I shook my head in disagreement. “You keep talking as if we are a couple, that we have a future together. But your job is here in New York and mine is back in Florida.”
After taking in a deep breath, Marcus countered. “As I tried to tell you before all this went to hell. Wherever you are—That. Is. My. Life.”
“But your job? Your penthouse?”
He waved his hand out in the air. “They mean nothing without you there by my side.” He paused for a moment before explaining. “I know you want to be close to your sister, especially since she already has one child and last week shared the news they are expecting another. I saw how your face lit up with the news you’d be an aunt two times over.
“I’m tired of being away from my family too. I know my father and I still aren’t close, but we’ve come to an understanding with one another. I broke down and gave him a call while you were talking to Jesse.” His shoulders relaxed as some of the tension he’d been carrying seemed to vanish.
Each of our fathers had been an issue in our lives for as long as I could remember. I was glad we were headed in a positive direction in regards to them. I listened anxiously as he continued. “My dad finally accepted that I never want to be the one to manage the restaurants, that I’m happier in business, and he’s okay with that. I’ll advise him financially, even help out when he’s short-staffed, but otherwise my focus will be on my new job. I’ve accepted an offer to come back to Orlando to work for Mr. Prescott.”
“Did I just hear my name mentioned?” Both of us turned to see Mr. Prescott and Rick in the doorway of the room. By the look of the activity beyond the doors, I was still in the holding area of the emergency room.
I was puzzled as to why both men were there. “What are you two doing here? Did something go wrong with the case?” My mind was going a mile a minute with questions.
Mr. Prescott reached out to shake our hands. “No need to worry, Makenna. Everything’s fine.” He motioned toward Marcus. “Has he enlightened you about everything?”
“He mentioned something about a job offer?” Those were the only words I could offer, not knowing if there was more or not.
Mr. Prescott and Rick moved to the other side of the bed and leaned up against the wall, before Mr. Prescott filled in the blanks. “A few days ago, Marcus agreed to sell me his penthouse. We’d already talked with Mr. Martin, the building manager, along with the owner of the Canterbury to see if we could buy the space. As it turns out, the building is zoned for both residential and commercial property. They already have a spa and salon on the first floor, along with a coffee shop.”
He shrugged his shoulders as if his words were a common, everyday occurrence. “The local Titan Security office is cramped, and we’re paying too much for too little a space. This would be the best solution possible. The layout, according to Gary and Dillon, is ideal, giving us the opportunity to grow.
“In return for the space, we’ll provide better security for the building at a discounted rate. We’ve already pointed out several flaws with their current system, along with the fact their doorman, a Simon Peterson, was taking bribes from anyone off the street wanting access to the residents.” Mr. Prescott shook his head as if he couldn’t believe that had happened.
I’d already exposed Simon as being the source for the additional devices found in Marcus’s place. Footage from the building had shown him taking a bribe from Cassia to let her in his place to plant the devices. And using her credit cards to buy them helped us link her to all the extra items we’d found.
Wanting to change the topic, I questioned, “You offered Marcus a job?”
“Yes. As you know, Prescott International started out as an import business for Italian Specialties for various shops across the U.S. We then broadened our base to include other foods from various countries around the world and later got into exporting requested items. We were doing well, but I didn’t know how long we’d last, and I was right to be concerned, as our sales haven’t been as promising lately.” His face looked a little more tired and older than I’d seen in years.
Mr. Prescott went on. “That’s why I invested in the accounting software your co-worker Ethan had created with his buddy Nate. It was my first step in diversification of the business, and it proved to be a lucrative one. Now the software is sold around the country to companies wanting to protect their financials.
“Then the opportunity to invest in Titan came along”—he motioned toward Rick—“and with the help of Rick, his brother Derrick, your sister, and your Uncle Jesse, let’s just say Titan Security became a name known around the globe. They were responsible for taking down one of the most hated criminal masterminds in the world, who was hell bent on world domination. Now we have requests of our services with the Royal Guard, Interpol, and other acclaimed agencies around the world.”
“Okay? And?” I wasn’t sure where Mr. Prescott was headed, but I knew he had a point in there somewhere.
“Because of our growth and the desire to diversify the business even further, I need someone with Marcus’s talents. I want him to look at business opportunities to see if they’re financially viable. So far I’ve been fortunate with my investments, and I’d like to keep it that way, especially since I plan on retiring in the next few years and handing over the reins to my eldest son, Dane, along with the rest of the family.” You could tell Mr. Prescott was one proud father as he spoke of his family.
He went on to clarify. “I want to see my business and its employees working smarter, not harder. So Marcus has agreed to be the Vice President of Business Acquisitions and Financial Solutions. I’ll have him look at potential investments for the company, but I’ll also have him looking for ways to maximize and grow the 401(k) plans for our employees, so they have the chance to retire earlier if they’d like.”
When Mr. Prescott was done talking, Marcus squeezed my hand, rubbing his thumb over the top of my knuckles, sending a little shiver through my entire body. “See, Makenna? I’m not staying in New York. I miss being a part of my family. I’ve missed years of not knowing my nieces and nephews, and I want to rectify that now. I don’t want to look back on regrets.”
