Chapter 29
Chace escorts Rylie into his office suite she notices Evelyn is not at her desk.
"Where's Evelyn?" Rylie says hesitant to cross the threshold into his private office.
"She's gone to get the mail and probably on break, why?" Chace ask seeing the look of trepidation on her face.
"I don't want to talk to you in your office. Say what you have to say to me out here." Rylie haughtily tells him.
"You really want me to talk about last night out here?" He knows why she's upset with him, he didn't want to greet the morning like this but was forced into it to keep her from seeing the damage somebody made to her car.
"You don't have to talk about last night, obviously it didn't mean that much to you since you didn't have the decency to...." She brushes past him wanting to keep major distance between them.
Chace catches up to her grabbing her in his arms he plunders her lips. She struggles for a bit but he doesn't stop sliding his tongue into her mouth engulfing her tighter in his arms. Her body tingles, her head moves opposite his opening her mouth she gives him control of the kiss. Rylie's eyes are closed, her breathing labored while her arms are pressed against his chest in a defensive move that results in her relaxing in his hold returning his hungered kiss.
"This is the way I wanted to wake up with you this morning, but I got an important phone call and I had to leave immediately. I knew I would see you in a few hours so I took a chance you would understand." He whispers against her lips while caressing her arms.
"You sneak, you haven't told me anything yet. You....you just grab me like some caveman and kiss the hell out of me like it makes it all better. We need to talk Chace, we need to communicate in other ways or do you even want to?" Rylie questions.
"What kind of question is that? You kissed me back so you must have enjoyed it." He says confounded by her attitude.
"You're in the doghouse Chace and still you can't resist just peeing all over the carpet can you." She gestures with her hand at him.
"Save the drama Ry I get enough of that shit from Ivana and Jayson. I don't want to hear it from you."
"Oh you arrogant bastard." She pulls away from him walking to the door. He moves swiftly his strides much quicker than hers.
"Dammit." He grabs her around the waist from behind pulling her against him.
"I can't do this anymore Chace." Rylie has her eyes closed she can feel his cheek pressed against hers his arms wrapped around her waist holding on.
Chace lets her go feeling a gut check moment between them. He can't let her go after he saw what someone did to her car this morning. He can't deny anymore to himself that he loves her but is what he feels real enough to be sustained when this is all over and there is just them. He has to find a way to make her understand that but how, she's going on emotion right now he doesn't know what she truly feels about him he's still afraid to be out on that limb by himself.
"The feelings are there Rylie can we just let it happen between us naturally?" She can hear the pleading in his tone her back is still to him.
She lets his words sink in, mostly because it's already naturally happened for her. She can no longer fool herself believing they are staying so intimately connected because they are comforting each other through this situation by having mind blowing sex. Last night when they took a bath together something changed, something clicked between them or so she thought.
He told her he's never taken a shower or bath with another woman, it's not something he does he believes it's to intimate. When she asked him why he agreed to do it for her, he told her she makes him do things he would never do with anyone else. He warned her that there was also another reason and it's something he would prefer to keep secret which only made her curious. She soon learned his secret is that he's very ticklish in certain areas. He's very dominate when it comes to sex and he was able to hide it all the other times they were together but bathing with her is different, there's nowhere to hide he told her.
Rylie knew if she wanted to discover all of his sensitive areas she had to make him give up some of that domineering control he holds onto. She started out teasing him drawing minor resistance and some seductive smiles. Those smiles drove her on, soon she had him groaning and blushing as she kept tasting and teasing him. She already knew he was sensitive from the way he responded to her before when they had sex but she chalked it up to him not wanting to relinquish control and now she really knows it not just that. It didn't take long before he gave in and she had those smiles turning to grins and giggles. He was so hard and unable to stop touching her that he picked her up by the waist in the water and slammed her on top of him causing them both to cry out.
She milked him unashamedly. She thought last night put them both on another level of their relationship, by the time they got out of the bath and into bed he was inside her again filling her up completely making love until they fell asleep in each other's arms. Waking up without him in bed with her this morning made her feel like he regretted allowing her to see his vulnerability. She needs more from him she doesn't know how to communicate it to him without scaring him off.
Turning around to face him she ultimately replies. "Sometimes the words you truly feel have to be said Chace."
"I know that Ry. There are things I want to say now is just not the right time and I don't want to lead you on."
