Chapter 14
Fourteen
Grant looked up as Kiernan walked into his office. He turned all his focus to his brother, anxious about what he had to say.
“I didn’t find a thing,” Kiernan said.
Not what Grant wanted to hear. “What do you mean?”
“Her apartment is a shithole, but there was nothing there that gave me anything we can use against her. And nothing that makes me think she’s involved.”
“There has to be something,” Grant growled. He was getting anxious. After Pamela fucked up and let Harmony Gibbs get away, Grant needed someone he could trust to look into her. Grant was sure his brother would find something.
“We already know she needs the money. What if you pay her more?”
Grant shook his head. “She hasn’t touched the money.”
“How do you know that?”
Grant gave his brother a look. Kiernan should know better than to question Grant’s hacking skills.
It was how they both created new lives for themselves.
New social security numbers, new identities, new everything.
It was also how Grant built his fortune.
A little here and a little there, no one noticed bank fees, and since the banks weren’t actually collecting them, they didn’t know to look for the money going into their accounts.
Grant put the money into a dozen accounts of his own, then slowly moved it all to one place where he could grow the balance until he was someone to take notice of. By then, he’d become Grant Pickens.
“If money doesn’t do anything for her, what now?” Kiernan asked.
Grant leaned back in his chair, the soft squeak of it annoying him. He’d worked too hard for things to be worn out. He needed a new chair if this one was going to make noise. “We make her life uncomfortable. She loves her job, what if she can’t do it anymore?”
“What do you mean?”
Grant shrugged, a smirk lifting his lips. “Maybe there’s an accident at the lab. Maybe no one’s allowed in for a while. Maybe she’s to blame for the accident.”
“And by accident, you mean…”
“I mean it’s time for Roger to earn his keep.”
Kiernan nodded slowly. “You might need to spell it out for him. He’s not the sharpest one out there.”
“Paul was definitely smarter. Too bad he had to threaten to open his fucking mouth.” Grant was still angry about that.
“A broken jaw stopped that.”
“Don’t forget the broken hands. Just in case he wanted to try something else.”
Kiernan returned Grant’s grin. “How did you keep from reacting when the cops told you about that?”
“Years of practice, little brother. Just like when they told us Grandma Betty was dead.”
“You were pretty believable. I thought your tears were real.”
Grant scoffed. “That crazy old woman deserved everything she got.”
Kiernan nodded.
Grant stood and rounded his desk to stand in front of his brother. “You okay? You seem off lately.”
Kiernan shook his head. “It’s all this stuff. Makes me tense.”
“It’ll all be over soon. Those fucking idiots handed over more than enough to keep their secrets secret. Once I sell all the diamonds and get the money I was supposed to get, we’ll be the richest people on the planet, and no one will know it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“This Gibbs woman is the only wildcard in all of this. If she can tie us to the diamonds, she can ruin it all. We can’t let her.
She’s scared now. Running to stay with that protector.
We can’t get to her anymore, but we don’t have to.
Take away what she loves, what she’s spent her life building, and she won’t give us a second thought.
Then we can finish what we started and move the merchandise and disappear to a private island with no extradition laws. ”
Kiernan smiled. “Just like we planned.”
Grant nodded. “Exactly, brother. Just you and me.”
Kiernan nodded.
Grant pulled his brother into a hug. “I couldn’t have done all this without you. It’s almost over.”
“Then we’re free.”
“Hell yes. Let me know when you talk to Roger. Make sure you have a solid alibi.”
“You, too.”
“Always do,” Grant said with a smile. No one would touch him. He made sure of it.
Damien smiled as his consciousness registered the beautiful woman in bed with him.
He half expected her to disappear during the night, but every time he reached for her and pulled her close, she snuggled against him.
He wasn’t sure he could talk himself out of bed with her in it, but he also knew she wanted to get to work.
The clock next to his bed said it was still early.
Harmony was not a morning person, so Damien slid a hand over her belly, loving the soft skin that yielded to his touch.
He loved how lush she was, how her body allowed him to squeeze her and dig his fingers in and not feel like she would break when he laid on top of her.
He’d always been drawn to curvy women, but no one had ever made him feel the way Harmony did.
“Too early,” she groaned.
He chuckled against her shoulder. “Is there ever a time that isn’t too early for you?”
