Before Ben (Wilde Ways Book 3) Read online

  “You could be hurt.”

  He nodded. “If I’m not there for you when you need me, hell, yes, I’ll be hurt. I’ll be gutted. Because you matter. You aren’t facing this alone.”

  “I have the bodyguards out there—”

  “You have me. I’ve always been there, but you didn’t know it. I didn’t let you know how important you are, and that is on me.” He pulled in her scent. The strawberries that made him crave her. “I won’t make the same mistake again.” All or nothing. He planned to be all in with her. “I love you, Courtney, and I’m not leaving you. You can count on me to be there, no matter what happens. I will always be there.”

  Her lips parted. She searched his eyes. Shook her head.

  “Yes. I love you.” It felt good to say the words. To have them out there. “And no, I’m not waiting for you to say the words back to me. I might have loved you since the first day when you walked into my law class or when I saw you driving hell fast across campus ringing that little bell on your bike—”

  She gave another shake of her head.

  “But I get that you don’t feel the same.” Ben released a slow breath. “I’m going to show you that I can be a better man. I want to be better, for you. I want to give you everything that you want in this world.” A ragged laugh. “Mostly, I want to keep you safe.”

  “Ben…”

  He waited—

  Her phone rang.

  She ignored the phone and stared up at him. “If something happened to you…” Her tongue slid out and licked across her bottom lip. “It would wreck me.”

  His heart squeezed in his chest.

  “I didn’t want to get close to anyone.” Her phone was ringing, but she was ignoring it. Staring up at him. Acting as if he was the only thing that mattered. “It was safer that way.”

  “Baby…”

  “I think you got under my skin.” Her words came faster. The phone stopped ringing. “I think you might have just slid into my heart.”

  Holy hell, was she saying—

  Now his phone was ringing. No. He wanted to throw the phone through the window. He leaned forward and his lips took hers in a deep, hard kiss. Courtney was giving him the chance he wanted. The chance he needed. She was in his arms. She was saying that she—

  And her phone was fucking ringing, too. Shit.

  She pressed her hands to his chest. “We have to answer.”

  Yes, he knew they did. With all the chaos going on, they did. But… “We will finish this conversation.”

  Her head tilted toward him. “Count on it.”

  Courtney reached for her phone even as he yanked his own phone to his ear. He knew the ring tone. Simon. Answering with a growl, Ben demanded, “Tell me you’ve got something good—”

  “Uh, and tell me you were doing something seriously important because you were ignoring my call—”

  His eyes were on Courtney as she spoke quickly into her own phone. Ben swallowed and said, “I was dealing with the most important thing in my life.”

  “Yeah, well…” A sigh from Simon. “I’ve got news. News you are not going to like. The techs at Wilde Securities have been working their magic as they try to trace down the email that was used to send orders to Cole. And guess where that shit originated?”

  “I don’t want to guess. Just tell me—”

  “Courtney’s firm. The emails were coming from there. Someone at her firm hired Cole. She was right there, every single day, with the person who has been paying Cole to shadow her movements.”

  Courtney had put her phone down. A furrow lined her brow.

  “Hold on, Simon,” he snapped. “Courtney, what’s happening?”

  “That was my boss.” She adjusted the seat belt that she still wore, her fingers sliding over it. “He told me that I had to come in, right now…or that he was firing me.”

  What?

  “He said that Hayden Laslow has filed a complaint against me. That I’ll be under review.” She shook her head. “If I don’t show up in the next five minutes, I should consider myself terminated.”

  Oh, really? They would just see about that shit.

  ***

  The black hood was back in place, and Kadi was being transported in a car. The goons hadn’t stuffed her in a trunk this time, so Kadi figured that had to be a plus. Maybe they’d put the hood over her head so she wouldn’t be able to lead the cops back to their hide-out—or whatever they wanted to call their little hole-in-the-wall home.

