Epilogue
Two weeks later,Jesse sat at his parents’ dining room table, Cassie next to him, waiting for his father to read the results of the DNA test.
So much had happened over the last two weeks. Grayson, Crystal, and Sandy were arrested. They’d thought maybe Shannon was involved as well, but Craig determined her only crime was that she liked office gossip.
The missing contract was never located. They did find the extra inventory, however. Or the credit generated from the extra inventory. It had landed in Crystal’s bank account not long before the code first appeared in their software.
There were still a lot of unanswered questions, and he wasn’t sure they were ever going to get the whole story. Not unless Crystal, Grayson, or Sandy decided to share.
His dad was at the head of the table. His mom sat next to him, looking every bit the wife of a wealthy businessman.
She hadn’t said much since this whole thing with Crystal began to unfold. It was almost as if she’d resigned herself to whatever happened.
Jesse didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could do.
He and his father weren’t on the best of terms. They spoke but kept their conversations brief and focused on work-related items.
Beks sat across from Jesse, her arms crossed. She wasn’t taking the news of their father’s infidelity any better than he was.
His dad’s best friend, Cole, was also in attendance. The man was like a brother to their dad, so it wasn’t strange having him there. Beks, however, seemed to be bothered by his presence. She kept shooting him glances. Or maybe they’d be better described as death glares.
Granted, Beks didn’t know Cole as well as Jesse did. He’d moved out of state when she was a baby, only returning for brief visits. She never really viewed him as an uncle figure like Jesse did. Still, her reaction to him struck Jesse as odd. To his knowledge, she’d never had an issue with Cole before.
Craig slipped in through the side door, closing it behind him.
“Okay,” Blake said, releasing a sigh. “Let’s get this over with.” He picked up the yellow envelope and tore it open.
Everyone waited for him to read the contents of the letter out loud, but he didn’t. Instead, he ran a hand over his face, set the papers on the table, and walked to the liquor cabinet in the corner of the room.
Their mom picked up the discarded papers. Color drained from her face as she read them.
She returned the papers to the table, stood, and walked out of the room.
“I guess we know what the results were.” No one disputed Cole’s assessment.
The room grew quiet for several long moments. Beks was the one to break the silence. “What happens now?”
His dad downed a shot of whiskey. Blake Masters was in a difficult position. Grayson and Crystal, with Sandy’s help, had stolen from his company. He couldn’t let that go. Yet, Crystal was his flesh and blood. He knew his father well enough to know Blake would feel a debt to Crystal. Maybe even more so than he did to Jesse and Beks.
“Craig.”
His dad’s head of security came to attention. “Yes, sir?”
Blake set his glass down with too much force. “Does she still need to be bonded out?”
“Yes.”
Jesse knew what was coming before his dad said the words. “Pay her bail. Today. And see if the prosecutor will drop the charges.”
“You can’t just have her roaming around free. We don’t know anything about her.” Jesse had been doing research on Crystal, but he hadn’t found much outside of her work history and an associate’s degree she’d gotten at a community college.
Craig took a step forward. “I must agree.”
Jesse was glad he and Craig were on the same page.
“The information we have on her is limited,” Craig said.
“So what do you suggest?” Cole seemed to be the voice of reason in this.
“Let me assign one of my men as her bodyguard.”
“You think she’s going to agree to a man following her around twenty-four seven?” Beks’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Craig nodded in agreement. “We can make it a condition of bonding her out.”
“We’re blackmailing her?”
Jesse had to agree with Beks on this one. It did sound a lot like blackmail.
“Call it what you want, but it’s my job to protect this family. If she’s now part of it, then she’s going to have to get used to everything that comes with it.” Craig’s tone was matter-of-fact. The man was still beating himself up over what happened.
After a lot of detective work, Craig had found an access tunnel that allowed Crystal to move through the building without using the main hallways. He’d gone over hundreds of hours of footage and had only had her show up a handful of times after she’d been let go from the company. Even then, the sightings were brief.
“Who are you thinking?” Cassie asked, speaking up for the first time.
“Adian. He’s been involved in the investigation from the beginning.”
“Your computer guy?” He would have been the last person on Craig’s team Jesse would have chosen.
“He’s a computer whiz, yes, but he also spent a fair amount of time on the front lines. There isn’t anything she can dish out he can’t handle.”
“It’s settled then.” His dad walked out of the room, effectively dismissing everyone.
Craig left out through the same door he entered, and Cole followed Blake.
Jesse was glad his dad had someone because he wasn’t in the mood to provide any comfort to his father.
Cassie laced her fingers through Jesse’s. He gave them a squeeze, grateful she was there with him.
