by J. J. Bella
“I know. I can tell. You’re too good for all of that.”
“I’m not half as good as you think.” She crossed her arms. “I did manage to take the deal from you.”
“Yeah, but that’s normal business. Sierra, I’ve done bad things.”
She couldn’t help but be intrigued. “Like what?”
“I can’t say. I could do a lot of time in jail if anyone overheard. That’s part of my need for privacy. But it’s paid off. I have people on my side, and I can get information when I need it. Like this text.” He held up his phone. “Confirmed what I thought. Archer Industries just bought out Jack Goods.”
“Archer? But, weren’t you going to buy them out? We were looking at them. We were going to steal them from you.”
He laughed once. “Is that your business plan? Go after what I want?”
“It’s a smart move.”
“Was. Archer has been growing, and they didn’t show any signs of accepting my offer. They wanted more money, more control, and I wouldn’t give it to them.”
“You think they’re involved in all this?” she asked.
“Now that I know you were poking around trying to buy them as well, I do. The owner of the company, Doug Archer isn’t exactly the most upstanding citizen.”
“Then let’s go to the police and tell them. They’ll catch him and lock him up for all of this.”
“Do you really think he’s dumb enough to get caught?” he said. “We can’t go with a speculation and take the chance that he’ll find out we went to the police.”
“Okay, well, if it’s Doug Archer, then what does he want? What is he after?”
“Me. My company. And since RS has been moving up in the game, I’m guessing yours, too.”
“Then why not just say that?”
“Because if they sent a note saying to shut down the business, it wouldn’t work. No one would listen to that, and it’d be too obvious. But if they can break us down, get us to give up or quit, change our way of business, then they win. They get all the deals we want. They make all the money.”
Her head spun thinking of it all. How would they ever get around this? How could they catch the guy?
“What can we do?” she asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound as scared as she felt.
“We could give up and let them win.”
She scoffed.
“Exactly,” he said. “That’s the worst option. We could keep going and ignore them, hoping they give up. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or, we join together. We make RS and Tate one big company. We become unstoppable. We put Archer off the map and shut them down. We go after companies they couldn’t hope to touch. Companies that would cost more than all of what Archer is worth.”
“Tom would never go for that.”
“Is he getting threatened and attacked, too?”
That made her stop. Tom had never mentioned anything like that. If they were both CEOs and both made the deals, why wouldn’t they be going after him, as well?
The look on her face must’ve given Dalton the answer he needed. “I’d be very careful around your supposed business partner if I were you.”
“You think he’s in on it?”
“I’d say there’s a fair chance. He might be giving them information in exchange for his safety.”
She put her head in her hands and stared into the wood grain of her desk. “What should I do?”
“When we know more, you buy him out. Take RS for your own.”
“I don’t have that kind of money. And I don’t think he’d sell.”
“Then you don’t give him an option,” Dalton said. “Get your board to fire him, force him to take it. Do a hostile takeover, whatever you have to do. Or sell him your half cheap and take your resources with you when you join up with me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do business with someone I don’t trust.”
“Do you trust Tom right now?”
“I have no reason not to.”
“Really?” he asked. “Even though you were attacked and he wasn’t? Even though your tires were slashed and his car wasn’t touched? Even though the brick was thrown through your window and not his?”
Thinking of all these details made her chest go icy. Would Tom really do that? He had seemed concerned about her, but maybe he was only concerned out of guilt, knowing he was doing what Dalton said and giving them information.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said. “I have to get out of here and think.”
“It’s a lot to deal with. Just don’t forget to think about all the ways I can help you. We can do a lot more together. You don’t need Tom.”
“Maybe you can just leave people behind, but he’s been my business partner for eight years now. I can’t just ditch him after all we’ve achieved together.”
“Even if he’s already done that to you, in a way, by giving information to your competition in exchange for his own safety, but not yours?”
She let out a long sigh and swallowed hard against the burning in her throat. She didn’t want to cry in front of Dalton. Didn’t want to show just how much it hurt her to think Tom would do something like that. But she couldn’t deny the facts. Everything backed up Dalton’s theory.
She stood up and picked up her purse from where it hung on her chair. “I’m going home. I need time to process all this and think.”
Dalton stood, too. “I’ll walk with you.”
“I have Clay.”
“Can’t hurt to have extra protection, can it?”
“Fine.” She left her office, waited for Dalton to exit, then locked her office door. She locked the building as the men waited for her, then Dalton took her arm and Clay trailed closely behind as they headed toward her car.
“Wait a minute,” Dalton said, stopping. He looked back at Clay. “Do you see it?”
Clay nodded. “Stay here, Sierra.”
“What?” She looked at her car, but didn’t see anything unusual. “What is is?”
“Look at the back window of your car. Something is written there. I think in blood.”
9
Sierra squinted in the evening light, trying to see what Dalton was talking about. She took a few steps closer, but Dalton held her back.
