Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

“Not yet,” I said.

“Your heart rate was through the roof. You crashed in the ambulance, and they had to revive you. You needed three pints of blood during surgery. It was touch-and-go for a while.”

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart. I was used to this kind of thing. I’d taken more lives than I wanted to admit and lost more blood on the battlefield than any human ever should. Things like this didn’t faze me, but Derek? He was a businessman, wealthy and prominent and a shining beacon of light in his industry. He didn’t creep around in the shadows like I did. He didn’t shoot people for a living.

And he sure as hell wasn’t prepared to watch someone bleed out on a carpeted floor.

“Since your team’s already in place, any sort of bribery or unwarranted entry into my home shouldn't be an issue any longer,” Derek said. “Though I’d like to keep you and your team on the payroll until Jacob is officially caught.”

“Didn’t have any other choice,” I said. “The case isn’t closed until the man’s in custody anyway.”

I felt my eyes growing heavy. I felt my head sinking into the pillows. My body was releasing itself back into the void and the blackness of sleep as I felt something tickle my lips.

“Here. Drink a bit more before you go back to sleep,” Derek said.

I lazily parted my lips and drank the cold water he was offering. I moaned, no longer caring about how I sounded. Part of me was worried about staying on his payroll and him taking care of me this way. I knew he wanted more than a professional relationship. I knew he wanted more of me than only the service I had to provide in terms of saving his life. But the true issue wasn’t the fact that he wanted it or even the fact that he wasn’t scared to go afte

r it.

It was the fact that I couldn't deny the feelings I was harboring for him as well.

“Derek?” I asked.

“Sssh. You need rest,” he said. “Just get some rest. I’ll be right here if you need me.”

I nodded and sighed, releasing the straw from between my lips. I slipped down into the covers, allowing the warmth of the sheets to take me under. My drug-induced sleep relaxed my body and dragged the pain in my arm away, but it drove me into a world that warmed me from my nose to my toes.

It drove me right into the arms of Derek Steele, into the swell of his chest and the strength of his arms. I could feel his lips against my neck and his fingers between my legs. I could feel my nipples puckering for him as he slid into me, filling me to the brim as our bodies collided as one.

I could feel more than simple lust rushing through my veins.

My only prayer was that I wouldn’t talk in my sleep. My only hope was that I wouldn’t give away what I truly felt in my moment of weakness. Of pain. Of drug-addled sleep and dehydration.

Because if I did, it would change our relationship forever, and I needed to stay focused.

His life still depended on my ability to focus.

Chapter 3

Derek

A Few Days Later

“THE ATTACK AT DEREK Steele’s company happened five days ago, but there’s still no sign of the assailant, the company’s COO and CEO’s best friend, Jacob Carl. The police are still on the lookout for him, and he’s said to be potentially armed and dangerous. If you see this man, do not approach him. Instead, call the tip line at the number below with any information you might have.”

The news had been droning on about the attack for days. It was headlining news in every local report, and now it had been picked up by national syndicates. And their asses talked about everything. The twenty-four-seven news stations were postulating about all kinds of ridiculous theories. They talked about how I couldn’t have seen this coming. They talked about how maybe I did see this coming and that I was in on it. They speculated about where Jacob could be, what they would do in his situation, and even what they would do in mine.

It was pure and utter bullshit, and I was tired of hearing about it.

It was a major scandal, and like I knew it would, my company was taking a massive hit. Some people had quit, fearing their safety and requiring me to hire new people on the spot. We had to retrain the new people, which took time away from the few projects people still had faith in us doing. Some new companies we had acquired had put a halt on things, and some companies even chose to go under, refused our help last-minute once the scandal had broken into the national news syndicate. The investors were uneasy about seeing their money bounced back, and my stocks were taking a serious hit.

Everything I thought would happen if this got leaked to the media was happening and more.

I sat in the television room, swirling the last of my bourbon in the crystal glass I was holding. I was brooding. Upset. Frustrated. I wanted to strangle Jacob for putting me in this position. I wanted to chew Sam’s head off for making me go to the police with this. I was irate at my security team at the company for not being able to fucking find Jacob that day after locking down the damn building.

How the hell did that man get out of a locked-down building?

I put all the company’s financial accounts on high alert. I had Jacob’s security codes and his name wiped from everything within the first twenty-four hours. I had notifications coming to my phone every time a withdrawal of more than five thousand dollars occurred. My phone never fucking stopped ringing, but it was better than having Jacob make off with millions of dollars I’d never see again.