Found Love

by Red Rose Publishing

  Panting, Andréa collapsed on top of Sebastian, her heart racing a mile a minute. She smiled. Sebastian’s heart rate matched hers. She lay with her head resting on his chest. They’d made it back to his place in record time, and he’d removed her clothes and at once pinned her against the foyer wall, taking her hard and fast. And she’d enjoyed every damn minute of it. Once they’d reached his bedroom, she’d become the aggressor and had stripped him and pushed him down onto the huge four-poster bed. She’d straddled him and rode him just as he’d ridden her until he’d screamed her name as his cum exploded. His climax had triggered hers, and her soul had left her body and merged with his, making their bond complete.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to move ever again,” she declared.

  “I guess I’ll have to carry you around until you regain your strength,” Sebastian said, chuckling.

  He kissed and nibbled on her earlobe, drawing a deep moan from her. She lay in bed while he rolled out and headed for the bathroom in all his naked glory. Her body tingled at the sight. She listened as he started running water. He walked back into the bedroom, scooped her up, and carried her into the bathroom for a quick dip. She washed him, and he in turn washed her before he slid his cock inside her. He took his time loving her, driving her higher and higher until she screamed his name as she came hard. It felt like her body had shattered into millions of pieces, but he wasn’t done with her and continued to thrust deep within her until she came again, this time coming with her.

  Sebastian held a sleeping Andréa in his arms trying to come up with a way to convince her she belonged with him and Nico—that the three of them were a family. He thought about the additional room he’d asked Mack to add, swearing him to secrecy. He remembered the shit-eating grin on Mack’s face at the time he’d told him that he’d wanted to add on an office for Andréa to work out of. Now, he just had to work up the nerve to ask her to become a permanent part of their lives.

  Andréa sat up and bolted from the bed, racing for the bathroom. She made it just moments before she lost the previous night’s dinner. She moaned as she flushed her mouth with water from the sink and wet her face. On shaky legs, she made her way back to the bedroom and stumbled around for her clothes.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?” Sebastian asked, climbing out of bed.

  “I need to get home. I’m not well.” She walked around him, slipping on her clothes as she went.

  “It’s four in the morning, and you don’t need to be out on the street at this time. If you aren’t well tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I have something that will help make you better.”

  “You don’t understand, Sebastian. What’s wrong with me is a natural occurrence, and what I need to help me get through this is at my place,” she snapped.

  Being a doctor, he must be quick to pick up on what ailed his patients, but she guessed that because his love for her ran so deep, it would take him a moment for the light to come on.

  “Andréa, I’m not going to let you go out at this time of morning.” He held up his hand to halt her words. She turned her gaze upon him. “If you write down what you need, I’ll run to the store and get everything.”

  “Sebastian, I know you mean well, but sweetheart, during that time of the month I can be the worst kind of bitch you’d ever want to meet, and if you don’t believe me just call Mack and ask him,” she warned.

  Sebastian picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He sat her down with two pillows propped against the headboard then walked over to the roll-top desk across the room. He took out a notepad and pen and handed it to her. “I want this relationship between us to work, and that means through sickness and health. Now write down what you need and I’ll run to the twenty-four-hour store and get it.”

  She stared up at him, and by the stubborn look on his face he wouldn’t be denied, so she took the pad and pen and wrote down everything she needed.

  He left and returned to find her curled up on the chaise lounge wearing his bathrobe and holding his pillow. “Why aren’t you in bed?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t get comfortable, and my back hurts,” she mumbled as she stood and headed for the bathroom.

  Back in the bedroom, she noted Sebastian had changed the sheets and redressed the bedding. He’d also plugged in a heating pad. He smiled, seeing her dressed in a pair of his silk pajamas that swallowed her whole. Picking her up, he carried her over to the bed, settling her lower back against the heating pad. Andréa moaned at the heat seeping in and easing the cramps in her lower back.

  “The clerk suggested that I purchase it,” he informed her as he tucked the covers around her before walking to the other side of the bed and climbing in.

  Andréa snuggled up against him and went back to sleep.

  Several weeks later, Sebastian met Mack for a preliminary walk through of the house, impressed and satisfied with the end result. He couldn’t wait to show the house to Nico and Andréa.

  “So, are you going to give Andréa a tour?” Mack asked.

  “I don’t know yet. I’m not sure if I want to pop the question before I show it to her or bring her here, give her the tour, and pop it.”

  Mack chuckled. “I think you should give her the tour showing her all the rooms, saving the office you added on for her last, and in that office you need to pop the question.”

  Mack’s plan sounded perfect, and Sebastian figured he’d do as he suggested, but now he had to do work up the nerve to do it.

  After leaving the new house, Sebastian made his way to Andréa’s to meet her for dinner. So deep in thought trying to figure out proposing, he almost didn’t hear Hank call his name. “Sorry, Hank, what can I do for you?” He glanced at the man who stood at the desk near Hank.

  “Mr. York, I hate to bother you, but this gentleman is waiting to see Ms. Morgan. I thought maybe you’d like to speak with him.”

  The guards cared about Andréa and were very protective of her. If Hank had suspicions about the guy he’d better meet with the man before he spoke with Andréa.

