The Abduction

by Nichole Allen

  “Sir, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this,” I respond. Corrine looks at me like I’m crazy. “I mean, I just don’t know if I can keep pretending that well.”

  “Well you’re going to have to,” Mark says. “Once we figure out whether or not he’s funding foreign arms trading, you can go back to being you. Until then, you’re undercover.”

  Friday comes way more quickly than I had bargained for. We’ve been texting all week but it still seems like we met a day ago, not a week ago. Mark had let me dress more casually for work since I would be going straight to Chase’s place but my nerves start to kick in again as I walk into his office building. The way we’ve been talking all week, it didn’t sound like he knew I worked for the FBI, so I’ve started shrugging that fear away. And if anything goes wrong, Brody will be waiting outside his apartment building. All I have to do is open a fake news app on my phone and he’ll be up in a minute.

  When I walk up to the reception desk in his office, I can see the secretary judging me. She masks this with a bittersweet smile before asking what she can help me with.

  “I’m here for Chase Anderson.”

  There’s a flash of shock in her face as her smile falters for just a second, but she starts typing in her computer to confirm I’m here for a reason. “Rachelle?” I nod. “I’ll need to see your ID to confirm.”

  I internally roll my eyes at her but force a smile and hand her my ID from my purse. Once she finally believes I’m who I say I am, she lets me go up to his office. It’s not very hard to find, considering the elevator opens up to the waiting area right outside his office. There’s another receptionist sitting at another desk when I get there, but he just smiles and calls for Chase.

  Before I even have the opportunity to sit down, Chase is walking down the hall towards me with a smile.

  “Rachelle, hey,” he says. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Whenever you are,” I shrug. He leads the way back to the first floor and out to his car – some sort of sleek, black BMW. I’m not a connoisseur of cars but I can tell it’s expensive. The drive to his place is fairly short and filled with small talk about how our week has been. I make up some bullshit story about a teenager who accidentally downloaded a virus to his parents’ laptop while watching porn so he still thinks I work in IT and he tells me some story about his accountant finding mistakes on nearly every page of his finance ledger. Hmm, interesting.

  Chase Anderson is not one to disappoint. His apartment is in a massive historic building that looks like it belongs to the Queen. And the apartment itself? Probably bigger than my entire house growing up. Damn. How do I get into his branch of tech?

  Thankfully his idea of a fun and romantic night is wine and pizza delivery while watching his favorite movie: Back to The Future. We’re just starting the second installment when I fully relax and lean against his side on the sofa.

  “You know, I haven’t had a night like this in a while.”

  “Yeah? Why’s that?” he asks.

  I shrug. “I haven’t had anyone to just hang out with. It’s nice.”

  I look up at him expecting him to just be smiling, but he looks serious as he just stares at me. “I really like you, Rachelle,” he finally says.

  I feel my cheeks turn bright red. “Thanks,” I mutter quietly. When he furrows his eyebrows at me, I realize my mistake. “Oh, no, sorry. I really like you too! Don’t worry!” I add quickly.

  He laughs at how flustered I am before quietly replying, “Good,” and leaning closer to me until our lips brush each other and my eyes flutter closed. That didn’t take very long, did it?

  I grab at his shirt with my hands when he rests his palm against my cheek, adding more pressure to the kiss. I feel like my mind is spinning and I can’t tell if it’s him or the alcohol; maybe I’m drunk on both.

  But then reality hits and I’m pulling away. He’s got that devious smirk with his lip pulled between his teeth and I’m wondering out loud, “Why did you do that?”

  He laughs awkwardly before almost asking, “Because I like you?”

  “But why me? I mean, I’m not really your type,” I mutter.

  “I’d like to think I don’t have a type,” he frowns. “I don’t care what society or anyone else says. I think you’re gorgeous and I like your attitude. I want to get to know you better.”

  Oh. Now I feel like an idiot for thinking he was using me. What would he use me for, honestly? Women all over the city are already throwing themselves at him.

  “How about this,” he says, pressing his fingertip to the bottom of my chin and making me look back up at him. “Every Friday after work, you come over to my place and we hang out like this. Nothing more if you’re not comfortable with it. Just movies, pizza, and wine.”

  My breathing practically stops with how he’s looking at me. I never thought a man could actually make me breathless, but he looks so hot in that moment, I simply can’t refuse. “Okay,” I smile.

  He smiles back and presses his lips to mine once more before turning back to the TV and pulling me to his side again.

  *****

  Two months and eight dates with Chase pass before my eyes and everyone on my team is getting antsy.

  “We still don’t have enough to prove him guilty,” Mark groans. We’re all sitting in the conference room trying to figure out what more we need about Chase.

  “We have links to his bank accounts overseas. Bank accounts with withdrawals going to terrorist organizations,” Blake nearly shouts.

  “We can’t prove that,” Mark snaps. “We have no proof he’s putting the money in the accounts or who the money is going to.”

  “Wait,” I interrupt. “On our first date, Chase mentioned something about his accountant messing up the books or something.” Everyone perks up at this. “I don’t really remember; it’s been too long but I think his accountant might have something to do with it.”

