by KB Winters
“You’re so beautiful, Melissa.” Chase said, staring down at me in a way that made me feel like the only woman on earth. He rocked into me and stole my breath away before I could object. “I could make sweet love to you all day.”
“I won’t object,” I teased, catching my breath.
I dug my fingers into his back, urging him to go harder and then slid my fingertips down his smooth back muscles and over his perfect, firm ass. I gripped into his ass cheeks and Chase responded with a deep, hard thrust. I groaned into his shoulder and gripped his hips with my thighs. He lifted up onto his hands and looked down our bodies, and I followed his gaze down to where we connected and watched as he entered me. The sight was sexy as hell and I gripped him tighter.
“Shit,” he gasped, pulsing back into me, this time thicker.
He was ready and I was too. I grabbed his ass and pulled him into me and he lost his control. I arched back as he released inside me and tumbled over the edge of my own slow-burning release a heartbeat later.
Afterward, we relaxed together, my head on his chest and my hand flat against his toned stomach. The way we nestled together made it seem as though we were long time lovers who knew every inch of each other from memory and immediately conformed to the fit. The sense of it made me feel so safe and secure that it was hard not to fall asleep and stay there beside him through the whole night. As much as I would’ve loved to wake up beside him, I knew at least for the time being—it was an impossible dream.
I could only hope that someday things would be different.
Chapter Thirteen
Chase
The next morning, after breakfast, I left Melissa and Jackson on board the boat to go into town where I had a better chance of getting a cell phone signal. I made my way to a small café and asked the hostess for a table outside. She took me to a small iron table on the patio and I ordered a coffee. She flashed a friendly smile and then left me alone to go back inside. I scanned through my phone and found the number of the burner phone that Matt had used to call the last time we’d been in touch. Once the woman returned and dropped off my coffee, I dialed the number. “Come on, man. Pick up.”
“Hello?”
Relief washed over me at the sound of my brother’s voice. I tried not to think about him too much since our last call, forcing all of my energy into keeping Melissa and Jackson safe, but in the back of my mind I’d been acutely aware of the fact that their lives weren’t the only ones in jeopardy. If O’Keefe thought Matt had any information, or was holding out on him, I wasn’t sure how far he’d go to get him to spill. He’d already had his cronies confront Matt on the street. Luckily, they’d only shaken him up in an effort to get information about Melissa’s whereabouts and left him unharmed. But I knew what people were capable of when they were desperate, and I had to figure that O’Keefe was rapidly approaching that point.
I just hoped that Matt would get out of town before it got that far.
Matt was one of the smartest people I knew and knew the law inside and out. An advantage I hoped he was exploiting in effort to keep O’Keefe and his men away. Restraining orders, police reports, whatever it took.
Otherwise, once I knew Melissa was safe, I’d have to take care of it and it wouldn’t be pretty.
“Matt, it’s me, Chase.” I glanced around the outdoor seating area suspiciously. With the tracker on a cargo ship to Los Angeles, there was no reason Henry would send men all the way to Manzanilla. They wouldn’t know we were here. If any of them had survived the explosion—which I hadn’t been able to check into yet—they’d likely be called back to California to regroup.
I didn’t know the full extent of O’Keefe’s criminal activities, but he clearly wasn’t an amateur and wasn’t likely to make stupid mistakes. He was cold, calculating, and precise. The tracker sewn into Melissa’s purse had told me that much. He wasn’t the kind of guy to leap first and look later. From what Melissa had told me in our late-night conversations, he’d started out as a regular, albeit extremely ambitious, kind of guy. I wasn’t sure at what point he’d taken the wrong turn and ended up as some kind of billionaire crime lord. There was a part of me that didn’t want to ever meet O’Keefe, mostly because I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from tearing him limb from limb, however, I was curious to actually get in a room with him and find out what makes him tick.
“Chase? Oh thank God.” The relief in my brother’s voice didn’t sit well with me. What is going on up there? “Are you guys safe?”
“Yes, I won’t get into the details, but we’re fine.”
“You have no idea how worried I’ve been! I’ve been trying to call, but every time I do it goes straight through to your voicemail. After a few days with no contact…” Matt’s voice trailed off, as though he couldn’t put into words the scary thoughts that had been inside his head.
“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to spook you. We ran into some trouble in Cabo and then got caught in a nasty storm. It’s been a hellish two days to say the least. But we’re fine now and things are looking up.”
“Glad to hear it. How’s Melissa holding up?”
An image of her naked body, lying in my bed with slivers of moonlight playing off her skin flashed through my thoughts before I could answer. What would Matt think about the fact that I’d been intimate with his client, a woman who was not only married but in the middle of a nasty divorce and possible custody case? Would he think I was taking advantage of Melissa in her emotional state? Or, even worse, would he tell me I was being an asshole for dragging her small son into the situation? Would he think I was playing it off like we were a little family instead of on the run from his father? I wasn’t entirely sure what Matt would say and since he obviously had enough on his mind already—I’d keep that to myself.
