Chapter 30 Rafe
RAFE
“Sir?”
Marco, my head of security, stepped close to me as I chatted with some female patrons who were throwing all of their money away at one of my roulette tables. “Ladies, excuse me. Business calls.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, giving her a smile that made her think there was a chance I’d show up at her room, then turned to Marco and motioned for him to walk with me. “What is it?”
“There’s a man here asking to see you. He claims to be an FBI agent. He says he has a warrant to do an audit of the casino.”
It was time to play a part. Normally, I was ninety percent honest with Marco, but for now, I couldn’t be honest with anyone except Zach. How strange was that? And why did it feel so fucking right?
Marco led me to a room where Zach was waiting in his black federal agent suit, except he didn’t look precisely like Zach anymore.
I would’ve known it was him though. I thought I’d be able to identify him anywhere by the way he moved.
I liked this new version. I’d hoped for red hair, but instead, he was blond now, a little longer on top than I’d expect from the FBI—long enough for me to get a hold of, and damn if I didn’t want to put him on his knees.
He’d put in contacts, making his eyes a piercing blue, and he had on black-rimmed glasses. I’d make him take the contacts out before I fucked him. I needed him looking at me through those green eyes I’d gotten used to. But the glasses? Those could stay.
“Rafael Theriot?” Zach asked, his voice sharp and cold, not at all like what I was used to. What would it be like to have him talk to me like that? I might like it. I might ask for it tonight.
He’d said we needed to stay apart, and he was right; we couldn’t be seen together in public. But there had to be a way to see each other. How long could I go without him touching me? I was already feeling antsy, and it had only been a day.
“Yes, that’s me.” I didn’t accept his hand. For one, if I actually thought the FBI was here investigating me, I wasn’t going to shake hands with them. And two, if I touched him, I might give myself away.
He dropped his hand to his side. “Special Agent Matt Stevenson. I have a warrant to begin an audit of your casino.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his suit coat.
“Under what grounds?”
“Suspicion of money laundering and racketeering.”
I sniffed. “There’s nothing illegal going on at this casino, Agent Stevenson.”
“Then the audit will come through fine, and I’ll be able to move on. I’m willing to keep things quiet. If you give me a room to work in and access to the materials I need, I won’t need to make this public.”
I glared at him as I held out my hand, indicating the paper he held. “I need to see that first.”
“Of course.” He held it out, and I took it, being careful not to brush his hand.
“This looks legitimate, but I have some questions. I’d like you to follow me to my office.”
I could tell Zach didn’t like this change of plan, but he didn’t argue. Once we were in my office alone with the door closed, I turned to him and smiled. “I like this,” I said, giving him a once-over. “I think it’s better.”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “What’s better?”
“Your hair. The blond is better, but I think red will be best.”
He looked surprised. “You want to see me with my natural hair?”
“I do. And your skin. It’s fucking gorgeous. Why would you change it?”
He rolled his eyes. “I was undercover, remember? And what? You don’t approve of fake tans?”
“I don’t have a moral objection to them or anything, but I like you like this. I like your freckles.” I brushed the backs of my fingers over his cheek.
“Rafe. We’re not supposed to—”
“No one can see what happens in here.”
He took a step back. “We’re not taking risks with this. It’s dangerous enough as it is, especially since you won’t bring your family in for backup.”
“I’ll back you up. Trust me.”
His expression softened. “God help me, I do. You know I do.”
“Your suit is perfect. I look forward to peeling it off of you tonight.”
Zach shook his head. “No. We can’t. I go back to my new place. You go home. We aren’t seeing each other.”
“But I need you.” I licked my lips and watched the movement of my tongue.
“Rafe.”
“Fine. I’ll be mature and responsible like everyone wants. But once this is done, I want you back in the suit and the glasses, fucking the hell out of me.”
He smiled. “Gladly.”
“Good.” I waved him away. “Go audit things.”
“You’re sure nobody is watching us?”
“I’m the only one who has access to this office, and there are no cameras here.”
He gave me a slow once-over that had my cock perking up. “Kiss me.”
I was on him before he finished speaking. I sank my teeth into his lower lip, then laughed when he spanked me.
“Behave.”
“Never.”
“Why do you taste so good?” I couldn’t answer because he was kissing me again, his tongue pushing into my mouth, tasting me thoroughly. I took hold of his waist and pulled him to me, but he shoved me away. “I can’t walk out of here hard for you.”
