Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
My balls tingle and I don’t even think to pull her off or warn her. She wouldn’t want me to because Tessa is the type of woman who’s going to swallow ten out of ten times. My fingers tense against her, and she knows I’m close. She increases her pace, takes me in deep and I come so hard, I shout out a litany of nonsensical words.
Tessa just swallows and sucks and squeezes, wringing every bit out of me until I’m left gasping and panting like I’d run a marathon.
But as boneless as I feel right now, I’m strangely energized by this beautiful display of care she just gave me.
She’s right… I’m not tense anymore.
I’m starved.
I push up and lift her from the floor. I sweep her into my arms and carry her toward her bedroom. She laughs huskily and presses her lips to the hollow of my throat.
She knows what’s coming.
I’m going to return the favor, my mouth already watering at the thought of my tongue on her pussy. And only after I make her come hard, I’ll fuck her just the way I know she likes it.
CHAPTER 10
Tessa
Ilove the duality of Jameson’s lobby. The décor is soothing with its exposed brick and high-end furnishings. Even though I’d been offered one of the offices to work out of, I chose the long wooden table adjacent to the fireplace because I like to work among hustle and bustle. It reminds me of working in the pit at the Herald, the biggest difference being that half the people moving through this space could dismantle a cartel before lunch.
Cole had work to do today at headquarters plus he wanted to get in a workout and firing range practice, which meant I had to come along with him. While he capitulated to let me stay at my house, I can only do so if he’s with me and it’s a compromise I don’t mind. I’ve been parked at the communal worktable, having the entire space to myself, now covered with piles of documents for easy reference. My laptop is open, Erik’s files spread across a neat digital maze of folders and subfolders. I’ve been combing through the corporate emails again, looking for patterns I might’ve missed the first dozen times.
It’s great that I have this information, but Erik’s dead and this stuff is useless since he can’t verify it. Now I’m searching for how to substantiate his claims in ways other than corporate documentation.
In essence, I need people.
That could be another whistleblower or even people who knew him and in whom he might have confided. There’s no way I can cold-call RainVest employees, especially ones who would have been high up enough to know anything. Erik was the executive assistant to Adrian Schwartz and had stumbled upon the damning information. He was the one who tipped me off and started my investigation and ultimately provided me with the flash drive. It cost him his life, and I doubt I’m going to luck into someone else with the same knowledge base willing to talk.
But I have to try, and my first order of business is to call Marissa Hale. Through some good old-fashioned scrubbing of Erik’s social media accounts, I located his older sister. She’s married, has two kids under the age of seven and a suburban address outside of Tacoma.
I stare at her number for a long moment before dialing and she answers on the fourth ring. “Hello?”
Her voice sounds exhausted and laced with grief. She lost her brother just three days ago. “Hi, Marissa?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“My name is Tessa Ward. I’m a reporter for the Emerald City Herald in Seattle. I was working with your brother on an investigative news piece before his death.”
Silence. Then, carefully, “Working how?”
“He had information about the company he worked for… RainVest. He tipped me off to some shady dealings and was providing me inside information.”
“Jesus,” she mutters, her words tight with anger. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were,” I murmur. “I believe his death wasn’t accidental.”
Another stretch of silence, heavier this time. “I don’t know anything about that,” she says quickly.
Too quickly.
“I’m not looking to drag you into this situation unnecessarily,” I say gently. “But Erik trusted me. He gave me documents. If there’s context—if there’s anything you noticed—”
“I don’t know anything,” she cuts in, her composure cracking slightly. “And even if I did… I don’t want to talk about it. I just lost him, for Christ’s sake!”
I sit up straighter. She knows something. “I promise I won’t use your name. I can come talk to you today—”
“No!” she exclaims and I hear the fear in her voice. “Erik and I weren’t that close so I couldn’t be of any help.”
I don’t buy it for a second. Social media showed a loving, close sibling relationship with pictures of them with their arms around each other, smiling big for the camera. He doted on his nephews. I decide to hit her on it but gentle my voice. “I don’t think that’s true, Marissa.” I hear her inhale on the other end of the line. “I think you two loved each other very much and he was taken away unfairly. I really want to get him justice and—”