“Wait until Clay says it’s clear,” he said. “Someone could be waiting.”
“Can you see what it says?”
“I think it just says, ‘Stop.”
“Stop? Stop what?”
“Stop doing business?” Dalton said. “Stop looking at Archer? I’m not sure.”
“Where’s your car? Is anything on it?”
Dalton looked over at the red Mercedes parked across several parking spots. “Looks okay to me.”
“Why didn’t they get your car?”
“I don’t know.”
“These cops are going to be sick of coming over here,” she said. “I can’t believe I have to call them again. I can’t believe this is happening again. When will it stop?”
Despite her best attempts, her throat thickened and the tears came. Sobs burst through her chest, and she found herself turning toward Dalton, clinging to him, as she cried. He held her close and stroked her hair.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said softly. “I’m not going to stop until I get whoever is doing this to us.”
Several minutes later, Clay walked back over to them. “Everything looks clear. The police are on their way.”
Sierra nodded and wiped her eyes, standing up quickly to back away from Dalton. This time, when the police left after talking with them, an officer stayed. Given all the recent trouble, they would keep an eye on the place for a while. They also promised to circle around Sierra’s house at least every hour.
“I don’t want this to sound like more than it is,” Dalton said after Sierra got the all clear to drive her car home, “but why don’t you come home with me? I’ll keep you safe, and I have a feeling being alone might not be the best thing for you right now
.”
She had nothing left in her to fight it. He was right. The thought of being alone—or of being only with Clay—was less than appealing. She’d liked the feel of Dalton’s arms around her, the sound of him promising to take care of her. The emotional strain of all this was taking its toll, and she needed to be comforted for a while. Maybe a nice glass of wine, someone close to her. She’d feel much better in the morning.
“Don’t get any ideas,” she warned. “I’m not sleeping with you, but it would be nice to have company.”
He gave her a half smile and she followed him in her car to his house, Clay riding along as he always did beside her. She sucked in a breath when she saw his house. His mansion, if she was being honest. She knew he had billions in the bank and was named the most eligible bachelor in countless magazines, but being at his home, seeing his wealth on full display, made it that much more real.
As they followed him inside, Dalton nodded and spoke with several of his personal staff. The rooms seemed to go on forever. Finally, they ended up in a huge living room full of overstuffed tan couches and a giant TV. He told a woman to bring them glasses of wine, and to show Clay a place he could sit to be more comfortable. Then, he took Sierra’s hand and led her to one of the couches.
“I’m glad you decided to join me,” he said. “I would have worried about you all night. I probably would have sat outside your place watching to make sure you were okay.”
“Why would you do all that? You have no obligation to me.”
“I feel like I do. If I hadn’t gone after Jack Goods, this might not have happened. I feel like I put you on Archer’s radar. And besides that…”
She held his gaze long enough for it to start to feel too intense. She had to look away. She focused on a large painting of a landscape at the other end of the room.
“Sierra, I think it’s pretty clear by now that I have a thing for you.”
She swallowed hard and her cheeks involuntarily went warm.
“When I saw you in action in that first meeting, your power, your ruthlessness made me so hard, I thought I might burst right there. I wanted to stand up and rip your clothes off you, throw you down on the table, and fuck you.”
Her heart raced at the thought of it. She pictured that meeting as he described it and felt tingling between her legs.
“Look at me,” he said.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then opened them. His expression was hungry with desire. She let go of all the reasons why this was a bad idea. She gave up trying to fight it.
She leaned forward and kissed him hard. His fingers were in her hair in seconds, pulling her close, kissing her hungrily.
“I knew you wanted me, too,” he breathed.
He slid her legs up over his, pulling her ass closer to him so their bodies were pressed together. Then he stood, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He walked with her up the stairs, past several doors down the hall to a huge bedroom. He lay her down on his bed.
With his eyes on her, he peeled off his clothes. First his button-down shirt and t-shirt, then his pants. He stood before her for a moment, in nothing but his boxers, his muscular form glinting with a hint of sweat.
She took in every inch of him and it made her wet. She pulled off her own clothes and when her bra hit the floor, his hands were on her breasts.
He stood in front of her while she lay on the bed. His eyes looked her up and down. “Damn, you’re hot. I had a feeling those skirt suits were hiding an amazing body.”
He reached down to cup her breasts, then leaned down over her to suck her nipples. His erection pressed against her, and she thought she might come just from the pressure of it rubbing her.
She let out a moan and he kissed along her neck, back to her mouth, then all the way down her body.
He yanked off the panties she’d left on, then pushed her legs far apart. He spread her labia with his fingers and his tongue went to work. He flicked and sucked her clit, making her squirm in desire. One finger slipped inside her. She had to hold still so she didn’t come too fast. She wanted to draw it out, feel the intense pleasure of it.
“I can’t wait anymore,” he breathed.
He stepped out of his boxers and she caught just a glimpse of his huge cock before he leaned close to her again. He spread her wide and pushed in deep, filling her insides.