Rylie dolefully nods her head, not sure how to respond to that. "I see...." She turns back around putting her hand on the doorknob to leave feeling to upset and racked with uncertainty about where they go from here she forgets about her car.
He doesn't understand how she's feeling, he believes he's explained the personal side of things between them and it will continue as they are besides he doesn't have time to keep focus on their bedroom life, he has to focus on keeping her safe.
"Rylie, someone broke into your car last night and destroyed the inside of it. I wanted to see how bad it was and get the damn thing out of here before you got here. I'm not apologizing for that." He holds her at arm's length, she's looking at him mystified.
"Langston said that two cars were broken into, I thought.....maybe it was something random, maybe it's bad luck because Leland didn't get around to bringing me my car but you're saying something else Chace. Who did the other car belong to?" Rylie nervously ask, Chace guides her into his office.
"Here, sit down." He tells her taking a seat next to her on his long leather burgundy sofa while still holding her hand.
"I didn't want to tell you all of this." He shakes his head.
"You've got to tell me. I have a right to know, who did the other car belong to." Rylie squeezes his hand.
"Ry the other car belongs to an analyst in Langston's unit. She left it in the garage overnight because she had a date and thought it would be safe. Sweetheart we don't think it had anything personal to do with her." Chace is very carefully explaining.
"Just tell me Chace, it's obvious you and the detective think this is about me. What is the connection between me and this other person that her car and my car were broken into?" Rylie exclaims getting more worked up.
"Rylie you both have the same cars, the same year, same color and had your car been parked where it normally is parked it would have been on the same floor of the garage as hers. Leland moved it to one of the private parking spaces on the executive level instead of bringing it to you because I told him to. I wanted us to ride to work together this morning. We think whoever was looking for it found hers first. It had minor damage to it compared to your car. The door was pried open and so was the glove compartment in her car, her registration was torn up in the passenger seat and it has a few slash marks across the backseat as if in frustration.
"That means they found her name and address." Rylie holds her hand over her mouth in shock.
"Yes it does. In your car it wasn't forced open, the glove compartment was found open, your registration was laying on the passenger side floor intact. Whoever did this ripped your seats up front? The backseats and trunk were ripped up and smeared with dog facieses. There was a scarf tied on the steering wheel and a song was blasting from the car. Whoever did this had a key to you're car. Rylie who else has keys to your car." Chace ask her.
"This is disgusting. Who would do something like this?" She says nervously. "Dog facieses, I don't even have a dog why would they.....Chace I haven't given anybody else the keys to my car. I have a spare set at my house. I'm the only one that drives my car, I don't know who could have done this."
Chace pulls her close to him kissing her on the forehead she pulls away. "I've got to go call my insurance company about this, what did you do with my car I've got to get it fixed or something. I need to get another I guess. I have to pick up my dress for the company cocktail party this weekend, I don't have time to replace it or get it fixed. I guess I'll have to get a rental." She tries to think of what else she needs to do feeling baffled that someone would do this to her not believing it's related to Monique.
"The police, did they find something else, you said there was a scarf on the steering wheel. Who does it belong to?" She says.
"I need you to come downstairs with me to security so you can see the video they have of your car. You can look at the pictures of the scarf to see if you recognize it. We still have your car here, the police aren't picking it up for a few hours. If you really want to see it I can show it to you but sweetheart you don't have to. You don't have to call your insurance company, I'll have someone take care of all of that."
Rylie nods her head at Chace in understanding. The thought of someone doing something like this to her scares her. She wants him to take care of it. Why would they tie a scarf around the steering wheel, it doesn't make sense she wonders to herself.
"Chace, you said they tied a scarf around the steering wheel. Is there anything else they did?"
Chace stands up and moves away from her going to the window. Rylie stands up following him.
"Chace....tell me. What else did they do?" She lays her hand on his back moving around him to face him. His body is stiff, he pensively looks out the window. She stands in front of him blocking where he's looking so that he's looking at her.
"I didn't learn of this until this morning. The police found an empty picture frame sitting on Kayla's desk in her office. They believe whoever murdered her took the picture out of it. There was a picture left in your car, the driver's side, it was a picture of Kayla, Monique and you, I don't know when it was taken but it was marked up. A heart was drawn around your face in the picture. Rylie is shaking by the time he finishes talking. She falls into his arms hugging him.