Beks stood. “I’m going to find Mom.”
His sister closed the door behind her, leaving Jesse and Cassie alone in the large dining room. The size of his parents’ house had never bothered him before, but for some reason, it felt almost claustrophobic now.
Cassie rested her head on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I have a sister.”
“You have two.”
Jesse snorted. “Yeah.”
“Do you want to stay with your mom? I can get Brie to pick me up if you want to stay.”
He kissed the top of her head. Her wound had completely healed, and hair was already starting to grow back in the damaged area. “No. Beks will take care of her. I’ll call her later.”
* * *
They made their way back to the condo in silence. Jesse had helped Cassie move all her stuff to his place last weekend. Brie was happy for her but sad at the same time. They’d lived together since college. But they were both starting new phases in their lives. Brie with Kaden and her with Jesse.
The closer they got to home, the more Jesse touched her. She spread her legs, grateful she wore a dress today. His fingers skimmed the outside of her panties, but he didn’t go any farther than that while he drove.
After her punishment, things had been different between them. Better. She understood her role in the relationship more and she was learning to embrace it.
He parked and helped her from the vehicle. They rode the elevator to their floor, and he opened the door for them.
Cassie stood waiting while he locked up, her body already anticipating what was going to happen next.
He cupped the side of her cheek, brushing his thumb along her jaw. “Wait for me in the bedroom.”
“Yes, Sir.”
She entered the bedroom, removed her clothes, and kneeled beside the bed to wait. A month ago, she would have been full of nerves. Now, she was calm as she waited for her Dom.
Jesse didn’t make her wait long. He strolled into the room, unbuttoning his shirt. He walked over to her, ran a hand over her head, and smiled.
Warmth spread through her chest. This was still new. He’d begun adding certain routines now that they were living together full-time. She was finding she loved serving him in a variety of ways, not just sexually.
This, for example. Yes, she was kneeling naked before him, but it felt intimate rather than sexual.
He didn’t say anything right away, just stood there, petting her hair.
She leaned into his hand, enjoying his touch.
“Undress me.” His words were no more than a whisper, but they sounded loud in the quiet room.
Cassie reached for his belt, her fingers grazing the skin beneath. He held still while she removed his pants, only lifting his leg to help her when needed.
After taking off his socks, she stood to remove his shirt. He’d already taken care of most of the buttons. All she had to do was release the cuffs and push it off his shoulder. The fabric fell to the floor at his feet.
He stood there gloriously naked, his cock standing proud and hard. She wanted to touch him. Before her punishment, she would have. Now, she waited for his instructions.
Jesse cupped her face with both hands and brought her mouth to his. She closed her eyes and relished the feel of his lips, loving the way his tongue dipped and licked, stoking the fire within her to the surface.
He walked them toward the bed until the backs of her legs hit the mattress. With one arm braced behind her, he lowered them to the bed and went to work making her body sing for him.
* * *
Crystal sat alone in her cell, contemplating how her life had gone wrong. Was it the day she decided to apply at Blake Masters’s company? Or was it the day she was born? Or maybe it was the day she met Grayson Hyde.
It didn’t really matter, did it? Wherever her life went off the rails, it didn’t change the fact that she was now sitting in a cell, waiting to go on trial for stealing money from Blake Masters’s—her biological father’s—company.
She rested her head in her hands, listening to the sounds around her. Some of the other people in the jail were hardened criminals. She didn’t belong here.
Yet, she did. She knew that. But the anger she felt didn’t comfort her.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway brought her head up. A guard stopped outside her cell, keys in hand.
She stood. “What’s going on?”
“You’re getting released.”
Crystal’s heart skipped a beat. “Why?”
“Someone paid your bail.”
Not wanting to question it, Crystal exited the cell and followed the guard down the hall. She looked around for Sandy or Grayson, but all she saw were other officers and a man in a suit that looked like it had been tailor-made for him. He was staring right at her, making her want to squirm.
“Here are your things. You need to sign here.” The officer’s voice dragged her gaze away from the man.
She took her purse, made sure everything was in there, and signed the papers. “Um, can I call someone to give me a ride?” She had no idea where she was going to go. Sandy’s maybe? But she didn’t know what had happened to her friend. Was she still in jail or had she been bonded out too?
“Your ride’s right over there.” The officer pointed to the man in the suit.
“Who is he?”
The officer shrugged. “I believe he’s the one who paid your bond.”
Crystal walked over to him. “Hi. I’m told you’re the one who paid my bail.”
He gave a curt nod.
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I?—”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’m just doing my job.”
His job? “I don’t understand.”
“I work for Mr. Masters. I’m your bodyguard for the foreseeable future.”
***