Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
JASON
Before I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t in my bed or alone.
Other than the sound of Cora’s steady breathing, the house was quiet.
When I peeled my eyes open, sunlight was just beginning to stream through the French doors.
The arched window was high enough that a beam was hitting the coffee table, and dust particles were floating in it.
I couldn’t fault the housekeeper. From what I understood, in this area of Texas nothing short of a biocontainment unit could keep dust out.
This was the second time I’d slept soundly through the night. Thanks to her.
She took a deep breath and snuggled closer, her leg hooked over mine. I’d never been with a woman who fit so perfectly against me. Or made me want to be a man she’d want to fit against.
A smile lifted my lips. I liked this. Far, far too much. I couldn’t keep her, and I knew it.
I brushed her hair back from her face, studying her features. The way her nose sloped. Her soft skin. The barely there freckles that disappeared when she had a little too much sun. Those incredibly plump lips that I’d kissed the night before.
One minute she was hugging me, and the next, her fingers were tracing my lips. It’d been the best kiss of my life. The only kiss that had filled me with a sense of peace and contentment, like I’d found the place where I belonged and the person I belonged to.
If I could have, I’d have frozen time and kissed her until the earth stopped spinning. I wanted to stop it now. Preserve this moment, commit to memory, because I knew it couldn’t… wouldn’t last forever.
Her eyes fluttered open, and her lips lifted. “Hi.”
“Good morning.” I smiled, brushing her hair back again. She was gorgeous all of the time, but bathed in the morning light, she looked ethereal. An angel.
My angel.
Not mine. I had to remind myself.
I pulled her closer and set my forehead against hers. For just a moment, I was going to savor this and pretend that it was real. I don’t know if she sensed that need in me or the universe took mercy, but we stayed like that longer than I expected. Warm, content, and peaceful.
“How’d you sleep?” she asked.
“Good. You?”
She nodded. “Good.”
Again, silence fell over us as we lay there. Just holding each other and breathing. Perfect moments didn’t happen often for me, but this rated as the top one and I couldn’t see another moment topping it.
“This is nice,” she whispered, almost like the words might break the spell.
Without any thought, I pressed my lips to her forehead before replying, “Yeah, it is.”
Her chest rose as she inhaled deeply, and it rippled through her body into mine. “We kissed last night.”
“We did.”
“I don’t know what to think about that.”
I did. It was incredible, and I wouldn’t mind doing it often and for the rest of my life. I also didn’t want to blow up whatever this was and if I opened my mouth the possibility would grow exponentially.
Another shaky breath. “Jason…” Her voice cracked just slightly, her eyes darting from my eyes to my lips and back. “That kiss was… amazing.”
I could feel the conjunction coming. That but that would likely break my heart.
“But everything is happening so fast. I haven’t even taken a second to grieve my sister yet, and I’m scared. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to get hurt. Can we… can we pretend it didn’t happen? Just for now?”
Shards of my heart impaled my lungs, but I steadied my expression and smiled. “Sure, if that’s what you need.”
Her body deflated with a ragged, relieved sigh. “Thank you.” She ran her hand over my cheek and stretched her fingers into my hair. “You mean the world to me. I just…”
“It’s okay.” I pulled her flush against my body, so she didn’t witness the anguish roll through me.
I wasn’t the man she needed me to be when my father attacked, but I would be the man she needed now. The one who would give her space to realize she could do better.
Even if that meant I’d be a shell when she left.
With tablet in hand, Thomas stopped at the kitchen island. He set it down and smiled.
“What?” I asked him as I burped Elias.
“You seem to enjoy that.”
As if to agree, Elias belched and then grunted. I lowered him into my arms and rocked him. I enjoyed it a lot. I cared about Cora, and now she had a son. They were a package deal. I couldn’t have them, but I wanted them equally.
His hand wrapped around my pinky finger and squeezed. Yeah, after all was said and done, I thoroughly enjoyed holding Elias. “He’s only two months old. He doesn’t need to be taken through bakeries and dress shops.”
Thomas chuckled and shook his head. “I guess my idea to get married wasn’t so bad after all.”
“You didn’t see her face. I wouldn’t have suggested it if Rex hadn’t made it sound like she might lose him.
” I strode to the baby swing I’d moved into the living room and secured Elias in it.
If he kept to his schedule, he’d sleep for about an hour and then need to be changed.
I just hoped it was nothing like the day before.
That diaper disaster had been so bad I’d needed a shower afterward.
I returned to the kitchen. “What’s going on?” I nodded to his tablet.
“Nice redirect.” He laughed. “I thought I’d check into Maya’s accident after Kane said Colter was acting strangely.”
I knew Thomas would without me asking him to. “And?”
“I’m looking at the forensics report from Maya’s accident.” He glanced down at his tablet. “There were strangulation marks on her neck.”
