Numbers Never Lie (Crimson Romance) (24 page)

He grinned. “I didn’t know you were watching. If I did … well, that would have been good to know.”

“You’re also a pretty hard guy to stay away from. It seems the only thing I’m intent on is … ” She put her hand on his chest and walked her fingers through the small hairs.

He cut her off before she could finish. He’d held back for days and now she was up against him like this. He wasn’t a saint. He didn’t want to be. His mouth pressed against hers as his fingers dug into the softness of her back. A soft, hungry moan escaped her throat and that was all he could stand. The restraint was gone. The way her hands were tearing over him, he didn’t think she wanted restraint now, anyway. Her hands moved up and down the muscles in his chest as if oiled. The water made her hands slippery, and she slickened them along his hips, then waist, and then tightly squeezed the flesh on his ass. He laughed softly as his body responded to her touch and he buried his face in the bend of her neck then kissed his way up to her mouth again.

“God, I love the way you feel,” she murmured against his mouth as his teeth trailed back down along her neck. He loved hearing that. His entire body buzzed with desire. He turned her toward the steps of the pool, not taking his arms away but gliding them along and around her waist as she rotated.

“Soph, stop talking, please.” He lifted her toward the steps. “As much as I’m enjoying this. Let’s go inside.”

“Why? Are you embarrassed?”

“No, hell no, but my sex life is no one else’s business. That’s between you and me … only.” He held her against his chest and leaned down to brush his lips across her shoulder. “They pretty much own me, everything about me, except my family and my love life. I don’t intend to share that. I have to have something for myself — to myself — don’t I?”

Trevan lifted his hands and moved them down her shoulders, then grazed along the sides of her hips as he continued to nudge her toward the house. Sophie sucked in air and held her breath as his hands, slick with water, skimmed along the bottom of her breasts before reaching her hips. Every muscle in his body tightened against her back as he propelled her forward.
Does she have any idea how the water shimmers as it drizzles down her body in the moonlight? It’s unbelievable.

“I’m good with that.” She reached for the towel she’d left on the chair and wrapped it around her before she sped into the house in front of him. “Race you inside.” She threw Trev’s towel at him on the way and he lunged after her, picking up his firearm and clothes, a quick chuckle escaping as he watched her move.

“You win,” he conceded as he closed the door. He didn’t care about racing. They were going to do this real slow this time. Slow so she’d remember every second. So she couldn’t get it out of her mind. So she thought about it every minute like he did.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“We have an arrest warrant for your guy now. We’re going over there this afternoon around four to pick him up.” Trevan said as he entered the kitchen in a white undershirt and navy slacks.

“That’s great news. What about the others? Do you know who he’s working with yet?”

“Yeah, actually it was kind of interesting how they found it. They had registered the foundation under the board member’s husband’s name. She goes by her maiden name, not her married name. So our guys didn’t see the connection at first. We subpoenaed the bank records for the Brotherhood of Hope. There were EFT payments to another corporation but no individuals. We had to get another subpoena for that corporation. While our guys waited for that to come through, they saw one small check to the husband for an expense report related to a trip to the Dominican Republic. Once they started digging under his name, hers popped up and we had the connection. The rest was easy after that. The other corporation that the trust sends the EFT to, it splits the money to four people. Your friend there … ”

“He’s not my friend, just an employee.”

“Okay, and the CEO, the board member … you probably remember her. We saw them at lunch when I first met you. The last person is an auditor that’s been covering up what they do. Apparently he was focusing his audits such that it not only covered what they did, but also targeted anyone that got in their way.”

“Will you get them this afternoon, too?”

“We’re sending guys over to pick them up right now. It should all happen about the same time if they’re where we expect them to be. They should be at work.” He stepped close to her and put his hand on her arm, rubbing her gently with his thumb. “It’ll all be over by tomorrow morning at the latest if all goes well.”

“What a nightmare. I’ll be so glad when I can go home and not worry about who’s on the other side of the door.”

