Kase Of Deception

by Riann C. Miller

  Once he’s out of sight, Delanie turns to me and asks, “Ready to go home?”

  Home. What I wouldn’t give to make my house her home. “Yeah, babe, I am.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Delanie

  In the last decade, I’ve seen my dad a couple of times a year. I thought when I turned eighteen and he didn’t have to go through my mom to see me, he’d visit or invite me to New York more often, but sadly, that wasn’t the case.

  Today after a late lunch, we dropped dad off at the airport, and for the first time in my life, I found myself fighting back tears from the thought of him leaving.

  This visit felt like I was meeting him for the first time in my life. He was protective and caring in a way I’ve never seen before. After promising he’d visit again soon, he kissed my cheek then disappeared down the terminal.

  After a silent drive to Kase’s house, he mentioned he had some work he needed to take care of and shut himself in his office. With the late summer heat in full effect, I put my bathing suit on and parked myself next to the pool. I was hoping to relax, but my mind kept returning to Friday morning.

  Carter and I were never going to be friends, but I had hoped—for our mother’s sake—we could at least be civil around each other. After the other day—that’s never going to happen. Washing my hands of Carter is easy, but the same can’t be said about Brenna.

  I went years without seeing or talking to her, but from the second I called her, we picked up right where we left off. She may have been young and dumb when she decided to sleep with my boyfriend and she might be a totally different person today—but the cut feels fresh and deep.

  The sound of the sliding glass door has my head turning to the side.

  “I would have been out here earlier if I had known you were practically naked.”

  My gaze drifts to my hand. “I wanted to take a dip but I decided against it.”

  His smile fades as he takes a seat on the lounger next to me. “I just got off the phone with Roan. Brenna suffered a mild concussion and a couple of bruised ribs but all things considered, she’s going to be fine.”

  “Good,” I say with a nod. “I need to get over there one day this week and talk with her. I also need to pack up my things.”

  “Let me know when you plan on going. If I’m not available to help you, I’ll make sure Tim goes with you.”

  “Thanks.”

  My gaze cuts to the ocean, taking in its beauty, allowing a sense of peace to wash over me like a wave. After a few seconds, I suddenly find myself asking, “Did Roan mention I went to his office to see him the other day?”

  He swings his legs off the lounger turning toward me. His expression is serious, but his tone is soft when he replies with a simple, “Yes.”

  “Did he tell you why I wanted to talk to him?”

  His answer is the same. “Yes.”

  “Someone at Thornton told Dalton to keep me busy, and I want to know who.”

  “Maybe he’s lying?”

  “Why would he lie?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe the fact that he’s been known to get around the office. Two years ago, he was the reason Thornton implemented a no fraternizing policy.”

  “Okay, explain why he stopped talking to me immediately after he found out we were seeing each other.”

  “Because, whether you were mine at the time or not, I made it abundantly clear you were.”

  My mouth drops open. “What did you say to him?”

  He runs his hands through his dark hair and practically growls, “I didn’t have to say shit. He knew from listening to our conversation that we were together and he damn well knows I’m friends with Roan. If he continued to seek you out, it would get back to him, and his ass would be fired.”

  “So, he lied? He was just covering his own ass?”

  “I didn’t say that but where Dalton Lester is considered, I don’t trust the man.”

  “From the sounds of it, I can’t trust anyone.”

  He looks down, his eyes slowly close. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I wasn’t talking about you.”

  His gaze snaps back to mine. “Don’t apologize to me. I learned a long time ago that everyone keeps secrets. No one, no matter how much we wish differently, is a hundred percent honest. At the end of the day, it’s up to us to decide who we’re willing to forgive.”

  I lean forward, resting my forehead against his, cupping the side of his chin with my left hand. “I don’t want to be defined by my mistakes and holding onto past anger… That’s the biggest mistake I could make.”

  His lips crash into mine while his hands work on untying my bathing suit. I lean forward just enough to shimmy my bottoms down. He pulls his lips from mine and yanks his shirt over his head, tossing it next to the pool. “God, Delanie,” he moans when my hand slides down his flat stomach and into his shorts, finding him hard.

  My hand works up and down his cock while he sucks and nips at my breast. With his mouth clamped on my tit, he manages to work his shorts down while pushing me back on the recliner.

  With my body on fire, I slide his dick between my folds, causing us both to moan in pleasure. “I want you. Please?”

  “Fuck,” is his only reply before he enters me. My legs wrap around his waist while my boobs bounce back and forth as he slams in and out.

  His brown eyes meet mine, and I’m once again reminded this is more than just sex. We share a connection—something I can’t explain, something bigger than either of us.

  My nails dig into his arms as my release edges closer and closer. “Babe, fuck,” he says through breaths. My legs lock tighter as my body hums to life, falling over the edge and taking him with me.

  He places his forehead against mine. “You’re the calm before the storm. My reminder to enjoy the peaceful moments while I have them.”

  I place my hand on the side of his face. “For you, I’m willing to weather whatever comes our direction.”

  He gives me a quick kiss, sliding out from me, and I swear I hear him mumble, “God, I hope so.”