There was no need to ask how he got his hands on it. He had his ways, and that was usually all he’d say. My eyebrows knitted together. “The seatbelt?” I could see her getting tangled in that, maybe.
He shook his head. “She wasn’t wearing one.”
That meant… “She was murdered.”
“That’s what it looks like to me, but the justice of the peace still ruled it an accident.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, anger building. “Why am I not surprised? Wonder how much Colter paid him. Maybe we should pay him a visit and ask.”
“No one has seen or heard from him since he filed this report. He just vanished.”
“Think he’s dead?”
Thomas gave me a look.
“Yeah, it’s what I would have done.”
“What do you want me to do? I can keep digging, but eventually, we’ll draw attention.” Thomas took a seat on the end barstool. “Has Cora mentioned it?”
“No,” I replied. “She hasn’t even allowed herself to grieve yet. She’s too worried about Elias.”
Thomas gave me a look.
“What?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I just… I started looking into disappearances and adoption agencies in the area. If you don’t look too closely, everything looks fine.”
“And when you do… look too closely?”
“There’s one that seems to have a higher-than-average infant adoption rate. And it just so happens that Beau’s wife manages it.”
Rage settled in my stomach along with absolute disgust. “You think Colter is helping Beau sell babies?”
“I mean, he basically said Cora could buy Elias. His own child. If he is that detached from his own flesh and blood, what would he do with someone else’s child?”
I looked at Thomas. “I don’t want Cora to know about this until we have more. It’ll just freak her out, make her worry, and until we have proof, there’s no point.”
Thomas nodded. “You got it. I’ll keep looking into it.”
For a moment, the steady rhythm of the swing was the only sound. Thomas cleared his throat, looked at me and smiled.
“What?” I suspected he had another comment about Cora and I getting married.
A grin crept onto his face. “So… how’d you sleep last night?”
I leaned my hip against the counter. “Same as always.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Really?”
I groaned, and my head fell back. He’d seen me on the couch with Cora. Fantastic. “We just slept. That’s all.”
“You kissed her.”
I jerked my gaze to his. “How did you know that?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t, but I do now.” He sighed. “Something is different about you, and your answer suddenly made it all make sense.”
“I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” I pressed my fingers to my temples and massaged them.
“Well, I might let it go, but your sister…”
“My sister?” My voice cracked. I was dead. Thomas might have given me a pass after a day or two, but Anna…
This time, his whole body shook with laughter. “Oh yeah. She woke up with heartburn, came down, and there you were.”
I ran a billion-dollar company, and the thought of my sister with this information was more terrifying than all of the black-market monsters I’d ever met. “Great.”
“You love her. She loves you. Grab your happiness and double-fist it, man.” He let out a breath as he paused.
“I know you think what happened was your fault, but it wasn’t.
It was my fault. I vetted those men. I told you they were good.
You trusted me and I let you down. If you are going to blame anyone for what happened, it should be me.
If you were anyone else, and we hadn’t been friends since we were kids, I’d probably be dead.
Deservedly so. I nearly got you killed. Place the blame where it belongs. Me.”
“No. I run this family.” I poked the counter with my finger.
“All of the responsibility falls on me. I won’t pass that to you.
I should have told you to cut all of them.
You wanted to, remember? But I was weak.
I wanted to think these men I’d known for more than a decade wouldn’t betray me, and they did.
It only took two and it nearly destroyed all of us because of my weakness. ”
Thomas shook his head. “You’re my boss. More importantly, you’re my best friend. I pledged to keep you safe. To step in front of you—”
“You did and nearly died.” He’d literally stepped in front of me and Cora.
Yes, that was his job as my second, but he’d acted as more than that.
“I think at some point, we move on. You’re still my best friend.
I still trust you with my life. That’s never going to change.
It wasn’t your fault. You bear no assignment of guilt from me.
But me? I’m the head of this family. This organization, and I made the wrong call. ”
He stood. “You should give yourself the same forgiveness you’re giving me.
I failed you, Jay. The only reason I’m alive is because you’re a better man than either of our fathers.
” He looked toward where Elias slept. “And that little boy deserves a father like you.” He picked up his tablet and strode off, calling back.
“I’m going to keep looking into this. You don’t go anywhere without me. ”
Elias began fussing before I could reply. I could smell him before I reached the swing. I unbuckled him and picked him up. “Little man, this formula is not agreeing with you.”
The one positive about Elias’s tummy problems was the visitation this evening with Colter. It would take place an hour after Elias ate. Colter would get a really good taste of fatherhood. It was taking place at the CPS office too. I’d had to bathe every time I changed him.
With a chuckle, I quickly took him upstairs and got him cleaned up, then fished my phone out of my pocket.
After all the Chicago galas I’d attended, I had the numbers of some of the city’s best pediatricians.
It wouldn’t hurt to ask them a few questions about his diet and the formula we were feeding him.