Page 17

Chapter seventeen

Declan

A fter lunch, I take Noel back to my office. I’m not taking any chances after her run in with her mother today. She can work from my office or not at all, but she won’t be somewhere these fucks can get to her.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I dial Zander.

“Chance should be pulling into the parking lot in a few minutes. He’ll keep an eye on her. Which warehouse do you want me to set up for this?” He gets down to it as soon as he answers.

“I’m not trying to shake them down, Zander. We’re going to take them out right where we fucking find them,” I snarl.

“Where do you want to start?”

“Grant Holdings,” I snap and hang up.

An hour later, Zander and I are walking into the lobby of Grant Holdings. The receptionist looks between us with a seductive smile.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen, it would be my pleasure to help you,” she draws out.

Zander props his arms on the counter and gives her a fuckboy grin. “Mm, I think you’re just right.”

She blushes and bites her bottom lip. Zander eats this shit up, and girls fall all over themselves every time. He looks like a surfer from California, but his ice blue eyes and tattoos give him a dangerous edge .

“What can I do for you?” She asks, leaning toward him.

He reaches out to wipe his thumb just below her eye and blows on it. She visibly shivers as he explains, “Eyelash.”

Clearing his throat, he says, “Mr. Grant Williams is expecting us.”

She stands. “Let me show you to the elevator.” Then, she turns to lead us to the elevator making sure we have a full view of her ass.

After she punches in the access code, she blocks the opening door. Zander steps into her and chucks her chin. “Thanks, babe,” he says, side-stepping her.

When the elevator closes, I shake my head at him.

“I do it all for the cause,” he says, holding his arms out wide.

I chuckle. Then, we ride the elevator the rest of the way in silence. When the door slides open, we walk out to a floor filled with offices and board rooms. We set a fast pace toward the corner office. Zander’s tattoos earn us a few glances, but no one stops us.

As soon as we’re both inside of Grant’s office, Zander closes and locks the door. He closes the blinds while I close the distance to Grant, ripping the phone out of his hand before he can alert security.

His eyes widen, and he holds up his hands.

“I’m sure we can figure this out if you boys want to tell me what this is about,” he offers.

I pull out the drive and hold it up in the air.

“How did you get that?! What have you done with Noel?!” He bellows and stands.

I scoff. “You’re going to transfer that Cordeliers account out of her name and into Isaiah’s where it belongs. Right now.”

“That can’t be done without her consent,” he says, raising his chin .

“Scribble. Her fucking name. On the dotted line!” I shout and step around his desk to close the distance between us.

I pull out my knife and flip it open. Might as well start crossing fuckers off the list right here and now.

“Whoa! Calm down. I’m going to need to understand your relationship to my daughter-in-law and if she knows you are here,” he says, stalling.

“Not your concern. All you need to know is that you will die right here in this room if you don’t take her name off of every fucking account that has any attachments to Cordeliers, Isaiah Canton, and Veronica Panetti.” I slam him into his chair and rip his shirt open with my knife.

“What is on that drive?!” He screams at me.

I scoff at that. “Zander, he doesn’t know. You believe that?”

“Nope. Sure don’t,” he says from behind me.

“Noel showed me that drive on Sunday when she asked me to let her into the boxes I kept from Nate’s office.” He looks from me to Zander. When we don’t speak, he continues, “I know about her meeting with Jaclyn.”

“Is Veronica having Nate’s baby?” I ask.

“That’s irrelevant,” he says.

“Take her name off the fucking account!”

“Fine! I’ll move the account, but you need to tell me what’s on that drive,” He demands again.

“Move it, and plead your case. I’ll decide after it’s done,” I counter.

He sets to work on his computer and prints out a lot of paperwork. While he works, he tries to convince me that he is on her side and needs to know what his son left on the drive.

“Dirty fucking secrets,” I answer.

“He promised she would be fine,” he mumbles .

Zander jumps toward the desk at the same time I spin his chair around, pressing the blade into his throat. “The fuck did you just say?” My voice barely above a whisper.

All color drains from his face. I knew I smelled some bullshit.

“Her father! He has some deal with Jeff Canton. He came here yesterday asking about her accounts and if she had gotten that drive. All he would tell me was that she wasn’t in any danger.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I step back. He turns his chair around and continues working on the account transfer. I look at Zander, and he nods, agreeing that he’s hiding something. We need more information before we can kill him. When Grant finishes the paperwork, he hands over copies for both Noel and Isaiah.

