“Thank you, detective,” I said as I walked him to the door. “And I’ll let you know if I find anything out as well.”
“Good deal. We need to bring these people to justice,” he said.
“That we do,” I agreed and we shook hands then he left.
I needed a place no one knew about to take Sloan when she was released. It needed to be big enough for me to keep Danny and his wife and kids there too. I had no other people in my life worth hurting.
But now that we had the name of who was masterminding everything, the time was getting much closer and I had to do some fast planning.
Chapter 7
Sloan
Two days passed and Danny and myself were being released from the hospital. Lucas was able to stay away from his office as he told the staff he wouldn’t be leaving my side until I was completely able to take care of myself again.
The trap had been baited, Lucas and the detective worked together and finally, they found some bank accounts for Torrence and Cecelia that weren’t on file with his office. With the cooperation of the bank president of the bank the accounts had been drawn on, they found twelve people who Lila Sheffield made deposits to.
It seemed she’d been the one to set all of the accounts up for the individuals using a computer at her company’s headquarters. Not in her office, of course. But only two doors down in another lowly employee’s office, she’d done her dirty work.
What’s worse is she used that poor woman’s work computer to make solicitations for people who wanted to do some undercover work for her. She was setting up that woman to take the heat of what she was behind. But thankfully, Lucas was much smarter than she was.
The day we left the hospital, we were taken to someone’s home the detective knew and the family was gone for the week. Lucas made sure Torrence was off on a wild goose chase so we wouldn’t be followed. He’d told Lucas we were all going to his estate until Danny and I were better.
Detective Allen met us at the modest home in a suburb no one would ever look for a billionaire in. We sat in the living room that evening as he filled us in. “The videos from the traffic cameras have been enhanced by our team of professionals and we can see the people in the front seat. All the way to the gun in Cecelia’s hands.”
“Are there any of her leaning out of the window to shoot me?” I asked as I sat next to Lucas and he held me close to him.
With a smile, the detective pulled a package of 8 by 10 photos out of his briefcase and handed Lucas the pictures. They were clear as day and there were three of Cecelia hanging out the window and fire coming out of the end of the pistol.
The next pictures were from the outside cameras at Club 9. The tramp, who I found out called herself Veronica was seen getting into the car with them. There were also pictures from inside the club and it showed her hitting Lucas both times and even the third time when she missed. It was all there in color photographs. The bank records indicated the rest. And it was all about to go down on them all.
The police were ready for the battle that would surely come along with the capture of Torrence. He had an arsenal and many men to protect him after all. So Lucas had made sure to separate him from them at the specific time the officers were going to make the arrests, simultaneously.
A little lie was what Lucas told Torrence. He asked him to go out to his estate so they could talk. Where he would not be, but the police would. He’d made sure the staff was out of there but that their cars were there so Torrence wouldn’t get suspicious and flee the set up.
Detective Allen stayed with us so we would know everything as it happened as he had the radio channel on all of the policemen had theirs on to coordinate the plan. I held Lucas’ hand and leaned my head on his shoulder as we waited for information to come in.
He kissed the side of my head and whispered, “I can’t wait for this to be over and things can get back to normal for us.”
We hadn’t talked at all about our arrangement or lack thereof. There was just no privacy and the fact was I felt too weak to get into any kind of drama. Any more than I was already in.
The detective’s radio made a squealing noise then a man was talking, “The target is on the premises of the Montgomery estate, stay alert.”
My body went tense with his words and Lucas ran his hand up and down my arm. “its okay, sit back and relax.”
I tried to do what he said but I was on pins and needles. I had an idea that Torrence wasn’t going to be an easy capture. But Lucas assured me that the team inside of his home was a swat team. He would be taken in even if they had to kill him.
I really didn’t want any more bloodshed than had already occurred. I wasn’t an eye for an eye kind of person. I just wanted Lucas safe. I was falling in love with the man. He might never want me the same way, as he hadn’t tried to give me any kind of intimate kiss or touch. So I was unsure what he and I would have once it was all over.
We heard the sound of the doorbell ring at the estate and the officer who was officiating that arrest whispered, “Stacy get the door.”
The detective let us in on who Stacy was. “That’s a female officer. She’s wearing one of the maid’s uniforms to throw him off. Our men are stationed just inside the two rooms off of the hallway the door leads into.”
His radio went off again as another officer said, “We’re about to enter the front of Lila Sheffield’s residence. She is inside according to our intel.”
Another officer came over the radio. “We are just outside the office of Lucas Montgomery and we have a visual on our target.”
Lucas looked pissed and hissed, “I can’t believe her. Out of all of them, I can’t believe she’d do this.”
He was hurt by Cecelia more than anyone else. She was a magnificent actress, I had to give her that. But I felt so bad for those kids of hers. Lucas had promised me he’d take care of finding their father and making sure they were taken care of. Her three kids were at school that day. Their little worlds were about to be turned upside down and my heart hurt for them all.
