Favorite Places (A TroubleMaker Novel, #2) (19 page)

A woman pushed
her way past the man and shoved a digital recorder at her. “Did you have
anything to do with…”

Her words also
dissolved as Jessina’s body started to rock. She swayed back and forth until
she could taste the bile that came up from her queasy belly. It was happening,
a full-blown panic attack. Everything was turning black, and she knew she was going
to pass out. She went limp and waited for the final crash of her body against the
concrete, but it never came. Instead, she was pulled into a wall of strength
and softness, and a familiar scent filled her nose.
Chase!
She didn’t
know how he’d gotten there, but she clung to him for protection.

“Back off!” the
all-too-male voice rumbled beneath the pillow of muscles she was leaning her dizzy
head on. With her eyes closed, she could only assume it was his chest. “Move!
Get out of the way,” he ordered. Wrapping a strong arm around her, he pulled
her closer.

Following a few
gentle tugs, she fell into the rhythm of his steps, and they made it to a
limousine.

He opened the
door, ushered her in, and followed Jessina into the safety of the vehicle. He
tapped the glass window behind him. “Go!” he told the driver.

Within seconds,
they were alone, away from all the chaos and the media vultures, and everything
had gone comfortably quiet.  

 “Thank you.”
She had no idea how he’d found her, but she was grateful that he was there.
Otherwise, she would have passed out cold, only to wake up and find herself in
the hospital and on the front page of the Daly City newspaper.  She gazed at
him, trying to decipher the odd expression on his face. As she did, she remembered
that Jon would be waiting for her. She dug in her purse, but she was still
shaking so badly that she dropped it.

Chase leaned over,
picked it up, and handed it to her.

“Thanks. I, uh…”
She kept searching through the purse, desperately looking for her cell phone. “I
need to call Jon, my lawyer. He’ll be waiting for me in the back of the
courthouse.”

“Here.” Chase
held out his hand. “Give it to me. I’ll call him.”

When she found
it, she surrendered the phone, sank back into the seat, and listened as Chase
informed Jon that he’d personally make sure she got home safely. She rested her
head against the back of the seat as the car gently jostled and the motor
quietly hummed. Jessina gazed into Chase’s ambiguous eyes, and the question was
driving her crazy. “How’d you know?”

“Like I told you
before, you’re married to the wealthiest man in Nevada,” he said with a cutting
grin.

She remembered
him saying that, and also recalled the circumstances when he had mentioned it. “Oh
my God! You really did have me investigated, didn’t you?”

“I sure did,” he
said, flat and detached.

She wasn’t sure
how she felt about it, but in some ways, she was glad he’d discovered the truth
on his own, without her having to tell him. It was as if a weight had been
lifted from her. Still, a question lingered, and she had to know the answer. “Why
are you here, Chase? I told you I’d be back in time for Caplin.”

He chuckled, a
deep, cynical sound. “Yeah, I know.” His eyes turned icy blue. “You haven’t
been paid yet, right?” Jessina’s mouth dropped open, but before she could get a
word out, he continued, “You know, I didn’t understand why you were living the
way you are, seeing as though you’re an educated woman. I mean, when I saw your
place and figured out where you worked, it explained why you kept upping the
ante in order to help me, but then I came to learn the real truth and realized that
you’re just like most every other woman I’ve cared about. You’re just fucking
greedy. With Lance, that greed finally caught up to you and bit you really
hard, right in your selfish ass.”

The insult split
Jessina’s heart in half, but the fury burning deep inside melted the painful
injury right away. It dissolved. Jessina saw red, and she wanted to scratch his
eyes out.
He really thinks I—

“You lost
everything, every single penny when they found out that you and Lance where
stealing from the company, didn’t you? What did you do? Did you give up your
lover for your freedom? Is that why you’re not behind bars right now?”

She was afraid
to speak. Honestly, she didn’t know if she could. She opened her mouth but no
words would come out. Her heart was slowly breaking into a zillion little
pieces.