  Her body was tense. The leader had told her the time a little while ago, and she knew that there was about an hour until the big meeting. Courtney would be there. Hayden would be there. The goons would grab the attorney, and Kadi would be able to walk free.

  Or will they kill me? Because that worry played through her mind. You always had to be ready for a double-cross. She’d learned that from watching her husband work. You thought one thing was happening, but really…something else was afoot. Hayden had been the master at having backup plans.

  So maybe…maybe she needed to have another plan in place, just in case.

  But what could she offer to the men who held her? Courtney’s life? Done and done. She needed something else to sweeten the pot.

  If you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will do it…

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “I don’t know what’s going on.” Courtney’s assistant met her as soon as she entered the towering law office in the middle of downtown Atlanta. “I told Mr. Worthington that your clients had all been rescheduled. I mean, you were due this vacation time anyway. It was hardly a surprise. No one was inconvenienced, you already had this covered—”

  “It’s okay, Karen. I’ll deal with this.” Her employer’s voice had been stone cold when she’d spoken to him on the phone.

  Either come in to see me right now or do not come in at all. You will be done in this town.

  Ross Worthington was going to threaten her? On top of all the crap she had going on in her life? She’d barely gotten off the phone with him before Ben had dropped his bombshell.

  The email from Cole’s so-called boss? It had come from Courtney’s law office.

  Everywhere she turned, it seemed like she was facing some kind of lie or betrayal. Everywhere except…with Ben.

  They entered the elevator. The heavy doors closed soundlessly, and classical music filled the air. The music was supposed to be soothing. It just pissed her off even more.

  “You don’t need this place.” Ben’s voice. Low and steady. His blue gaze slid over her face. “They need you, sweetheart. You don’t need them.”

  Easy to say when he had his own firm. When he already had all of his own clients lined up. But she…

  Worthington, Waller, and Rain was the firm for launching in Atlanta. The firm handled all sorts of cases. Everything from civil and criminal suits to—

  “We don’t know who in this building was sending the messages to Cole,” Ben added, still keeping his voice low. “Simon said Cole responded to the guy and is trying to draw him out.”

  “Draw him out—how?”

  “Cole baited him deliberately, saying that he’d gotten proof of a relationship between his boss and you. If we’re right and this whole case was related to your father, the guy is going to come running to find out exactly what Cole has.”

  Cole was in the hospital, incapable of doing his own running, while Simon stayed at his side as protection.

  “My father isn’t in this building.” She wasn’t buying that.

  “Are you sure?”

  Her gaze darted to the control panel. They were almost to the top floor. The floor where the major partners held court.

  “Ross Worthington is the right age,” Ben continued, and she sensed he was trying to be very careful with his words. “He also has enough power and money—”

  “To basically put a stalker on me?” Yes, okay, he did have enough money for that. “But do you really believe Worthington would hire Donnie to try and kill Cole? You
think Worthington is a murderer?”

  The elevator doors opened.

  They stepped onto the lush carpeting there. Every window on that level was floor to ceiling—and the city gleamed all around them. Ross’s assistant—a young woman in black slacks and a low-cut top, with her blonde hair in a stylish twist—appeared and immediately led them to Worthington’s office. Sharon Long had been working at Worthington, Waller, and Rain for as long as Courtney had been employed there. Though they’d hardly interacted much—when you were on the top floor, you didn’t exactly mingle with the people below you.

  “He’s been waiting for you,” Sharon whispered to Courtney. “And he seems pissed.”

  She was plenty pissed, too.

  “Everything okay?” Sharon asked, eyes wide.

  “Definitely not,” Courtney told her.

  Sharon’s lips parted. Alarm flashed on her face.

  They were at Ross Worthington’s closed office door. Sharon was hesitating, so Courtney stepped forward and shoved open the heavy door. When they entered, Worthington was seated behind his massive desk. His suit coat was tossed to the side, his sleeves rolled up. His eyes were cold and steady behind the lenses of his glasses. Ross Worthington was in his late fifties, but the man worked out like a beast. He had a company gym installed on the third floor, and she knew it was his routine to arrive every morning at five a.m. for his workout. He didn’t have a family. No wife. No kids. He had his work. As he’d said numerous times at office meetings, the firm was life. It was family.

