by Anise Storm
Thaddeus hated to agree with Finley regarding anything but, once again, he had a valid point. It seemed revolting, but it was true. Finally, the doctor stopped in front of Hannah’s room. Not sure what to expect when the door opened, Thaddeus mentally braced himself for all scenarios while Finley turned the door handle.
Before he could open it, the doctor spoke one last time. “Just make sure you don’t upset Miss Brinkley. She’s had one hell of a night.” Then he smiled and walked down the hall.
“Let’s go, Wetherall,” Thaddeus said, and they entered the room together.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hannah was lifted off her feet by large hands. She was panicked, feeling the frisson of fear as it racked her body. Squirming, she tried to break free from the hold of someone dragging her into the darkness. Her heartbeat was racing, but she continued trying to get away, even though every attempt was futile.
Suddenly, Hannah heard the sound of beeping and it jolted her from her nightmarish state. Her lashes fluttered open and she blinked a few times while she tried to place where she was. It finally dawned on her she was in a hospital. Her thoughts moments earlier were not just a nightmare but had to have been a memory of what had landed her in this place.
“Help,” she gasped, then winced at the pain. What happened to me? She could hear the sound of voices but couldn’t focus enough to decipher who they belonged to. It was only then she saw two faces peering down, two men standing over her. Hannah could have sworn it was Finley and Thaddeus.
She closed her eyes, sure she was dreaming. She had to be. There was no other explanation for why the two men she was certain hated her were in a hospital room with her unless…
“No,” she murmured softly. It just couldn’t be. They were upset with her, but they would never physically hurt her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Open your eyes,” Thaddeus said from her left. His voice was low and filled with concern.
She was still confused. Slowly, she raised her lashes and focused on him. It hurt to speak, so she hoped he could understand. “What happened?” she whispered softly.
He brought his hand toward her face, and she flinched slightly then relaxed when he stroked her cheek.
Hannah turned to the other side and saw Finley standing there. He had an odd expression on his face. Forcing her lips to form his name, she finally whispered, “Finley.”
“I’m here, baby girl,” he responded instantly.
Hannah fixed her gaze on him and saw the bruising on his face and lip. Had he gotten hurt while saving her…again? The thought upset her, and she turned to look back at Thaddeus. He also had some facial discoloring. Oh, God, I’ve hurt them again.
Tears welled up, and Finley reached over to wipe them away. That brought her back to the day they’d met. He had been incredibly attentive then, just as he was now.
Thaddeus cleared his throat to speak then his cell phone starting ringing.
Finley rubbed her cheek before asking, “Do you know why you’re in here?”
Hannah nodded then closed her eyes, trying to piece together her night. While she was concentrating, a voice caught her attention. Tensing, she tried to find where it was coming from and realized it was the woman Thaddeus was talking to on speaker.
“Laura,” she whispered, wondering how Thaddeus knew the older woman.
“Who?” Finley asked softly, obviously confused.
It really hurt to speak, so she went back to mouthing the woman’s name again, then pointing to Thaddeus. Recognition finally dawned on Finley, and he walked over to the other man and whispered something.
Thaddeus ended his call and came back to her side. “Who is Laura? That was Barbara.”
“Stanley Pritchard’s girlfriend,” she whispered, hoping they would understand what she was saying.
“Isn’t that your boss, baby girl?” Finley asked her.
Hannah could see he was starting to connect the same dots she was. Thank God, because she felt somewhat dizzy.
“Remington, can you call her back? I want to hear her voice,” Finley asked.
Thaddeus redialed the number that had called him, putting the phone on speaker again and standing near the bed.
A woman’s voice answered, “Thaddeus Remington’s office.”
After Hannah heard the voice more clearly, she was even more positive the woman on the other end was Laura Stephens.
“Hello, Mr. Remington,” the woman said after Thaddeus greeted her, and Finley’s eyes widened.
Is it possible that he also knows her?
“Hello, Barb. I just wanted to see if you could cancel my meetings for the next few days. I won’t be back in Atlanta until this weekend at the earliest,” Thaddeus said, and Hannah remembered those type of calls well.
“Of course. Just let me know if you need anything else,” she answered cheerfully.
Hannah felt the urge to roll her eyes, but she resisted.
She had no idea who Barbara was, but she did know who Laura Stephens was. She’d had the unfortunate luck of having to deal with her on more than one occasion. How she managed to be in London and Atlanta so often was a mystery but not one Hannah felt like trying to decipher.
Thaddeus hung up the phone and focused on Finley. She watched him while he tried to most likely place a voice with a name.
“Before I say anything, is there any way you can get me a picture of her?” Finley asked.
Thaddeus nodded and logged onto the Remington database. Hannah was aware the human resources department could be accessed from it. Every employee was required to wear an ID badge that would contain their picture.
She lay there watching while he scrolled through the employee roster to find her.
Thaddeus handed the phone over to Finley, and he didn’t need more than a few seconds before he spoke. “I also thought the voice was familiar. Either she has a twin or that is Ellen Borges. She is what we call a floater at Wetherall Communications, meaning she works in a variety of departments. She would’ve had access to those accounts. You know what this means, don’t you?”