 “That’s what I
thought,” he sneered from tight lips. “But it all worked out for you when you discovered
you were married to me, a multimillionaire. Huh?” Another cynical chuckle erupted
from his chest. “Did you have it all planned out? Was getting $300,000 from me
part of your scheme? Was there even an Aunt Lulu, or was she just part of your
sob story to get what you wanted from me?”

A knot formed in
her throat. She struggled to hold back her tears, to contain her rage, and to
neglect her shattered heart. Chase thought she was just as guilty as Lance. It
had been a closed hearing, so Chase couldn’t have possibly been in the
courtroom during her testimony. Obviously, his investigator wasn’t too good at
his job. Had he been, Chase wouldn’t have accused her of having anything to do
with the embezzlement.

But what hurt
the most was that he thought she was capable of such a horrible thing, stealing
pension funds and charity donations. That hurt even more than when she’d found
out what Lance had done to her. She was in love with Chase, but she could never
be with a man who didn’t trust her, and considering Chase’s tumultuous, sad
history with her gender, she had to face the fact that maybe he’d never learn
to trust anyone. One man had already ruined her. She refused to grant that
power to another.  She squared her shoulders and looked him right in the eyes. “You
caught me. You’re right. It’s all about the money for me. Always has been.” She
forced a smile, biting back her oncoming tears. She wanted to hurt him as he
had her. “And since you insist on insulting me, if you still want me to help
you with Caplin, then why don’t we just go ahead and make it an even 500
grand?”

“What? Jess, you
can’t—”

“It’s all about upping
the ante, isn’t it, Chase? That’s what we gold-diggers do, right?”

Chase’s emotions had
been turned off since Hobart had told him about Jess. They had tried to make an
appearance when he saw Jess and her little freak-out from the reporters getting
all up in her space and for a split second, he had felt bad for her. His
capitulation hadn’t lasted long though. After the greedy woman asked for an
extra $200,000, Chase wanted nothing more than to stop the car and push her out
of it. He wanted to shove her out of his life for good, but he needed her, and
so did Hannah.

He followed her
into the hotel room, refusing to let her out of his sight, for fear that she
might become a runaway bride before he was through with her. The plan was to
get the troublemaker, and then they’d be on the first flight back to Las Vegas,
Nevada.

He leaned
against the wall, watching Jess hastily pack the last of her things. She was
shaking as she struggled with the zipper. He sighed, pushed himself from the
wall, and walked over to help her. She backed away to give him room.

Her scent
swished into his nose, and his body responded as it usually did when he got too
close to her. His cock stiffened.
What the hell!
 He yanked the zipper
closed and dropped the suitcase on the floor. “Let’s go,” he growled simultaneously
at her and his disobedient cock, and started for the door.

“I’m not going
anywhere with you!”

With his hand on
the doorknob, Chase stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder. With her head
held high, her chin out, and clenching the handle of her suitcase, she stood
defiantly. He twisted around and made it to her in a few quick, long strides,
wearing his rage all over his face, so obvious that she back-stepped until she
hit the wall. When he got to her, he put his hands up and pinned her there. “You
are
coming with me,” he quietly told her between clenched teeth.

“Why should I?”

His lip
twitched. “You’re gonna do it for the money, remember? And for Hannah.”

She squinted as
though she was trying to read him. “Do you really feel nothing for me?”

He glared down
at her, pissed that he’d let his guard down. That he’d surrendered to her in
the first place. That he’d allowed her into his heart and that, although she’d
deceived him and apparently so many others, he still wanted her—or at least his
body did. He’d already kicked her the hell out of his heart during the plane
ride to California.

Defeat scuttled
across her face, and Jess must have finally read his expression for what it was—disdain.
She dropped her eyes and pushed forward, trying to break free from his hold. His
hard cock hit her soft belly.
Damn it!

