He lifted her in his arms and strode into the bath. Adjusting the water temp and pressure of the wondrous shower, he stepped in and placed her on her feet, careful to ensure she was leaning against him so he could support her weight. He washed her gently, interspersing his bathing with kisses and caresses until her body was languid in his embrace. Carrying her back to their bed, he tucked her in, then leaned down to kiss her. When he started to move away, she reached out to catch his hand. He smiled, returning to her to kiss her again.
“I’m just going to get my laptop, baby. Daddy’s not going anywhere.”
Sage waited until he returned and propped himself up in bed, then using his leg as a kind of body pillow, she cradled her head in his lap and was asleep almost instantly.
Sage woke, wrapped in Roark’s embrace. She feared one morning she would wake, and he’d be trapped again inside the pages of her novel.
“Didn’t you hear Daddy tell you he wasn’t going to leave you?” he whispered. “Whatever it was that pulled me out of the book isn’t strong enough to force me back.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I’ve been trying to break free… to pierce the veil, as it were. Each time, it felt as though I got closer. When I realized you were in danger, no power that ever existed was going to be strong enough to contain me. I broke free and came for you. Therefore, there isn’t anything that could trap me again. Makes sense, right?”
She nodded, agreeing with him. It did have a certain kind of logic. The ass fucking he’d given her the night before had not been the last time he’d had his way with her. She’d vowed never to write that in a novel, but now understood the reality of that scenario. She was stiff, sore, and happier than she had ever been in her life. Roark sat up, and Sage snuggled against him.
“Did you find anything?” she asked.
“I did. Or, more accurately, I was able to unravel a motive for someone to want to kill you. Our friend, Eddy, was able to trace the source of funding from your Mr. Shackelford back to the person who hired him.”
“You know? Then can we have Holmes…?”
“That was one of your more obnoxious name choices.” He grinned. “But yes, Michael should be able to help us. The problem is what we have as proof would never be admissible. He isn’t unsympathetic, and like in the books, he basically told me he’d look the other way if I wanted to handle the situation, but for the Yard to arrest her and put her away…”
“Her?” Sage interrupted.
He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving her face.
“Gail?”
“Yes, Pet. I rather suspect she’s been behind all of it—the attempts in North Carolina and the threatening note here. That way, when you ended up dead, it would just be seen as part of the pattern of a crazed stalker. She’s been embezzling from you for years—underreporting sales, overreporting expenses. It’s a mess. So, we have the motive, know what she did and who she hired, we just need to connect the dots. I went back and read all those emails and reexamined your royalty reports. It became obvious your publisher was a bully and was embezzling money—and not just from you. Those emails from her after you left are pretty damning, but they won’t hold up in court.”
“What if I confront her wearing a wire?”
“No… that’s far too dangerous. At this point, she’ll be like a cornered, wounded animal… dangerous.”
“I’ll have you, Gabe, and Michael for backup, and she won’t expect me to have the spine to do anything, even if I confront her.”
He shook his head. “You will have showed her your hand, exposed yourself, and she still might not implicate herself.”
“If she doesn’t say anything, at least she knows that I know. Then if you and Holmes step out, she’ll know you know, which should freak her out. Come on, Roark…”
“Do you remember how gently I fucked your bottom hole last night?” he growled.
She nodded.
“If you disobey me and put yourself in danger, that will become a fond memory. I won’t be nearly as gentle when I fuck your ass after I’ve welted it for you first. Do you hear me, little girl?”
“But if we…”
“Again, with the ‘we.’ There is no ‘we’ in this situation. You will stay safe, and Michael and I will deal with Ms. Vincent.”
“But…”
“Precisely. It will be your butt that pays the price for your disobedience.” He stared down at her, silently daring her to continue arguing with him. Try as she might, Sage just couldn’t hold his stare.
Dropping her eyes, she said morosely, “I just wanted to help. And I am the one she tried to kill.”
Roark pulled her into his embrace, stroking her body until all the tension left and she melted into him.
“I know, Pet. That’s why I don’t want you involved. I couldn’t stand if something happened to you. We’ll make sure she pays… one way or another.”
Sage saw the soft, loving look fade from his eyes to be replaced by a distant coldness that made her shiver.
“I’m sorry I ever wrote that ending. I never saw you as a killer, just a man with his back against the wall and with no good choices.”
In one of her latest novels, Roark had killed an unarmed man in cold blood. Granted, the guy deserved to die, but some readers had been taken aback.
“Don’t fret.” Roark hugged her. “He needed to die, and I’m the one who needed to kill him. It was a brave choice for you to make.”
Chapter 10
For the next few days, Roark ensured Sage was far too occupied with starting a new series,