“We’ve finally found a connection between the three places. This woman has used three identities to accomplish her dirty work, likely for Stanley Pritchard. Hannah wasn’t the mole. Thank fuck,” Thaddeus remarked and glanced over at her.
Hannah couldn’t have held back the pang of hurt she felt at hearing him actually admit he’d once thought she would hurt him, Martin, Isaac and everyone else she was so fond of at Remington Industries.
Finley agreed and knowing he, also, thought that of Hannah had her insides churning. They had naturally assumed she had betrayed them and, in the end, they were the ones who’d ended up betraying her instead.
Tears filled her eyes again. This time, she wiped them away herself. Thaddeus walked over to her and showed her the same photo of Laura, and she nodded to confirm she and Barbara—and obviously Ellen—were indeed one and the same.
The weeks of pure terror she had agonized over potentially being incarcerated… The pain she’d fought through being all alone… The attack that had nearly ended her life… All of it could have been avoided had they trusted her. The fact that they hadn’t began to weigh heavily on her. Thaddeus and Finley seemed elated to have found the missing link. While it changed everything for them, it didn’t change much for her.
She was so frustrated. If she had been physically capable, she would’ve screamed at the top of her lungs. These stubborn men were going to be the death of her, both figuratively and literally. Softly shaking her head, she experienced a wave of dizziness pass over her. Her mind was racing, filling with jumbled thoughts. She needed time to process everything. Closing her eyes, she used the guise of sleep to help her steal some privacy.
She came to hours later, and she was alone in her room. It was all for the best. Finley and Thaddeus could carry on with their lives and leave her to pick up the broken pieces of her own. It wasn’t the first time either of them had done that. She feared it probably woul
dn’t be the last, either, if she were being honest with herself.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A week had passed since she’d been discharged from the hospital, and Hannah clearly understood it could’ve been worse. Thankfully for her, it hadn’t been. She had been lucky to survive and maybe it had happened for a reason. Thaddeus and Finley had been true to their words, making sure the feds turned the investigation toward Barbara P. Steiner, aka Laura Stephens, aka Ellen Borges.
From what she had heard, the woman hadn’t lasted an hour under questioning before she’d spilled her guts about the entire operation. Stanley Pritchard had been indicted, along with her, on federal charges, and subsequently fired from Tucker International. Hannah had finally gotten her life back but, looking around the corporate apartment, she realized it wasn’t the home or the life she wanted anymore.
Brian had been very disappointed to hear she wouldn’t be staying with the company here in Chicago or in London, but she was confident he understood why. With her employment all but over, it was time to move once again. A faint smile tipped her lips when Hannah thought about all the places she’d traveled in the last six months. She had certainly racked up her fair share of frequent flyer miles.
Tossing the contents of her underwear drawer into a suitcase, she was about to start on another when she heard a loud knock on the door. She wasn’t sure who it was, so she almost didn’t even answer until the banging became more insistent. She walked into the foyer then peered through the security hole, sighing. She flung the door open. “Thaddeus, what do you—?”
He gave her no time to finish. He pulled her into his arms then fused his mouth to hers. Hannah thought about pushing him off, but she understood any resistance would be futile, so she allowed him to part her lips with his tongue then thrust it into her mouth. With her in his arms, he walked forward, making her step back until they were inside. After he slammed the door behind them, Thaddeus finally broke the kiss.
“Well, hello to you, too,” she said, then winked at him.
He grinned. Hannah had grown so accustomed to the look and she couldn’t help but shiver, even now. Would he ever not have this effect on me? She already had the answer to that question.
Thaddeus looked over her shoulder, and she turned to see what had caught his attention. She was confused and furrowed her brow. The only thing behind her was the couch and wooden coffee table. She looked back up at him and immediately flushed, heat rising in her cheeks.
“The things I could do to you on both the couch and especially the table, sweetheart,” he began, and memories of them in his office on the conference room table and in his penthouse on the couch later that night, came rushing back. She reached for the closest thing to steady herself. It ended up being Thaddeus. He chuckled as she gripped his arms. “So eager, Hannah. Don’t tempt me, because once I start, I won’t be able to stop—not that I’d want to. I love to make you moan.”
Her body dampened with sweat. The one thing she could always count on with Thaddeus was his bluntness. Anything and everything could be some sort of innuendo—and usually was.
“I have no doubt about that, Sir. Don’t you have a model to go wine and dine, instead?” she asked. If Thaddeus thought she didn’t know about him and Brenda Cole, then he was mistaken.
“She isn’t my girlfriend and never will be.” The statement sounded so sincere, but still Hannah couldn’t help but be reminded of Carolina Winston. “I’ve told you before that I love you, and nothing has changed for me.”
Thaddeus might believe it, but if his feelings had been so strong, like he claimed they were, he wouldn’t have tossed her aside in London, no matter how incriminating things looked. “Sometimes love just isn’t enough, Thaddeus. You and I should know that better than anyone else.”
