Chapter 103

It took almost two hours to get through Mr. Brown’s testimony—and he claimed that was the abridged version—but by the end, there was more than enough evidence to back up the paper trail that Noah had uncovered. Soon after we finished, I thanked Mr. Brown for his cooperation and left him to his solitude, which I felt that he wanted after such a nerve-racking afternoon. Besides, I had somewhere I wanted to be.

I had to tell Andrew this good news immediately. Well, immediately after a four-hour drive. He might not like that his future son-in-law was about to be proven a white-collar criminal, but he would at least be happy that I was one step closer to keeping my promise regarding Noah.

He might even rethink giving his blessings to Lisa and Bob’s marriage. Lisa might not like it, but it would be best for her.

It was after 8 p.m. when I reached the mansion. The guard hurried me through the gate as usual, but something seemed off about his voice. He seemed almost relieved that I was there, and he remarked that Andrew would be “so glad” to see me.

As I entered the foyer, I was surprised to not see Parker anywhere. Instead, I was greeted by Andrew’s pacing form, his normally immaculate three-piece suit askew. His tie hung lazily from his neck, his jacket was nowhere to be seen, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Something was definitely wrong.

When he saw me, Andrew immediately ran up to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Hello to you, too,” I said, hardly able to breathe through his strong embrace. “Is something wrong?”

“Is something wrong? Of course, something is wrong!” he asked, his voice panicked.

I had not heard so much emotion in his voice since I was kidnapped and thrown to the vampires. It almost had me panicked simply hearing it.

“Don’t you answer your phone?” he continued.

“I was driving. My phone was in my purse. I figured that you would rather I paid attention to the road than risk getting into an accident to answer a text.”

“You could have at least let me know when you were heading home. You don’t know how worried I’ve been about you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that it was that big of a deal—”

“After everything that you’ve been through, thatwe’vebeen through? It certainly is a big deal, especially today!”

I tried to pull away from Andrew, but I couldn’t escape his hold.

“Will you let me go and tell me what’s going on?”

Andrew unwrapped his arms from around me but placed his hands on my shoulders. He held my gaze steadily. It almost unnerved me.

“It’s all over the news,” he began.

“What’s all over the news?”

“The accountant that you went to visit today, John Brown, he’s dead.”

My eyes widened. My knees buckled beneath me, and Andrew had to hold me up to keep me from falling forward.

“He’s…dead?” I choked out. “No, no, that’s not possible. I was just with him this afternoon.”

“That’s why I was so worried. They’re saying that he was murdered.”

“Murdered?”

“Yes, so I thought…when they didn’t mention anything about you, and you didn’t answer your phone, I was worried that something had happened to you, too. I thought that maybe your stalker had followed you down there and killed him to get to you, then taken you somewhere to…finish the job.”

I looked up at Andrew’s face and saw, for the first time, true vulnerability in Andrew’s eyes. It was mixed with rage and concern, but I could see it, a softness that did not normally poke through his tough Alpha King exterior. He truly had thought that the worst had happened to me.

It warmed my heart to see how much he cared about me. It saddened me as well, to see that I could affect him so deeply and negatively, but I hadn’t had someone care this much about me in a long time. The feeling filled an empty place in me that I had not realized was there before.

I reached up and kissed him gently on the lips, running my fingers along his jawline. He wrapped his arms around me once more, holding me as though he would never let me go. As we separated, he tapped his forehead to mine.

“Never do that to me again,” he commanded. The vulnerability had disappeared, replaced by a mixture of firmness and gentleness that still showed that his demand came from a caring place.

“I won’t,” I whispered back in submission.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the tenderness of this scene. I breathed in his scent, letting it fill my lungs. Then I remembered the direness of the situation surrounding us and decided that I needed to address it sooner rather than later.

“You’re not going to like this,” I said, “but I need to call Noah.”

Andrew stiffened, his arms becoming like a vice.

“Now?”

“Yes, now. I got Mr. Brown’s testimony on my phone, but I’m not sure if that will be enough on its own. Since he can’t give his testimony in person, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

A growl rumbled through Andrew’s chest, but he nodded.

“I’m not leaving you yet,” he asserted as he released me. “I won’t have you out of my sight after that.”

I kissed the palm of his hand.

“I would expect nothing less.”

I grabbed my phone out of my purse. I cringed at the ten missed phone calls and endless text messages from Andrew. I definitely owed him something for making him worry so much.

Dialing Noah’s number, I put the phone to my ear, glancing at Andrew every now and then to assess his mood. Although he watched me, he didn’t seem too upset, yet.

“Hello, Crystal?” Noah asked in a rush. “Have you seen the news story about John Brown?”

“Yeah, that was actually why I called you,” I replied. “I was visiting him today—”

“You were? Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m okay. He was okay, too, when I left. He had even cooperated enough for me to get testimony out of him.”

“Really?”

“It’s recorded on my phone. Will that help us at all?”

Noah sighed.

“I don’t know. It might help bolster the paper trail, but I don’t know how well it will hold up without him able to deliver the testimony live. The fact that he was probably murdered will not help the case, either…”

I ran my hand through my hair. Andrew put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

“Is there anything that you can do?”

“I’ll see what we can do and get back to you, but again, I’m not sure how well our evidence will hold up without John Brown. In the meantime, you should be careful.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying, it could look suspicious that you were at his house—”

I didn’t get to hear the rest of what Noah had to say. Sirens blared as cop cars pulled up to the gate.