business anymore?’
Finn nodded calmly. Okay, then how about I put it like this.’ He grabbed Caroline and slammed her down onto a table, cuffing her and jerking her back up by her arms, not caring if he hurt her.
‘Caroline Jewell, I’m arresting you on suspicion of criminal conspiracy in the assault and attempted murder of Sarah Bailey. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do say will be taken down and could be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights I have explained to you, you piece of crap? Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to me now, for instance, tell me everything Daniel Bailey has told you? No? Thought not.’ He was mocking her and she started screaming, kicking out at him but he was too strong.
‘You’re a fucking joke, Finn. Your precious Sarah is in love with that fucking billionaire. She doesn’t want you.’
Her screams faded as Finn dragged her across the street and into the police station. A second later, he walked back to the coffee shop. As he entered the shop, Finn’s face was alive with anger. He turned, closed the door and locked it. As he came toward her, Molly looked at her brother in admiration.
‘Dude,’ was all she said but Finn nodded gratefully at her.
‘I don’t know if the charges will stick but it means we can keep her ass in jail for a few hours.’
Molly sighed. She turned to Serena, who seemed frozen as she stood, looking like a lost little girl, someone who had just lost her queen bee. Molly tried to smile at her, feeling sorry for her. ‘Serena, go home. You’re free, you can do what you want. Go tell the rest of your friends they’re free too.’ She said this with a smirk and was surprised to see Serena tentatively return her smile.
‘Yes. Yes,’ she said, not without a little relief, ‘I will. Thank you, Molly…Finn.’
After she’d gone, Molly and Finn stared at each other for a long moment then burst into laughter. Wiping her eyes, Molly punched her brother on the shoulder.
‘Dude, you might just be a genius, god, she’ll never get over that humiliation. So worth it.’ She studied her brother. ‘So…what now?’
Finn smiled sadly. ‘I try and get over the woman I never realized I loved.’
***
The sound broke through her sleep. Sarah opened her eyes and strained to identify it. A steady stream, of water, someone singing. Someone was in the bathroom. It was a male voice. Isaac? Smiling, she slid from the bed and padded across the room then stopped. She could tell now it wasn’t Isaac’s voice. She glanced at the clock. Eleven a.m. No, it couldn’t be. She’d been in the hospital for over a week and she’d made him promise to go back to work.
Trembling, she walked slowly towards it, then yelped in shock.
The man in her kitchen turned and smiled at her. ‘Hey sleepyhead, I was wondering when you’d wake up.’
Sarah felt her head swirl, her stomach roil and black spots appear at the corners of her eyes, and in the second before she passed out, she heard him say. ‘I’ve missed you so much, my darling…’
It was Dan.
***
Maggie brought Isaac a steaming cup of coffee and a handful of messages. ‘The press,’ she said, rolling her eyes, ‘they’ve gotten hold of your and Sarah’s story. They want to know – and I’m quoting, so don’t shoot the messenger – they want to know ‘Who tried to kill the Billionaire’s Beauty? I swear to god, five of them said those exact words to me.’
‘Shit,’ Isaac sighed and sat back in his chair, ‘Well, it was only a matter of time. They won’t get anything from me, though except a blanket Thanks for your concern, this matter is private.’
Maggie looked skeptical. ‘Yeah, that’ll calm them down.’
Isaac grinned at her sarcasm. ‘Haven’t I fired you already today?’
Maggie laughed. ‘Twice. But seriously, boss…’
‘Isaac leaned back in his chair and gave a frustrated hiss. ‘Let me talk to Sarah. For now, if you can, just tell them there’ll be a statement but stress this is a private matter.’
‘Gotcha.’
When she’d gone back to her desk, Isaac spun his chair and gazed out of the window. The city was gray with rain, sheets of it falling, a low rumble of thunder. Thank god he’d paid for a private room for Sarah. They were well versed in keeping the press out. He wondered if he should hire security for her room – then pushed the thought away. She’d be mortified at the fuss and anyway, with any luck, she’d be released from the hospital soon.
Later, walking back to the parking garage, he swung past a jeweler’s and looked at the engagement rings. He knew Sarah wouldn’t care about a ring but he did. He wanted something unusual, something as beautiful as she was. He’d bring her here and they’d choose together. Soon, he thought, soon.
***
Finn shifted with irritation. He wanted to get out of this house, away from this woman. He wanted to call Isaac, find out how Sarah was. Caroline took her time reading the divorce papers. She looked up at him in surprise.
‘You’re admitting adultery?’
He nodded. ‘Caroline, I don’t care who takes the blame, I just want out. I don’t care that you screwed Dan Bailey.’ He added as her head shot up. She composed herself and smirked.
‘I was screwing him long before he ‘disappeared’ too.’ She muttered.
‘Oh, I know.’ Finn’s face was set with a grim smile. He leaned down to study her face. ‘I’ve always known. But the truth is I cheated long before that. Before we even got married. Not physically, no. But emotionally. I realize now I’ve been in love with Sarah since the day I met her and I never stopped. Not for one heartbeat.’
Caroline sneered. ‘You think I don’t know that? But I don’t believe you didn’t fuck her all those years.’
