***
“What the hell do you mean, Evan has Jacey?” Derrick roared, glaring at Connor who was ignoring him, his whole attention on the computer screen in front of him.
When he’d gotten the call from Hunter he’d driven over to the safe house like a maniac, thankful there seemed to be few cops out this evening.
“How the hell did he get to her?”
“He kidnapped your sister-in-law and her husband,” Hunter explained. “Used them as bait to lure Jacey out. She wasn’t stupid, she took Tiny as back-up.”
“So how is it that she’s now in a car with Evan?” Derrick shouted.
“Evan moved quickly. Tiny was scouting the area when Evan shoved her in a car. He’s following them,” Connor said. “I’m tracking her necklace.”
Thank Christ he’d had the foresight to put a tracking device in her necklace.
“Have you tracked Holly’s necklace?” he demanded. He’d sent a similar necklace to his sister-in-law and Ava at their men’s requests.
Connor nodded. “Gray took some of our men over there.”
“Jaron, you’re with me,” Hunter said. “They already have a head start. Connor, keep us updated on their location.”
Derrick followed them out.
“Derrick, it would be better if you stayed here,” Hunter said, not without sympathy.
“Like fuck,” Derrick replied. “I’m coming as well. Besides, my phone already has the program on it to track her. It’ll be quicker than relying on Connor.”
“I’m coming too,” Cady said, crossing her arms over her chest as they all turned to glare at her. “What? She’s my friend.”
“I need you here with Connor. You stay on the phone with us while he works.”
“Bullshit. Derrick has the program on his phone. I’m going.”
Hunter took a step toward her, looming over her. She swallowed heavily, but didn’t step away.
“You’re staying. In case you forgot, sweetheart, I’m your boss for the night and you do as I say. Jaron, Derrick, let’s go.”
Cady didn’t say anything more, just spun away and stomped into the house.
Derrick climbed into the front passenger seat. He was furious. How dare she place herself in danger this way? When he had her back safe and well in his arms he was going to beat her ass until she couldn’t sit down for a week.
***
“So how are you going to explain me being out here?” Jacey asked, looking around her as they drove further away from the city. They’d been driving for two hours now and the houses had become few and far between.
She hoped like hell that Tiny wasn’t far behind them. She didn’t dare look behind her, not wanting to alert Evan.
“Do you know that your old college friend, Suzy, has a ranch out here?” Evan said.
Jacey frowned. “No. What has that got to do with anything? I haven’t seen Suzy in years.” In fact, they hadn’t really been friends. Suzy’s mother and her mother had been close.
“Well, the last couple of years have been hard on the ranch; they’ve lost a lot of money and are near foreclosure. Something I’m sure you understand Suzy finds very humiliating.”
Suzy had always cared about appearances more than anything else.
“So she was very grateful for a little injection of cash. And all she has to do is corroborate Stephan’s story that you’ve been staying with her for the last week, since you returned from Europe. You borrowed this car from her to drive into Austin then on the way home; tragically, you had an accident, drove off the road, into the river and drowned.”
“This is absurd. There are so many holes in that story it’s laughable. There is no way anyone will believe it. And are you forgetting Derrick?”
“Don’t worry about Derrick. We have plans for him. And I find that people often believe what they want to believe. Stephan has a lot of friends and people who owe him favors. I think you’ll find that those holes are quickly filled in.
Jacey shivered. Please hurry up, Tiny. Please.
“And here we are, the place of your demise.” He slowed the car to a stop but didn’t turn it off, leaving the headlights on.
“I’m going to get out of the car. Don’t try anything funny. Remember Holly.”
“Not a lot I can do is there?” She nodded her head to where he’d cuffed her hands to the door handle.
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “I suppose not.”
Evan came around and opened her door, forcing her arms out in front of her so she would have fallen if the seatbelt hadn’t caught her. God, she was tempted to smash her head against his face. But she knew that wouldn’t work. He had the keys to her cuffs and she wasn’t going anywhere while attached to the door.
So she bided her time as he unlocked her cuffs.
“Undo your belt and get out,” he demanded, keeping the gun pointed at her.
“Now, you’re going to be a good little girl and climb in the driver’s side then drive this car full speed over the edge. The water is cold and deep, not that you’re going to survive the drop.”
“And what makes you think I’ll willingly drive off the road? Why wouldn’t I just get in the car and drive away?”
And why was she telling him this? Why didn’t she just do it? Because she had to know why he was so sure she’d just end her life.
“Because if you don’t, then it’s bye-bye Holly. You’re a do-gooder, Jacinta, always have been. We both know you’re not going to risk her life to save your own.”
He was right. Luckily, she was pretty sure she didn’t have to.
“Ahh, but do you really have Holly? Because I’m thinking that right about now she’s been rescued.” God, she hoped so.
“Nice try.”
“Why don’t you call and find out?”
He shoved her away from him, stepping back with his gun firmly trained on her as he reached into his pocket for his cell. The phone rang and rang.
