Filthy Rich Alpha - Virna DePaul Page 0,88
later, Branden was lying in Cara’s bed, holding her as she slept. She’d told him everything before she’d nodded off. It wasn’t a peaceful sleep, but rather one plagued by restlessness and nightmares. For the past fifteen minutes, however, she’d been sleeping soundly.
In the meantime, Branden had been making plans.
She stirred in his arms, and he held his breath, hoping she’d stay asleep. When her eyes flicked open, he grimaced at the sight of the dark circles under her eyes and the fear she still couldn’t quite mask.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, quietly.
“That you should be sleeping, not worrying what I’m thinking. You need your rest, Cara. That’s another thing someone has to pay for. I didn’t want you leaving but you deserved vacation time. Forget Niagara Falls. When this is all over, I’m going to take you away someplace warm and exotic. How does that sound?”
“Like a pipe dream. But wait a second.” She frowned. “How did you know I was going to Buffalo? Did you have my travel plans investigated?”
“More than that. I was all set to be on that plane with you today. I wanted you safe, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d be safest with me. Maybe I was wrong—”
She shook her head and laid a hand on his chest. “You’re not wrong. It took me a while, but I finally realized—whatever is happening, we have to stick close to one another.”
He cupped a hand around her neck and drew her in to kiss her, his tongue sliding hotly against hers for several moments before pulling away.
“You were cutting it close by going into work this morning, though. You might have missed our flight,” she teased him.
“I couldn’t help it. I needed to see that video.”
Slowly, she pulled away and sat up, and Branden did the same. “Wait. What? You knew the video was coming? How?”
Branden reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a small plastic bag holding a folded torn-open standard envelope clipped to a sheet of white paper. “This came in the mail. The return address is bogus. I checked.”
Cara read the single sentence, which wasn’t handwritten but printed. The envelope had a printer-made label and a freebie return-address label from some charity solicitation. The sender had used a Forever stamp. With a heart.
Tune in tomorrow morning for more hot stuff. Not Workplace Appropriate, but that’s where to find it.
“So I went in, waiting for it. Unfortunately, my fingerprints are all over this envelope and the note, but there may be others. The envelope and the stamp are self-stick, but I’m going to ask Lee to have the whole thing checked for DNA traces anyway. Hell, maybe I’ll ask Mike Gaunt. You never know.”
“Gaunt?”
Branden set down the envelope and shifted until he leaned back against the headboard. Then he pulled Cara into his side. “I have to level with you. He’s an FBI agent—undercover. It’s funny that you picked up on it. He’s good at covering his tracks.”
He felt the shock vibrating through her. “That’s not an explanation.”
“Wait for it. Dubois & Mellan has been under suspicion for stock fraud. It’s a real can of worms. And no, Max Dubois never had anything to do with the scams. But they did happen while he headed up the firm and that’s why he decided to step down and sell. The SEC is investigating…with my help.”
“Holy cow. So you’re a—what?”
“The CEO. I don’t have a secret identity. I’m a financier. Name it, I’ve done it. I came up the hard way. Started as a stockbroker, moved into venture capital, hedge funds—”
“You can skip the résumé. I Googled you when you took over.”
He grinned. “Ah right. And saw my yearbook photo. Anyway, I really did buy Dubois & Mellan and I really do own it. But I don’t like running a dirty company. So when I heard the company was for sale, I checked with Deena to see if the SEC had any concerns over the company. They did. I agreed to work with them to figure out if there was anything illegal going on. Being the owner made the perfect cover.”
“And Mike Gaunt?”
“The FBI sent us Mike. He’s an expert on cyber fraud, which, given Deena’s expertise, was a bonus but not a necessity. Not exactly a fun guy, but we needed a pit bull and we got one.”
Those cold eyes and thick neck—the description fit, but it wasn’t flattering to pit bulls. Cara hadn’t ever warmed up to Mike.
“I generally use