I knew what I was hearing, but I had to ask. “Didn’t you love your job here?”
He shook his head. “I only came here because I had nowhere else to go when my father dismissed me. It was our plan to come here together, but when that changed, I spent every waking hour at work. That’s why I’d climbed the ladder so quickly, because I lived, ate, and slept with my job being the focus. I went days without sleep until I hit the point of exhaustion, all so I wouldn’t have to think about how lonely I was without you.”
I felt a few tears escape from my eyes. I was embarrassed about crying in front of Mr. Prescott and Rick. I was supposed to be this badass agent and here I was breaking down into an emotional mess.
Rick offered me a tissue, and I accepted. “I’ve decided I’m going to give you a few weeks off to collect yourself.”
I started to open my mouth to argue, but Rick crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a look that told me I’d better hold my tongue. Damn I hated having a Dominant for a boss. “You’ll still work for Titan, but you’ll spend more time doing things remotely with Sophia and Ethan and training some new female agents we’ve recently hired.”
“But I like being out in the field,” I argued.
Rick shook his head. “Neither Mr. Prescott nor I could live with ourselves if you got hurt another time. You’ve already been stabbed and shot and—”
“This is my father’s doing, isn’t it?” I ripped my hand away from Marcus’s and punched the damn bed I was on, furious about my dad’s continued interference.
Everyone held their hands up in an attempt to calm me down. Mr. Prescott was the first to speak. “Your dad can be one stubborn son-of-a-bitch, but your mother has been talking some sense into that thick skull of his lately.” He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out an envelope with my name on it. �
��He actually gave me this letter to give to you.”
I reached out and took the letter from his hands. “If he’s not responsible for the sudden shift in my position, then why am I being limited?”
“We’re not trying to minimize your involvement in Titan,” Rick proclaimed. “We’re getting more and more cyber cases that need the attention to detail you’ve proven to have. Sophia’s only part-time and needs someone to pass her skillset on to. Ethan’s specialty is finding cracks in firewalls and tracking financial links. We need you to bridge the gap and head up our new cyber security team. It would mean more time in the office, but may require some travel.”
“This is a great opportunity for you, Makenna. You’ve proven your worth to Titan, and we’d like to reward you with a promotion. But first, we want you to rest, take a vacation, or whatever you’d like to do.” Rick suggested.
“Okay.” The will to argue had all but left my body. I slowly accepted I needed the rest. I’d been running on an adrenaline rush for too long of a time now.
Mr. Prescott and Rick started to head toward the door. “We’ll leave you two to rest, but we’ll check up on you later.”
Reaching my arm out to indicate I needed another minute of their time, I asked, “Have any charges been filed against Dominic, Damien, and Cassia?”
Marcus muttered under his breath, “Always on guard.” The rest seemed to agree with his statement, as they all laughed.
Rick stepped to the end of the bed. “Dominic is being held without bond. He’s been charged with employing the hired gun, Tank Dennison, attempted murder for the two of you, attempted destruction of evidence, framing an innocent victim, coercion, and the list keeps going. The FBI is looking into other aspects of the case, while the SEC has him on insider trading, creating a Ponzi scheme, and a whole list of financial charges.”
Rick shook his head and laughed. “He better pray they throw the book at him, and he never gets out of jail. The crime syndicate was disbanded, especially after we managed to pick up some of the main members of the group, but the head of the organization got away. He’s looking to exact revenge on Dominic.”
The last part made me shutter, but I couldn’t feel sorry for him. After all, Dominic was ruthless. Had I not been able to outgun his shooter, Marcus and I would be dead now.
Rick continued with his assessment. “Damien is being given a psychological evaluation to see if he’s competent enough to stand trial. Based on our review of the evidence, it sounds like he might have been brainwashed into following his father’s orders. He was under the full belief that Cassia was meant to be his wife and has been calling out for her ever since he was arrested.
“As for Cassia, she’s already been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder for the both of you.” Rick motioned his hand back and forth between Marcus and me. “She was an accessory to incriminating Marcus. She broke into your building, placed listening and camera devices in your personal space, tried to blackmail you into marriage—which, I might add, her father knew nothing about—and assisted in planning to kidnap you from the courthouse.”
Rick took a deep breath in and shook his head in disgust. “There is no bond set for her. Her father won’t even take her calls, citing she’s an embarrassment to his family. In all likelihood, she’ll serve a minimum of twenty years in prison.”
“With all the information you managed to snag, we’ve arrested several individuals in the FBI, SEC, and the federal courthouse for being corrupt.” Rick smiled at me. “Just think of all the other lives you’ve probably saved, all because of a domino effect one asshole created.”
All the information was too much for me to digest. I could feel whatever was left in my stomach wanting to make a return appearance. I grabbed for the basin and leaned back against the pillow on the bed.
“Let’s give them some peace. We’ll be back to check on you in a bit,” Mr. Prescott offered.
Marcus took a damp washcloth, from where I didn’t know or care, and wiped it across my brow. “Just rest, darling. Your body is overwrought with emotion, and you need time to calm down and relax. Everything will still be here later.”
