Out of the Storm - COMPLETE

Chapter 43

Theo

IT'S AMAZING TOo me that I've only known Jules for such a short period of time, but I can tell that look was a combination of fear and boldness. Dammit if it didn't feel like she was fucking me with her eyes, like she was trying to tell me so much more than she could say. And when she put her hands behind her neck and let that necklace fall, I sucked in a breath as I felt my dick come to life for her with a carnal need that's been unsatisfied for the last two weeks. She let it drop, and all I could think was I wished it was her sports bra.

I'm split between spotting Anna and chasing after Jules. Hell, even if I don't chase her, I need to turn around and grab that necklace.

I'm torn between chasing her, asking her why Jules is all of a sudden interested in me, and listening to whatever bullshit Anna's digging out of her ass. She's got to be blowing smoke because there's no way in hell Marco would do anything to hurt me. We're practically brothers. He's never hurt me. Why would he start now? It doesn't make any sense. But, then again, why would she lie? When the barbell comes back up, I ease it into the holder.

She huffs. "I wasn't done yet. What are you doing?"

"Give me a second. I dropped something, but I didn't want to turn away from spotting you while I picked it up."

She smiles. "I'm not sure why Marco hates you so much. You seem like a nice enough guy. If someone had just told me what I told you, I would say a silent prayer the bar would crush them."

I tilt my head as I turn and pick the necklace up and put it on, but tuck it under my shirt. I don't want anyone to see me wearing this, but at the same time, I don't want to risk it falling out of my pocket. Turning back around, I help her ease the bar off. "Well, I need to get more info out of you before I let you kill yourself. And I still don't believe you. I think you're playing games."

She shakes her head slightly. "I should have probably gotten you to sign something saying you'd transfer the money. How do I know you're not just jerking me around? I've got far more to lose by telling you this shit than you do." She lifts the bar and lowers it with ease.

I stand over her and watch, wondering how much I should tell her. "Why would Marco send me to try to figure out what's going on with his money if he's trying to screw me over? It makes no sense."

Her laugh is haughty. "Because he needed you involved. How else was he going to make you look guilty? And you being the loyal friend you are, fell right for it. He knew you'd go straight to Jules because Charlie is such an asshole."

He didn't even try to help push me toward Jules. He said he didn't know who was in charge of his money. So, that makes no sense. But it's as if she can read my mind. "He knew you'd figure out it was Jules eventually. I put all the accounts in her name. She looks guilty as sin. I told you I hated her."

"Why do you hate her?"

"Because she's a bitch. She thinks she's better than everyone else, especially Charlie. And it's funny because she wouldn't even have the company if it weren't for him."

I know that much is true. Not that she's a bitch, but about the company. "I still don't understand what exactly he thought he was going to implicate me for."

She holds the bar above her and shakes it, like she's signaling for me to help her put it back. But I don't. Fuck her. Fuck spotting her.

She sighs. "He needed you investigating his account. We had plans for several different scenarios. If you invested, we were going to make it look like Jules laundered your money into an offshore account in your name. That became an even more believable scenario once you started having feelings for her." She arches an eyebrow. "Have you screwed her yet?"

My mouth is agape. "How—"

"Theo, he provoked you on the phone. It was obvious you had feelings for her. Then, your spectacle outside her office door confirmed it." She twists to where she's facing me, but still straddling the bench. "We just didn't plan on you cutting all ties with her, basically walking away."

I lift my chin. That wasn't fucking optional. She made that decision. Does she know about this? Does she know that they were planning this? Is that why she took the deal? Did she distance herself from me because she knew I was connected? I mean, after all, I did tell her my plan was to invest money. Fuck. I run my hand through my hair. "Why are you telling me this? Why not just play dumb?"

"Because. He betrayed you. Now, I need you to betray him. You help me transfer the funds into the offshore account we set up. In your name. And we'll split the money." She stands up and runs a finger down my chest. Her mouth nears mine. "I think we could have a lot of fun traveling the world, if you catch my drift."

She's fucking insane. I shake my head. "I need to think about it." And by think about it, I mean I need to go straight to the fucking FBI and try to work out a deal with that fucker, Jake. Because I'll be damned if I'm going down for any of this shit. "Tell me something." I drop my head, my eyes hooded. It makes my skin crawl to try to seduce her, but I need her to be putty in my hands.

"What?" She smiles.

"Is this the first time you've worked with Marco?"

"No. Marco and I met years ago in Vegas. He was so into me." She grins, but if she were a guy, I'd punch her. It's smug and cocky. So unattractive. "This was my idea, but I just needed someone with some money to get us started. He thought it was fucking genius. We started in firms on the west coast. I'd work as a receptionist for a bit and transfer funds from different accounts into his. Then, we'd move the money to his offshore account, and I'd disappear for a bit. That's how it all started."

He's so fucking stupid. I want to strangle him. How could he get mixed up in this shit? This is why I've spent my entire life trying to protect him from himself. I bite my lower lip while looking away and rolling my eyes.

"This is exactly why he hates you."

"Excuse me?" I whip my head back around and stare daggers into her.

"If only you could see the look on your face, the disdain, the disapproval, the disappointment, the lower expectations. It's repulsive."

Clenching my fists, I step a little closer, not that there was much more room for me to close until I was nearly on top of her. Her breath hitches. I'm towering over her petite body. "I've spent my whole life cleaning up his fucking messes. And here I am doing it again."

She steps back. "That's where you're wrong, Theo."

Some nerve. She has some fucking nerve. "What?" I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"You're cleaning up your own mess. Yours and Jules'. You two are the only ones with anything and everything to lose because you're a fucking dick."

I smirk. That's a response similar to something Jules would say. "Meet me at Hawke and Hemingway in two hours. I'll even bring you the best dinner of your life. You can call it our first date if you want."

"So, you're going to do it?"

I nod, but don't say a word. Then, I snake my hand behind her neck and pull her to me. I dip my lips down to her cheek and give her a kiss, then whisper in her ear, "I have some unfinished business I need to take care of with Marco first."

She sucks in a breath, then I release her and walk away. When I look up, I see Jules in the corner watching.

I shake my head, plead with my eyes, try to express to her that what she just saw wasn't at all what it seemed, so I shrug too. She swipes a tear away from her cheek, and I swear my heart feels like Anna just crashed a barbell into it.