Finn’s face was cold. ‘Believe what you want. I was too blind to realize it, then too stupid to do anything about it. This is how adults are supposed to act, Caroline. Sometimes we don’t get a happy ending – or rather – we get a different one to the one we planned. Mine will be leaving you and finally being free of your disgusting presence. Sign the papers.’
Caroline got up and got a cold beer from the fridge. She cracked it open and took a swig. ‘What if I don’t?’
‘You will. Because if you don’t, I’m going to arrest you for criminal conspiracy.’
Caroline blanched and Finn smiled.
‘What?’
He moved so he could look down on her. She had fear in her eyes as she registered his anger.
‘I said, I will spend every waking hour proving that you were a co-conspirator to Sarah’s attack. That you stole police property when you sold that story to the papers. Until my last breath, Caroline, I will make sure you pay for what you did to her.’ Finn managed to control his temper but his voice was low and furious.
Caroline swallowed another gulp of beer and moved around him. She was shaking. Sitting down, she scrawled her signature where Finn had indicated. She handed him back the papers. Finn nodded.
‘Thank you.’ He turned to leave.
Caroline’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Did you ever love me?’ She asked in a whisper.
Finn didn’t hesitate. ‘No.’
Caroline stared at him for a long minute.
‘Finn? What now?’
He didn’t look at her. ‘We sell the house, split the profit. You get the hell off my island. I never want to see or speak to you again.’
‘Finn…’ Her voice shook. He looked at her then, disgust, contempt in his eyes.
‘Goodbye Caroline.’ And he walked out in the afternoon a free man.
***
Sarah backed away from the ex-husband, her breath hitching and catching in her throat. His smile was friendly enough but his eyes were flat and dead. He lo
oked…changed. Harder. His once slim face was pudgy and his hair was thinning.
He stepped towards her, put his hands her shoulders when she tried to shake him off, his grip tightened.
‘Don’t be silly, Sarah, why do you look scared? It’s me.’
His voice, god, even his voice frightened her, as soft as it was, almost a tender whisper. She could smell his pine soap.
‘Dan…what do you want?’ Even more than ‘where the hell have you been?’ she wanted to know this. What did he want?
Dan leaned in and kissed her softly before she could pull away. He ran a finger down her cheek.
‘Isn’t it obvious, my darling baby girl? I want you, Sarah, I want you back’.’
Sarah stared at him in horror and her heart pounded against her ribs. ‘No…no…’
His eyes went dark, his smile flattened into a thin line. ‘We are husband and wife, Sarah.’
She yanked herself free and went to press the call button. ‘We are divorced, Dan. I divorced you after you faked your own death and left me. Get out or I’ll have security throw you out.’
He stepped towards her, backing her against the wall, pinning her with the weight of his body; she could feel his body heat, smell his skin.
‘Dan…please’
‘Sssh baby girl, sssh. You know how this has to be? I’ll forgive spreading your legs for the rich man but now, let’s be honest….’ His smile was terrifying. The fear was icy cold in her veins.
‘You are mine, Sarah, mine forever...I won’t let anyone else have you, my darling, …not ever…’
And he pressed his lips against hers…
End of Part Two
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Stormfronts Series
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An Alpha Billionaire Romance
By Michelle Love
Come With Me
By Michelle Love
When billionaire property mogul Theo Storm gives the Commencement address at her college, grad student Jess Wood initially dismisses him as a rich, bland businessman. When he notices her in the audience however, his blatant admiration for her attracts whispers amongst her friends and colleagues and an embarrassed Jess escapes from the throng, only to find herself unable to stop thinking about him.
Storm tracks her down to her tiny apartment and persuades her to have dinner with him and the incredible attraction between them becomes almost unbearable. Theo takes Jess back to his luxurious penthouse and going against all her self-made rules, Jess goes to bed with him. Instead of breaking the tension between them, their tempestuous, uninhabited sexual chemistry awakens something almost feral inside of her, leaving her craving more and more of this incredible man.
It might have been the fourth glass of bourbon or the fifth or the sixth, Theo Storm wasn’t sure. All he remembered was making a dumb bet with Max who, with mischief in his eyes, shook Theo’s hand, muttering ‘Good luck with that’ under his breath.
Theo opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the hotel room. God, why was it every time he went drinking with Max, he turned into a loud mouthed asshole who thought he ruled the world? The trip to Vegas had been to celebrate the opening of their latest boutique apartment building – and to thank Max for working every hour of every day to get it done. Theo had promised himself he wouldn’t get trashed – he never came out on top when drinking with Max – the guy had hollow legs, for chrissakes.
‘Jesus.’ A headache shrieked around his skull and Theo groaned. He rolled out of bed onto the floor and briefly considered staying there for the rest of his life. Reluctantly he staggered to his feet and into the bathroom, stepping under a too-hot shower and sighing with relief as the water hit his tired body. After he’d dried himself, he wrapped a towel around his waist, stood at the small sink to brush his teeth, studying himself in the mirror. Almost forty years old and he still acted like a twenty-year-old college kid, partying nearly every night. He knew what his dad would say, the disappointment in his eyes. Settle down, son. Grow roots. Make a home, a family. Theo sighed. It wasn’t enough for his dad that he was the head of StormFronts, the company Theo had built from literally nothing. That he’d been top of his class at MIT or that he’d designed, built and paid for his dad’s retirement home in the Florida Everglades (thankfully a continent away from his own Seattle penthouse).