  I’m not sure what he’s keeping from me but when I get things settled with Brenna, I’m going to demand he talks to me.

  I was hit with a sense of dread the second I stepped foot through the door of Thornton’s Monday morning. This job provided me with a valid reason to leave Lincoln, but I’m not happy. I wish quitting was as easy as my dad makes it sound. Of course, it would be if I was okay with taking whatever hand-out he would gladly offer, but taking his money just because I’m not happy when I have a job that pays a decent salary makes me feel like my mother.

  From the elevator to my desk, I noticed a few stares. At least it felt like people were staring at my hand, but no one asked me what happened.

  Once I at my desk and working, an email pops up which sends my heart into overdrive.

  Delanie,

  I’m sorry about the other day. Things got out of control. I know you hate me and rightfully so. I was an asshole and I didn’t respect you the way you deserved. Rest assured, I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting the decisions I’ve made.

  If you made it this far without deleting my email, then there’s one last thing you need to know… The man you’re taking to bed is no better than me. He’s been lying to you since the day you met him. That was the reason behind my trip to California. Things might be too late for us, but you deserve someone who’ll treat you like a queen you are, and that person is not him.

  Love always,

  Carter

  I read and reread his email at least fifty times, finally coming to the conclusion that he’s lying. But how does he know I’m seeing someone, unless he was just guessing? Regardless, I delete his email and block him as a sender then I get on with my day.

  I ignored the first text Brenna sent asking if I would meet her for a drink.

  And the second.

  And the third.

  Guilt started ebbing its way into my mind. I owe her the respect of at least listen
ing to what she wants to say, which is why when she texted again last night asking to meet for lunch the next day, I accepted her offer.

  A little after one in the afternoon, I stepped inside of Pete’s Taco Shop in a pair of cream colored slacks and a black sleeveless blouse, paired with five-inch heels. Clutching my purse against my side, my eyes immediately scanned the room until they stopped on Brenna sitting in a booth next to the window. Her red hair is pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head, and unlike most of the people here, she’s dressed in a Gold’s Gym T-shirt and running shorts. Almost like she senses my presence, she looks up from the phone in her hand, her gaze locking with mine.

  Forcing my feet to move, I walk in her direction, noticing the same anxiety fueling my thoughts reflecting in her eyes.

  “Hi,” I mutter, sliding into the booth across from her.

  She forces a small smile, getting straight to the point. “Thanks for agreeing to see me.”

  “I’ll be honest... I really didn’t want to.”

  “I know,” she replies, her gaze moving down to the table. “You probably hate me and for good reason, but I want you to know things between Carter and I…it…he…we…” She shakes her head, her eyes watering. “I was at a party and I had too much to drink. I remember seeing Carter there but…” Tears stream down her cheeks as her tone drops to barely a whisper, “I blacked out. I don’t remember anything from that night. I didn’t even know I had sex with him until a couple of weeks later.”

  My throat tightens when I ask, “How do you know you actually had sex with him? Maybe he was lying?”

  She sighs in defeat. “He cornered me over spring break. You were out of town with your parents, but he insisted he had something to show me, something I wouldn’t want you to see so I agreed to meet him. When I met him, he popped a DVD into his laptop, and there we were…” She pauses to sniffle. “I was naked and in bed with Carter, and we were…” She waves her hand back and forth. “You know…we were…”

  “Yeah, I get it,” I snap, not wanting any more of a visual then I already have. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Her mouth drops open before saying, “Are you serious? You were my friend. I loved you. You would have hated me.”

  “Maybe,” I quickly agree. “But you were drunk—possibly even drugged—and the asshole recorded you without your consistent.”

  “My parents were going through a divorce. My dad’s company was being investigated for fraud. Life at home sucked. You and Regan were my lifeline. I couldn’t lose you.”

  A year ago, I wouldn’t have been quick to believe what she’s telling me. But the Carter I saw the night he demanded I raise another woman’s child like it’s my own or the man I who broke my hand less than a week ago, he’s definitely someone who’s capable of drugging a woman, having sex with her, then recording it to blackmail her. But if he was blackmailing her then…shit. “Was that night the only time you were with him?”

  She chews on her bottom lip her eyes drop to the table when he shakes her no.

  “Oh, God. Brenna… You didn’t?”

  “You don’t understand,” she pleads. “He wasn’t only going to show you the DVD; he was going to upload it to internet. Everyone, including my parents, would have seen it.”

  “He was lying. He would never have risked exposing himself like that.”

  I didn’t think it was possible, but her face falls even more. “I didn’t think about that, but he made sure the camera was set at an angle where his face was never fully visible.”

  Forgiveness is a fickle bitch.

  I didn’t think it was possible to hate Carter more than I did before today but I do. Where Brenna is concerned, part of me wants to hate her, another part—a larger part—understands where she was coming from. She was most likely drugged, violated, then blackmailed. She acted out of fear. Placing myself in her shoes, I probably would have reacted the same.

  “You could have saved me years of planning a life with that bastard. I get why you didn’t tell me right away, but why not later? You up and left town and cut ties with your two best friends, leaving one of them dating a man who violated you in the worst possible way.”