  “Okay. Corrine and Rachelle, start looking into his accountant. Blake, figure out a way to talk to his accountant. Brody and I will keep looking at Chase’s overseas accounts and see if we can find where the money is going.”

  It’s the Friday before Labor Day so everyone at the office is buzzing at the upcoming three day weekend, which makes Corrine even more excited about the potential break in our case.

  “His accountant? Rachelle, that’s huge!” she smiles, practically skipping back to the tech room. We only have a couple hours left at work so she’s basically already celebrating the weekend, judging by her attitude.

  “I know; I just feel bad for not telling you earlier. We basically wasted two months,” I grumble.

  “It’s not wasting two months if you’re still hanging out with Chase,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows. Corrine is one of the only friends I’ve made so far so she knows practically everything about Chase and me. “Are you two hanging out again tonight?”

  “Yeah. And I brought an overnight bag this time,” I smile.

  Her jaw drops and she smacks me in the shoulder right outside the tech room. “You haven’t slept with him yet?”

  “I thought it was just a case!” I defend myself with a laugh. “But I’ve gotten to know him and I actually really like him, Corrine. I don’t think he’s the one sending the money overseas. I mean, we went to a childhood cancer charity event two weeks ago and you should’ve seen the way he was talking to those kids. There’s no way he would do something to hurt people like that.”

  Corrine’s expression turns sober as I talk and she gives me a verbal slap in the face. “Unfortunately, that’s not enough. Don’t tell Mark that, either. He might think it’s your bias getting in the way since you two have been practically dating this whole time. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

  I lean forward and engulf Corrine in a hug. “Thanks, Corrine. I just need your help to prove him innocent so you won’t have to help me get over him.”

  “Not when you can just get under him,” she mumbles under her breath as we walk into the te
ch room.

  Just over two hours later, Chase and I are back in his apartment watching Halloween-themed movies since it’s September.

  “It’s September which means it’s almost October which means it’s basically Halloween,” I tell him every time he asks why we’re watching Halloween movies so soon. “Besides, it’s never too early for Halloween!”

  A low chuckle rumbles through his chest, but I see his gaze flicking to my overnight bag in the corner every now and then. I haven’t told him I plan on staying overnight but I don’t think he’ll be too upset about it, especially when he’s spent the past month hinting that he’d like for me to stay.

  At the end of the first movie, I fake a yawn and stretch when he stands to change the movie. “I’m a little tired,” I lie. “Is it okay if I stay tonight?”

  He smirks at me and puts another movie in the DVD player. “Judging by your bag by the door, I’d think you planned this.”

  “Maybe,” I smirk in response.

  He bites his lip when he looks at me and quickly stops the movie, grabbing the case and grabbing my overnight bag. “Maybe we should watch this in the bedroom, then.”

  Jackpot.

  I hurry after him as he leads me to the one room in his place I have yet to see. He stays true to his word and puts the movie on his bedroom TV, but we both know it won’t be watched. At least, not for very long.

  He lies down next to me on the bed and lets me rest my head on his chest like normal. What’s not normal, however, is the hammering of my heart in my chest. I’ve never been this nervous with another man before – but Chase isn’t just another man. He’s a surprisingly down-to-earth billionaire, judging by his tax records, who likes me, of all people. And I’m not going to let a man like him keep waiting.

  Ten minutes into the movie and he still hasn’t made a move. No lingering touches or kisses, nothing. I’m not usually one to do this, but I decide to take things into my own hands. I lean up and press a kiss under his ear before moving down his jaw until I get to his lips. His mouth curls into a smile under the kiss and his grip on my side grows a little tighter. Before long, our tongues are meshing against each other and his hands are sliding up my sides to cup my breasts through my bra.

  He curls his body over mine and lays me down, the heat of his body radiating against mine. One arm is bent at the elbow to keep himself held above me and the other is sliding up my body, pushing my shirt over my head. Before he can get a good look at me, I bring my arms back down to cover my body.

  “Can you turn the lights off?” I ask quietly.

  He frowns at my request and gently pushes both my arms away from my torso. The tips of his fingers send goosebumps over my skin as he runs his hand down my body, tracing over every bump and curve so lightly, like if he’s too rough, I’ll break.

  “I’m not turning the lights off,” he murmurs. “The last thing I want to do is keep someone like you hidden. You’re beautiful. I wish you could see that.”

  Where has this man been my whole life?

  I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck to pull him down and kiss me. This time, I’m the one smiling into the kiss. With one hand on my waist and the other resting beside me, Chase grinds his lower body against mine so I can feel him through the rough fabric of his jeans.

  “Chase,” I whimper against his lips. “Please do something.”

  He pulls away ever so slightly, his lips barely brushing mine, before nipping at my bottom lip and pulling back completely to pull his shirt over his head. How the hell did I get a man like this? He looks good in a suit and tie but they don’t do his body any justice.

  I’m basically gawking at him when he reaches down to unbuckle his jeans and push them down his legs. Something about him undoing his belt makes my panties grow wetter at the sight. He falls back over me and snakes his hand around my back, deftly unsnapping my bra and yanking it from my body to lie on the floor.