Hannah tried to smile, but it wasn’t sincere. This had been a rough period in her life, which was why she’d decided to move back home to Plano. She had not told either Thaddeus or Finley of her plans. She’d thought she wanted to, but since neither of the men factored into her future, she didn’t see the need, so she’d decided against it.
“I know that’s what you think, Hannah, but you’re wrong. I love you and have never stopped. Do you know how many times I flew to London trying to find you?” he asked while taking a step toward her. She instinctively took another back, then stood behind the couch, fidgeting with the throw pillows while he continued to talk. “Ask Isaac, Martin and Munroe, if you don’t believe me.”
This time she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to hear how miserable he was without her, because she couldn’t honestly tell him she didn’t feel the same. “Please, don’t,” she pleaded with him.
Thaddeus eliminated the distance between them again, also pulling her back into his arms. “You need to know how I much I love you, sweetheart. When I found out you were in danger, I dropped everything to come here for you. I can’t leave without you. I let you go once, and I’ll never do it again.”
She nibbled on her quivering bottom lip, regretting what she was about to do. In order to convince him to move on without her, she had to hurt him again. “I’m sorry I put you through all of that. I love you, but not in the way you need.” Thaddeus growled, and she hurriedly continued. “I was not pining away for you in London. I ran into the arms of another man, and he made me so happy. While you were miserable, I was falling in love with someone else.”
“With Wetherall. I fucking get it,” he sneered as he straightened to full height. The pain she could see his eyes made her heart break for him all over again. “You might have thought you were happy, but I know you know no one will ever make you feel the way I do. Keep lying to yourself about us. If you choose him, you’ll wake up one night realizing what a terrible mistake you made.”
“Y-You need to leave,” she stammered.
Thaddeus leveled her with a glance that would normally have had her knees weakening. Needing to stay strong, she forced herself to appear to remain unaffected by it.
“I’m sorry, Thaddeus.”
He huffed as he walked to the door. After he opened it, Thaddeus turned around. “I’ll be in front of terminal two at O’Hare International tomorrow. If you don’t show up at one in the afternoon, then I’ll know you chose Wetherall.”
Then, Thaddeus surprised her when he crossed the room, taking her into his arms once again. He tilted her head back and seized her lips with his. He moved his mouth hungrily over hers. Knowing this would be the last time she felt his lips on hers, Hannah clutched his arms, even though she should have resisted.
He must have poured all his emotions into that kiss, and Hannah savored every second of it. A muffled moan slipped past her lips, then he pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. “I’ll be waiting tomorrow, sweetheart.” Before she could even blink, he strode purposely back to the door then disappeared.
The sound of it closing was the final nail in the coffin, and Hannah touched two fingers to her swollen lips. “Goodbye, Thaddeus,” she said to herself, then wiped away her tears. She walked back into her bedroom to continue packing.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hannah had finally finished filling her bags and had them sitting by the door so they would be easily accessible in the morning. She had been too busy trying to clear her name to do much shopping, so everything she’d brought with her from London still fit in them. Well, almost everything.
She’d used to love to parade around the penthouse in one of Finley’s T-shirts, and she was glad now she’d taken one of them. Pulling the material down, she was about to go watch television when she heard another knock. Had Thaddeus returned?
Padding barefoot to the door, she peered through the hole again and it was a Dominant, just not the one she’d first suspected. Opening it, she stood back to let him pass, then closed it after he’d stepped inside.
Finley looked at her attire before reaching out to tug gently on the material. “You always did look better in my shirts than I did, baby girl.”
> Hannah smiled. “I had ulterior motives, Sir.”
One eyebrow arched. “Oh?”
“If I took your shirt, then you’d need to walk around bare-chested,” she responded, earning a chuckle from him.
“I’d much rather see you without a top, instead.” Finley’s gaze lowered to the suitcases. “So, you’re really leaving tomorrow?”
She tucked a few locks of hair behind her ear. “I am. There’s nothing for me in Chicago, especially since I quit working at Tucker International.”
“What will you do now, Hannah?” he asked as he stepped closer to her.
And herein lay the difference between Thaddeus Remington and Finley Wetherall. Her earlier visitor already had her future decided for her, and it was probably one that included her being fucked thoroughly and often. She had no doubt Finley also intended to have her naked and willing in his penthouse, but his approach was vastly different.
Both men had basically stayed close to her since the afternoon she had been released from the hospital. It was actually surprising to see the two tolerating each other, considering she’d recently found out how much they’d hated each other.
Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “Would you like something to drink, Sir?”
“I’d like you not to avoid my question.” Finley entered the kitchen, moving over to her.
She had a row of cabinets behind her, so she was essentially trapped between him and the counter.
She swallowed hard while purposely avoiding his eyes. “I’m going back home to Texas.”
“Is that so?” he asked her, reaching out to brush his hand over her cheek.
On instinct, she nuzzled against his palm.
“I think it’s for the best,” she answered softly, and it wasn’t a lie. She truly believed it.
“What if I told you I wanted you to come back with me to—”