  “Is your office available?” Sebastian asked, not wanting to take the guy up to Andréa’s place.

  Hank nodded and buzzed them in. Sebastian led the man down the corridor to the guard’s office. Once there, he offered the man a seat before he asked him what business he had with Andréa.

  “May I ask what your relationship is to Ms. Morgan?” the man asked.

  “I’m her boyfriend. Now, again, what do you need to see Andréa about?”

  “My friend just found out that a woman from his past discovered she’d been pregnant with his child after his father and grandfather had run her out of his life. She tried to contact him after she found out about the pregnancy, but my friend’s family interfered again and kept her away from him. She resigned herself to raising their child alone and died giving birth to their child. The little girl was turned over to Social Services because the woman had no other relatives. The baby ended up at the local orphanage. After checking and double checking, I believe that Andréa Morgan is that child.”

  Sebastian couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Could this man’s friend be Andréa’s father? And if so, did Andréa want to know?

  “How can you be sure Andréa is your friend’s daughter?” he asked.

  “Everything I’ve found leads me to believe Andréa is that child, plus the fact she has his eyes, though I realize that sounds insane,” Brian said, pulling out a picture of him and Chester together. He handed it to Sebastian.

  Sebastian took the picture, and his breath lodged in his throat. She did have the man’s eyes, but she also had a softer version of his features.

  “What does your friend want from Andréa if she is his daughter?” Sebastian asked.

  “My friend wants to get to know his daughter. She is the one connection to the only woman he ever loved.”

  “Andréa has no knowledge of her mother, so there is nothing she can give him in regards to her mother,” Sebastian stated.

  “We
are aware of that.” The man paused and stared at Sebastian sitting across from him. “My friend met and fell in love with April. He intended to make her his wife and build a life with her. He didn’t care that an interracial relationship had been against the rules, but he figured their love would be stronger. He hadn’t counted on his father and grandfather using the threat of harming him to force April to exit his life. After they’d gotten her out of the picture, they schemed and got my friend engaged and married to someone they approved of.

  “Chester, Andréa’s father, wanted to find out what had happened to April. I did as he asked and came across the information regarding her dying during childbirth and followed the trail to the orphanage. My friend knows he can’t make up for the years gone, but he would like to have a chance to be a part of his daughter’s life.”

  Sebastian leaned back and rubbed his eyes, wondering what he should do. He needed to tell Andréa about what he’d found out today. “Why don’t you leave me your card and I’ll talk it over with Andréa and find out if she wants to meet your friend or not. Once I’ve talked it over with her, I’ll give you a call either way.”

  The man nodded. “Your father wouldn’t happen to be Nicolai York, would it?”

  Do I look that much like Dad? “Yes, he is my father. I take it you know him.”

  “Yes, my friend and I spent our fair share of time before him in the courtroom. Chester and I were partners in a law firm for years, and we had several sessions in your father’s court.”

  “Are you guys still practicing attorneys?”

  “No, I realized I liked the investigative part of the job better than I did being an attorney so I retired and became a private investigator, working with my partner in that capacity. Chester retired, and I became a private investigator full-time. I’ll go ahead and wait to hear from you before I mention anything to Chester. My name’s Brian Wilkins, by the way.”

  Sebastian shook the man’s hand and walked him out, thanking Hank for the use of his office and for protecting Andréa. Hank informed him that Andréa and Nico had arrived.

  He let himself in using the key she’d given him, calling out to both of them as he entered. Nico came out of Andréa’s office. He guessed he’d been working with the imager.

  “Hi, buddy! Did you have a good time at school today?”

  “Yes, Daddy, and you should have seen the way the other kids stared at Andréa. They kept talking about her being so beautiful. Even Mr. Sampson got all tongue tied,” Nico informed him.

  Sebastian looked up as Andréa came out of the kitchen smiling.

  “Nico is exaggerating,” she said, coming over to give him a kiss.

  “I’m sure that he isn’t, but that’s okay. I’d bet Mr. Sampson knows a beautiful woman when he sees one.”

  Nico went back to the office, and Sebastian followed Andréa into the kitchen.

  “I spotted your truck and I thought you’d be up here already.” Andréa helped him set the table.

  He decided to let her know about the visitor. “I got here and Hank introduced me to a guy who wanted to see you. I took him into Hank’s office to find out what he wanted.”

  “Here to see me? About what?”

  Sebastian told her what he’d discovered. “I told him I’d check with you to see if you wanted to meet his friend and I’d call him in a few days to let him know either way. Did they ever tell you what happened to your parents?”

  “No, I guess because I never asked. I assumed like everyone else there at the orphanage that my parents hadn’t wanted me so I didn’t care about knowing them…so I never asked. The sister’s would always say if we wanted to ask questions about our parents or how we ended up there they would tell us what they could, but as far as I know no one ever took them up on the offer. So if what he’s saying is the truth, I wasn’t an unwanted child,” she whispered.

  Sebastian went to her and pulled her into his arms. “No, baby, you weren’t. From what Mr. Wilkins told me, after they turned your mother away, she’d planned on raising you alone, but she died giving birth to you, and since she didn’t have any living relatives, you ended up at the orphanage.”