“You don’t say a fucking word to another soul about any of this, or I will cut you into a thousand fucking pieces. The only thing keeping you alive right now is the fact that I may need you again soon, so you make sure downstairs knows to let me in,” I tell him, pointing my knife in his face.

He nods his understanding, but I just can’t help myself. I stare down at his chest. Zander walks around and pulls Grant’s arms behind the chair, pinning him down. I carve the X over his heart.

“X marks the spot. Don’t forget,” I tell him, wiping the bloody knife across his face.

The fact that he knows well enough to hold in his screams confirms he’s not as innocent as he pretends to be. He’s in on this, and I will be back to make good on my promise.

Zander keeps fidgeting with the receptionist’s phone number in his hand. I cock an eyebrow at him before we get out of the truck.

“Jade’s on borrowed time, and the secretary was fucking hot. I’m just saving it for a rainy day,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.

I chuckle and shake my head. Zander likes short term monogamy. He falls fast and loses interest faster.

Walking into Velocity, I find Jessica sitting in the lobby. I’ve been so busy today that I forgot I scheduled a meeting with her. Looking at her, I nod in the direction of my office and keep walking. I can hear her heels clicking behind me.

Opening the door, I notice it still smells like sex, and I smile at the beautiful brunette sitting in my chair. Her peaceful smile turns into a confused scowl when she looks past me to Jessica and Zander. Noel stands while I sit down in the chair. My fingers slide up her slides before I grip her hips to pull her into my lap.

“Please, have a seat,” I offer to Jessica and Zander, resting my chin on Noel’s shoulder.

Zander sits, spreading his legs and getting comfortable. Jessica looks between the three of us, obviously pissed at the turn of events.

“Alright, Jessica. What did you find?” I ask.

She clears her throat and shows us the properties she found in Tennessee and Georgia. Zander and I ask questions about laws in both states, and we eventually narrow down our choices to one in each state. Noel remains quiet throughout the exchange .

“Tennessee or Georgia, Noel?” I ask.

“What is this for?” She asks, eyes searching mine.

“Velocity’s expansion. Which one?”

“Georgia makes the most sense, Dec. It’s closer to your current location, so you won’t have to market yourself as hard,” Jessica interrupts.

Noel’s eyes narrow as soon as Jessica abbreviates my name. Anger flashes in her eyes. Well, fuck.

She turns her glare to Jessica, and says, “We always said we’d move to Tennessee. Right, Dec?”

“Tennessee it is,” I confirm.

Jessica coughs and stares at me. “I’m sorry. Who are you?” She asks Noel.

“Jessica, I don’t want to screw you out of this commission or violate our contract, but this isn’t going to work for us. I’ll pay you the commission on the Tennessee property right now, and you go straight to your office to tear up my contract.”

She hesitates, glaring at me.

“Offer expires in three,” I urge.

She needs to get the fuck out of my office before Noel loses her shit. Her nails are already threatening to break the skin as her grip tightens around my thighs.

“Fine,” she snaps.

Keeping my arm firmly around Noel’s waist, I lean forward to pull my checkbook from the desk drawer. I rip the check out and hold it up. Noel gently holds my hand as she takes the check from me and stands. Reluctantly, I let her up.

“Here you go. I’m sure you earned it in more ways than one,” Noel tells Jessica as she holds out the check .

Jessica’s jaw drops. Zander chuckles. She quickly closes her mouth and glares at him then me. I stare back–she has herself to blame. She huffs, grabs her bag, and leaves without another word or the check.

As soon as the door slams shut, Noel turns on me.

“Zander,” I sigh, dismissing him.

“Yep,” he agrees and leaves.

She doesn’t speak even though we’re alone, so I start for her.

“I would’ve warned you if I had not forgotten about that meeting, Noel,” I explain.

“How long ago did you sleep with her?” She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

I take a deep breath. “I haven’t touched anyone since Nate’s accident. Before that, I don’t remember exactly, maybe a week or two.” Her face is unreadable.

I haven’t seen Jessica in over six months. It’s fucking ridiculous that she’d act that way.

“Why would you continue to work with her?”

“I signed a contract that I wouldn’t work with other realtors,” I state, taking her hands in mine.

“Okay,” she replies.

“Okay?” I ask, confused.

“You get a pass. This one time. And only because you fired her before I asked you to,” she says, stepping toward me.

“It won’t happen again,” I promise.

“So no more associates who are also past fuck buddies I should know about?” She asks for clarification.

“Most of my associates are men,” I deadpan .

“I don’t know what all you’re into these days,” she says, pressing her perfect little body into me.

“Oh, but you’re going to find out,” I whisper into her chest before I bite down on her perky tit, shirt and all.