The last person they were picking up was Veronica. She worked at a strip club and the officer in charge of her arrest made his presence known. “We’re going into the Leopard Lounge now.”
The sounds of all the men talking on the radio were confusing as they all had their intended perpetrators and all were shouting commands to lie on the ground and put hands behind heads. Then a loud buzzing sound happened and one of the officers said, “He’s immobile, cuff him.”
Detective Allen smiled. “They had to use the Taser on Torrence, it sounds like.”
“I hope they hit him in the balls,” Lucas said, harshly. “That man has it coming to him.”
I laughed a little. “A bit barbaric, are we?”
The way he looked into my eyes made my heart stop. “Where you’re concerned, definitely.”
He didn’t look like a man who was about to let me go the way I thought he might be thinking about doing with this thing finally over. He looked at me like he wanted me around for a long time.
One after the other, we heard the arrests being made and Lucas had the judge who would set their bond in his hip pocket so the amounts for each of their bond would be outrageous since most of them had a lot of money.
The feds were busily working to freeze their assets with the arrests made and things were clicking into place. With the news of the last arrest of Lila, the detective told us we were free to go home. Those people were no longer threats to any of us.
We left that house and climbed into the back of limousine Lucas had picked us up in at the hospital and back we went to Washington to start living our lives normally.
Danny and his wife, Lane, were pretty damn happy to be getting back home. As we dropped them off first, they gave us both hugs before getting out. “It’ll be great to get back to work, Lucas.”
“You’re taking a month long vacation. You let me know where you want to go and I’m setting it all up. I’m going to cover every expense. Plus,
you’re getting a bonus. And Lane’s getting a new car. You call my dealer up and have him bring you a few of the one’s you might be interested in.”
Lane covered her mouth with her hands as tears sprang up in her eyes. “Oh, Lucas! I’m sorry I threatened to kill you that day!”
“No hard feelings,” he said.
I looked at him with surprise as the door closed after they got out and we were off to I supposed my apartment to drop me off. “She said she was going to kill you?”
“Yes, but I never believed her,” he said then took my hand and pulled it to his lips. His soft lips pressed against it and it made my insides flutter. “I want to ask you something, Sloan.”
He moved to get on one knee in front of me and my heart stopped. I couldn’t speak as he pulled out something from his pocket. When he opened his hand I saw a ring inside of a small black box.
“Lucas,” I said in a whisper.
“Shh,” he said. “I made a phone call after getting your parents’ number from your cell phone. I asked your father for his permission and I got it. So I’d like to ask you, Sloan Rivers Whitlock, if you will make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?”
I think it was shock that filled me and had me unable to say a word. I just stared at that gorgeous and huge rock then I looked into this eyes. A lump was in my throat and I had to swallow three times to make it go down as he waited patiently for my answer.
Still, my words wouldn’t come out. He started to frown and my heart told me to hurry up. “Yes!”
His frown turned into a smile and he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto my shaking finger. “Thank God! You had me worried for a minute.”
“I couldn’t speak, I was overwhelmed, not thinking about whether I should marry you or not.”
He sat next to me again and pulled me into his arms. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Sloan. You have no idea how much I love you and I’m going to prove it to you every single day of our lives.”
His hand moved up the side of my neck then he cupped the back of my head and gave me the first real kiss he’d given me in over a week. My mouth opened and invited him right in as our tongues said their hellos.
My body ignited with the kiss I’d missed so damn much, it hurt. And we were going to get married and one day have babies and there would be little him’s and me’s running around the estate.
I ended the kiss abruptly as it all came crashing in on me. “Your society will not make this easy on you, Lucas. Just look how they treated me at that charity event. Oh, no. They’ll never accept me as one of their own. This is a mistake you’re making. I’m not worthy!”
He took my face in his hands and made me look at him. “You are never to talk like that again. You are soon to be Mrs. Lucas Montgomery and people will respect you simply because of that. No reason to worry. And if a soul is misfortunate enough to utter one word about you, I suppose you know I’ll have them publicly stoned for the offense.”
I laughed at his over the top words. He could be so funny when he wanted to be. But he was most likely right about me just having his name making people look at me differently. It might make them see me as being on their level.
God I hoped so, anyway!
Chapter 8
Lucas
My heart was pounding. I couldn’t believe my ears. There was a part of me that thought she’d tell me, no. I knew she felt out of her element with the people I rubbed elbows with but she could get used to them and their eccentric ways.
“So, move in with me,” I said next.
She looked at me with wide, brilliantly green eyes and shook her head. “What about my roommate, Randi? She can’t make the rent and all the bills on her own?”
“I’ll make sure your part is covered until she finds someone else to room with.” I ran my hand along her shoulders and pulled her tight to me. “I not only want you with me, Sloan. I need you with me.”
The way her eyes darted back and forth told me she was thinking about it. “Will you give me time to do my thesis and whatever else I need to do?”
“I’ll give you your own office, baby,” I told her as I hugged her. “Whatever you need or want, you will get it. I just want you with me.”
