Page 135 of Devil's Claim

“What do you mean free?”

“Jago knows some people in Miami who owe him a favor. The DA has no intention of filing charges. Malcolm’s death was ruled a home invasion gone terribly wrong and with Maverick, it came to light the lengths Malcolm’s attorney went to try and please his client, including the large sums of money from bribery. The attorney will be disbarred and there will be no further child custody cases allowed coming from Malcolm’s family.” I felt the smile spreading across my face, wide enough my face hurt.

She didn’t react at first, merely blinking several times. “What?”

I laughed softly, but in no way was making light of the situation or the horrible emotions she must have suffered. “You’re free, baby, to go anywhere in the world you want to. Including away from me.”

Her eyebrow shot up. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“On the contrary. I’d like to keep you shackled to the bed, but you’d find a way to escape. I know you too well.”

“What if I told you I’d like that?”

Inhaling, I pulled her even closer, capturing her mouth. The feel of having her in my arms was something that I never wanted to take for granted. Just tasting her was a reminder of how much time I’d lost. No more. I planned on enjoying every moment.

When I pulled away, she took a scattered breath. “Would you like your wedding gift? It’s also a little avant garde, but I think you can handle it. In fact, I think you’re going to be very happy.”

Leaning back, I laughed seeing her smirk. “You have been up to something.”

She shrugged and pushed me away, slipping her fingers into the bodice of her dress.

“What are you doing, my beautiful fiancée?”

“You can never be too careful, Kruz. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Hmmm… Does that mean you don’t trust me?” I watched as she pulled something free, squeezing it in the palm of her hand.

Her expression changed, no longer highlighting whimsy, instead a more solemn look. “To be honest with you, I needed time to process everything and to see if I could really trust you. Seeing the way you’ve been with my son, hearing the laughter and watching his eyes light up any time you give him attention allowed me to see the true man you are. A good man. Now, you can deny it all you want, but you are a decent person. When you stop acting like a brute.”

“A signature of mine, my little special treat.”

“Not with me?” Her slight smiled faded again and she looked down at her hand. “I love my parents. Including my father. But I don’t respect him. I haven’t for years. He’s a criminal. That’s something I ignored for far too long.”

“How so?”

“I have proof he and Skyler Worthington were blackmailing various officials, bribing others. They sold conflict diamonds, brought in shipments from illegal mining sites. With the help of several public officials, they blacklisted the competition. The list goes on.”

“Very extensive accusations and not to be tossed around lightly,” I told her, dropping my gaze to her hand.

She finally lifted her head and took my hand, forcing open my fingers and placing whatever she held into the center, curling them once again. “You underestimated me, my darling soon to be husband.”

Taking another step away, she wrinkled her nose on purpose.

I opened my hand to find a jump drive. “What’s this, you wicked woman?”

“All the proof we need. Paperwork. Recordings of conversations. Copies of emails and financial transactions. A few photographs I managed to take. The question is how do we use them?”

“You were a busy girl when you worked there.”

She shrugged. “A girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. I was going to use it years ago and time passed; I had a new life and I simply didn’t think about the information I’d uploaded to a cloud account.”

“Why now?” I slipped it into my jacket.

“Because I don’t want there to be any secrets between us,” she answered, inching closer. “And because I plan on enjoying my new life. With my husband.”

I grabbed her hand, pulling her close, cupping the back of her head. “You have no idea what you do to me, woman.”

“Oh, I think I do. And I plan on keeping you on your toes. Forever.”

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