“My wife,” I explained, scrambling to come up with an excuse for her behavior. “She’s a little overly emotional since she became pregnant. And loud.”
His face morphed into a knowing smirk and he opened his mouth but before he could speak, Eden came rushing through my door. “Isaac! You won’t believe—oh.” She stopped short when she saw the portly, older fellow sitting across from me. “I’m so sorry!”
He grinned, and the appreciation in his eyes as he looked her up and down prompted me to jump to my feet. I rushed around my desk as I spoke. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Levine. We’ll contact you next week.” I spoke firmly and held out my hand, making it very clear that we were done.
After he shook my hand, Eden stepped forward with hers out and I grabbed on to it, tugging her into my side. She shook her head, clearly exasperated, but kept her attention on Mr. Levine. “I really do apologize for interrupting.”
“Next week,” I interjected before he could respond and glared at him until he was out the door.
“Isaac!” Eden gasped. “That was so rude!”
I chose to ignore her comment and simply lifted her into my arms, stalked to my chair, and settled her on my lap. “Sunshine, what have I said about that mouth of yours?” I rumbled with frustration lacing my tone.
Her hands fisted and went to her hips, her eyes shooting daggers at me. I tried, but failed, to contain my smile and from the steam coming out of her ears, it seemed it only pissed her off more. It was fucking adorable and I loved the stuffing out of her.
“You don’t want our baby hearing that kind of language, do you?”
This took the wind out of her sails and I grinned victoriously.
“I guess you’ll have to start watching your language too, then. No more telling me you want to fuck me,”
Yeah, that’s not happening. I immediately scowled but didn’t agree or disagree. “What has you so worked up, Sunshine?” We’d been back from Grand Cayman for three days and she’d been irritated at how long it was taking her to get any information. She must have finally found something.
Her face lit up and she started to almost hop around in my lap. I laughed and pushed her hands off of her hips so I could take their place and hold her still.
“I found several wire transfers out of that account and traced their destination. Remember that guy from the environmental studies company? The leader of the team who died?” I nodded and she continued, “He received one of the transfers. The best explanation is bribe money.” She put her hands on my shoulders and stared into my face. “Isaac, I think he falsified the environmental report that SO&G just released.”
Leaning back in my chair, I mulled over her assumption. She was most likely correct. A doctored report was one thing, but the fact that this guy was also “conveniently” deceased was sending up major red flags. “And the other transfers?” I asked.
“They all went to the same person. I have a name, but it’s a dead end.” She peered at me for a moment, clearly chewing on something in her mind. “I was thinking about calling Alex and seeing if he could make any headway with the name.”
Alex was a family friend and also happened to work for the CIA. Bringing them into the loop would blow this investigation wide. There would be too many involved parties to keep the firm’s name out of it and by extension, Eden. I started to shake my head in denial and Eden winced.
“You already called him, didn’t you?” I sighed.
She blinked her big, blue eyes at me innocently. “I thought maybe Evie might have heard the name,” she explained in an unusually subdued manner.
I froze. A memory from a random conversation with Eden’s father popped into my head. Victor’s nephew, Weston, was a CIA agent and had alluded to the fact that Alex’s wife, Evie, was rumored within the Company to have been a CIA assassin. If Eden wanted her input, it likely meant Eden thought... I almost blew the roof of the building with the force of my roar. “What the fuck, Eden?!?!?!? You think this guy might be a hit man?”
She put her hands on my cheeks and kissed my lips, trying to calm me down. It wasn’t working. “It was just a theory, babe. It could be nothing at all.”
“You’re done,” I barked. “I don’t want you anywhere near this case from now on.”
“Isaac,” she pleaded. “I think I can figure out who owns the bank accounts. I just need more time.”
I was already shaking my head by the time she finished. “No. I’m not willing to risk it. And, have you forgotten you’d also be risking our child?”
A mutinous twinkle entered her eyes, and her lips firmed into a straight line as she glared at me. “Of course not! But, my pregnant ass is sitting behind a damn computer. I’m not endangering myself or the baby.”
My protective instincts were screaming at me and I decided it was time to take her home. I wanted to be in our house, where I knew she was safe, and I could discuss this rationally.
“Let’s put this on ice and go home, Sunshine,” I suggested, though, my tone brooked no argument. “We’ll grab Chinese on the way.” At the mention of her favorite food, she perked up a little, but was still frowning at me.
I lifted her off of my lap and stood, putting on my suit coat and grabbing my briefcase. Then I walked her over to her office to collect her things before making our way down the hall to the front lobby. Before reaching the elevator, I popped my head into Jax’s office.
“Hey,” I called, interrupting an embrace between him and Natalie. She jumped and tried to scurry out of his arms, but Jax held tight and kissed her again. I laughed and when he lifted his head, his eyes were full of irritation. “What the fuck do you want, Isaac?” Natalie smacked him on the shoulder and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
“I’m taking Eden home. I’ll be out for a couple of days, but we’ll still see you Sunday night for dinner?”
Jax nodded brusquely. “Yes, now get the fuck out of my office so I can kiss my wife in peace.”
Eden was giggling hysterically from behind me and the sound melted away a lot of my tension. “Carry on, lovebirds!” she trilled and tugged on my jacket, leading me away from the office.
Holding hands, we took the elevator down to the underground parking garage. Before we reached the sub-level, I pulled Eden into my arms and kissed her thoroughly. “I love you, Sunshine. You and our baby are everything to me. Everything. My only sunshine,” I told her raggedly. She smiled and pecked my lips once more as the doors slid open.
“I know.”
Still clasping her hand tightly in mine, I walked her over to the parking spot next to mine. The pregnancy was already taking its toll on her and she’d been sick and overly tired in the morning, so she’d driven herself to my office a little later in the day.
“Why don’t you ride with me and we can have someone come and get your car tomorrow?”
Eden shrugged and smiled. “Okay. Can you get my bag from the car though?” Her face flushed with happiness. “It has my copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting in it. It’s tucked into the console between the front seats.”
“Sure, Sunshine.” I hit the remote to unlock my car and helped her into the passenger seat. Then I jogged around to the driver’s side of her car and grabbed the handle. The keyless entry disengaged and I pulled the door open.
The loudest crack of thunder I’d ever heard filled the garage and my ear drums popped with the force. My back radiated with pain as it hit something hard and I realized I’d been thrown from the car, right before my head hit the ground and everything went black.
Chapter 9
Eden
“Isaac!” I screamed, the sound muffled by the ringing in my ears. I fumbled for the door handle and practically fell from the car. I dazedly noticed that his Audi had been pushed halfway into the parking spot next to it by the force of the blast. As I raced to his side and dropped down to my knees, I tried not to consider the damage it had done to him if it had been strong enough to move a car like that. “Please be okay,
” I chanted over and over again as I ran my hands over his body.
He didn’t move, not even the tiniest bit, at the feel of my hands. Not even when I slid them over his face and into his hair. Feeling something wet, I stifled the scream that bubbled up in my throat when I pulled my left hand away and found blood on it. With trembling fingers, I yanked my phone from my pocket and dialed 9-1-1. I’d only just finished stammering out the details to the emergency dispatcher when Isaac moaned my name.
“I’m here,” I whispered into his ear after bending low. “Don’t move. Help is on the way.”
“What happened?” he muttered, his words slightly slurred.