Page 20 of Hacker Auction

“No, he signed over all rights. If something happens to me, Sage goes to my brother. No way would any of it lead back to my money. I think everyone is overreacting.”

For the next hour, we went through every aspect of Rachelle’s life. Nothing stuck out as to where she could have picked up a stalker or why someone was out for her. The only thing I could figure out was someone at the hospital wasn’t happy.

Rachelle yawned. “I think you have enough on my life. Can I go home?”

Brock tapped his fingers on the table. “I don’t think it would be safe for you there.”

“How about the hotel my parents own downtown? The place has security, and nobody is allowed on the top floor. I understand going to my parents might put them and Sage in danger.”

“That could work.” Brock paused for a second. “I would be happier if you took a bodyguard.”

“She can stay here for the night.” I ground out, not wanting my time with her to be over quite yet.

Brock nodded. “That might be a good idea. I forgot one thing. Someone had also put a tracker in your car. I’m going to have someone check out your other car as well.”

Rachelle gasped next to me. And for the first time, I think how dangerous everything was started to set in.

Jessica and Brock left us alone in the room. “I’ll take you to my place and get you settled. Brock said I could stay in his spare room.”

“Are you going down there?” She waved her hand toward the open glass window.

“Not tonight.”

She captured her lip between her teeth and the damn gesture had me wanting to lay her out on the conference room table. “You know our one night isn’t over. Why don’t you join me in bed?”

For the second time in one night, she left me speechless. And there was no way I could say no because the woman put me under a spell. “One night,” I said out loud, not sure if for myself or for her.

CHAPTER8

Rachelle

My hands feltclammy as we walked down the hall. I couldn’t believe I had asked the man to bed. Wes swiped his badge across the black box under the handle, and a green light had shown before he pushed the door open. I took a deep breath before I followed him into his apartment. There was no turning back. Tonight was my only chance to sleep with the sexy man.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Wes’s voice drew my attention away from his living room.

“Sure.”

“Have a seat, and I’ll be right back.”

His place was nothing like I expected. Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the rustic farmhouse feel didn’t match Wes’s personality. On the wall were pictures of groups of friends, but Wes wasn’t in a single one.

Wes walked back into the room and handed me a glass of red wine. “This is a friend’s place. I only planned to be here for a few weeks. Brock talked me into staying longer, so I’m going to have to figure something out.”

I took a sip of the wine, and it did nothing to calm my nerves. “This is strange. I’ve never asked someone for a one night stand, before.”

Wes sat on the couch next to me. His leg brushed up against mine. He rested his arm over the back of the couch, his fingers played with my hair. “Nothing has to happen, Rachelle. We didn’t talk much at dinner. We can sit here, have a glass of wine, and talk and see where it leads. If you still feel on edge, I’ll give you a kiss goodnight, and we can go our separate ways.”

“Right. Talk. How did you end up in the security business?”

Wes took a sip of his wine and twirled the glass in his hand, he deliberated so long I wasn’t sure he was going to answer me. “Growing up, Mom always worked two jobs to keep a roof over my head. I knew she struggled, so the older I got, I started to work as a runner for a club. The owners were the McGraw family. When I first started, I should have realized they were one of the biggest Mafia families in Chicago, but we needed money so I overlooked it. For years I did small things for the family, and then they started to ask me to do bigger jobs. When I was eighteen, I was deep in the inner circle. I didn’t have a dad, so I looked up to Leo. He was the head of the family. One day he asked if my mother needed a job. They paid well, and I was excited.” Wes took a big swig of his wine. “Everything was going great. Money was coming in. But one of Leo’s kids didn’t like how much his father pulled me into the fold. Jacob, Leo’s son held my mom captive.”

“Oh god, is she okay”

“Yes. I went to Leo, and he told me it was between Jacob and me. For three days, I searched for her until I figured out where he had her. Jacob was cocky, bragged about how he got one over on me. I found my mom and took Jacob out.”

“You made him suffer, I hope.” I wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t bother me he had killed a man.

Wes smiled. “That doesn’t scare you to be alone with me?”

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