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“What—uh, what happened to her?”
“There was a plane crash. Apparently, this Talia died upon impact.”
“Is Henry being investigated?”
Chase shook his head. “Not yet, but the FAA and the FBI are involved to figure out what happened. Naturally, they won’t tell Matt’s PI much of anything, but he’s poking around and working his sources to get us more information. But, Melissa, if Henry’s behind this, it’s not safe for you to go back to California until he’s caught and brought to justice.”
“If he’s brought to justice,” I said, my tone hollow and distant as my mind struggled to process everything Chase had just told me. “You don’t know what he’s like, Chase. He’s got high friends in really low places. Connections with everyone. And the thing about it is, everyone owes him a favor because he’s made them all rich bastards. And if nothing else, he has endless means to pick up and run away to some country or island without extradition laws.” I ran my hand through my hair, exasperated. “And you know what? Even if he does run off, Jackson and I wouldn’t be safe because he’d still find a way to continue his bullshit empire from afar. He’s unstoppable.”
I shook my head as my words broke off, the rest of them too awful to vocalize.
He sighed, as though silently admitting that had been his thought as well. “I’m sure he will, Melissa. He’ll make a mistake at some point. But, who knows, they may have evidence now and are building their case. The FAA and the FBI have a ton of resources.”
I nodded but I was a thousand miles away, lost inside my head and growing despair.
“Melissa?”
I brought my eyes to Chase and tried to force a smile, but it evaporated before it could fully form. I wanted to be okay. I tried to be strong. Resilient. I didn’t want Henry to win—not again. I had to keep it together. But I was rapidly losing control of myself and each day was carrying me further and further away from the life I wanted.
“I’ll be okay, Chase. Thank you for telling me the truth,” my voice quivered.
I flicked away the beginnings of a tear and clenched my jaw to keep a hold on whatever control I had left over my frayed emotions. Each new bit of news ripped away at the tiny shreds of hope I’d been clinging to since my first visit to Matt’s office. What had started out as just a divorce case had spiraled so far out of control that it was hard to believe it was my reality, and not just a horrible nightmare.
The idea of divorcing Henry and losing my money, home, and partial custody of my son had been awful enough to hold me in the sham of a marriage for years longer than I’d wanted to. But this? Knowing that until Henry was caught, I couldn’t go home again…
It was too much.
Right before I crumbled, Chase stepped toward me and I collapsed into his chest. “What the hell am I going to do?” I asked, my voice shaking, right on the brink of tears.
Chase’s hand went to the back of my neck, cradling my head with his strong fingers. “You’re not alone, Melissa. I’m here and I’m not leaving until I know you and Jackson are safe.”
I nodded against his firm chest and grabbed ahold of his strong shoulders and confident words, clinging on for dear life.
8
Chase
Holding Melissa felt good. Too good.
It wasn’t just that she was gorgeous—she was. But there was something else to it. I tried to tell myself it was some protective nature inside of myself. A hormonal thing passed down since the dawn of time for a man to protect his woman.
The problem was, she wasn’t my woman. And I’d gone into many situations with a female client and never struggled to keep things professional between us before—but with Melissa it was getting more and more difficult by the day.
By the hour.
Alone, in my bedroom, with my arms wrapped around her, a hand lost in her hair, it was impossible to keep my thoughts professional.
When she looked up at me, her eyes coated with shiny gloss from unshed tears, my heart dropped out the bottom. I was in trouble. Big, big trouble.
I loosened my grip on her and took a shuffling step backward. “We’ll figure it out, okay?” I said, trying to clear my mind of the memory of the way her perfect boobs felt against my chest—and how much better they’d feel if we were naked.
“Yeah…” Melissa dropped her eyes to the space I’d put between us.
“Uhm, do you need anything? Help with dinner?”
She shook her head. “No. If you could just look after Jackson for me.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For everything.”
“Of course,” I repeated, adding a bob of my head.
