Billionaire's Cinderella: A Standalone Novel (A Bad Boy Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (Billionaires Book 3)

by Claire Adams

  “Wouldn’t they just let him out of the business?” I asked.

  “No, not someone as high up as Jose Escabar. He’s in it for life. But I could say I had been working with him, maybe like Marco does. There is no way Ramos knows all of Escabar’s employees. I’ll just say I was concerned I was going to get turned into the feds. I was concerned that Escabar wanted to retire and would give us all up to the feds to get a cushy deal.”

  Chase’s idea didn’t seem totally unreasonable. It was dangerous as hell, though. Neither of us knew this Ramos guy or how much he knew about Escabar and his operation in Atlanta. For all we knew, the two guys could be very close friends. If that were the case, we would both be killed the second we tried our plan.

  “If we are going to do this, how the heck are we going to get hold of this Ramos guy? I’m sure his number isn’t listed in the yellow pages,” I laughed.

  He stopped to think out his idea.

  “Perhaps we could flip Marco? Or maybe we could get that friend of yours, Salina, to turn and give us the information?”

  Just the mention of Salina made my skin crawl. I had thought she wanted to be my friend, and she was truly just a goon that worked for Escabar. The last thing in the world that I wanted to do was try to talk to her.

  “I think Marco is just too close to Escabar. As much as I hate to admit it, a meeting with Salina would probably be best. If we could offer her some money for the information, I’m sure she would be much more willing.”

  Money, it always came back to money. I knew that Chase didn’t have any money, and I certainly didn’t have much of it. But we needed to figure out something to get Salina interested in meeting with us, without Salvador.

  “I’ve got ten thousand dollars stashed in my safe back at the house,” Chase said with a disappointed face. “Do you think that will convince her?”

  “Yes, oh yes. That will convince her for sure.”

  He paced around the room for a few minutes before he said anything else. I could tell he was thinking about all the possible solutions to our problem. Should we try and just pay off the loan? Should we run away? Whatever we did it seemed like there was a downside to every option. Personally, I felt the best solution was to go to Ramos, but I wanted to know what Chase thought was the best solution.

  “Let’s do it,” he said as he slapped his hands together. “I think it can work.”

  I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him. I knew it was the best solution. Going to Ramos wasn’t the safest solution, but it did offer us the surest way of getting out from under Escabar for good. If we could pull things off as we wanted to, Chase and I would be safe from being murdered, and that was the best possible outcome.

  The warmth of Chase pressed up against my body instantly had me aroused. It wasn’t something I had planned. We were in the middle of a bunkroom at the police station. But the moment was filled with excitement. I looked at Chase while we remained wrapped in each other’s arms, and I could tell he felt the same thing I had felt.

  “No, we can’t…” I whispered as I saw the devious look in his eyes.

  “Why not? No one has come into this room all night long. They obviously aren’t going to come take a nap at ten o’clock in the morning. I think we are pretty much alone in here,” he said as he started to kiss my neck.

  I felt his hand as it slipped up my shirt and he let his fingers grab hold of my nipple firmly. My back naturally arched against him and I did my best not to moan too loudly. It was a safe feeling to have his hands on my body. He made me feel safe, which was crazy considering the only reason I was in danger was because of him. But I could tell in his touch that he wanted to be there for me. I felt his passion and determination to be a good husband for me.

  My body quickly gave in to Chase as his hands explored me. He took control and pulled my clothing from my body and laid me back down on the bed we had been on. I was naked, in a police station – it was exciting. More exciting than any television show I had ever watched.

  “How are your ribs?” I asked quietly as he slid into the bed behind me.

  “Sore, but not too sore to keep me from you.”

  I felt his naked body behind me and his hard throbbing cock as it pressed up against me. My hand reached back and stroked him as I tried to decide if I was really willing to have sex with Chase in the middle of the police station. Sure, we had been alone throughout the night, but that didn’t mean much. Anyone could walk through the door at any minute. There wasn’t a lock on it. There wasn’t any way we could hide what we were doing. Our clothes were sitting right there on the ground.

  Chase didn’t wait for my trepidation to subside. He pulled my hand away from him and held onto it. His throbbing member slid into me with ease, as I was soaked with desire for him.

  My neck felt his warm breath as he let one slow thrust after another penetrate me. His body against mine was so filled with delight, that I started to forget where we were and gave in to the feelings that Chase had rushing through my body.

  He grabbed a hold of my hips firmly and thrust himself deep into me. It wasn’t a gentle thrust, and Chase caught me off guard as I reacted with a scream of pleasure to his thrust.

  “Shhhh,” he said as he covered my mouth with his hand.

  Harder and faster, he moved inside of me as I fought every urge I had to scream out. I just couldn’t keep myself from letting out the desire that was so close to escaping. But with his hand over my mouth, even my screams were quieted.

  My body moved back against Chase in a desire to feel the explosion that was coming. Thrust after thrust, I waited for my body to shake with the final ecstasy, the final powerful light of desire that I knew was only a few short moments away.