  Light, feather-like kisses are pressed all over my body, from my cheeks to my neck, down my chest and stomach, until Chase reaches the top of my jeans. I’m practically squirming underneath him waiting for him to keep going.

  He tugs on the hem before unbuttoning them and trailing the fabric down my legs, his body following suit. My panties are quick to join the rest of our clothes on the floor and the next thing I see is Chase kissing from my ankle, up my legs, until he’s at the crux of my thighs.

  “Tell me what you want,” Chase says, kissing everywhere except where I want him most.

  I grumble and groan at the smug grin on his face but give in anyway. “I want your mouth on me. Please, Chase,” I beg.

  He smiles one last time before pressing his tongue flat against me and shaking his head. I bite my lip as a quiet moan passes my lips. Chase’s mouth moves from my center back up my body, presses more soft kisses across my skin. I whimper at the feeling of him against me until he presses his lips to mine for half a second, his tongue pushing into my mouth in a newfound fervor.

  “You look amazing,” Chase mumbles against my skin. A shiver runs down my spine when he sucks a purple mark into my neck. Hopefully it’ll be gone come work on Monday.

  “Just fuck me already,” I groan. Instead of obliging, Chase pushes his hips against mine again, getting me even more worked up for him. “Chase, baby, please.”

  He smirks and gently bites my neck. Before I can whine any more, he pulls back and kneels to push his boxers down to his knees. When he lays over me again, he kicks them off onto the floor and leans over to the nightstand beside his bed. After a little bit of shuffling, he rips open a foil packet and quickly slides the latex on.

  I bite my lip when he’s hovering over me again, his arms flexing beside me as he holds himself up. One hand slides between us to grip his length and push into me. I bite back a moan and watch him as he slowly moves with me. My arms sling over his shoulders and grip his muscles as his lower body flexes more and more quickly with each second.

  I’m sure his neighbors hate us as his headboard taps against the wall behind us but, in the moment, I could not care less. He feels too good and he looks even better. Small beads of sweat form on his forehead as our breathing grows heavier, my hips jerking up to meet his and nose brushing mine as he brings our bodies even closer together.

  “Fuck,” he groans. I moan against his neck and gently bite and suck on his skin to leave a mark for him to hide as well.

  “I’m close,” I manage to murmur. With one arm still holding himself up, he moves the other between us and circles my clit. His eyes are trained on mine waiting for me to get there first.

  A wave of euphoria washes over me as I grab Chase’s jaw and pull him down for a kiss to muffle the moans and gasps escaping my lips. I’m barely coming down from my high when Chase lets a low moan shake through his body, his hips jerking more slowly until he stills completely and opens his eyes to find mine.

  He presses another kiss to my lips as he pulls out and drops onto his bed beside me. “Damn,” he laughs quietly. “You’re going to need to get some sleep because, shit, I’m definitely going to want that again in the morning.”

  *****

  Sure enough, I wake up the next morning to light kisses being peppered over my body before we go for round two. Thankfully, it’s a Saturday so I have nothing better to do but Chase gets a phone call while he’s in the middle of making both of us breakfast.

  “I have to take this,” he says, stepping out of his kitchen and back into the bedroom. Through the doorway, I can hear him say something about missing balances and incorrect ledgers or something before huffing as he walks back into the kitchen. “I might have to go down to the office today.”

  “Do you want me to leave?” I ask. I can confidently say he doesn’t want to kick me out, but I don’t want to make him feel obligated to let me stay at his place without him so early in our relationship – which we haven’t even defined yet.

  “Actually, how about you come with me? You’re in IT, right?” I nod, even though we
both know he already knows the answer. “Maybe you can help me figure out what’s messing up all my accounts. My accountant Jack thinks it might be a virus of some sort or someone hacking into my accounts. I designed all the software to avoid that but people are sometimes more powerful than their machines.”

  “Okay. Do I have enough time to get ready?” He nods so I grab my overnight bag and head into the bathroom to get cleaned up for the day.

  Twenty minutes later, my hair is tied up in a messy bun and I’m ready to head to the office my team is investigating to work on an account that may or may not be funding terrorist activities. Wonderful.

  When we pull into the parking garage, we’re the only people around. Granted it’s the Saturday before Labor Day but I still expected a couple people to be working overtime. Even when Chase lets us inside with his key card, we’re the only people present. This could end well after all.

  Chase’s office is on the eighth floor so the elevator ride takes just a few seconds and we’re headed down the hall to his office.

  “Are you familiar with the software I designed?” he asks, switching on the lights and computer.

  “I have to be, don’t I?”

  He chuckles at my response and takes a seat, gesturing for me to bring up a chair beside him. He pulls up multiple different screens for multiple different bank accounts and starts highlighting purchases and expenses he didn’t partake in – and there are at least a dozen expenses in the past three months he doesn’t recognize.

  “Do you know of any virus or software that might hack my accounts?” he asks. That’s when the FBI agent in me takes over. I nudge his chair over and take his spot in front of the computer, clicking back and forth between each screen. None of the accounts are based overseas. In fact, all of them are in D.C.