She bit her lip and let out a moan that didn’t stop. As he moved in and out of her, her head spun with waves of pleasure. He lifted one of her legs and put it over his shoulder so he could press in even deeper.
Every move of his dick in her made her want to scream out loud and claw through his back. He sped up, and just when she got close, he slowed down.
He pulled out of her completely and she let out a little whine.
He gave her a half smile. “Don’t want it to be over too fast.”
He flipped her over and pulled her down so that her feet hit the floor in front of his. She bent over the bed face down.
He slid his hand between her legs from behind to rub her clit. She dripped with anticipation, her pussy craving to feel him inside deep again.
He pressed just the tip of his cock inside her. She moved her hips back, but he pulled out again. He teased her, not giving her move than an inch or two.
“Please,” she finally said. She couldn’t take it. She needed him inside her.
“Say it again. Tell me how bad you want me.”
“Please, Dalton. Fuck me.”
“If that’s really what you want.”
He shoved hard into her and his thrusts were no longer teasing. Now he rode her hard, slamming in again and again, her ass slapping on his thighs.
He rubbed her clit in circles and with the next hard thrust, she came all over him, crying out loudly. He grabbed her hips and pounded harder, until he groaned and they both went still.
“Good God,” she said.
“Mmm,” he agreed. “I told you we were good together.”
10
Sierra woke before Dalton and stared at him in the morning light for a moment. It had to still be early. As she lay there, thinking of the night before, she felt the regret start, then build.
Sleeping with Dalton had been a mistake. A moment of weakness in her emotional turmoil. She shouldn’t have let him see her cry. She shouldn’t have let him into her emotions like that. He saw her weaknesses and knew her vulnerabilities now, and that was a bad thing. She didn’t want him or anyone seeing her vulnerability.
She slid carefully out of the bed and dressed. She kept her eyes on him as she left the room, making sure he didn’t wake up. Downstairs, Clay was asleep in the den. She decided, in her renewed state of determination to show her strength, that she’d let him sleep for now. She took her keys from her purse and left them there. He could come to her house when he woke and bring her car.
She called a cab and walked down the long driveway to wait for it. As she waited and while she was driven home, she tried to sort through things from the day before.
If Tom was helping Archer, then she did need to be rid of him. She could step out on her own, start her own business. She didn’t Dalton, either. She didn’t need anyone. For a moment, she pictured herself owning a big mansion like Dalton’s, running a company like Tate Enterprises. It felt good to imagine herself in that position.
By the time the cab pulled up to her house, she was ready to get started on something new. She planned to get inside and shower to remove any trace of Dalton from her body and her life, then get on her computer and get to work.
She paid the cab driver and turned toward her house with a smile on her face. She stood at her front door and pulled out her keys to unlock the door. Before she could get them out, a hand closed over her mouth. She tried to scream anyway and hoped desperately that it was just Dalton messing around.
“Try to get away and I’ll slit your throat.” The voice was not Dalton’s, but it did sound familiar. It was the same voice of the man who’d attacked her
before. “Now, get into the car real easy and you won’t get hurt.”
With her heart racing, she walked with the man. He kept his hand on her mouth and his blade pressed against her throat the whole way. Now she felt like the biggest idiot on the planet for not waking her bodyguard. Wasn’t that what she paid him for? To prevent this sort of thing?
The man pushed her into the back of the car, then got in behind her. Someone else was driving the car. He forced her face down onto the seat and held her so she couldn’t see anything and could barely breathe.
The drive wasn’t long, but it was enough time for her to be fully terrified by the time she was pulled back out of the car. She tried to see her kidnappers, but she didn’t know enough about Doug Archer or his people to know if any of them were affiliated.
She tried to see where she was and find a way to escape. Two men grabbed her arms and forced her inside a house, then down to the basement. There, she was tied to a chair. The men who had brought her down left, and she was alone.
The basement was mostly empty. Some sort of water heater and furnace in one corner, a few stacks of boxes in the other. It was unfinished, but clean.
She tried to pull free from the ropes holding her, but they were tied tightly. She could move the chair a little, but it wouldn’t do her any good if her hands were still tied. She had no choice but to keep trying to work the ties free and hope someone came to save her soon. Would Clay have any idea where she was? Would Dalton? As much as she hadn’t wanted to be protected this morning, now she was desperately hoping for someone to come save her.
A door opened, then she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A man who she’d never seen before stood in front of her.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
“My kidnapper?”
He smirked. “My name is Doug Archer.”
She gasped. Dalton had been right. He was behind this all along.
“Ah, so you do know me. Good.”
“I know you’ve been threatening Dalton Tate and trying to get him to go out of business. And apparently, you’ve been doing the same to me.”
He nodded slowly and smiled. “You’re smart. No wonder you’ve done so well for yourself. Here’s what’s going to happen.” He leaned down so his face was close to hers.