  Then, we heard something. It was two men talking just outside the door to the bunkroom. I wanted to stop what we were doing and get dressed, but I also wanted to feel the orgasm that I had built up and was so close to releasing.

  I pressed myself urgently back against Chase and moved his hand from my mouth down to my clit. He took my direction expertly and started to manipulate my clit as I moved hard against his cock. When I felt the tightening of my body, I grabbed him by the hips and he thrust one last deep, hard thrust so we could both explode together. It was absolutely perfect – except that there were two men just outside the door.

  Neither of us waited at all. We quickly got up and put our clothes back on. I walked to the bathroom and cleaned myself up while Chase lay back down in the bed. I could only imagine just how much his ribs had to have been hurting by that point.

  “Mr. Foster,” a voice said from the doorway.

  I peeked my head out from the bathroom to see who it was. It was Officer Reyes and another officer behind him.

  “Yes,” Chase said from the bed.

  “Your father is here to see you.”

  I opened the bathroom door and stared at Chase and then back at the officer. How the heck did Chase’s father find out he was there? I could see the shock on Chase’s face, and I quickly made my way back over to him.

  “Alright, tell him I’ll be out there in a minute,” he said and the two officers went away.

  “What’s going on? How would your father know we were here?” I asked, totally confused as to what was going on.

  “I suspect that Captain Bastrop called him. They are friends.”

  “If they are friends, then why the hell didn’t Captain Bastrop offer to actually help us out? Why would he call your father, but not bother to actually give us help that would let us go free and be safe? This is craziness. Now, your life is still in danger, and your father is going to hate us forever. He won’t give you the company. You won’t have your dream of running his organization.”

  “You know what, Jordan,” Chase said with a smile on his face. “I don’t think I want to run his company. I know what I want in life. And I’d be happy to work for him, but I don’t want to be in charge of all that.”

  “What about the money?” I asked.


  It seemed like a shallow thing to ask, but really, Chase was talking about giving up millions of dollars. What did he want to do that was more important than millions of dollars?

  “I don’t know. All I know is I am not going to let my father hold his money over my head forever. I can’t do it. I won’t do it.”

  The conviction in his voice compelled me to believe what he was saying. He seemed to have a totally new view of the world and his place in it, and I was excited for him.

  Chapter 23

  Chase

  As we walked out to face my father, I could hardly see straight, I was so scared. Even after 29 years with the man, he still scared me to death. He certainly wasn’t the kind of man that hit us or even swatted our backsides, but he still had the ability to put fear into my brothers and me, as kids and as adults.

  “Father,” I said as I met him in the lobby.

  My father stood there with Captain Bastrop at his side. There was no denying that the Captain had in fact called him. But I couldn’t quite figure out why. There didn’t seem to be a benefit to the Captain if he called my father and got him involved.

  “I tell you what, Reynold. This son of yours is one stand-up guy. There are not many men that would come to the police with the information he had. You should be really damn proud of him,” Captain Bastrop said.

  I stared at the Captain and then back at my father. Then, I turned and grabbed Jordan’s hand and looked her in the eyes. We both didn’t know what exactly was going on, but it appeared that Captain Bastrop had just made me look like a stand-up, responsible person. I had no idea at all what he was up to, even less than when I believed the Captain had ratted me out to my father.

  “Chase, Jordan, I’m so glad you are safe,” my father said as he hugged me and then turned and hugged Jordan, too.

  “Chase, I think you need to tell your father about the money that Escabar needs,” Captain Bastrop said as he looked at me.

  “Umm…I…well,” I stammered.

  “Reynold, Chase borrowed some money from Escabar to start a club, but then the club fell through and Chase couldn’t pay him back. He’s going to need a quarter million to pay the guy off. I think you should do it, considering the information Chase turned into us. We will make sure you get your money back when Escabar’s arrested, but giving him the money will make things a lot easier on you all while we finish our investigation.”

  “Your investigation?” Jordan asked.

  “Yes, young lady. We have an ongoing investigation with Escabar, and with your help, we can move forward and hopefully catch him in a few months.”

  It suddenly became really clear that Captain Bastrop had his own agenda, and I was getting in his way. At least he didn’t want me to get killed, I was grateful for that. But I could see very clearly that he wasn’t about to help me if it would put his own investigation in jeopardy.

  “Well, thanks for the call, George. I can take it from here,” my father said as he shook hands with the Captain.

  “Chase, can I talk to you for a minute?” Captain Bastrop asked.

  I was reluctant to talk to him. He seemed to be into some dirty stuff himself. I had to wonder what exactly him and Escabar were up to. He seemed to be protecting Escabar and pretending to protect me. But I couldn’t resist and went to talk with him.

  “Sure,” I said as I walked with him to the other side of the room.

  “I didn’t see a reason to involve your father in all of this. I think you should give Escabar the money and then leave the country. It’s your best option. You are lucky that your family has the means to pay the man off. We just found a kid your age in the river, and we suspect he’s a casualty of Escabar’s.”

  “Thanks,” I said and shook the Captain’s hand. “I appreciate you going to bat for me with my father.”