  “What made my…this man search for me now?”

  Sebastian hadn’t missed the hesitation but didn’t comment on it. “Your father had asked Brian to find the woman he loved, and his digging revealed the events of the past. I explained to Brian that it will have to be your decision as to whether or not you want to meet your father and allow him to be a part of your life.

  “Baby, he’ll love you for one because you are a part of him, and from what Mr. Wilkins said, your father loved your mother, and to him you’re the only remaining connection to the woman he loved.” He kneeled beside her and gave her a kiss. He knew what was going through her mind. She was wondering what to do. She wanted to know her father and what he could tell her about her mother, but on the other hand she couldn’t shake the fear that if she let him in he would realize he couldn’t love her and wanted nothing to do with her.

  “You don’t have to decide on anything right now. Give yourself a few days to think about it and know that whatever you decide I will be behind you one hundred percent.”

  Serena sat listening to the agents as they went over the plan and what she had to say to Curtis. Guilt filled her—guilt for being a part of the plan to set him up. He must have had his reasons for what he’d done. How can I betray him? As luck would have it, the detectives left a phone sitting on the scarred table. She waited until they exited the room and made the call.

  Basil stood inside the observation room. The woman stared at the phone, and after a few minutes she reached for it and dialed. He looked up as Agent Hogan and his partner, Detective Roberts, walked in. He let the phone ring several times before he answered it.

  “Curtis this is Serena,” she whispered.

  “Where in the hell are you, and why haven’t you answered my calls?” Basil answered, speaking into the voice box they’d installed on the phone.

  “That’s not important right now. I can’t talk long, but I wanted to warn you that somehow they found out I’ve been giving you some of the experimental drugs from the lab and that you gave them to some woman without her knowledge. They’ve been keeping me secluded and want me to help trap you, but I can’t do it.”

  “Did you get the drug for me or not?” Basil demanded.

  “I have a vial in my apartment hidden under the sink in the master bathroom.” She went to say more, but Basil ended the call. She closed the phone and placed it back on the table.

  Basil turned to his colleagues. “I told you it wouldn’t work. He has her so caught up in him that she’d do time before she betrayed him.”

  “I figured she wouldn’t go through with it. Norm went over the plans with her, and even after all the shit I gave her the other day she still chose to stick with him,” Bill said, shaking his head.

  Basil handed him the recording then picked up the phone and sent someone to her apartment to collect the other vial. The second call he made to his other team to go ahead with the alternate plan. He’d had a voice box added on to Serena’s phone, and this time the bastard called, one of his female detectives would answer and play the role of Serena and get Curtis that way. After giving the go ahead to the other team, he returned his attention to the room where Serena sat and kept his gaze on her face as Bill walked in and replayed the recording.

  “I guess this means you’ve decided not to work with us,” Bill stated, all sympathy he’d had for the woman seemingly erased. They read Serena her rights before running down the charges. Her eyes bulged at the charge of murder; neither Basil or his colleagues knew if the charge would stick.

  “What do you mean murder?” Serena demanded.

  “Because of the three children aborted due to the drug your boyfriend slipped to his fiancé,” Norm responded in a cold voice.

  Curtis answered the phone. “It’s about damn time you called me back. Where in the hell have you been?” he deman
ded.

  Detective Natalie Portman had to tamp down her normal instinct to curse the scheming prick out and remember her role. “They’ve had us on lockdown at the lab. They’re watching everyone because some of the experimental drugs have gone missing. I had to cut off our communications because I didn’t want them looking at you,” she said, reciting the script.

  “Well, I need for you to get me what I want today,” he snapped. “I haven’t got time for your sorry-ass excuses. I’ve been calling for weeks now, and you call me back with some lame shit like I care if your ass gets caught or not.”

  “What do you need?” she asked.

  “I need the drug like I told you a few weeks ago, and I need it today. I don’t have any time to waste. I’ll be at your place in ten minutes, and you’d better have what I need,” he snapped.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Basil called all of his people, making sure he had everyone in place. He didn’t want any mistakes made—he intended to get this bastard today. His baby brother had enough to worry about since he still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask Andréa to marry him, and he didn’t need the extra worry that this bastard waited around the corner for an opportunity to get his hands on Andréa. He’d nearly called Sebastian to let him know about the events going down but thought better of it.

  He read the text from Hank stating that Curtis had left the parking lot across the street from Andréa’s apartments. He thanked God Mack had the foresight to hire a retired cop and an ex-Marine to run the security for Andréa’s place. The guy had a great pair of eyes and didn’t miss anything. Hank had spotted the bastard the first time he’d started staking out Andréa’s place.

  He glanced at his watch and nodded. All of his people checked in through their earpieces. Everyone grew silent as soon as the signal had been given that Curtis had arrived.

  Curtis let himself into Serena’s place, calling out to her. His hand itched. Something was off, but he ignored it. He would get what he needed. He’d take care of the old bitch; she’d become just a bit clingy, and after tonight he wouldn’t need her ass anymore. He didn’t want her hanging on.