"That's proof Monique didn't do it. Whoever broke into my car and took the picture killed Kayla. My sister didn't do it." Rylie says hugging him with her eyes closed.
"Ry.....are you listening to me? This is about you that was your car, they drew a heart around your face. You're not getting another car right now, Leland is going to chauffeur you everywhere you go when I can't until we catch whoever did this. Come on, let's go downstairs and see if you recognize the scarf." Chace slides his arm around her waist walking her to the door not giving her a chance to refuse.
Rylie and Chace come off of the executive elevators going to the security office. They miss Margo entering the building. She's different this time, polite but nervous, there are tears in her eyes and the guard barely hears her when she says she needs to see her husband. "Jayson Braxton."
Margo is escorted into a smaller room to wait. Jayson takes his time coming downstairs entering the room Margo is in thirty minutes after her arrival. Unbeknown to either of them Chace and Rylie are just next door in another security room.
"Don't be mad I had to come here, I need your help." She murmurs digging around in her purse she pulls out an eight by ten envelope shoves it across the table to him he doesn't pick it up.
"Oh so now you "NEED" something from me besides my money. I tried to help you just a couple of weeks ago and you threw it back in my face. Where's your bodyguard did he get tired of you to and leave."
"Jayson don't. Raheem's outside waiting in the car. We didn't.....I didn't know if they would let me in to see you so I asked him to wait at the drop off entrance.
"Smart choice, you've seen me you can leave now." Jayson grabs the door opening it.
"Don't...." She cries out at him her voice breaking. He turns around to find her crying holding her head in her hands. "I can't let them do this to me." He hears her mumbling her tears getting louder. He's tired of her self-absorbed act. It's already cost too much of his pride and pushed him away for good only he didn't make any better choices. He's trying to change e's convinced her tears are just the new thing she's trying with him to get what she wants.
"What is it you need me to do Margo payoff some credit card you overcharged or have you wrecked another car. I told you I'm not buying you another car. You can buy your own out of the divorce settlement." He angrily remarks.
"Jayson, will you just stop it and listen to me. I seriously need your help. I didn't know he was going to do something like this, you've got to help me. She shoves the envelope at him again.
"Why are you....?" He snatches the envelope out of her hand waiving it at her. "What do you want me to do with this Margo, I told you I'm done with you."
"Can you just look at it. If you weren't so busy chasing between that damn Cameron woman's legs maybe we could have reconciled and it wouldn't have come to this. This is mostly your fault. You pushed me into this."
Jayson is scowling at her, he snatches the envelope ripping it open. "I pushed you.....I can't believe you are blaming me for another one of your.....your?" The pictures in his hand leaves his mouth hanging open. He flips through them one at a time quickly stopping to stare at one of them his eyes are like granite, he turns the picture to the side. "What the hell Margo, when I came near your ass wanting to do this you made me buy you a damn car." He throws the rest of the pictures on the table between them shaking the picture he's still holding at her shoving it in her face.
"You want to tell me you let this bastard.....you let him do this to you and now he's blackmailing you over it?" Jayson yells at her.
"Will you lower your voice, after you and I did it, I discovered I liked it. You're the one that left me and decided you wanted to plug your cork up somebody else's hole. I'm a woman with needs Jayson, what did you expect me to do?" She yells back at him.
"Well you didn't have to go out and open your legs for the first guy that flirted with you. Did you ever stop grinning at his lame compliments to think maybe, just maybe a guy like this would have an ulterior motive for wanting to be with a woman like you? Jayson fires back at her.
"Well excuse me for being left dry and horny by my cheating husband." She returns fire.
"I didn't cheat, you said you didn't want me anymore you only wanted my money so I left. I hope your ass was too sore to sit for days." He is still loud.
"You prick, your just jealous I wouldn't let you back there again." Margo spits at him.
"You mean for free Margo....payback's a bitch, it wasn't virgin territory like you claimed it was when I entered that tunnel you call your ass. I got lost in one of your passageways trying to find my way out." Jayson digs in trying to hurt her more feeling angered by the type of sex he sees her having with Quinton on the pictures.
Their voices can be heard outside of the door. Rylie and Chace are in the hallway talking to one of the security guards about the damage to her car. Rylie is upset about her car but angered more that Chace won't let her see it up close. He won't let her look inside of it. She can only see the scarf still on the steering wheel from a distance, it doesn't look familiar.