No answer.
“Well, never mind, I don’t need your cooperation to knock you out and push you into the water. We’ll call it suicide.”
He started to move toward her and she knew he was serious. Even though it took her closer to edge of the road, Jacey matched him step for step, moving away from him.
“Stand still. Hands up.” Tiny.
Relief made her so weak, she nearly feel to her knees. Evan spun around and she took the opportunity to dive around the other side of the car.
“Who’s there? Jacinta, come back here, you bitch!” There was the ping of bullets against the car and she crouched down further. Shoot! She was a sitting duck here.
“Jacey, stay down. Freeze now!” Tiny roared.
“I’m going to kill you, Jacinta!” Evan’s voice was mad, insane. He didn’t even seem to be aware of Tiny anymore. There was the sound of a gun firing then a scream of outrage. She raised her head far enough to see Evan grab at his shoulder. He stepped backward, once, twice then fell over the barrier into the river below.
His scream of outrage reverberated throughout the night and Jacey heaved in huge breaths, unable to calm her raging heartbeat.
There was the sound of running footsteps and she turned, sagging in relief as she saw Tiny race toward her.
“Oh God, oh God,” she said, trying to force herself to stand but her legs seemed to be made of rubber. “Do you think he’s dead?” she asked as Tiny crouched in front of her.
He hauled her up into his arms.
“Don’t know. Too dark.” He carried her away from the car.
“You saved me. Thank you.” Tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She was an emotional wreck. She couldn’t even stand, let alone walk and she couldn’t seem to stop crying.
“Almost too late.”
“What about the car? We can’t just leave it there.”
“Others coming.”
Headlights appeared in the distance. Jacey started to sob as car doors slammed and she heard Derrick yell her name. The next moment he was the
“Thank God. Thank God. You are never leaving my sight again, understand me? Even if I have to chain you to me.”
At the moment she couldn’t agree with that sentiment more.
Chapter Nineteen
Jacey stood in the open doorway of their bungalow, looking out at the glistening sea of Muri Beach. Two arms surrounded her from behind, cupping her round belly.
“What are you thinking about, love?” Derrick asked.
“Just how much I’m going to miss this place. It’s been idyllic, staying here.” It was a slower pace of life on Rarotonga, far removed from the busy city. Here, people moved at their own speed. Island time, they called it.
“We’ll be back. I promise.”
“I know.” She leaned her head back against his chest. “I guess I just managed to push everything out of my mind while we were here and now…”
“Now you’re worrying about Stephan’s trial.”
She nodded. Even with Evan gone, she was still in danger. Stephan had enough money to hire someone else to come after her. There had been nothing to connect Stephan with Evan’s actions, no paperwork, no emails.
So, either she spent the rest of her life hiding from him or she went public with what she knew. So with Derrick’s support, Jacey had gone to the police with what she knew about Gerry’s death.
Stephan been granted bail and she was terrified he’d find some way to hurt her. Or Derrick. Knowing how stressed out she was, Derrick had brought her to Rarotonga for a month long trip. It also gave him a chance to check up on the resort his company was building. It had taken her at least two weeks before she could begin to relax and stop looking over her shoulder. It was hard to believe that anything bad could happen to her here. Although she couldn’t completely let go of the worry that someone might find her.
“Don’t worry. I have security watching you and the house. You’ll be safe.”
“I just don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life.”
“You won’t. The bastard is going down. Come on, we have one more night left. Let me take your mind off everything.”
Jacey let Derrick draw her back into the hut.
***
Jacey was sitting beside Derrick in a private lounge in LAX while Derrick’s private plane was refilled. She glanced up from her magazine to look at the television screen, just as a news bulletin came on. She froze, shocked by the picture that appeared on the screen. She grabbed Derrick’s arm.
Derrick turned to her. “Jacey, what is it?”
“Look,” she said, raising a shaking hand to point at the TV screen that was showing some news footage of Stephan from a few years ago. Derrick stood and grabbed an attendant who turned the volume up.
“For those of you who have just joined us. It has just been confirmed that Stephan Worthington, disgraced state district attorney for Chicago committed suicide last night. He was found this morning by his lawyer. Mr Worthington was on bail after being arrested for the murder of his assistant, Gerald Francis. During the investigation into this alleged murder, it has been found that Mr Worthington, who comes from one of Chicago’s most prestigious families, has been embezzling funds and taking bribes during his period as district state attorney.”
“Come away, baby. You’ve heard enough. The plane should be ready by now.”
Jacey let Derrick steer her away in a daze. She followed him through the airport, not really taking notice of her surroundings as Derrick helped her onto the plane and settled her in her seat.
“I can’t believe that Stephan would commit suicide. He was always so confident; I never thought he would take his own life.”
Derrick did up her seat belt before doing up his own. He glanced down at her in concern. “This wasn’t your fault, Jacey. He did some evil things, maybe his conscience caught up with him.”
