“I’ll try arguing that we need more time to put all the information together.” The lawyer, Mr. Townsend, had said. But the SEC wasn’t budging.
Speaking of the SEC, I still hadn’t figured out who was being persuaded to cause mischief. I know, a government agency should be above the law and not be willing to take bribes, but something about how they wanted to see Marcus go to jail over this, and so quickly, just didn’t sit right.
I’d scheduled a conference call with Sophia, Ethan, and Rick, in Marcus’s bedroom, where no one could hear us discuss the case. Calling in at the specified time, I waited as each member of the team announced their arrival. I explained how I’d tried to find the name of the person trying to push this case but kept getting met with red tape. Attempts to tap into the SEC’s servers were of no use either. Sure I could get in through the firewall, but somehow I’d trigger their alarms and be kicked out of the system within no time at all. I needed to hear everyone’s thoughts on how I should proceed.
Rick commented, “Definitely sounds fishy to me. Past cases took years to get the accused up on the stand. No one seems to understand the urgency in this case and what makes it so different from others.”
Sophia piped up, saying, “Could be the accusation of terrorist ties is causing them to act so swiftly. Goodness knows there has been an increase in attacks oversees and on our own soil too. But for the life of me, I can’t find any shred of evidence that suggests Marcus is involved with anything. So far it is all hearsay.”
Her words made me wonder. “If you needed to cover your own tracks and throw suspicion another way, giving you time to destroy evidence and make a clean getaway, what would you do?”
“You’ve got the right idea, rookie.” I hated when Rick called me that, but I knew I’d be stuck with it for at least another year, maybe more. “Anyone have any idea on how we can figure this out?”
I hated having think-tank sessions, but I’d already hit a wall too many times and was getting frustrated. I needed a fresh set of eyes, especially ones that knew how to manipulate information better than me.
“If memory serves me,” Sophia said, “I think we had a similar situation but with a government agent. A dirty agent was framing him for a crime he didn’t commit.” Her voice went silent, but you could hear her fingers typing frantically across the keys of the laptop.
“Yes.” She’d finally yelled out. “I still have a contact in counterterrorism, along with a friend who’s very high up and owes me a favor. I’ll do what I can to uncover the truth in regards to the SEC and those crazy terror accusations, Makenna. Just hang in there and keep doing what you’re doing. The information you’ve sent Ethan and me has been a gold mine.”
“I agree. The encrypted file you deciphered with the compilation of numbers was the list of clients who lost money. We looked into all the transactions that were supposed to have occurred with W.H.A.T. Financial Group and discovered their funds were never placed into investments, just redirected to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands.” Ethan explained. “From there, the money was split into two portions, one went into an account under the name D. Andrews, while the other went into a different account for a Roman Montenello. From there they were sent to other banks around the world.”
He paused before adding, “Which brings me to the rest of the numbers listed in the encryption. They are routing numbers to different banks throughout the world, along with corresponding account numbers and several faux names for the accounts. Why someone would be so stupid to leave them laying around on the computer like that is beyond me?”
Rick was quick to ask, “Can the money be recovered?”
“I’m already working on it, but it will take time.” Ethan’s voice was full of determination. Just like the rest of us, he wouldn’t be happy until we’d managed to have justice served.
“As of now, I want you to back off of investigating the Montenello Group. It’s too dangerous and you’ve both already been through enough. Let the rest of Titan deal with that one.” Rick warned.
“Okay. I’ll stick to checking out the other variables in this plot as it continues to thicken. Thanks, everyone, for your assistance on this. I’m out.” I hung up right as a knock sounded on the bedroom door.
I put my phone on the nightstand, pushed my computer under the bed, and walked to the door to open it, pretending I’d just woken up by stretching my arms over my head and forcing myself to yawn. Of course it was Marcus, so I dropped the act immediately.
“Are you almost done?” His tone wasn’t too happy. I’d had several conference calls with either the full computer team or just Rick for the past few weeks. Marcus hadn’t come to terms with me calling when he was either in the shower or downstairs making food. I’d reassured him there was nothing to be jealous about, but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.
I didn’t want him to know everything that was going on. If he did, he might decide to destroy my computer. Titan initially thought this would be a cut-and-dry case, but it was a lot like an onion, made up entirely of layers. The more you peeled away, the more that was revealed to you.
“Just finished.” I finally admitted, placing my hand on the side of his face, trying to soothe the flare of anger that seemed more present than not lately.
“I don’t like this, Kenna. I don’t want to be kept in the dark on things.”
“I know, but like I’m trusting you not to destroy my heart, you’re just going to have to put your faith in me to do what’s right to keep you and everyone around us safe.”
Marcus had already voiced his reservations about me searching for information. He kept having nightmares about me getting shot, causing us to have restless nights.
I could tell he was still thinking about everything that could go wrong, so I offered, “Is there anything I can do to help take your mind off of things?”
The words had no sooner left my mouth than he was inside the door, engaging the locks and backing me towards the bed, stripping both of our clothes as he went.
His mouth came down hard on mine, kissing me as if we didn’t have a tomorrow. I knew his fears were valid. If I were being honest, I was scared too.
