by Ravenna Tate
She laughed. “I’m not sure how established I am, but I’m working on that. I’m also not sure what I could possibly offer your company, but thank you for saying so.”
Now that he and Santino had reached an understanding, she knew it was all right to tell Damien that she loved him, but not when he was like this. She’d never told any man she was in love with him, and Sela wanted it to be special, not rushed or said in the heat of the moment. It would have to wait for a while longer yet.
****
Damien went into the office at his apartment and called Tomás, outlining everything Santino had told him. “I’m not nearly as concerned about the messages as I am about this alleged scheme, although I do need to know why a man we’re paying to remodel this mall is posting crap about my company.”
“Shit, Damien. I have no clue why he’d do that. We haven’t called him that name since before everyone moved underground.”
“So you knew him that long ago?”
“I’ve known Ernest since we were kids.”
The hair on the back of Damien’s neck prickled again. That was twice in two days, and he didn’t like it one bit. What if he’d placed his trust in Tomás and had been wrong? “What do you know about this scheme?”
“Nothing other than unsubstantiated rumors.”
“I placed my trust in you, Tomás. We’ve done business together a long time.”
“I know that.”
“I don’t care that the rumors are unsubstantiated. I need to know what they are.”
He listened to Tomás sigh, and wondered whether he’d made a huge mistake in doing him a favor with this project.
“It has to do with lumber shipments from throughout Mexico and Central America. There are allegations of two sets of invoices. One for the distributors and one for the end users, like you and me. The rumors are that Ernest is skimming the profits, along with others, in a collaborative scheme.”
“Why have I never heard about this?”
“I only heard about it a few months before we began construction. I went straight to Ernest and asked him, and he denied it. He also said he’s heard about it for years, but that he has nothing to do with people who are involved in it.”
“Are we involved? Do we do business with any of them?”
Damien heard Tomás’s hesitation, and it didn’t make feel any better. “Not that I’m aware of, but it’s difficult to tell since they apparently have dummy companies that I also didn’t know about.”
“Tomás, I’m not leveling accusations at you, but this sounds quite involved. I’m surprised you know so little, or that you would trust Ernest without investigating further.”
“I will find out what’s going on. I give you my word.”
“I certainly hope so because I don’t have to remind you that I backed this project as a personal favor to you.”
After he disconnected the call with Tomás, Damien called Santino. “I want you to personally search for JackHammer on other message boards. Make it your top priority, and tell no one on any of the teams.”
“I’m on it, Damien.”
“Don’t mention any of this to Tomás. In fact, don’t discuss anything else with him from this point on. Not even something that appears to be unrelated.”
“You have my word. Do we need to be concerned about him as well?”
“I sure hope not, but something isn’t right here.”
“Why don’t you just fire Ernest?”
“Because technically I didn’t hire him.” Damien ran a hand over his face. He needed a shave. “I wish I’d made sure I have more control over this project, but I trusted Tomás.”
“Ask Tomás to fire Ernest.”
“Not yet. I want to know what’s going on behind the scenes first.”
“Smart move. I’ll let you know what I find.”
After disconnecting the call with Santino, Damien stood in front of the window overlooking SouthWest to organize his thoughts. He didn’t have time for shit like pricing schemes and foremen who were likely ripping him and Tomás off. He needed to concentrate on finding the hackers, and it didn’t help him relax knowing the foreman that Tomás hired might be one of them. It was becoming more important than ever for all of them to gather such information because of recent developments that Kane Bannerman and Barclay Hampton had revealed to the group.
A few months ago, both Barclay—who mined data for shits and giggles—and a team with Homeland Cyber Security, came across something odd. One of the weather satellites that had been compromised when the Tommy Twister virus sent The Madeline Project rogue began transmitting data. Before it was shut down by an unknown source, Barclay and his contacts at HCS were able to intercept enough of this data to know that someone had tried using the satellite as a relay station to send information to others.
The Weathermen and HCS believed that the group attempting to transmit information to each other using the satellite was the hackers who had started this whole mess. They felt the group was now trying to hide because they knew about the teams the Weathermen employed, or had been tipped off that those twelve men were getting very close to finding them.
They were confident of all this because without their knowing it, the same people who had tried to use the satellite also encrypted snippets of conversation onto the satellite’s hard drive.
As a result, the Weathermen now had eighteen usernames that matched the data that was sent. In addition, part of the data they’d recovered included those individuals making reference to the Tommy Twister virus and the code in it. Unfortunately, they hadn’t recovered quite enough code to make it useful in shutting down the virus. Not yet, anyway.
Dominic Greco had always felt the hackers might work for one of them, or at least knew enough about complex coding and custom firewalls to hide this long. Now, all of the Weathermen believed he was right, or very close to the truth.