With her head bent, she
stilled. Quiet consumed them for many seconds before she arched back and lifted
her long eyelashes. “I see.” She raised a thin eyebrow. “You still feel
something
for me.”

“Well, my cock obviously does, and if you don’t stop looking
at me like that, I swear I’ll take you right here against this damn wall. I’ll
take you just like you took me, cold, emotionless, and hard.”

Rather than backing
down from his threat, she swayed closer to his mouth, tempting him.

He looked down at her
pretty pink lips. “So fucking hard,” he breathed out just before his mouth
captured the moan that vibrated from her sensuous mouth. As he devoured her, Chase
unbuttoned his jeans. He pulled them down to his knees, yanked up her skirt,
and ripped her panties off. He grabbed her by the hips, then lifted her and slammed
her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and in one swift,
forceful thrust, he imbedded her. Again and again, he crushed himself into her.
Hard and unforgiving, he pounded his cock, his rage, and his hurt into her
reactive body. In that moment, he had to have her, and from the way her body
was responding, he knew she needed him too.

Chase strolled
into the ranch, ready to take a shower and prepare for Caplin’s arrival. They
had plans to go out for dinner, and the next day, he’d show Caplin around the
ranch. That would be it, his only shot at closing the deal. Caplin was
scheduled to catch a flight back to Austin, Texas the very next evening.

Because Chase
stayed at his apartment and Jess remained on the ranch, he called her the night
before to inform her that they had two days to land themselves in Caplin’s good
graces. It was the only time he’d spoken to her since they’d returned from
California. She had a genuine interest in making sure the deal went through—
she wanted the money. Yet, she continued to claim she wanted it to work out for
Hannah’s sake, but he was still reluctant to believe her.

Having sex with
her at the hotel had been a foolish move. It was angry sex. Something Chase had
never had before. He’d never actually cared about anyone enough to care. It had
been so intense. His emotions were all over the place, totally out of control.
It was amazing, and so violent with passion. He wanted to feel that
overwhelming sensation again. He had cum so fucking hard. It only intensified
his feelings for Jess. Even after his P.I. had dug up so much dirt on her,
after everything he’d discovered, he still wanted her, and he felt like an
idiot for it. He just had to get through the next two days. Then somehow he had
to find a way to let her go before he did something foolish again.  

When his cell
vibrated in his pocket, Chase pulled it out. He recognized the number and
answered coolly, “Yeah?”

“Hello, Mr.
Lennox. It’s Jon, Jessina’s—”

“Yeah, yeah. I
know who you are. What do you want?”

“I just left a
message on Jessina’s voicemail to let her know that I’ve scheduled a court date
in two weeks for the annulment. But, uh…I know you two have some kind of,
uh…other arrangement. And she was going to ask you to make out the check to me
and have me give it to the employees of the former vet clinic, but I think it
might be easier to distribute it if I just open a fund for them. Would you have
any problem making out the check for the fund instead?”

Confused, Chase
repeated, “The…fund? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sorry. Yeah, I
know it’s a little strange. And believe me I did try to talk her out of it. Tried
to assure her that she’s not responsible for what happened to those people, but
Jessina feels like it’s all her fault that they lost their pensions. God, the
poor girl. Hell, if she hadn’t discovered Lance was stealing from the company
and if she hadn’t gone to the federal government and reported him, who knows
how much longer he would have continued or how much more he would have stolen
from them.”

Chase’s stomach
flipped, and his knees went weak as he began to understand what Jessina’s
lawyer was saying to him. Thankfully, he was close to a chair. He slowly
lowered himself into it.

“I tried to tell
her Lance only stole $350,000 from them to try to save a little for her,” Jon
said. “You know, out of the 300 grand she gets from you and her Aunts
inheritance. But Jessina is a smart woman, an accountant who knows her numbers,
and she doesn’t seem to care that she’ll still be broke when all of this is
said and done. She just wants to make sure they are paid back as much as
possible.”