Theo rinsed his mouth and then threw back a couple of glasses of tap water to combat his hangover. He'd been moaning about his dad’s attitude last night at a staggeringly unsympathetic Max, who merely rolled his eyes and called him a poor little rich boy. Max was right, he knew, he just had to ignore the parental pressure but still…it was probably why he’d made that ridiculous bet with Max.
I will find the love of my life within three months.
Theo shook his head at the thought of it. Why the hell had he made that bet? Hubris and hyperbole. He shrugged – it wasn’t as if Max would hold him to it in the cold light of day.
‘I am absolutely going to hold you to it,’ Max told him on the plane back to Seattle. Theo groaned and slumped back in his seat. His hangover wasn’t abating at all and now he was on the way to give the Commencement speech at Seattle’s most prodigious college. Theo was used to public speaking in his job, not that it was his favourite thing to do but he’d agreed to it back when he’d been dating a girl from Tacoma – whose name he couldn’t remember, he thought now with a jolt of shame – whose cousin was part of the graduating class. The speech was written, his custom-made Armani three piece pressed and waiting – he’d even managed to shave this morning. Outwardly, he’d look the part of the billionaire mogul but inside…he swallowed a wave of nausea. Idiot – why get hammered the night before the speech?
Theo definitely wasn’t in the mood for another grilling from his best friend. Max fixed him with a serious glare. ‘You promised me you’d find the one. I want you to, at the very least; try to have a social life. You haven’t dated anyone since Lorelei.’
Theo grimaced and Max sniggered. Lorelei had been a sweet girl – but her obsession with the healing power of crystals had doomed that relationship very, very quickly. Theo chuckled at the memory.
‘Yeah, see? ‘
Max rolled his eyes. ‘That’s not a reason to avoid the whole dating thing. You can’t write off the whole thing just because your last girlfriend thought she could talk to the spirit world. It’s an important part of life and besides, you’re not getting any younger.’
‘Thanks, dude.’
Max grinned at Theo’s sarcastic tone. ‘I’m serious. I want you to meet someone who’ll make you happy.’
Theo studied his friend. ‘You say that with all the smug complacency of the happily settled.’
Max flashed him his cheesiest grin. ‘What can I say? I got lucky with Joel. Now if only you’d embrace your inner gay guy, I’ve got a hundred friends panting to meet you.’
Theo grinned. ‘Ah, your ongoing campaign to turn me. Sorry, dude, I appreciate it but…’
‘You worship at the Alter of Vadge, I know.’
Theo sniggered. ‘Charmingly put.’
Max sighed dramatically. ‘Well, a guy can dream. How long has it been since you were serious about someone?’
Theo didn’t answer – mostly because he couldn’t remember ever being serious about anyone. ‘Can we drop this?’
‘Nope,’ Max was grinning wildly, ‘I tell you what, I’ll make this interesting. You get married before Christmas – I’ll work for you for a year for free.’
Theo’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re serious? Married? Not going to happen.’
Max nodded, leaning forward in his chair. ‘Dude…you’re my best friend and I just want you to slow down. You work, work, work, which is all good but you’re missing out on so much. Meet someone, fall in love, and get married. Hell, I’d be happy if you just dated someone. Come on, help an old romantic out. Besides…’ h
e sniffed huffily, ‘I really don’t want to find you dead of a stress-related heart attack at your desk. We’d never get the smell out of the carpet.’
Theo grinned at his friend but as Max pulled a blanket over himself and turned away to take a nap, Theo stared out of the window of the plane at the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific, the craggy beauty of the West Coast and wondered if Max was right. Maybe it was time for something more, something real. Thing was…he didn’t even know where to start, what he was looking for, who he wanted as his partner in life.
He glanced over to his sleeping friend and knew his friend was right. Theo grinned to himself and settled back into his seat to enjoy the rest of the flight.
‘I hate to ask.’
Jessica Wood narrowed her eyes at her boss. Professor Gerry Land grinned sheepishly and shrugged as they sat together in the college’s refectory, empty coffee cups in front of them. Jess sighed – she knew this wheedling tone of old – Gerry had been her mentor, her champion for four years through college and when she’d applied to be his research fellow to pursue a Ph.D. he’d pulled strings to make sure she’d gotten the position.
Occasionally though, like now, he’d call in the favor.
‘Yeah, yeah, what now?’
Gerry smirked, knowing he had her. ‘Commencement.’
Jess made a face. ‘Oh, no way…I did it last time.’ Their Art department was supposed to send a representative to the ceremony and while they both appreciate the true meaning of the tradition, it was deathly boring – sitting for hours, applauding everyone, listening to some celebrity rambling on about how the graduating students should ‘reach for the stars’ – they actually had a tally on how many of the illustrious guests used clichés like that.
‘Please? I just have so much work to do….and this funding application isn’t going to write itself.’
Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 148