“Maybe. And he was embezzling funds? Taking bribes? Why? He had plenty of money.”
Derrick shrugged. “It was probably about power.”
“They found that all really quickly.”
“I think Hunter and his team may have helped with that. Connor had been doing some research.”
“Oh.” Her mind reeled. “I still can’t believe he would take his own life.” She turned to him in shock. “Why would he do that?”
Derrick tucked her into his side. “I don’t know. Maybe because he knew he was losing everything and he just couldn’t face it.”
The loss of his job, his social standing would be a huge blow to someone like Stephan, but she’d still never imagined him killing himself.
“Come on, let’s get you home.”
She let Derrick steer her through the airport and outside to where Robert waited with the car.
Home sounded really good right now.
***
“So I got a thank you card today.” Jacey closed her laptop and looked over at Derrick who was working on a new project. She lay back on the couch. “Apparently a large donation was made in my name to the Downtown Mission shelter.”
Derrick looked up at her. “That so?”
“Hmm, they were very happy with my generosity.” The smile slipped from her face and she looked at him seriously. “Thank you, Derrick.”
He nodded. “It was the very least I could do.” He sat back in his seat. “So I hear that Hunter is trying to get Cady to work for him?”
Jacey grinned, thinking of her friend. “Yep. I think Cady’s just making him work for it, she likes to see him sweat.”
Derrick chuckled. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“She’s not really that hard on the inside you know. She helped me out a lot.”
“I know.” His gaze softened as he stared at her. “Anything could have happened to you on the streets, I’m glad you had Cady as a friend.”
“You know that you’re going to have to let me out of you sight at some stage and go back to work,” Jacey said.
Since returning from Rarotonga, Derrick had been working from home. He’d become even more overprotective than usual, barely letting her out of his sight and she’d been happy to indulge him. He’d nearly lost her and she knew that had stirred up old nightmares of when his wife died. Derrick was always going to be overprotective and bossy; truthfully, she wouldn’t have him any other way.
But there was a limit as to how much she’d take from him and it was time to get back some of her independence.
“I know,” he said sitting back on his seat, running his gaze over her body. “Lift up your skirt and spread your legs.”
“Derrick, you’re working.”
He raised a brow. “Not anymore. I’ve taken the rest of the day off. I have a naughty little subbie to punish.”
“What? Why? What did I do?”
“What did you do?” he asked darkly. “Let’s see. You left the safe house where you promised me you would stay. You put yourself in grave danger, not only risking yourself but also our baby and you added a whole pile of gray hairs to my head.”
She snorted at that last one.
“Now raise that skirt and spread your legs.”
She slowly did as he ordered. Derrick didn’t allow her to wear underwear in the house, so he could see every inch of her exposed pussy.
His phone rang and he looked over at the display. “I have to take this. You stay just as you are.”
The entire time he was talking on the phone, he stared at her, his gaze drinking her in. How he was able to concentrate she didn’t know, because her mind was a scattered mess.
When he put down his phone, he gestured to her. “Come here.”
She slowly stood and walked toward him.
“Strip.”
She’d grown much larger now, her belly quite prominent and her breasts fuller. She pulled off her shirt, putting it aside, then her bra. Finally, she pulled down her skirt.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are lately?”
She grinned. “Only a few times.”
He ran his hand over her stomach possessively. Then leaning in, he kissed her belly.
“Now, you’ve been a very naughty girl, haven’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir.”
“How should I punish you?”
“I-I suppose you could spank me, Sir?” she said with mock-reluctance.
“Yes, I suppose that would teach you a lesson. Reach into my drawer and pull out the ruler.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Ask me to punish you,” Derrick demanded as he stood and swung the ruler against his palm.
“Please, Sir. Spank me.”
“Since you asked so nicely. You will grasp the edge of the desk and bend over. I want a nice target for my ruler.”
He smacked the ruler down on each of her thighs. “You know better than that, I want those legs spread wide.”
“Sorry, Sir.”
“You’re not yet. But you will be.”
The ruler smacked down on her buttocks, making her yelp. It wasn’t long until tears welled in her eyes. This was more painful than when they were roleplaying and she knew he was absolutely serious about this being punishment.
He stopped, rubbing her buttocks.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Good, Sir.”
He pushed two fingers down into her pussy which was wet and welcoming.
“Ahh, yes, I can see that.” He swirled a finger around her clit, slowly at first then faster.
“Why are you being punished?”
“For endangering myself and the baby,” she answered, her breath coming in fast pants as he stroked her toward orgasm. Abruptly he pulled away.
She heard a creaking as he sat on the chair.
“Come and thank me for your punishment,” he ordered.
She turned to find him sitting on the chair, his trousers undone, his hand massaging his firm cock. Knowing what he wanted, Jacey knelt between his open thighs and took his cock in her mouth, sucking him down. She played with his balls, knowing exactly what he liked as she sucked him further down her throat.
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