“Please don’t tell me you’re a morning person.”
“No, I told you before, I’m not really anything. But I think I’m a Harmony person.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means when you’re around, I’m up.” He nudged her backside with his erection.
She moaned softly and rubbed herself against him.
“Fuck,” he hissed.
“I could be coaxed awake for that,” she said, sounding more awake than she had a few seconds ago.
“Is that so?” Damien slid his hand down her body, mapping the peaks and valleys of her curves. He eased her to roll back toward him so he could play between her wet thighs. “It feels like there’s a part of you that’s awake.”
“Mm hmm,” she agreed.
Damien nipped her earlobe and sank a finger into her channel.
Her moan said she was more than enjoying that. “You never used the extra condoms you had out.”
Damien chuckled. “You passed out pretty hard last night.”
“You wore me out.” She moaned, her hips shifting with his movements.
“Does that mean you’re going to fall asleep now?”
“It’s a good way to wake up, and a good way to go to sleep. But I’m well-rested, thanks to you.”
Damien dragged his soaked fingers to her clit and plucked the tender nub until she shuddered. He pressed harder and rubbed his fingers over her, loving the way she gave herself over to the pleasure and came hard.
“Holy fuck,” she breathed as she came down. “I don’t know how you do that, but please don’t stop.”
Damien reached across her for a condom. “Don’t move,” he told her, rolling away to put the condom on. “Leg on me, Harmony.”
She did as he asked, throwing her top leg back and over his.
He slid into her from behind, his hand going to her clit again as he rocked into her. He kissed her neck and her shoulder and teased her nipples with his other hand.
She grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles before threading her fingers through his. “You feel so good.”
“So do you. Fuck, Harmony.”
“Yes. Oh, fuck. Yes.” She squeezed his cock as she came again, her body drawing him in deeper.
Damien lost all sense of control. He withdrew from her and rolled her onto her back. He crawled over her, slamming home in one stroke.
“Oh, yes!”
Damien pressed her thighs wider, opening her up to watch himself disappear into her pussy. He let his gaze drift up over her curves to meet her gaze.
She stared back at him, a dazed and pleasured look in her eyes. “More.”
Holy fuck. His cock surged at her single word. He rarely met a woman who could take all of him and ask for more. He was told more than once he was too intense, too much for some of his exes.
But Harmony wanted all of him and more.
Damien repositioned himself onto his knees, lifting her hips to change the angle. The way she trembled said she enjoyed the change. “Do you like feeling me inside you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Are you going to come again for me?”
“Ye—yes.”
“I love when you can’t get the words out. It tells me you’re close. I’m right there, Harmony. Let me feel you come on my dick. Squeeze it hard while I fuck you.”
“Keep… talking.”
“I love seeing myself disappear into you. Watching you take all of me. Your beautiful body on display for me as I make you come. Do you want my hands on you?”
“Yes. Fuck. Yes.”
“Where do you want me to touch you?”
“Everywhere.”
“No, that’s not true. Where do you want my hands, Harmony?”
“My clit.”
Damien licked his thumb, then pressed it to her clit. “Like this.”
“Oh, fuck. Yes. Yes!”
“I think you like me rubbing your clit. Is this better?”
She cried out, bowing up as her orgasm hit her. “Yes!”
“Come for me, beautiful. Come all over me.”
She screamed his name and bucked her hips, squeezing her core until Damien followed her right off the fucking cliff, filling the condom and shouting her name.
“Holy fuck,” he groaned as he collapsed onto her. “You’re amazing.”
She chuckled. “I think that was all you.”
Damien pushed up to look at her. “No, beautiful, that was us. It’s not like that without you and me together.”
She smiled, a look in her eyes that said she knew all the things he wasn’t saying.
Damien wasn’t ready for her to run, so he did. He pushed himself off her and offered her a hand to help her up. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her until she sighed.
“You are dangerous,” she whispered.
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re making me want things I can’t want.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She nodded toward his half-bathroom. “Shower?”
Damien wanted to push for an explanation, but he understood needing to process things before talking them out, so he let it drop. “Only shower is in the hall bathroom.”
Harmony turned to leave his room, then stopped and looked back at him. “You can join me if you bring the other condom.”
His softening cock stood right back up at that offer. He smiled and hurried after her.