  Apparently, she was about to be kicked out of the family.

  Sharon didn’t follow them inside. She pulled the door shut, sealing them in with Worthington.

  “Courtney.” He rose to his feet. Then frowned when he caught sight of… “Ben Wilde? What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Currently, I’m being a package deal with Courtney. Wherever she goes, I follow.”

  The words sent a lick of warmth through her. Ben’s shoulder brushed her arm, and his touch was reassuring. A package deal? Ben…he’d said he would always be there for her. That he wouldn’t walk away. Did she dare trust that?

  “You weren’t invited to this meeting, Wilde.” Her boss glowered. “So why don’t you—”

  “Have a seat?” Ben finished. “Nah, I’m good standing, thanks.”

  Ross opened his mouth. Didn’t speak.

  Courtney decided to do the talking. “You threatened me today.”

  “I…I had a complaint about you.” But he seemed confused, and his gaze kept darting to Ben. “I gave you the Hayden Laslow case as a favor—”

  “No.” They should stop right there. “You forced me to take Laslow even though I told you I already had a full case load at the time. I took the case as a favor to you. Don’t act like you did any sort of service to me on this one.”

  Behind the lenses of his glasses, his gaze turned hard. “Hayden Laslow has a long history with this firm. He’s one of our best clients and when it came to his divorce, I wanted a top attorney on his side.” He inclined his head. “I gave you an opportunity. That’s what I did, but then you squandered it.” A rough exhale. “Hayden plans to formally file a complaint against you. He said that he believes you’ve been leaking confidential information to his wife, that you were working with her and her attorney…” Now his stare moved to Ben once again. “Her attorney, Ben Wilde. Hayden believes you have shared pertinent material with Ben because you’re involved with him on a personal level.”

  Well, well… “Hayden believes a lot, doesn’t he?”

  “Do you deny it?”

  Ben surged forward. She grabbed his arm. “I’ve got this.” She’d busted ass at this firm. Worked nights and weekends. Taken the grunt cases forever. And now she’d found out that someone in this office had been behind the surveillance at her home. She was done. “I don’t deny sleeping with Ben. We’re personally involved, and that’s our business.”

  Ross jerked back. “You-you can’t sleep with—”

  “I can, and I did. However, I have not shared any privileged information about Hayden Laslow. Ben and I don’t discuss our cases.”

  “We’re too busy doing other fucking things,” Ben threw out.

  Ross frowned.

  A sharp knock came at his door. Before Ross could call out, the door swung open.

  Hayden Laslow stood there, breathing quickly, and with his cheeks flushed.

  “He insisted on seeing you!” Sharon announced, voice vibrating with indignation. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Worthington!”

  But Ross waved her away. Hayden’s fingers brushed over Sharon’s arm as he stalked inside. Then he slammed the door shut on the assistant.

  Courtney’s eyes narrowed. Typical jackass move. Especially with what she knew about Sharon and Hayden.

  “Mr. Laslow…” Ross was oozing warmth. “I was addressing your concerns with Courtney, letting her know that her behavior would not be tolerated—”

  “Watch your fucking words,” Ben ordered. There was a dark, lethal intensity in his voice. “You don’t own her, Worthington, so stop acting like you do.”

  No, Worthington didn’t own her. He didn’t appreciate her. And she was done. She could handle this battle on her own. A wide smile curved her lips as she stared at her boss. “I quit.”

  Ross blinked.

  “You don’t need to fire me. You don’t need to investigate me. I’m done here.” She wouldn’t put up with bullshit. Not now. Not ever again.

  “You’re firing her?” Hayden asked, voice cracking.