“Randi’s probably going to be pissed at me,” she said.
So I threw in something extra, “I’ll send one of my maids over to clean the apartment once a week and do all of her laundry. I’ll also give her a brand new car. Whatever kind she wants.”
“Wow!” she said as she nodded. “Now that might help soften the blow. Okay, I’ll move in with you then. How can I say no and cost Randi all of that good stuff?”
So I sat back and held her in my arms and felt better than I ever remembered feeling. She was going to be with me every night and each morning. I was hooked on her like I didn’t know was possible. I had been fighting it but nearly losing her made me see time was a gift and I needed to be a hell of a lot more appreciative of that.
Our first night back home had us watching some television in bed as I fed her some crackers and cheese so she’d have something on her stomach when she took her pain meds. I had become a nursemaid, a thing I never knew I was good at. But like most things, I figured out what needed to be done and developed a plan to do it and became great at it.
Her sweet red lips parted to accept the food I placed against them. Her eyes twinkled as she took the bite and then she sighed. “You’re really sweet when you put your mind to it.”
“So are you,” I said then gave her a sip of water.
She gave me a smile. “I’m always sweet.”
“I’m not about to argue with you,” I said with a laugh.
I think we both knew she had a short fuse but who was I to bring that up? Especially since I wanted to keep her calm and happy. After one more cheese covered cracker, I handed her the pill to ease her pain.
She handed the glass of water back to me after taking the pill and said, “Lucas, do you think we could have sex? I mean, I’ll have to pretty much lie still since my right arm is immobilized but I feel up to it.”
“Have sex?” I asked as I tweaked her nose. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
Her frown made me laugh, so I started unbuttoning the pajama top she had on. “I think we should make love.”
Her lips quirked up into a sideways smile. “You had me worried there for a minute.”
“That’s fair, don’t you think? Since you took so long to accept my marriage proposal?” I asked her as I peeled the silk shirt off of her, being very careful of her arm.
She nodded and ran her hand over my bare chest. “Um, hm. I have missed touching you so much. You have no idea.”
“I have every idea. If you knew how badly I wanted to climb into that hospital bed with you.”
“You should have. I wanted you to. I didn’t want to ask, though,” she said as her hand moved all the way down to the top of my pajama bottoms.
I got off the bed and dropped them then pulled hers off too and looked at her perfectly wonderful body. When my eyes had traveled all the way up her body, our eyes met. “You’re gorgeous.”
She smiled. “So are you. Now show me what these nights are going to be like now that we’re engaged.”
I ran my hands up her silky legs. When we bathed together before bed, I had shaved them for her, using an expensive shaving cream and the effects were stunning. “Like silk,” I said as I ran them all the way up to her knees. Then bent them and leaned in to kiss her sweet spot.
Her moan made me hard in an instant. One of her feet moved over my back as she lifted her ass up for more. She wasn’t that girl anymore who worried about having more than one orgasm. Now she was ready to have as many as I could give her.
I wasn’t planning on being too vigorous with her that night. She was fragile and I had to remember that. No matter how excited I got, I had to remember she’d been shot only two days before. But her body was calling to me and so was her mouth. “Baby, show me you love me.”
/> My stomach tensed with her words. We’d barely started using them and each time I heard the word, love, come out of her mouth it gave me such an intense reaction. My lips grazed her sex as I whispered, “I love you, Sloan.”
Then I gave her pert pearl a nice long lick then wrapped my lips around it and sucked it gently. The sound she made gave me chills. I loved the little sounds she made while I pleasured her. She really got into it and it made it so much sweeter.
I picked her up, cupping her ass cheeks in both hands. Loving the way they were firm yet soft and supple. I kneaded them like dough, making her purr and wiggle her hips up to me.
My intimate kiss deepened as I ran my tongue through her wet and warm folds until I found her hot canal and thrust my tongue into its wet, salty depths. Her back left the bed as she arched up and made a fantastic gasp. “Yes!”
Her left hand moved through my hair as I tongue fucked her until she was screaming my name and sending her hot fluids to meet my hungry tongue. I couldn’t stop, I had to drink her in. Her moaning and screaming continued as she pulled at my hair. Her body was mine and there was no denying it.
As my mouth left her sweet heat, I kissed my way up her body. Her legs wrapped around me as I slipped into her. We both groaned with agonizing relief to feel one another this way again. “Oh, God!” I moaned as I felt like I was home. “A week is far too long to stay away from this feeling.”
Her hand moved over my back as her lips pressed against my neck. “It is. What you do to me is amazing.”
I eased up then back down and pulled back to look at her. “Are you okay? I’m not hurting you, am I?”
“Not one bit,” she said as she bit her lower lip. “Now take me, Lucas. Make me only ours forever.”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea how I’ve wanted to hear that,” I growled. Her body was reacting to mine with a heated passion I didn’t recall her having before. I guessed it was the now permanence of our relationship that had her so hot and intense.
Evergreen: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 98