The room Jayson and Margo are in has a half door size window with a mini-blind that's open. Chace, Rylie and the guard can see them going at each other and hear their conversation outside the door.
"You...ah want me to handle that sir?" The guard ask Chace knowing it's his brother and wife. He really doesn't want to get involved, he's already had a few run-ins with Margo before that were as contentious as the scene looks through the window.
Chace is already walking toward the door when he yells out. "Go back to work, I'll handle it." He says turning the knob.
Rylie is behind him as he opens the door. Jayson and Margo are arguing loudly at each other neither hear or see the door open and don't seem to care that someone else is in the room with them. Jayson has a picture in his hand he's waving in Margo's face. She slaps it away out of her face. Rylie has her hand over her mouth, she's looking at the pictures spread out on the table. Chace looks down at them. "Oh shit....." He exclaims walking over to the arguing couple.
"Hey....hey. He grabs Jayson pulling his brother back from standing over Margo. Both are breathing heavy.
"What the hell is going on? You two can be heard outside this door?" Chace scowls at them both. They each calm down looking around them.
"Why is she here?" Margo's voice is raised again. "You bring her in here to throw her in my face Jayson. I come here to ask you for help and you bring your new lay around to get in my business. We've been married for almost five years you can't show me an ounce of dignity." Margo pushes him on his chest.
"Stop it Margo, I didn't." He's cutoff by Chace cupping his shoulder with his hand. "Go over there and stand by Rylie....no get those damn pictures off that table and out of the sight of that window, anybody can see them."
"What do you want Margo?" Chace is now standing in front of her. She rolls her eyes at him.
"As if you will help me. You don't care Chace." Margo complains.
"You either talk to me or walk out the door Margo, you don't have any other options. Rylie isn't here with Jayson, she's here with me." Chace admits looking over at Rylie and Jayson gathering up the pictures.
"Really....so you and your brother share screwing Rylie now since he's already knocked up her sister. What is it these Cameron girls have that I don't?" Margo sarcastically says.
"Well Margo they are not about to be featured on every porn site and Youtube like you are. What does Quinton want from you to keep from showing these pictures all over the internet?" Chace politely ask her.
"I'm not answering any of your questions in front of her." Margo points at Rylie.
"It's alright, I'll leave the room." Rylie says ready to slap the smirk off of Margo's face. She feels she's being generous after the comment Margo just made about her.
"Rylie stay, Jayson hand me the pictures." Chace commands to both Jayson and Rylie's surprise. Jayson hesitantly hands them to his brother their eyes catching in a frown.
"Now you tell me the truth about this, not some trumped up excuse you were going to give Jayson or I go out there and give these pictures to one of my security guards. I guarantee you within an hour they will be on every video screen in every business office viewed by every guard. Your face is clearly seen in that picture Margo, you can't Photoshop your orgasm that well." Chace says he flips through the pictures finding the worse ones showing them to her.
"Alright.....stop it. Damn you Chace I don't know who to be more afraid of him or you." Margo has tears in the back of her eyes.
"Margo, tell me who did this to you." Chace quietly ask handing the pictures back to Jayson.
"It wasn't Quinton, it was his uncle, Asa James. Inside the envelope is a piece of paper with a phone number on it. I called it and it was him. He told me he wanted three hundred thousand and his client list back. He said his nephew wasn't worth a damn and he was taking over cleaning up the mess Quinton created for them. Quinton already.....he already.....he hurt me. He told me after he was so rough with me that he wants me to find out where Monique is hiding. He said his uncle is upset with him because Monique was his girl and she took this list before they could get all of the clients being blackmailed names inventoried into their data base. They are losing money because a few of the girls at The Mansion have quit and disappeared since one of their girls got murdered at the gym. They believe the girls went to the clients and the clients are hiding them. They are all scared including me." Margo says sniffling.
"Alright Margo, now that's good information, it's very good information. I didn't know about what Quinton did to you. Are you alright enough to continue?" Chace rubs her arm gently.
Rylie and Jayson are standing about two feet away from them amazed that he's able to get her calm and forgiving him enough to keep telling him everything.
"Yes.....he wants me to meet with him. I can't do that.....I just can't, I'm too scared. The last time I saw Quinton is when he....he." She swallows hard.