My mind seemed to get lost in the moment, and the next thing I knew, I was on my knees on the floor, and his hands fisted my hair as his lips left mine, leaving my face only inches from his manhood. I needed no instruction for what he required from me. He was seeking a release that only I could provide.
“May I give you pleasure, Master?” The words had barely left my lips when his cock moved, seeking me out before I could even lower my lips to show it a lover’s caress.
His voice was barely restrained. “Please. I need your touch to soothe my soul.”
His hand, still grabbing tight to my hair, guided me down to him. I swept my tongue out to lick the drop of cum that had formed on the end, savoring the taste of his salty flavor in my mouth.
My lips parted, taking the tip of him into my mouth while I licked the underside of his manhood, feeling every ridge and vein. My hands came up—one held on to the base of his cock as my mouth did the work, while the other caressed the underside of his balls.
His body stiffened when my hands reached their destination. “No hands, just your mouth, love.” His breathing was ragged as he began to guide me into a rhythm on his cock. “I’m already too sensitive to your touch. Let me have these few moments, and I’ll richly reward you.”
The idea of him giving me pleasure caused me to hum around his manhood. I let my mouth go lax and hollowed out my cheeks, remembering how this always got him to come so hard in the past.
A few more thrusts into my mouth and I could taste more of his pre-cum on my tongue. I increased my suction to try and encourage him to let loose, but he pulled out so fast I didn’t know what happened.
One minute I was on the floor trying to blow Marcus’s mind, and the next I was thrown up onto the bed with him behind me, lifting my ass as he thrust into my center in one fell swoop, causing both of us
to moan in pleasure.
The sex lately had been getting wilder and more intense. We still slowed things down on occasion, wanting to savor the moment, but they were few and far between, so we’d gotten aggressive with our quick little trysts.
His movements were fast and hard, which started building me up quickly. Every thrust in rubbed hard against my g-spot, lighting up all my nerves. I felt my body begin to shake with the onset of an orgasm, and my hands fisted the sheets, needing something to hold on to as I pushed back against his cock, needing to feel it overwhelm every inch of me.
His hands were rough on my hips as he plowed into me, but it was enough to send me spiraling into the abyss. The spasms shook me to the core.
Marcus’s arms circled around me, his front covering my back, as he kissed the side of my face. “I’m just getting started, my little sub.”
My mind wanted to ask what he meant by that, but I couldn’t get the words out. I was still in the throes of passion as I felt him leave my center and press against my backside. “I want you marked all over as mine. You are mine. Say it out loud.”
His cock pressed deep into my most sacred opening as I uttered the words he longed to hear. “I’m yours. I belong only to you.”
Marcus pumped into me a couple times before his arms wrapped around my chest and pulled me up against his body. One of his hands found my clit and rubbed the hard nubbin at a frantic pace as his other hand grabbed hold of one of my breasts and tweaked the nipple, before moving over to show the other equal attention.
My senses were overwhelmed as his thrusts increased in speed and intensity. “Come for me, my Kenna. Come for your Master.”
He’d trained me well. His words were my undoing, as I felt my body clamp down on him and spiral out of control. His hands kept twisting my already sore nipples and wringing every last ounce of the orgasm from my oversensitive clit. Marcus bit the top of my shoulder to stifle his cry as he came with a roar inside me.
We fell onto the bed and lay on our sides, still connected, not wanting this moment to end. “You’re my everything,” he whispered in my ear, making my body melt into him even further.
I didn’t want to move but knew we had to. If we didn’t, Spencer would probably look for us soon. He always seemed to be the one to panic if we got too quiet for a long period of time, which made me start to question him as person.
“Do you have to push yourself so hard today?” Marcus whispered as he planted soft kisses across the top of my back and shoulders.
I wanted to put his mind at ease. “I’ve passed a good chunk on to Sophia and Ethan to figure out. I do have work to do, but I can spend some time maybe watching a movie or helping you cook in the kitchen today. Maybe even call it an early night.”
His voice sounded more jovial at the thought. “Really?” He questioned, as in disbelief, and managed to pump into me one more time with his slowly softening cock.
I pushed down to meet his thrust. “Yes.”
Marcus pulled out of me and had us in the bathroom with the shower running quicker than I could blink. “Then let’s get cleaned up, go downstairs, and do what we have to do so we can get a good, long sleep tonight.” Of course he pulled my hand over to cup his manhood to drive his point home.
Like I needed him to tell me what his thoughts were. Lately we’d been able to get back to a point in our lives where we were almost able to complete each other’s sentences. It was driving the guards crazy. They’d ask one of us something and the other would answer. But hey, hopefully this would be over soon and we wouldn’t have to deal with them ever again.
If only.
The time frame for us to uncover the truth was almost up. We were down to the wire with the trial starting in less than a week. Thankfully, I had as much ammunition as I could gather. Whether it would be enough remained to be seen, but the lawyer seemed to think we had a good shot at getting things dismissed.
Sophia and Ethan came through on their end, in spades. Now I just needed to speak to Rick. I hoped he’d go for what I had planned.