“She’s a trooper. Of all of the clients that I’ve worked for, she seems to be the most levelheaded, which blows my mind considering what she’s been through. I don’t know how she keeps it together, but she does for the most part.”
“Melissa’s a strong woman that’s for sure. She’s smart too. What about her son? How’s he holding up? This has to be tough for him.”
“He’s really good, actually.” I chuckled softly. “He thinks that we’re on some kind of adventure. He sings pirate songs and talks nonstop about fishing or looking for whales with his binoculars.”
Matt gave a surprised burst of laughter. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I paused, smiling to myself. “He’s fine. He’s asked some tough questions, but his mother handles it with ease.”
“Well that’s understandable,” Matt replied thoughtfully. “Since day one she’s always wanted the best for him. It’s only natural she’d start looking at this new lifestyle and realize it might not be the best for her son—or for her.”
I couldn’t help but feel a little defensive. “It might not be normal, but it’s a hell of a lot better than living with some power-hungry asshole in a business suit!” My voice was too loud and I realized I’d drawn the attention of the people sitting at the table on the opposite end of the patio. I gave them a sheepish smile and a short wave and they returned to their previous conversation.
Great, Chase. First day in a new city and you’re going to broadcast what’s going on to all the locals.
“Whoa, slow down there. I wasn’t saying she should send him back to live with his father. On the contrary, Melissa needs to be with Jackson and if she comes back to California that won’t be possible.”
“What do you mean? Not possible?”
Matt sighed. “Henry’s got his legal team filing documents about her supposed drinking problem and it looks like they are lining up to make a case that she is an unfit mother. If Melissa comes back now, or is dragged back, it’s going to be a hell of a fight.”
My heart hammered inside my chest and another loud objection was clawing its way up my throat, I force myself to take a deep breath in order to keep my tone smooth and even. “Drinking problem? Unfit mother?
What the hell is he doing? How can he even say that about her when anybody that knows her would say the exact opposite?”
Matt heaved another heavy sigh. This case was wearing just as heavily on him. Matt was always like that, taking on his client’s problems as his own, especially in family cases. In the past, I’d joked with him that he was half therapist, half lawyer, and that eventually all the ghosts of other people’s pasts were going to catch up with him and force him into an early retirement.
He continued, “I have sources, let’s say, and they reported back to me some of the documentation Henry’s team is preparing. He’s coerced a doctor at a rehab facility to fabricate a report that shows Melissa was in an outpatient program there for several months to combat a drinking problem. I don’t know what leverage he used on the doctor. Untraceable cash no doubt. And that, combined with the fact she pulled Jackson out of school and away from his home and family to run off on some Mexican cruise isn’t going to sit well with the judge. I’ll do my best, but it’s going to be a long fight.”
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as though I could brace myself against the news that Matt was laying out for me piece by piece. It was so overwhelmingly horrible that it leaked in through my defenses and dragged me down into a dark pit of despair. How was Melissa ever going to fight against Henry? He had endless money, formidable connections, and a devil may care attitude. The man who had once loved her enough to marry her and start a family was now her greatest enemy. A ruthless monster who had no limits on how far he’d go to get what he wanted. If he couldn’t kill her then he would find some other way to punish her. Hell, in his twisted mind it would probably be better to bring her back to California and rip her apart in court like a piece of bait on the end of a hook. Once she was all but destroyed professionally and personally, then he’d give her the final deathblow by walking out of the court, his arm around Jackson’s shoulders, and his hand clenched around a judge signed document that granted him custody.
It would kill her.
A cold shiver of fear shot down my spine, chasing away the warm and balmy air, as though I were sitting in a refrigerated truck instead of outside of a café in a tropical, ocean side paradise.
“Tell me something good,” I pleaded. “If you know he’s coerced this doctor, then can’t you take that to the court and show them just how twisted the son of a bitch is?”
“It’s not that easy, Chase. I’m not supposed to have access to those documents as they haven’t legally been entered into the record. And as for how I know the doctor was coerced, if I even attempted to bring that forward, then Henry would know I have connections and I can imagine that wouldn’t end well for me. Besides that, I can’t risk burning my sources on something that will at worst lead to a fraud charge. That wouldn’t do me, Melissa, Jackson, or you any good.”
“Right.” The navy suddenly seemed like a simple system in comparison.
“But—” my eyes popped open at Matt’s voice. “We do have a sliver of good news. It looks like the FBI hasn’t stopped looking into Henry. My PI has spotted several undercover agents sniffing around even though the death of his mistress has been pinned on the pilot who was flying the plane. I don’t know how to get into any of the details of the case, as my sources don’t have connections there and they won’t talk to a PI. But the fact they’re still hanging around, even though they supposedly have their man, tells me one of two things. One, there are some questions about their main suspects guilt or, two, that they found something else that Henry has been getting into.”
I snorted. “Shocking, considering he’s such a standup guy and all,” I muttered sarcastically.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Matt gave a dark chuckle. “So, for now, we stand by the original plan. You have to keep Melissa and Jackson safe while we see how this plays out. I’m working my channels over here to gather witnesses and documentation that can combat Henry’s claims about Melissa. Do you have a plan for where to go next?”