Damien sighed and moved back to his desk. Bits and pieces. That’s all they really had after seven years. They’d spun their wheels all this time and still had no idea who had done this or why. He didn’t know if Ernest was part of the hacking team, but obviously he was into something he had no business being involved with, and that meant he might be a danger to Rivera Construction.
Damien would have to find out more about the scheme and put a stop to it, or at least alert the people who could shut it down, so Santino could get back to concentrating on what Damien paid him to do. He couldn’t afford to have his IT department distracted with shit like this. Each of the Weathermen needed their teams working full time on finding the people responsible for the Tommy Twister virus.
They were closer than they’d ever been, but it still wasn’t enough. They also now had HCS on their side, but that wasn’t the only project those people had to work on. As a government agency, they didn’t have enough manpower to dedicate staff full time to finding the hackers. The Weathermen did, however, so that’s where each of them wanted to focus their special IT teams.
****
The next week passed by in a blur for Sela. Damien was extra busy with everything at work, or at least that’s what he told her was on his mind. She accidentally overheard him speaking to someone on the phone about Ernest Hamilton, the foreman on the construction job.
She couldn’t tell who was on the other end of the call, but they were discussing lumber shipments from South America, and two sets of invoices that this person had found, showing different prices. Sela became concerned when she heard that, but then she felt guilty for eavesdropping and moved away from the door.
They had plans Friday night to have dinner at Paraíso, and Sela decided that was when she’d tell Damien how she felt. He’d be away from work, in a place they both loved and were comfortable in, and the atmosphere would be better suited to a serious discussion if need be. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but thought it would be better to be prepared for any reaction from him.
Several times during the week she chided herself for acting so silly about th
is, but she’d never been an impulsive person. She liked to have all the facts and then make a plan, even if it had to be altered midstream when circumstances changed. Telling someone you loved them and wanted to spend your life with them was a big deal, which was why she’d been so surprised to hear Damien tell her what he wanted from her so soon.
How had he known right away? What if he’d changed his mind by now? She had no reason to believe he had, and she suspected she was working herself up over nothing. When she thought back to nearly three weeks ago and the first time she’d seen him again, it amazed her how far her opinion of Damien Rivera had come in such a short time. It didn’t feel like a short time, though, when she mused over how much time they’d spent together, the conversations they’d had, and the way Damien had simply included her in nearly every aspect of his life.
Surely he’d meant what he said about wanting her with him. She didn’t believe he’d lied or was using her. Why was that one little word—love—so damn important, then? What would it actually change? She was acting like a lovesick teen, and that wasn’t normal for her. It was time to step up and act like the business owner she was. If she wanted everyone to treat her like an adult and respect what she did, she needed to do her part and earn it.
****
Damien was grateful that Sela had suggested going to Paraíso again on Friday night. He’d kept her at a distance all week, though not intentionally. Tomás had called in favors and contacted everyone he knew, and his persistence had paid off. Now the only question was what to do about it without losing time and potential tenants for the mall remodel.
As much as Damien liked and trusted Tomás, especially now that he knew the man wasn’t involved in this scheme and truly had known next to nothing about it, he wished he’d never agreed to back this project.
He didn’t have time for shit like this, and he didn’t like being taken for a fool, which was what Ernest had done to both him and Tomás. Damien also realized, however, that if he hadn’t agreed to join Tomás on this project, he might never have met Sela again. Right now, he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
She’d been so patient this past week while his mind was on what he and Tomás had been able to uncover. He could tell she’d sensed his thoughts were miles away most of the time, but she’d never complained or taken it personally. He suspected that was due to her instinct for when people were worried about matters beyond their control. This wasn’t entirely beyond his control, but if he did what his gut told him to do—push Tomás to fire Ernest—they’d be without a foreman and without the subcontractors that had come with Ernest.
That meant they needed another crew in place before they did anything, and you didn’t keep a secret like that in this industry. Word would get out and Ernest would discover what they had done before they had a chance to fire him. Damien couldn’t take a risk like that because in this business, your reputation meant everything. If he lost that, his entire company would be at risk.
He’d struggled with the delicate balance of this all week, but tonight he needed to push it aside. This evening was for Sela, and her alone. It was time to tell this extraordinary woman he was in love with her, and whatever her reaction, he would deal with it. Because losing her wasn’t an option.
Chapter Twelve
Sela ate less than usual because she was so nervous. She and Damien talked about everything except work, which she had promised she would not bring up, and they danced just like they had last time, but now they were sitting down to dessert and coffee. It was time to say something, because once they got back to the apartment, she knew they’d end up in bed again, and her thoughts would become as muddled as they always did when they made love. She wanted a clear head for this.
She put down her coffee cup and took his hands. “I have something to tell you.”
“I have something to tell you, too, niña.”
Uh-oh. “You first.” Coward.
“I’m in love with you, Sela.”
“What?” Holy shit. “What did you just say? Oh my God.” She laughed nervously. “I’m in love with you, too. I’ve been so damn afraid to tell you.”