"It's alright Margo, you don't have to go meet him. I'll do it everything's going to be alright." Chace pulls her in his arms rocking her as she cries.
Rylie is fuming and Jayson stands next to her his lips pressed tight in a thin line, his eyebrows raised. He thinks it's all an act from her to get Chace's attention.
"Rylie do you mind showing her where the bathroom is on this floor." Chace turns to Rylie startling her with his question.
"Yeah....sure, I guess so. Come on Margo." Rylie opens the door going out Margo squeezes Chace's hand then follows her.
"Really Chace....do you have to charm every woman that comes in your path. You know she's not telling the whole truth. You can't believe anything she said." Jayson tells him.
"Did she tell you that Quinton raped her?" Chace ask his brother.
"Well yeah....she told me and at first I believed her but you see those pictures. She did everything in them willingly, how am I supposed to believe he hurt her. She could have been lying about all of that, she didn't want to go to the doctor the next morning. She had a black eye and some bruising but she wouldn't go. She let him do those things to her in those pictures Chace, how do I know that she's telling the truth about that." Jayson remarks.
"Jay that's how you should know. She's already into what he wanted sexually, there was no reason for him to hurt her but he did for control. It's because she's into it that she didn't want to go to the hospital. It would have to be reported and she doesn't believe anybody will believe her. Listen to yourself Jay, you don't believe her and she's your wife."
Chace walks out of the room toward the bathrooms seeing Rylie and Margo come out.
"Everything alright." He ask both women looking from one to the other.
"We're fine Chace." Rylie answers for both of them.
"Thank you for listening Chace, I better go." Margo says and Rylie rolls her eyes she helped her to the bathroom then went back outside the door so she wouldn't have to talk to her.
"I've got her." The three of them hear from the door. Jayson walks out with the envelope under his arm. He walks up to Margo sliding his arm across her shoulders. "Come on Margo....let me get you home." He says quietly. She goes with him.
Rylie and Chace are left staring at each other. "Are you really going to meet with that man she's talking about?" Rylie asks.
"Yeah, I think I am. I've got to talk it over with Jackson first." He replies.
"Why can't you let Jackson handle it, you don't have to meet with him." Rylie is getting anxious not wanting him to do this.
"Ry there's so much going on and I feel like I'm going in circles trying to fix this. A woman has been murdered. I don't know if Quinton and his uncle are the ones responsible for that and now this thing with your car, it's being assumed that Quinton and his men did it but why would they place a heart around your picture when they are looking for Monique. Rylie I need to make sure and talking to Asa James again is the only way I know to do that. Sweetheart, I want this over so we can move on with our lives." Chace explains.
Rylie is trying to hold back her tears but she can't. They are standing a few feet apart he walks toward her.
"You never told me you met with this Asa man before Chace, I didn't find out about the Senator until days after it happened. You say you want this over so we can move on with our lives. Monique is a part of my life Chace. Are you doing all of this to help me get my sister back safely or to help Jackson Blaine arrest her?"
Ry, now come on. You know that's not a fair comparison. I can't erase Monique's part in all of this and neither can you. How many people do you think should suffer for her mistakes? Tell me....?"
"She didn't force any of these people into her life including Jayson. Everything that is happening isn't all her fault." Rylie wipes the tears from her eyes.
"I'm not saying it is but she is the catalyst around this nightmare. Kayla's dead Rylie she was her best friend. Do you think she would be dead if this situation didn't happen?" Chace didn't want to go there but now feels he needs to make her understand the situation fully.
"Don't make me hate you Chace Braxton, that's a horrible thing to say." Rylie tells him.
"Ry.....after what I've seen today and heard sweetheart I'm not taking any chances on anybody else getting hurt."
So you're going to do this regardless of how I feel." Rylie ask him.
Chace lowers his head and doesn't speak for a while. "Yes....like I said I'm going to talk to Jackson and if we can work something out. I'm going to talk to Asa as soon as I can preferably before the cocktail dinner on Saturday." Chace explains.
"I see....well I guess all I can say is take care of yourself." Rylie walks away from him without another word pushing open the security door leaving his sight.
**Thanks for Reading.
This is a serious and tension filled chapter I know but I had to write it to get to the next part.
****Don't fret, that change in their relationship is coming up and how he's going to keep her with him is going to be some enjoyable chapters.