  She hiccups before answering, “I was worried you wouldn’t believe me.”

  Anger pulls in the pit of my stomach, working its way up and through me. “Do you remember our freshman year when I was hoping Alec Davies would ask me to prom? Or our sophomore year when I wanted Chet Bellion to ask me to Winter Formal?”

  She shrugs but doesn’t answer.

  “Carter Bosa was a friend. I was never interested in him. My mother forced him down my throat and she made it impossible to say no, so I didn’t, but I was never in love with him, and if you had told me the truth, walking away from him would have been an easy decision.”

  Her eyes ignite. “That’s easy for you to say now, but back then, you were under his thumb. He would have told you some story spinning what happens to be my fault. You’d forgive him and end up hating me, but I refused to let that happen.”

  “I can’t believe you.”

  She wipes her face, straightens before sucking in a deep breath. “I didn’t act like it but I was a virgin before that night. Carter didn’t just steal my innocence, he stole my confidence, my trust, and whether you want to believe it or not, he stole the only people I cared about. I couldn’t tell you the truth because you were all I had; I couldn’t risk losing you.”

  I used my lunch break to meet her but I didn’t come to eat—I couldn’t now if I wanted to. Clutching my purse in my hand, I slide out of the booth, ready to leave when her voice causes me to stop. “It’s always darkest before dawn. I’ve forced myself to remember that for years and I thought when you called… I thought my dawn had finally arrived.”

  With tears threatening to fall, I force a smile muttering, “Just give me some time. I need to process everything before I decide how to move forward.”

  Hope sparkles in her eyes. “Of course, I understand.”

  Before she has the chance to say anything else, I rush out the door and across the street. Hours later, sitting behind my desk, my mind remains in the past. I can’t stop thinking about how different my life would be if only Brenna had told me the truth. At the same time, there’s a nagging feeling that follows that tells me she’s right… Carter is a master at manipulating people, and at the time… I probably would have believed him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kase

  Roan smirks, sliding a folder across his desk. “The proof you’ve been waiting for finally exist.”

  Opening the folder, my eyes scan the papers before me.

  “She deleted everything from the server, but thankfully when you pay the kind of money we did, you’ll discover that nothing is ever truly deleted.”

  A surge of renewed energy courses through my veins. “This is perfect, man. When we take down the wicked witch, we’ll get her evil sister in the process.”

  “It’s finally the bottom of the ninth, and the home team is about to score.” Roan pushes to his feet with a chuckle. He’s ready for this to be over. Hell, we both are. Except… The end game could easily come with results I didn’t plan for.

  Flashes of a future that doesn’t include Delanie Charles rack through my mind leaving behind an ache in my chest that’s as foreign as the passion this woman has evoked from me.

  Oblivious to my turmoil, Roan continues talking without a care in the world. “By this time next week, we’ll be able to meet with the board to ensure them the company is still in good hands.”

  “Yeah,” I agree without any enthusiasm. “Everything is going according to plan.” And Joe and Roan were right. What I’ve been wishing for is about to bite me in the ass.

  Delanie

  For the last week, I’ve stayed with Kase. I’ve all but officially moved in, and while I love staying with him, it’s time for me to find my own place. Regardless of my feelings, we’re still too new to be living together. But since Carter’s
surprise visit, I’ve yet to schedule another appointment to view an apartment.

  Today at work, I wasn’t only scouting for a new place to live, I was also looking for a new job. I thought I would like working at Thornton Financial but the truth be told, I wake up every day dreading the thought of leaving for work.

  The clients I’m working with are great. My co-workers are cordial, but I can’t seem to get past this feeling that something more is going on. Dalton’s comment left me unsettled. Paula has practically vanished from the company. She’s either out of town for business or busy anytime I’ve requested to talk with her. Then there’s Roan. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned about my complaint. If Dalton is truly as bad as Kase made him sound, then for that reason alone, Roan should have handled my concerns with a little more compassion.

  Dancing with the devil himself, I send Paula an email informing her I’m leaving early for a doctor’s appointment and head home…to Kase’s home. Since I’m hoping to find a new job, I’m rethinking the idea of only looking at apartments downtown and instead, I’ve started searching for a place closer to Kase. After a couple of calls, I scheduled two appointments for later today with hopes that Kase will be able to go with me.

  Stuck in bumper to bumper traffic halfway to his house, I dig around in my purse for my phone, only to come up empty.

  Great. I must have left it in my desk at work.

  At this rate, if I turn around now, I’ll not only be late for my first appointment, there’s no way Kase will be able to go with me; therefore, I forge on.

  Almost an hour later, but still hours earlier than normal, I pull into his drive, parking behind a pearl-white Lexus.

  Climbing out of my car, I make my way inside, unsure of what to expect. Since I’ve been staying with him, he’s yet to have any guest. One step inside and my entire body goes on alert, not because there’s anything wrong but because the house is eerily quiet. When I arrive home, Kase usually has music playing or a TV on but right now, the hum of the air conditioner is the only sound traveling through the house.