“You want to listen in on the arrest? I can’t take you along but if you want to, you can wait at the office and listen in. You won’t be able to listen to all of it as there are legal ramifications to that, but you might find it interesting.”

“Nah, that’s okay.”

“Come on, Soph, I’d feel better if you did. You can hang out with Nate till we get back.” He wasn’t really comfortable leaving her anywhere else until everyone was in custody. “Besides, you’ll get to hear the whole thing.”

“You won’t let me out of this, will you?” He heard the smile in her voice and knew she understood him … even though he was pushing her, it was only to keep her safe.

“Not really, babe.” He kissed her forehead. That word, it just slipped naturally off his lips as if he’d said it a thousand times. Babe.

“Okay, then I guess I’ll listen in.”

“Great, get your shoes on … we need to get going.” He turned his back to her as he eased his arm into the safety vest he had to put on for the arrest.

“Whoa!” She looked a little startled. “Why do you have to wear that? Is this going to be dangerous?”

“Probably not, but we never take chances. Sometimes people do crazy things when faced with something like this.” He shrugged his shirt over the vest and started fastening the buttons. “Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine … and you’ll be there to hear most of it. Now, get your shoes on, okay?” Trevor tucked his shirt into his pants. He’d never been this nervous going into an arrest before and the anticipation was making him jittery. If he were honest, he would admit it wasn’t the arrest he was worried about.

• • •

At three-fifty, Trevan spoke into his microphone as he approached the sidewalk to Bennet Lassier’s front door with his team. “Nate, is Sophie listening?” Nate had agreed to let him use the equipment for this, but only for a few minutes before they got started.

“Yeah man, she’s here.”

Trevan held his hand up for the team to wait. “Give me a minute,” he mouthed to them as he stepped a few feet away from the walk. Thankfully, only Sophie and Nate would hear the next few minutes of conversation. He dreaded what Nate would say if it didn’t go well.

“Henry, I have to tell you this before I go in there because everything’s going to change afterward.” He hesitated, took a deep breath, and kept talking, “There’s a file on the table there near the speaker with your name on it. Do you see it?”

“She sees it, Trev,” Nate responded.

“That’s everything I know about you, everything I
knew
before you saved me from the lightning storm that night.” He swallowed. “Although, technically you really didn’t save me because I was never in danger … but that’s a different story. About you, here’s what I know now … ” He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. “Henry, I’m so fucking in love with you. I wish I wasn’t. It really pisses me off, but … well, that’s it. I want you to open the second folder. Inside it is what I want you to know about me. Us. Look at us. No one can look at those pictures and tell me we don’t fit.”

“Trev.”

“What Nate?” Trev sighed, he should have had him put a microphone on Sophie.

“Don’t drop the f-bomb man, you’re ruining it, and stop calling her Henry. You sound gay.” Trevan imagined Nate was trying to charm Sophie with his wit. It was irritating. By now, Sophie had opened the second folder. Inside the folder was a stack of pictures. Pictures of the two of them walking down the street, eating lunch, standing outside her office talking. Pictures that someone else had taken while watching them. They looked like any couple. He was smiling at her, watching her. The look on his face was happy and adoring. He knew once she opened the folder, she’d know what he meant. There wasn’t any detail, no write ups on either of them. But it was clear to see.

“Shut up, man. Stay out of this.”

“Can’t. I’m stuck with you if this doesn’t work out, and you pretty much suck at relationships. Oops, guess I shouldn’t tell her that.”

“Yeah, well you’re no prize yourself, asshole. Shut the fuck up and let me talk. Is she still listening?”

“Yes.”

“Soph, I’m going in now. But after this, you’re free to go home. To your apartment. I’m coming by to check on you as soon as we’re finished. Whatever happens from now on is completely up to you.”

Trevan Prater smiled as he strode up the walkway to the door, flanked by his teammates. When the door opened, they heard his voice say, “Bennet Lassier, my name is Special Agent Trevan Prater. I’m with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and I have a warrant for your arrest.”

As he spoke, a look of acceptance passed over Lenny’s face. Trev got the distinct impression that Lenny had expected this and was almost relieved. That was an unexpected reaction and Trevan and his team hesitated at the door. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Trevan prodded.

