“What have you got?” Edward asked, tearing his attention from a smug-faced Holden.
“An offshore account. Blithers was smart enough not to put it in his first name, but your Dara there is a smart one.” Nigel set the laptop on the kitchen island, scrolling to show them. “She and Ben tracked this fake name across a few accounts, finally connecting it to a nickname Derrick used in high school.”
“Look at those deposits,” Bella mumbled. “So much money.”
“At perfectly regular intervals, too.” Edward pursed his lips. His gut had told him there would be a money trail, and his gut was rarely wrong.
“Have you found who’s paying him off?” Holden asked.
Nigel pushed away from the counter, pacing the kitchen’s length as he spoke. “Not yet, but I have an inkling it won’t be long. Those two are nearly scary with their abilities, and that Wilhelm fellow is helping them.”
“It’s why we needed Ben to come in on this,” Edward said. “On the non-dangerous part.”
“Once we discover who it is, we’ll have the answers we need.” James stared out the window. “Why my boss set me and you up, and why he wanted Quinn so badly.”
“It changes nothing.” With those words, Edward left the kitchen, bounding up the stairs to the bedroom he and Bella shared.
She came into the room minutes after him and closed the door. “Nothing changes, huh?”
Facing the wall, he scrubbed a hand over the scruff he hadn’t bothered to shave in days. “We still lure him out; still ruin him.”
“The knowing makes a difference.”
Though she was right, he couldn't explain to her what he felt. Fuck, he coulnd’t even explain to himself.
“Edward.”
Pain flashed through him at the tone of her voice. Worried. Stressed.
“Tell me what's going through your head.”
“I hate that you’re stressed about this.” It was the only thing he could give her. Turning, he crossed the empty space to frame her face in his hands. At least it was the truth, he thought.
“We all are.”
He searched her eyes, finding exactly what he sought. “I wish I could let this go so we could just return to normal.”
“But you can’t.” Bringing her hands up to cup his, she said, “Nor do I expect you to.”
Swallowing harshly, he dropped his forehead until it rested against her temple. “We worked so hard to put this behind us.”
“Can’t play fair when the game is a secret and the rules constantly change.”
He loved her so much for understanding him. When words failed him, he used his body to tell her. Threading his fingers through her hair, he tilted her head up and kissed her. She responded as he expected, kissing him back. Knowing she didn't truly understand made him want to slice open his veins to bleed out the words churning in his heart. Bella deserved more than what he could give her now, which she would never agree with, but was nonetheless true.
“You told me to let the devil inside me out to play, and I tried. Even with you, when I knew I shouldn't be so cruel.”
“Edward—”
“But it’s not enough.”
Though she frowned, he took her mouth again, sweeping his tongue alongside hers and begging her to respond in kind. When he needed to be rough, he knew she wouldn’t judge.
Nor would she wither and cower like a delicate blossom. Bella was the thorn on the stalk, snagging his desire and ripping a gaping hole big enough he could bury himself in it. With greedy hands, he snatched her up and tossed her on the bed. Biting, clawing, dragging, he robbed her of oxygen as he continued kissing her. Over and over, while she shuddered beneath him, he assaulted her mouth. Needing her next breath more than his own, he stole that, too. Gasping, Bella reached for him, pushing him to his back and straddling him. Asserting dominance.
On any other day, he would have enjoyed her display of strength.
Now, he flipped her back, shoving her hands above her head and holding them there. A glint shone in her eyes, and she reared up to bite his lower lip. Enjoying the pain, he returned the favor, biting her and sucking her lip into his mouth as she groaned beneath him. Trapped, overpowered, Bella bucked her hips and tried to wrestle him back beneath her.
The game pleased him immensely, knowing she could gut him like a fish if she so chose. He was hard as fuck, and they hadn’t even undressed yet.
“It’s like that, is it?” she rasped, her chest heaving with struggling breaths.
Instead of responding, he bent his head to suck her flesh into his mouth, continuing even as she writhed, knowing he left his mark behind her ear and reveling in the knowledge. The more she bore the scars of their union, the better he could let the feral beast escape. Bella tightened her legs around his waist, squeezing her thighs together. With bruising fingers, he groped her, lifting her closer, ensuring she understood how hard he was for her.
Fighting to release her wrists from his grip, she finally managed, using a harsh touch to grip his jaw. Sometimes, he needed the pain to ground him, to center him, and remind him he was alive. Through all the odds, he was alive. With his face in her hands, she stared directly into his eyes, searching for what he must hide. There was no choice in the matter.
So he bent his head once more, ignoring her attempts to thwart him, and nibbled his way down her throat to her breasts. Pushing her shirt up to her neck, he yanked her tits free of her bra and bit down. He couldn't say why he felt the desperation to claim her, to own her, but it wouldn’t leave him. It crawled over him, undulating like the arteries full of his lifeblood beneath his skin. Her choked curses only spurred him on, reminding him how she’d given him permission to break free of the bonds of proper society. To set free his innermost demons, the baser side of his nature.
Taking fistsful of her tits, he continued his assault on her nipples; licking, sucking, biting. She cried out, and he clamped one hand over her mouth to remind her to shut up. Lowering himself further, he pulled her pants past her ankles, pushing her down when she tried to sit up.
“Damn you,” she spluttered, reaching for him.
Ignoring her, he slid his palms under her ass and brought her glistening pussy to his face. She always said he ate her like a man savoring his last meal, and that was true. Rather than seeing her as the last chance for sustenance, though, he saw her as the salvation of his damned soul. Every inch she gave of herself was a miracle in and of itself. A saint saving a monster. The unblemished innocent and the fallen angel.