Damien gazed at her with disbelief at first, and then a wickedly sexy grin spread over his face. “Well I’ll be damned. How long have we both held this in?”
“Three weeks.” It came out automatically, but it didn’t matter. It was the truth. She’d started falling in love with him the night of the concert. There was no point in denying what was true, after all.
The tenderness on his face sent her heart soaring. “Same here, mi amor.”
“Really?”
“Honest. I was an idiot not to have seen who you were all those years ago.”
She shook her head. “That’s in the past. All that matters is now, and what we do from this point forward. So, what do we do now?”
He pulled one of his hands from her grasp and brushed a finger along her face. “Let’s go home. Our home. Tomorrow, after you’re able to walk again, we’re going to your place and packing up your things. You’re never there anyway.”
That was true, too. Suddenly, the idea of keeping her apartment seemed as pointless as if she’d just announced she wanted to give up dance and take up welding instead. “All right.”
He looked surprised, and this time her laugh was more genuine.
“That was too easy. No arguments? No reasons why that’s a bad idea?”
“How many women have lived there with you full time?”
“None.”
“That’s why I trust it’s the right thing to do.”
Her heart hammered in her ears as he leaned over the table to kiss her. That had been a huge chance to take, but instinct told her he’d never gone this far into a relationship before, and she’d been right.
She couldn’t contain her joy. In the time it took to finish her coffee and dessert, her desire to be skin to skin with him again, spiraled to unparalleled heights. They held hands as they walked back to his place at a pace faster than their usual, as if both had the same urgency to be in each other’s arms again.
They didn’t even make it to the bedroom, which was normal for them now. Damien kissed Sela on the stairs as they made their way up them, but they stopped after trying to kiss and climb at the same time. They slid to the riser, and Damien let go of her mouth to plant tiny kisses and nips on her neck.
“Is your cleaning staff here?” she whispered.
“No clue.” He pulled open her dress and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking it gently while she moaned. “Don’t care if they are. I’m not stopping.”
She gasped as he pushed the dress off both shoulders and freed her breasts. If his cleaning staff were still in the apartment, it was too late now. She wasn’t stopping either. Damien grasped her breasts and alternated sucking and licking them, sending jolts of electricity straight to her throbbing clit.
He slipped her dress off and took the panties with them. She’d been naked in his apartment before, but never on the stairs. They weren’t carpeted, but the hardwood didn’t bother her right now. Screw it. She wasn’t about to stop him for the sake of a little discomfort.
“Scoot up a couple of risers, niña.”
She did so without asking why because the look he gave her nearly took away her breath. The combination of love and lust was overwhelming, and now she realized she’d seen that same expression in his dark eyes for weeks and hadn’t understood the depths of what it meant. He loved her! He wanted her here with him all the time. This was real.
Damien spread her legs, licking up and down them as he did, followed by tiny nips on her skin. Sela moaned and buried her fingers in his hair, pushing his head toward her pussy. “Patience, mi amor. I love to watch you get hot and wet for me.”
“When am I not hot and wet for you, querido?”
His soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine. Finally, he turned his attentions to her labia and clit. Sela held off the orgasm as long as possible while he used his tongue and fingers to
torture her with pleasure, but it was as inevitable as the tides used to be above ground.
Before the contractions ended, he unzipped his pants, pulled them down to his knees, and sat next to her. “Climb on. Hurry. I’m going to explode.”
Sela wasted no time straddling him on the riser, then sheathed his swollen dick with her pussy. Damien cried out, grasping her hips and moving her up and down. All she had to do was hang onto his shoulders. She came again the same time he did, and their combined cries filled the space around them. If anyone was in the apartment, there was no way they wouldn’t hear them, but Sela didn’t give a shit.
She’d never been this happy, and she loved Damien with her entire heart and soul. She’d fuck him on the roof and shout her joy to the entire city if he asked her to. He held her close when they finished, and she wished they didn’t have to get up from the stairs, but this had to be damned uncomfortable on his bare ass.
When they finally did stand, their combined juices dripped onto the riser and Sela laughed. “Shit. You’ll need to explain that to your housekeepers.”
He shrugged, bent down to retrieve his underwear, and wiped up the spot with them. “Problem solved.”
“Men are so gross.”
Damien grinned. “Is that so? You didn’t seem to think so when I had my head between your legs.”
“That’s different.”
“You also don’t seem to mind swallowing my jizz.”
“All right, smart ass. You’ve made your point.”
He gave her a wicked smile, and Sela ran up the stairs, squealing as he chased her. He caught her easily, well before she reached his bedroom, and scooped her up in his arms. She squirmed against him but he was far too strong, and when he finally placed her back down, it was with him seated on the edge of his bed, and Sela draped over his knee.
She gasped as he smacked her ass cheeks, alternating. His strikes weren’t painful, but they sent her arousal to crazy heights. “Apologize or I’ll keep spanking you.”