Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

Had I heard her right?

“Our future?” I asked.

“Yep. We find the snake in the bush, we trace it back to Jacob, we go find him, and we’re done. Then, we can move on,” she said.

“With our future. You and me,” I said.

“Yes, Derek. You and me. Because I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

A smile broke out across my face. I couldn't believe it. This stubborn, beautiful, hard, collected, graceful woman had let me in. She’d fallen for me just like I had for her, and I allowed her words to ring heavily in my head. All the effort and the hard work and the showing of affection and the chasing around and the needless arguments had finally paid off.

She loved me.

Samantha Williams, my insanely hot bodyguard, was in love with me.

“I guess I have extra motivation to make sure you don’t get killed tonight,” Sam said.

“And now I have extra motivation to actually use this gun I’m staring at,” I said.

“You use it if you need it, Derek. Don’t you play that game with me. There’s going to be a period of time where you’re vulnerable, and I’m not with you. That’s the risk we’re taking. That’s why I left that gun with you.”

“I know. I know. I’m hoping I don’t have to use it.”

“Me too. But it’s there just in case. Self-defense always holds up in court, especially when you’ve got fourteen specially-trained witnesses. If they’re the men I hired, the moment the rat shows himself, they’ll take aim and try to protect you. If I’ve hired the men I think I have, you’ll have fourteen men on your side and only one who isn’t.”

“When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound so bad.”

“I’ve slipped a lot in this job, I’ll admit that. But I hired those men before I ever fell in love with you. I trust the men I vetted.”

“Did you vet John?” I asked.

The phone call fell silent as I sat against my desk. It was a logical question. Even though Sam portrayed herself to be hard and unwavering, she was biased. She had emotions, and she had a personal relationship with John. It wasn’t an intimate one, but she had told me time and time again that she trusted that man with her life. Which meant she probably didn’t vet him like the rest of the guys on the team.

She would’ve assumed he wouldn’t ever betray her.

Just like I had of Jacob.

“Sam?” I asked.

“I gotta go so I can pay attention,” she said. “The guys are coming up the driveway now. Is your front door unlocked for them?”

“Just like you asked,” I said. “Sam, I didn’t mean to implicate John of anything. It was just—”

“It was a valid question, and your grievances have been logged.”

There she was. The cold, calm, collected Sam all of us needed to flush this bastard out, but I knew my question had triggered that response. I hadn’t learned much with Sam around, but I learned enough to know what was going on. She hadn’t vetted John before asking him to come work for her.

She had simply hired him on and used their prior working relationship as a justification for trust.

And in my world, that was dangerous territory. So I knew it had to be with hers.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said.

“For what?” I asked.

“If my theory’s correct, I’ve done all this,” she said.

“Sam, what do you mean? What's happening? What's going on in your head?”