I thought about the tracker I dropped into the cargo of the produce shipment. If Henry was changing strategies, then it wasn’t likely he’d send his thugs looking for us, and even if he did, it would take them a while to realize that she wasn’t in Los Angeles. The box of fruit the tracker had been dropped into would eventually be unloaded in Los Angeles and the boxes shipped to a local grocery store. Even if they tracked the device to the store, it wasn’t likely they could pinpoint the exact location. They wouldn’t know it was in a box of fruit. At which point, they could assume that Melissa had found the tracker while at the store and ditched the purse or the tracker by itself.
In any case, we’d be days away and they would no longer have any indication of where to start searching for us. All of which meant that we could take a few days in Manzanilla to come up with a more permanent residence and wait out the rest of the legal war that was raging back in Los Angeles.
“I have a plan,” I replied, my tone more confident than before. Since we didn’t know if the line was secure, I wasn’t going to get into the details, but Matt trusted me and I knew he wouldn’t ask questions. If I said I had a plan, that was all he needed to know. “We’ll probably be out of cell phone range for a while though. But I’ll keep checking every other day so if you need to get a hold of me, leave me a message and I’ll call you as soon as I get back to a hotspot.”
“Okay, brother. Thanks again for taking this job. I hope that it isn’t keeping you from anything else.” Matt paused, as though leaving me room to object. But my mind was back on Melissa and Jackson, and thinking that there was nowhere else I’d rather be. “If you have another job or commitments coming up then let me know and I’ll see about getting a replacement. I know a few other guys in the business that I trust.”
“No way. I’m staying put. Melissa and Jackson are my responsibility now, and I’m not going to walk out on them.”
“Good. I think that’ll be the best thing for everybody.”
We said our goodbyes and hung up. My mind was spinning with all of the information he’d dumped on me in regards to the custody case and the more I thought about it the more determined I became.
Melissa wasn’t going back to California until her son of a bitch ex was either locked behind bars—or dead.
Chapter Fourteen
Melissa
“Well? What do you think?”
I turned around at Chase’s question and smiled. “I think it’s perfect.”
The last few days of life on the boat had made all of us a little stir crazy, so when Chase suggested we start looking for a more permanent place to stay, I jumped on the idea wholeheartedly. We went ashore and wandered through the markets and took in the sights, and even had lunch together at a quaint local restaurant. The first restaurant we’d gone to since leaving Cabo. At the end of the day Chase had taken us on a boat ride over a small, but fast-paced, canal to an island that had an even smaller town than Manzanilla.
Jackson loved the boat ride but became even more excited when we landed on the opposite side. He insisted it was a pirate village and wanted to go off in search of buried treasure. Chase reigned him back in and promised that we would find the treasure soon enough.
Which, led us through the village, up a small, stone path and after stepping through some seriously thick foliage, he revealed a small cottage nestled among the lush green landscape.
With the thatched roof and rustic wood siding, it looked more like a treehouse but it was set on the ground with just a few steps leading up to the front door. Despite the rustic exterior, on the inside, the small house was immaculate with smooth, well-worn wooden plank flooring and simple furnishings. The walls were painted with a soft blue that was a soothing contrast to the green jungle surrounding the house. The lush surroundings were visible from the large windows throughout the house. The cottage had two small bedrooms, an eat in kitchen, and one full bath—with a garden tub situated under the shower head—and a back deck that gave a postcard perfect view of the tranquil setting.
“We can really stay here?” I asked Chase, after another sweep around the cozy space.
He smiled warmly. “Would I really bring you here if we couldn’t?”
I smirked at him. “Well you are a bit of a troublemaker,” I teased. I took a small step towards him and ran my hand up his strong bicep. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Chase leaned into me and breathed in the scent of my shampoo. When his lips reached my ear, he grazed the sensitive skin before whispering, “You’re welcome. And for the record, you are by far the troublemaker.”
I laughed softly at his retort and turned my head into his, pressing a soft kiss against his lips.
We jumped apart at the sound of thundering feet coming down the hall and seconds later Jackson burst into the room, his arms flung wide, and a cartoon-big smile on his face.
Chase and I both laughed at his comical expression. “What say ye?” Chase asked, shifting into his pirate’s impersonation. “Ye ready to throw down the anchor and be landlubbers for a while?”
Jackson laughed at Chase’s overwhelming silliness and I rolled my eyes at the two of them. “Does this mean there’s going to be a cease-fire on all pirate talk? Because I’m not gonna lie, that would be a selling point for me right there.”
Chase reached over and poked at my side. “Hey now, are you saying you don’t like all of our pirate fun?”
Jackson folded his arms. “We won’t have the boat anymore?”
“We’ll still have the boat, buddy,” Chase answered. He appeared to be just as surprised by Jackson’s sudden mood change as I was.
Personally, I couldn’t wait to get off the boat and have a proper house again. Especially one with a bathtub.
“You promised we’d go fishing again, remember?” Jackson insisted, his tone indignant.