I told Marcus I was still too tired to get out of bed right away for a shower, so he offered to go downstairs and fix breakfast first, hoping I’d be willing to wash up with him later. I knew what he was after, and it didn’t have anything to do with getting clean. But I’d give him the benefit of the doubt as long as it got him out of the bedroom.
As soon as Marcus left, I dialed Rick’s number. “Rick, it’s Makenna. I’ve been thinking about some of the unknown factors we have going in the case and wanted to see what you thought about . . .” My words were rushed, but I detailed every possible contingency for the day of the trial.
“You truly are a marvel. I’d wondered if I was the only one who was thinking about the possibility of things going wrong. But that plan really is a masterpiece. I’ll get it set up,” Rick responded before hanging up.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The moment I put my phone on the charger, Marcus burst in to let me know breakfast was ready.
I reached out to Marcus, pulling him over to the side of the bed.
“What’s wrong?” His face was filled with worry.
Shaking my head, I tried to explain. “There’s nothing wrong, but I need to go over what will be expected the day of the trial.”
His face immediately went from being concerned to a state of depression. I placed one of my hands on top of his. “We’ll get through this. I think I have enough information to counter the charges against you, but we’ll have to see what the judge says and whether the SEC will accept it.”
I leaned over and kissed the side of his cheek, causing him to turn and look at me with questioning eyes. “I don’t like that I’ll have to do this, but the day of the trial, we will have to handcuff you. I’ll make sure they put the cuffs in front, because I know you won’t run. I’ll sit in the back with you to guard you while Kyle and Spencer drive us to the federal courthouse.”
The look in Marcus’s eyes just about shattered my heart. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him everything would be just fine. But I couldn’t. I hadn’t been able to share much of the information we’d uncovered, because it was currently deemed confidential, and we didn’t need someone leaking it to the press or to some rogue agent. Everything had to be played close to the chest. I just hoped he’d forgive me for keeping things from him. The only other time I’d not talked with him was the day I’d left Orlando.
My mind wanted to scream out “trust me,” but instead, I reached out for him, pulling him to me in a hug as I rubbed a hand up and down his back. “Just know we’ll get through this.”
His head nodded, but I heard no words.
We sat like that for a few moments before we finally got out of bed and headed down to breakfast. I’d do everything in my power to keep him upbeat over the next couple of days. Thankfully, we still had several toys left to play with in his box of sin.
My mind wondered how my life had come to this moment, sitting in the back of a federal SUV with blacked-out windows with the cold metal of handcuffs reminding me how everyone thought I was a criminal. I understood why I had to wear them, but their presence reminded me how my future was on shaky ground. The thought of losing Makenna had my insides all twisted up in knots, putting me on the verge of losing my breakfast.
The only calm I managed was being able to get inside the SUV in the underground garage to my building so I could avoid any paparazzi and having Makenna sitting beside me. She had her hand on my thigh, giving me a squeeze of reassurance, which calmed me as we drove to see what my fate was. I just prayed she and my attorney had found enough evidence to clear my name or at least bring into question the charges against me. My life was literally in their hands.
Looking out one of the SUV’s tinted windows, I noticed the vehicle slowed down to a crawl as we passed my former workplace, surprising me by the flurry of activity outside the building. “Why are we passing by my old workplace?” It was at that moment I realized several dark SUVs with f
lashing lights, similar to the one we were riding in, had surrounded the place. An FBI and an SEC escort led Dominic Andrews out the front doors. His arms were handcuffed behind his back, and he sported a bruised eye.
My eyes looked to Makenna in question. “What’s going on?”
The worry lines she’d been sporting the last couple of months dissolved into a peaceful smile that crept across her face. “You’re innocent!” she shouted with excitement as she threw her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “We just need to have the judge officially dismiss the case in light of the new evidence and”—she pointed toward the commotion—“the arrest of the mastermind behind everything.”
I was flabbergasted at her revelation. “Mr. Andrews was behind it all? How? When? Why?” The questions flew out of my mouth quicker than I could wrap my head around things.
Makenna held her hand up to me, indicating I needed to calm down. She and I both took a deep, cleansing breath to settle ourselves, something we’d done in the past when we both got a bit too excited over something.
When she saw that I’d calmed, she began to explain everything in detail. “There were multiple players in this game. For the longest time I would’ve wagered money on Cassia or Damien being the root of this whole evil monstrosity. Even Mr. Hamilton, Cassia’s dad, looked somewhat guilty. But he’d actually been trying to help you. The money trail we’d found from him was an attempt to stall the trial. However, Dominic had somehow managed to pull together a larger bribe to up the case and bring it to trial faster. He seemed to have made friends with a guy on the inside with the SEC, over the last couple months, to help expedite things against you. The guy is now in custody and was picked up two days ago.”
I started to open my mouth to question things, because my mind was already spinning. Makenna held a finger to my lips to stop me and continued. “Let’s simplify things for now. Long story short, Dominic had a passion for underground high-stakes poker games. He was indebted to the head of a crime syndicate, or so he thought. They needed someone to invest some money for them based on tips they received from an informant.”
Makenna's Trust: Titan Security Series #3 Page 21