His words calmed me to the point I let my body slowly slip toward slumber. My mind must have played a trick on me, because I heard him whisper the words “I love you” as darkness claimed me.
I must have been in a deep sleep, as I didn’t recognize my surroundings when I started to open my eyes. Marcus still sat in a chair next to my bed, holding on to my hand. I was now in a hospital room equipped with two beds and a private bathroom. There were flowers as far as the eye could see.
My body felt stiff, so I tried to move, causing Marcus to stir. “Settle down, Kenna. You need to rest.”
“Where am I?” I wondered, needing answers to settle my mind.
“We were both admitted to the hospital for a minimal of overnight observation. Mr. Prescott and Rick pulled some strings to get us a room together.” Marcus stood up slowly and winced as he bent down to plant a kiss on my forehead, pushing some loose hair behind one of my ears.
“Why do we have to stay?”
A gentle smile crossed his lips. “We both have concussions, me from getting hit in the head by Damien, and you from fainting and hitting the concrete floor. The doctors and nurses are monitoring us. Unfortunately, we’ll get woken up every couple of hours to make sure we’re okay.” He shook his head and laughed. “That doesn’t seem right, but oh well.”
“Are you sore anywhere?” He asked with concern etched on his face. When I shook my head, he offered, “I’m a bit bruised from taking a bullet to the chest, despite the protective clothing you managed to sneak me into. I’d hate to think what would have happened had I not put on that undershirt.”
I cringed at his words, knowing I could have lost Marcus. He’d slowly brought down the walls I’d built around my heart over the past couple of months. I couldn’t hold my emotions in any longer, and I let the waterworks start to fall.
“I can’t believe you took a bullet meant for me.” My voice was but a whisper through the outpouring of tears.
He lowered the side railing of the bed and motioned for me to move over a little so he could crawl in beside me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest as he rubbed his hand up and down my back. “It’s okay, love. I know you would’ve done the same thing for me.” He pulled back a bit and acknowledged, “Remember you already did when that hired gun took aim at me through my bedroom window.”
The words caught in my throat, so I nodded in agreement.
“I know you’d do it again in a heartbeat, but I don’t ever want you putting your life in danger again.” He lifted my face toward his and dried my eyes with his hands. “I have a confession to make.”
“Okay?” I didn’t know where this was headed or why.
“Rick had already told me he didn’t plan on putting you back out in the field, and had explained the job he’d planned for you. But if he hadn’t, I was prepared to ask him to sit you behind a desk. I can’t stand the thought of you out there getting shot at. I know you’re great at what you do, but I don’t know how much my heart can handle right now.”
Marcus reached into the pocket of the scrubs he was still wearing and pulled out a small velvet box. “I wanted to wait to do this in a grand romantic gesture, but today showed me that we aren’t always promised today or even tomorrow.”
My eyes darted between his and the box, wondering if it was what I thought it would be. I didn’t say a word as he continued. “I’ve held on to this for a long time, hoping, praying you’d come back into my life.”
Okay, now I was curious and couldn’t help but ask. “How long have you had”—I pointed toward the box—“whatever that is?”
His forehead met with mine, and we were nose to nose. “I’ve had this since two months before the day everything went to hell. I’d had reservations at your favorite French restaurant. I was going to take you out after your interview to celebrate us both gett
ing jobs and ask you an important question that night.”
I saw where this was leading and felt my heart begin to beat at a frantic pace in my chest, but I didn’t want to let him know I was interested, so I tried to play it cool. “And what question was that? Would it be that you wanted me to continue to share rent at an apartment together?”
His fingers grabbed on to my chin and lifted my lips to his. He gave me, at first, a soft whisper of a kiss, and then his teeth came out to bite my lower lip, causing me to open fully to him. His tongue ravaged my mouth, showing me what he wished he could do to my body.
Marcus pulled back, slightly out of breath. “Silly, Makenna.” He tsk-tsked, shaking his head.
He opened the box and pulled out the ring that was inside. My eyes went big as I took in the heart-shaped diamond and chips of rubies—our shared birthstone—running down each side of the ring. “I’ve been waiting over five years to ask you to tie your life to mine, not just with our play in the bedroom, but with our hearts. I want to share every one of life’s ups and downs with you as my lover, my soul mate, my wife.”
In my mind, I argued that he would be in New York and I’d be in Florida. Plus, our fathers wouldn’t get along, but his dad had at least accepted our relationship. I just prayed mine would in time. I didn’t have any real reason to deny my feelings for Marcus any further. My only fear was if I’d be able to provide him the family he wished for.
Cold metal was pressed onto my ring finger, sliding perfectly into place on my hand. I thought I’d feel scared or trapped, but I calmed at the significance of what this meant. He wanted me, and my heart desired only him.
“I can see the wheels turning in your mind. I don’t care about our families, I don’t care about our jobs, and I don’t care whether we’ll be able to have our own family or if we’ll have to adopt. All I do care about is us. So let me rephrase this. I will marry you in a small, intimate ceremony next week here in Central Park.” His words were stated matter-of-factly.
Makenna's Trust: Titan Security Series #3 Page 24