“Yes.” Lenny said softly. Sounds came from behind him inside the house. A television rambling or something.

“Do you understand what this is about?” His lack of resistance was spooky. A sad expression came over the man.

“Yes. I understand you’re here because of the money.” Lenny stepped back from the door and motioned the group into his home, maintaining his composure.

“That’s right.”

“Everything you need to know can be found in my lockbox at the bank.” Lenny’s voice was calm, sadly calm as they cuffed him, read him his rights, and transported him away. The fact that he gave up so easily stunned everyone. They expected him to run, or at least fight. In the end, he appeared as if he was tired. Worn out by all the efforts. Resigned to accept his participation.

• • •

Nate muted his microphone and turned the sound down on the speakers. He grinned at Sophie. Then he walked over to where she stood and hugged her. “Welcome to the team, Miss Henderson. That’s my best friend there … and he’s probably the best guy I know. I guess I’d better mention that if you break his heart, I’ll have to hunt you down and maybe even hurt you.” He said it in a teasing way but she felt the seriousness in his voice.

“He’s definitely that. The best guy I know, too,” Sophie answered as he released her. “So, he already knew everything about me before I even met him, huh?”

“Not really. He just knew what was on paper. You could have been a total bitch for all we knew.”

She started flipping through the file on the top of the stack, looking through notes and pictures they’d taken of her. Nothing really startling in it, but she was a little uncomfortable that her life was there for people to read. She glanced through the pages, then stopped and stared at a picture. A picture of her stalker.

“So, the stalker guy was one of yours, too?” she asked.

“What?” Nate seemed confused.

“Nothing. Just kidding. No wonder he was so intense.” She shrugged it off. “I have to get going. I want to make an appropriate celebration dinner. Just curious, what’s Trevan’s favorite food?”

“If it’s edible, he likes it … I don’t think he has any preferences.”

“That was helpful.” She shrugged and rushed toward the door. “By the way — ” she rotated her body halfway toward him and shot him one of those toothy smiles that seemed to floor Trevan “ — you’re kind of a jerk.”

“So, I’m told.” He paused, as if debating something. Then he said, “He nearly married once, you know. He probably wouldn’t tell you that because it was such a mess and he, well, it should have never happened. He wouldn’t want to admit he’d made a mistake. Especially one that stupid.”

“So, you think marriage is stupid?”

“That’s not what I meant. She was the wrong girl and it was the wrong time.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Her face drained of color.

“No. He met her while he was on vacation and jumped in deep, right off the bat. I think he did it because he wanted what his parents have. And likely because he’d just come back from a pretty tough job and was exhausted and maybe a little lonely. His parents are the exception. They still have the real thing and you can see it when you’re around them. I think he wanted that so bad that he just leapt at the first girl that seemed likely. He didn’t even take the time to see what she was really made of.” He stopped for a second and listened to the voices on the other side. “She was way immature and couldn’t handle him traveling so much. Our jobs aren’t really conducive to relationships, because we’re gone a lot and sometimes it can be for weeks or more at a time.”

“I’ve figured that out. It doesn’t matter. I’m pretty used to being alone. I’ve lived that way for the last few years.”

“Maybe so, but you need to know that for him to say what he just said after all that’s happened, it’s a pretty big step. If you don’t care about him and don’t think you can handle it, now’s the time to get out. Before you screw him up really good.”

“Are you telling me to stay away?”

“
No!
Hell no. I wouldn’t do that to Trev. That’s not what I mean at all. Just, you need to know. He’s not always an open book and probably never will be.”

“Okay. You made your point. Now I need to get some groceries if we’re going to celebrate.” She flipped her hair away from her face with one hand and headed for the door. “You’re still a jerk, you know, but I can see why you’re his friend. See you around, Nathan.”

“Will I?”

“You can bet on it.”

“Good.”

• • •

Trevan dialed Nate’s cell phone.

“Hey, Trev, how’d everything go?” Nate said upon answering.