“But I need you to remember me.”
He huffed. “That won’t be a problem. Keep me posted on anything you find.”
“I will. Call me tonight when you’re tucked in bed.”
“If you’re lucky.”
“Zach.”
He shook his head. “Matt. Call me Matt while we’re here.”
“I will come get you if you don’t call.”
His smile made my fucking heart flutter. “I love how eager you are for it. You can’t even go a day without me.”
“Why should I?”
“For our safety.”
“Get out.” I pointed at the door. “Go lure this man in so we can be done.” His smile faded. “What?”
“When we’re done…”
“No, we’re not talking about that now.”
He nodded and left my office. I locked the door behind him and rested my forehead against it. What was going to happen when we were done?
He’ll get a new assignment, and you’ll revel in your family’s praises for bringing Ivanov down.
Why didn’t that sound as good as it should?
The next few days seemed to last forever.
Zach did call me each night. And after some convincing, he jerked off while I watched on video chat, and I returned the favor.
Hot as it was, it couldn’t compare to him fucking me.
I needed him. I needed to feel his skin against mine and his cock stuffing me full.
I wanted to suck his cock until he was so relaxed he’d tell me anything.
I wanted to know his secrets and maybe to tell him some of mine.
I thought maybe some time apart would lessen the intensity of my feelings for him, but that wasn’t happening. My need for more for him was only getting worse.
What was I going to do? I couldn’t let him walk away, but how the hell did I explain to my brothers and, worse, to Remington that I was fucking, dating, in love with—holy shit, no, that couldn’t be it—a federal agent?
Xavier approved of him. Would that hold enough weight?
I doubted it. Maybe that would absolve me from working with Zach to bring Ivanov down. Making a bargain and going after a mutual enemy was one thing, but wanting him, needing him? They weren’t going to get over that, even if I had X’s blessing.
I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I usually loved schmoozing with guests, but I’d been hiding out in my office. The waiting was killing me. I was at my desk, staring at numbers on a screen that might as well have been hieroglyphs. My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it.
Finally, this time, it was Zach.
“I’ve got a lead.”
“Come to my office.”
I paced as I waited for him to arrive. When he did, I let him in quickly and locked the door behind him. “What did you find?”
“One of the men on the list of recent hires you sent me, Ross Richard, has been erasing files. He must think I haven’t downloaded them yet.
They’re files that show who transferred the money to the fake account with your name on it.
The guy’s good at making things disappear, but not from someone who knows what they’re doing. ”
“So we found our guy?”
“I think so, but I have a test. Send him a message that he needs to meet with me. Say that I need to question him about some things and evaluate his answers. I want to see how he reacts.”
I frowned. “What are you expecting?”
“He’ll delay and go on a deleting frenzy, or he’ll run. If he’s braver than I think, he’ll show up and try to bluster his way through the questions. We’ll go after him immediately if he runs. Otherwise, we’ll track him down tonight.”
I let out a long breath. “This better be it. I can’t wait any longer. I need to fucking do something.”
Zach smiled. “You really can’t sit still for long, can you?”
“No. That’s really why I was such a fuckup in school and why people think I’m stupid.”
“You’re not. I knew that when I met you, but thank God I haven’t had to take you on a stakeout. You’d drive me insane in an hour.”
“Yeah, probably.” I grinned.
“Go mingle on the floor or something. Occupy yourself a little longer, and then—”
“We get to torture and interrogate.” I was practically bouncing up and down.
“You’re scaring me.”
“No, I’m not.”
He huffed. “Message the guy.”
“I am.”
I stared at the door for a few moments after Zach left before I sent the message. Then I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
I was in love with Zach. I didn’t know how it happened, but it was true. I’d sworn I wasn’t capable of that—of wanting one man, of having a soulmate—but Zach was it for me. I was going to find a way to keep him. My brothers could fuck off.
Around midnight, Zach and I once again approached a house.
This one was divided into apartments, and the front door required a code, so we came at Richard’s apartment from the back, looking for the best way in.
At least he was on the first floor. There were no rear doors, but he was foolish enough to leave his kitchen window unlocked.
It was old and stiff, but we forced it open and climbed through.
Zach went first, and when the guy ran to see what the noise was, Zach had his weapon up.