  “I—I was responding to your complaint—”

  “That’s what I was afraid of!” Hayden raked a hand through his hair. She realized then that the man looked a little…wild. Blood-shot eyes. Rumpled clothes. “It’s over,” Hayden breathed.

  Yes, she’d said that she quit—

  Hayden rushed toward her.

  Before he could touch her, Ben was there, shoving a hand into Hayden’s chest. “Back off.”

  Hayden froze. But his gaze flew over Courtney’s face. “You did it. You worked a miracle. Kadi called me. She said—said she’d sign the divorce papers. She’ll give up everything without a fight. I got more than I wanted. All because of you.” He looked back at Ross. “Don’t fire her. Don’t ever let her go. It would be the dumbest move of your life.”

  “But, but you said—” Ross appeared lost.

  “You want my business to continue?” Hayden demanded. “Keep her here. Don’t let her go. Don’t even think of it.” He lifted his wrist and peered at his watch. “I have a meeting. I have to go but…” Again, his fierce gaze swung back to Courtney. “Thank you.”

  She had no clue what he was talking about.

  He didn’t offer more of an explanation. Instead, Hayden stormed from the office.

  “I…I seem to owe you an apology.” Subdued and uncertain, Ross peered at her. “You…ah…

  “I still quit.” She’d always planned to leave, anyway. Time to branch out on her own. Time to stop being afraid of risks. “But before I go…” She stalked forward and slammed her palms down on his desk. “I want to know why the hell you hired Cole Vincent to stalk me.”

  ***

  The car rolled to a stop, and the hood was ripped from Kadi’s head. They were outside of her condo—the sleek little beauty that was technically owned by Hayden, but after they’d split, she’d moved into it. The man owned plenty of property around Atlanta, and this place that he’d kept for “entertainment purposes” with some of his clients? She’d liked it. So she’d moved her ass inside. Hayden was supposed to meet her there. She didn’t see his car, but she was sure he’d arrive soon.

  “When we go inside, you don’t say a word to anyone, got me?”

  She turned toward the leader. Pasted a smile on her face. “Got you.”

  He hauled her out of the car. Kept her locked to him and kept a knife pressed to her side. She thought the other jerks would follow, but they didn’t. It was just her and the asshol
e with the knife. As they hurried up the sidewalk, she saw that her discarded shoes were still there. Her purse was long gone. Figured.

  No one was out. Even if she’d wanted to call out a warning to someone, there wasn’t anyone around to help her. Kadi kept her lips clamped together, but her mind was spinning. They rode the elevator in silence, and then…My floor. Each floor was a separate condo unit, and hers was on the top. When they reached the door of her condo, she typed in the code that would open the lock. Then they were inside and…

  Hayden wasn’t there. Fine, fine, she hadn’t seen his car outside. He was just… “Running late,” she murmured. “He’ll be here. Courtney is his attorney and he’ll—”

  The leader got a text. She heard the little buzz and flinched. He pulled out his phone and when he did, the knife finally moved away from her side. He glowered down at the screen for a moment.

  She looked for a weapon. If she went into the kitchen, she could get a knife of her own. If she went to the bedroom…

  “Change of plans…”

  Her head whipped toward him.

  He was smiling.

  Oh, God.

  “Didn’t realize who you were, lady. My mistake…” The knife gleamed. “This just got fun.”

  ***

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ross yanked at his tie. Sweat beaded his forehead. “Obviously, I made a mistake in the way I handled this situation, but Hayden is an important client, and I—”

  “Cole Vincent.” Her hands pressed harder against his desk. “He was hired by someone in this building. Hired to watch me. To monitor me. To collect my DNA.”

  Ross swiped a hand across his sweaty brow. “I-I don’t know anything about that. We work with an array of investigators, you know—”

  “I know when someone is lying.” He was exhibiting classic signs. “I want to know why. I know that the higher ups here monitor everything, so if someone at this firm was sending the money transfers to Cole, then you had to know about it. Or you were the one doing it.” Her suspicion.

  He swallowed.