Even as he touched his tongue to her clit, she gasped his name and pulled his hair. Past the fun and games now, he used his desire to push her over the edge. Sharing what he felt, but not seeing it as selfless. His need for her was entirely selfish, and he knew it was one of the reasons he was damned.
“Fuck!” she hissed, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it.
Her body convulsed, giving him the satisfaction he craved. Even as she grew wetter, coating his fingers, he didn't let up.
If this was all he could give her, he would gladly spend his last days with his tongue inside his wife.
Curses still fell from her lips as he rose, stripping his clothes free from his overtaxed body and lowering himself back over her. Bella reached for him, clung to him, begged him in undertones to fuck her. Her breath washed over his ear, sending shivers down his spine. But once he was seated fully inside her, everything else fell away.
The stress, the sore muscles, the sleepless nights, they all disappeared. Connected to his soulmate, Edward felt whole for a few brief moments in time. Her body welcomed him home, sucking him in and inviting him to move harder. Her legs trapped him again, wrapped around his waist to drive him faster.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she whimpered, obviously trying to keep her voice down.
And when she shattered around him, she bit his shoulder to drown out her cries. Milking him, squeezing his cock until he couldn't withhold his own orgasm, she cradled the back of his head in her hands and held on.
Mere seconds later, she picked his head up to look dead into his eyes. “You’ll have to tell me sooner or later.”
Studying her without answering, he saw what his secrets did to her. Edward wanted to weep, to bury his face in her breast and confess his transgressions. But she was no Mother Superior, and he was not yet ready to spill his sins.
Falling to her side, he pulled her close and stroked her arm. Her breath shuddered in her lungs, and he knew she was about to cry. Helpless, he held her tighter and whispered his apology in her ear.
“Sorry enough to apologize, but not sorry enough to talk to me.”
Focusing on the ceiling, Edward willed the tears at bay. “I haven’t even worked it out in my head yet.”
It wasn't something he could casually accept. That had taken weeks, too much whiskey, and had consumed his every spare thought.
And still, it sat just out of his reach.
“When you figure it out, you let me know.”
Yes, Bella’s voice was bitter, and he couldn't blame her. Years had passed since he’d kept anything from her, and she must be hurt by his omission.
There was a knock on the door, and Edward lifted his head. “Yeah?”
“Sorry to interrupt, boss, but I found something else.” It was Ben’s voice, so Bella got up and snatched her clothes from the floor, moving into the bathroom.
Edward pulled on his pants and opened the door. Ben was smart enough not to comment on Edward’s attire. For the second time in one day, he asked, “What have you got?”
“Found a name through that account, someone Blithers wired money to regularly.”
Running his tongue around his teeth, Edward waited for the bombshell.
“He has a mistress.”
From behind him, Bella snorted. “Shocking.”
“It gets better.” Pausing, Ben pursed his lips. “You, uh, wanna meet me downstairs and I’ll tell everyone at once?”
Edward nodded, closing the door and retrieving his shirt. Once they looked presentable again, Bella and Edward headed down the stairs. He kept his hand on her lower back as they went, and she didn’t shy away from him. They found the others gathered in the dining room, at least those working in the house. Most of the mercs were out on the street, tracking Blithers and his wife.
Dara was typing on her laptop but glanced up when they arrived. “Oh, good. Just in time.”
Turning the computer, Dara showed the room her discovery.
“No shit?” Jasper breathed.
“Slimy bastard,” Emmett growled.
Quinn asked, “Is that—”
“The vice president’s daughter,” Holden interrupted.
The pictures on Dara’s laptop screen were mostly selfies. “I saw the name on his secret account and did some digging. Once I had her phone number, I hacked into her personal phone and found the motherlode.”
“They’ve been diddling for some time now.” Ben cleared his throat. “And she likes to text him with requests for more money, which he provides from his hidden offshore account.”
“Someone is paying him to keep quiet.” Walking over behind Dara, Bella said, “And he’s paying this girl to keep their relationship a secret.”
“We need to call that reporter.” Jake looked around the room, his gaze falling on Bella before moving to Leah. “And you two need to get closer to Natasha.”
“Agreed,” Edward said.
“Here, I’ll call his office number.” Nigel dialed the secure phone, putting it on speaker and setting it on the table.
“This is Dylan.”
It was a female voice. With a confused expression, Edward asked, “Dylan Anderson with the Washington Daily?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
Okay. Rolling with it, Edward responded, “Someone with a mutual dislike of Derrick Blithers. Can we meet?”
“Depends on what you think you’ve got that I don’t.” They all heard the amusement in her tone and the sound of ringing phones and typing in the background.
“Unless you’re a hacking genius, I have more than you. But I’d like to remedy that.”
“Listen, tips go through the tip line. I’ve got better—”
“He’s a cheating dick with an offshore bank account.”
“Never mind. Where?”
With a wolfish grin, Edward answered, “I’ll text you the address.”
“But you don't have my cell number.”
Rather than respond to that, Edward hung up. Ben handed him the scrap of paper with her personal number scribbled on it.
“She’s gonna shit bricks,” Nigel said with a laugh.
“Good. At least she’ll believe we can follow through.”
“I say leak the photos first.” James fisted his hands at his sides. “He always preached about protecting the family unit.”
Quinn said, “I remember that. He counseled us to put aside thoughts of our spouses when we were out on a mission so we wouldn’t fuck up, but told us our family came first when we weren’t undercover.”
“It was the best way to balance it, according to him.” Holden scoffed. “Fucking weasel.”
Nodding, Edward said, “We all know he’s a bastard. Now let’s get out there and prove it.”
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| Ben |
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| Dara |
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