Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Andrew and I awoke to a knock at my apartment door an hour before my

alarm was set to go off. I groaned and disentangled myself from the sheets and Andrew’s limbs.

“Who could that be this early?” Andrew asked, partly annoyed and partly concerned.

“I don’t know.”

I threw on my robe and walked towards the door. Andrew slid out of bed and trotted up beside me. I didn’t complain; it could be another kidnapper, for all I knew, and I would prefer having him by my side, if that were the case.

I looked through the peephole and saw Noah on the other side, holding what looked to be a box of donuts. Surprised, I quickly opened the door.

“Noah! What are you doing here?” I asked.

Noah smiled upon seeing me, then furrowed his brow at the sight of Andrew standing right beside me in his pajamas. The smile vanished.

After a moment, Noah gathered his thoughts and held the box of donuts out

to me.

“I brought donuts! I mean, I have news, but I also brought donuts to have while sharing the news,” he rambled.

I smiled and accepted the box. I took a whiff; they smell heavenly.

“Thank you, Noah. Please, come in. The three of us can sit down and enjoy these while you tell me your news.”

I motioned for Noah and Andrew to follow me to the dining room table. I heard the door close a little harder than necessary.

We sat at the table, Andrew and me on one side, Noah on the other. Andrew wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. Although I didn’t want to upset Noah, I didn’t want to upset Andrew, either, so I settled. into his embrace.

Noah’s mouth twitched downward, but he tried to keep his expression neutral.

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I set out napkins in front of each of us, opened the box, and set a glazed donut on the napkins. Licking the icing off my fingers, I looked at Noah expectantly.

“So?” I said. “What’s your news?”

Noah took a bite of his donut and chewed it quickly before responding.

“You remember the accountant that went missing?”

I nodded.

“I’m narrowing in on his location.”

I jumped up and leaned towards Noah. I felt Andrew remove his arm from around my shoulders and instead grab my hand, holding it tightly.

“Really? Where is he?”

Noah glanced at Andrew, then turned his attention back to me.

“Well, I don’t want to go into too many details right now, but it seems that he might have gone into hiding-”

“Why?”

“That’s the $1,000,000 question, isn’t it? It’s another thing that my contacts and I are working on while trying to pin down his exact location. For now, it seems best to guard the information that we have as closely as possible, just in

case.”

Noah eyed Andrew again. This time, I got his message loud and clear: he would not reveal too much in front of mixed company.

“Okay. Is there anything else that you needed to share?”

Noah shook his head.

“Not at the moment. I’ll let you know the moment that I have something

more.

He looked at his wristwatch.

“Right now, though, I should probably head into work.”

“So soon?” I asked. “At least finish your donut.”

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“No, no, I’ll just take it with me.” He collected his donut in his napkin and flashed me a smile. “Thank you anyway.”

He headed for the door before I could put up any further objections.

“I’ll see you later, Crystal.”

“I’ll see you later, Noah,” I barely managed to say before he shut the door.

I shook my head and faced Andrew.

“Well, that was odd. He should’ve at least stayed to finish his donut.”

Andrew’s grip on my hand tightened.

“Why, so that you could spend more time with him?”

I furrowed my brow.

“What? No. He brought the donuts, so I just thought it was odd that he wouldn’t at least eat an entire one before taking off.”

“As odd as him showing up here at six o’clock in the morning?”

“Well, yes, that was rather odd-”

“Not if you’re still seeing him, though, right?”

I pulled my hand away from his.

“What do you mean by that? Of course, I’m not seeing him anymore! I’m your girlfriend.”

“Then what was this-” Andrew motioned to Noah’s chair and the donuts- “all about?”

“You heard what it was about!”

“No, I didn’t. I heard some gibberish about a missing accountant. Please, if you two aren’t together, then explain to me why he was here so early.”

I hesitated. Could I trust Andrew with this information, information that reflected badly on Bob? Would he believe me?

I sighed.

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“Bob and I had a company together, one that he told me went belly–up while I was in jail,” I began, not looking at him. “However, I have reason to believe that he might have done something illegal with the company. Noah is helping me to find out what it is and to get justice for it.”

I waited. I waited for Andrew to blow up on me, to tell me that I was lying or mistaken, but it didn’t happen. Instead, when I dared to lift my head again, I only saw compassion and understanding in Andrew’s eyes and expression.

“You really think that Bob did something illegal with your company?” he asked.

“Yes, I do. I can’t explain it all, but Noah has found evidence that it did. happen. We just don’t have enough to do anything about it, yet.”

“And this accountant, he will help you with that?”

“He’s the key to everything.”

Andrew nodded in understanding. He leaned forward and k*ssed me on the l*ps.

“I’m glad,” he said when he pulled away. “I’m glad that you trust me with this information. I’m also glad that you aren’t seeing him anymore.”

His eyes darkened, and his voice dropped an octave.

“You’re mine. Only mine.”

My b*dy shivered, and my groin moistened.

“Yes,” I whispered, “yours. Only yours.”

He smiled at me, satisfied. Then the smile disappeared, and he sighed.

“There is something that I want you to do for me, though,” he said.

“Anything. Anything that will make you more comfortable.”

“I want you to find another lawyer for your case. I’m sure that one of Noah’s colleagues will be able to pick it up easily.”

I tilted my head at him.

Why? I told you, there’s nothing going on between us.”

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“He proposed to you,” he growled. “He obviously wants something to be going on between you. I can’t take the chance that he will try and go after you.”

I shook my head and grabbed his hand in both of mine.

“Andrew, no one could steal me from you.”

“I don’t want to risk it. I love you too much.”

I smiled and k*ssed his knuckles.

“I love you too, my Alpha King.” I sighed. “For you, I will find another lawyer.”

“Thank you, my love.”

He removed his hand from mine and ripped off a piece of my donut.

“Here. Let me feed you.”

“Oh, how fancy.”

I opened my mouth and let him pop the piece of donut into my mouth. As I sucked the icing off of his fingers, suggestively licking up and down his index finger, my mind was miles away. I had no idea how I was going to explain this to Noah without breaking his heart.