  “I meant every word. You are a responsible and brave guy to have come here. I’m just sorry we weren’t able to help you any further.”

  “Thank you again,” I said as I returned to Jordan and my father.

  There was no need to get into things with the Captain. I would just have to take care of things on my own. I was fine with taking care of Escabar on my own, but I really hoped that Captain Bastrop didn’t think I was stupid enough not to know what was going on. I knew he was likely protecting some wrongdoing that was going on in his own facility.

  I grabbed Jordan’s hand and leaned in to whisper to her.

  “We are still going forward with our plan.”

  Jordan just smiled at me and squeezed my hand. We both knew that paying Escabar off wasn’t going to keep us or our families safe. The only plan that would work was going to Ramos. I was confident in that.

  As we walked outside, my father pulled his checkbook out and started to write me a check. It was the first time in a really long time that I felt like my father actually looked me in the eyes. At least I could thank Captain Bastrop for that. I had longed to see respect in my father’s eyes, and I welcomed every moment of it.

  “How much do we need, son? How much to get this creep to leave you alone?”

  “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” I said quietly.

  “Chase, I know you are a businessman. I know you want to do your own thing. I just wish you would have come to me to borrow the money instead of this criminal.”

  “Dad, you cut me off. I hadn’t been respectful to you and your money. I knew that it wasn’t the right time to come to you for money. I’m sorry.”

  “Chase, you did good by turning that man in. That showed some real guts. If you want the company, I would be more than happy to give it to you. Maybe a couple of the guys from the board could stay on as your support when I retire.”

  It was the offer I had waited on for years. That moment was what I had dreamed about since I had started to work at my father’s company. But I didn’t want to accept it just yet. I didn’t want to accept it until Jordan and I had finished what we needed to do. There was no future for me with his company or with anything, if I didn’t get out from under Escabar’s control.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said as I hugged him. “Do you mind if I think about it for a little bit?”

  I saw the shock in my father’s eyes and then a bit of a smile as he looked at my hand intertwined with Jordan’s. Something about his look showed me that he understood I cared about Jordan and I wanted to do right by her.

  “Certainly, you two take your time and discuss things. We can talk in a couple of days.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Foster,” Jordan said.

  “Thanks, Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first.”

  “I’m still proud of you, kid. It takes a lot of guts to turn in a bad guy like Escabar. You did the right thing.”

  My father leaned in and hugged me before he turned and made his way to the car that was waiting for him.

  It was a different kind of hug than I was used to. This hug seemed filled with real emotion. Real genuine emotion, and I almost started to choke up when I let go of him.

  Being a Foster son had never really been that easy. I always had to live up to what my brothers were doing and never felt like I was good enough. I still didn’t really feel like I was doing that great at life, but hopefully once everything was settled with Escabar I would be able to move forward.

  I could only imagine how perfect life would be with me in charge of Foster Industries and Jordan by my side. Maybe we would even have some babies or something like that. It was fun to fantasize about that kind of life, although I had never really done so in the past. Meeting Jordan had me thinking in a whole different way.

  Jordan and I made our way out of the parking garage and drove around town as we discussed our plan.

  “I’m scared, Chase,” she said.

  “I know, but I think this is really going to work. It’s our best shot at ending this whole thing. And if we do it right, I won’t even have to pay Escabar back his money.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of not giving Escabar
$250,000. I had technically already paid him back all the money I owed him, through his crazy high interest payments that he required over the last six months. I really didn’t want to hand over any more money to the man.

  “Well, I’m ready if you are,” Jordan said.

  “I’m ready.”

  Chapter 24

  Jordan

  “Do you think Ramos will actually show up himself?” I asked Chase, as we pulled up to the park where we had planned to meet up with Salina and Salvador.

  “No, he’s got to be suspicious of us. We will talk to Salina and Salvador first and get them to take the message back to Ramos.”

  Chase and I held hands in the car while we waited for Salina and Salvador to show up. I felt my heart pounding. I couldn’t help but think we were being watched. My eyes looked around outside the vehicle as I tried to see whoever it was that I felt watching me.

  “Do you feel like we are being watched?” I asked as I looked at a hill on the other edge of the park.

  “Kind of, but I just chalked it up to feeling really paranoid.”

  “Man, I just can’t shake the feeling.”

  “It’s possible Ramos has some eyes on use to make sure we aren’t working with the police or anything like that.”

  “It was pretty amazing that Captain Bastrop slipped you that black book,” I said.

  Chase flipped through the pages of the book nervously as we waited. Although we would have moved forward with our plan no matter what, it did work much better now that we had the actual black book in our hands.

  “Yeah, he made a copy of everything and gave it back. But I really think this is a different version of the book. I think some of the names were undercover cops and they rewrote the book to exclude them. I suspect he thinks we will try to give it back to Escabar with the money.”

  Chase was a smart guy. I hadn’t fully seen that side of him until we started plotting out how we were going to get out of the mess we were in. It seemed just a little confidence was all he needed to make the change to a fully confident undercover outlaw.