Page 24 of Her Innocent CEO

“What’s going to happen?” I ask him, stopping suddenly and holding my eyes to his in a question. “How much danger are you really in, Maddox?”

The sudden pounding of fists on my front door makes me stifle a scream, and Maddox’s eyes narrow as his jaw sets hard.

“Just promise me, Jasmine,” he says.

“I promise, Maddox,” I gasp into his ear, holding him so tight I can’t feel my own arms anymore. “I love you and I’ll do anything to be with you, I’m yours forever.”

The familiar gruff voice, Sloane, from behind the door seals our fate.

“Open up, Jasmine… Maddox… There’s no way out. We just wanna talk, honest.”

Maddox reaches into his jacket pocket, but changes his mind about something, instead he nods his head, letting me know it’s over.

We can’t win this part of the fight.

“Let ‘em in,” he mumbles. “Otherwise they’ll break it down.”

Chapter Nineteen

Maddox

Jasmine cautiously lets herself up off me but is too scared to open her own front door, jumping out of her skin when they pound on it again.

“I’ll get it,” I growl, and with one hand a fist, I use my other to swing the door of her apartment open, ready to clock anyone who dares to frighten her again.

The faces that greet me aren’t unkind though, there’s no guns drawn, just a couple of flashlights and some very relieved looking guys in suits.

Bad, cheap suits.

“Mr. Maddox Mapleton? Boy, we’re glad we’ve finally found you. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

I’m taken aback, and moving further out into the hall, I’m hoping to have my arrest shielded from Jasmine. I don’t want her to see things get ugly.

“No, I’m not hurt,” I growl. “Just get this over with and leave the girl out of it. I’ll have to represent myself until my legal team-” I start to inform him, but Sloane cuts me off.

“Uh… Mr. Mapleton, what are you talking about? We’re not here to arrest you. We’ve been looking for you all day. We had reason to suspect foul play when we couldn’t find you at your office this morning. Can we come in? There’s a lot to discuss.”

I feel my jaw dropping and for the first time in my life, I’m lost for words.

I step back and with one hand held out to the inside of Jasmine’s apartment, they all file in past me, until it’s clear that three of four’s company and six is a crowd.

“We’ll wait out here, sir,” says one of the last few suits.

Having heard everything I have so far from inside, Jasmine comes to my side and puts her arm around my waist, making me feel a lot easier and calmer straight away.

“I’d ask you to sit, but,” she says as they all notice the lack of space and empty chairs.

“We’ll keep this brief,” Sloane says, his weary face showing signs of life as his eyes soften. His creased mouth curling into a half smile.

“Uh, Agent Sloane Mr. Maddox. I’m with I.R.S. criminal investigation. These are agents Sutton and Wilcox, from the FBI’s Criminal Cyber Response and Services Branch,” he says, hitching his hands to his hips as if he’s about to give his post-match overview to his team.

But my face is only a big fat question. I’m a lawyer, all day.

“Good for you,” I spit, adding. “So?” I say with raised brows when I get no reply.

“Mr. Mapleton, we’ve been investigating your law firm and more importantly, your business partner, a Mr. James Hunter for some months now… were you aware of any unusual financial activities on his behalf within your organization?”

My eyes narrow, and I lean in over Sloane, who’s a stick insect compared to my frame. The two feds, they can handle themselves, but I don’t like where this is going.

I don’t like knowing I’ve been spied on.

“You’re not in any trouble, Mr. Mapleton. Quite the opposite. We’re just glad you’re alright, after this morning, when we couldn’t find you. When Ms. Tate went missing too… we got worried. Hunter’s up to his neck and we thought maybe-”

“Why are you here again, Agent Sloane?” I say loudly, cutting him off and raising my voice to a near shout.

“If it’s not to arrest me, is it to tell me you’ve been spying on me and my business for months?”

Sloane shifts on his feet, glancing at the others, who decide it might be warmer outside after all.

A few seconds later, Jasmine has cleared some room and we three are sat round her kitchen table, the sound and smell of the coffee pot filling the small apartment.

“I’ll keep it brief,” Sloane says, looking like his day’s been ten times longer than my own.

They’ve been watching Hunter, the firm for months? That’s news to me.

“The warrant this morning was to seize Hunter’s files and hard drives, to bring you up to speed on the final stages of our investigation. We had to act fast once we realized how soon Hunter planned to abscond once he’d framed you.”

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