Wrong (Breaking the Rules) (24 page)

I was respecting her responsibility for the night, which was difficult since she looked like a damn goddess. Knowing that she was going home on my arm allowed me to control myself from tossing her over my shoulder and taking her to a dark corner. I looked forward to sliding the silky material off of her body later.

As the event came to a close, they announced the auction winners, and I had in fact won the romance package. She grinned at me when she realized I had bid on it.

The museum president, Mr. Callahan, was just thanking everyone for coming when a burning smell permeated the room. Everyone started to look around in an attempt to locate the origin of the smell. From down the hallway rolled a large janitorial linens basket, flames shooting high from inside, licking halfway to the ceiling.

The sight was such a shock that everyone just stared momentarily as it came to a stop in the middle of the room. It was then that I saw Elizabeth bolt for a fire extinguisher on the wall. She almost made it back to the flames before the sprinklers in the ceilings showered water down over everyone near the fire. Running to her, I grabbed the extinguisher from her and proceeded to put out the flames. She and several people started running for some of the priceless exhibits nearby, trying to shield them from the water that was relentlessly cascading over everything in the vicinity.

Guests were screaming and running everywhere, trying to escape the water. Snatching a tablecloth from one of the tables and knocking all of the dishes into the floor, I ran it over to the highlighted exhibit and covered it. Seeing what I had done, several other guests and employees did the same thing in an attempt to shield the paintings and sculptures from the water. Eventually, someone was able to get the sprinklers turned off. The sprinklers were only on for a couple of minutes at the most, but the gala had been ruined.

People walked around, sloshing through water and looking dazed. Mr. Callahan was apologizing to anyone and everyone. The sounds of sirens could be heard over the nervous chatter in the room. When I looked over at Elizabeth, my heart sank. Her hands covered her face and her shoulders heaved. I swiftly made it over to her and hugged her to me.

“He did this, Jordan,” she sobbed into my chest. My body tensed at the realization that it most definitely had been Cole. I kissed the top of her wet head and rubbed her back.

“Shh, babe. Everything’s going to be okay,” I promised. My patience for assholes was wearing thin.

Her body began shivering as the chilly air swept into the room when the firemen walked in. Yanking off my jacket, I wrapped it over her shoulders. It was wet too, but at least it protected her a little.

“Jordan, I don’t feel so well. My head is pounding,” she whined. I could tell she was close to losing it, so I slid my hand into hers and led her down the hallway to her office.

Once inside, I closed the door and helped her to her chair. Seeing a sweater hanging from her door, I pulled it off and brought it to her. She shrugged out of my wet jacket and let me put the sweater on her.

“Jordan, this is terrible. It’s all my fault,” she wailed. Her hair was plastered to her head and black mascara streaked her cheeks.

“Babe, you can get over that idea real quick. Nothing about this is your fault. We need to call your dad and tell him though.” She nodded but made no moves to get her phone. I opened a few drawers until I found her purse and retrieved her phone.

“Hello Princess, how did the Gala go?” Calvin asked happily.

“Calvin, it’s me, Jordan,” I informed him.

“Is everything okay with my girl?” he questioned nervously.

“Actually, it’s not. We’re pretty sure Cole just pulled a big stunt. Someone sent a cart full of burning linens into the main room of the gala. The sprinklers were activated and it ruined the event. Some paintings were probably ruined as well. Thankfully only the sprinklers near the flames were activated.”

“Mother fucker,” he growled into the phone. I knew he was talking about Cole, and I couldn’t agree more.

“He also left her a note on her doorstep this afternoon. The guy won’t stop until he’s fulfilled his threat. We need to get ahead of him and do something before it gets out of control.”

“Shit. Is she going to be okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

“She’ll be okay. She is amazingly resilient. We need to catch this asshole. I don’t want him messing with my girl any more than you want him messing with your daughter. We have to fix this.”

“Thank you, Jordan, for looking after her. I’ll call my PI now to see if there’s an update and let him know about tonight. Tell her we’re going to put him away. I don’t want her to worry about him anymore.”

“Yes, sir.”

First I was shocked. Absolutely dumbfounded at the turn of events. My shock quickly morphed into fury. I was livid that Cole was being so vindictive. Luckily, the museum had a high-tech sprinkler system that only activated in the presence of real heat. But even though only a few of the sprinkler heads were triggered, it still caused a lot of damage.

“Babe, are you going to be okay?” Jordan questioned softly. He was watching me with the same face Daddy made when he was worried about me.

“Yes, I’m going to be okay. Jordan, I’m so fucking pissed I can’t even see straight.”

He walked over to me and enveloped me in a wet embrace.

“I know you are. We’re going to figure this out. Cole is psychotic, but I’m sure your dad’s PI will find something on the guy.”

I nodded my head and pulled away. “Let’s go, Jordan. I need to get back out there and help with the cleanup. You can go home if you want, but I need to stay.”

“Like hell I’m letting you leave my sight now. Between Cole and that douchebag of a boss you have, you will be safest by my side. Come on. Just tell me what you need for me to do. I know you like to order me around, and secretly, it turns me on,” he teased, grinning at me. With a wink, he latched onto my hand and led me back out towards the chaos. Jordan always had a way of making me smile even when I was upset or pissed. He was definitely a keeper.

As we made it back into the main room, firemen were surveying the damage. Stan waved me over when he saw me.

“Pepper, I’m going to go call a fire and water restoration company. Make sure to apologize to any guests still lingering. Mr. Callahan has already spoken to the firemen. It appears that there was an accelerant used in the basket. The police are looking into the janitors we use to see if there is a connection.”

“I need to tell you something,” I began as Jordan squeezed my hand for support.

“What is it, Pepper?” he clipped out impatiently, clearly wanting to run and make his phone call.

“I think I may know who started the fire, Stan.”

“What the hell? What do you mean you may know who started it?” he demanded angrily. Jordan tensed beside me.

“There is a guy who has been threatening me. I actually received another one of his threats today before the gala. It wouldn’t hurt for the police to look into him.”

“Shit, Pepper! Bringing your damn drama into the museum? Do you know how much fucking damage was caused? Get your ass over there to the policeman and tell him what you know. Shit!”

“Dude, if you yell at her one more time, I’ll fucking cause some damage. Not one bit of this was her fault. She is a victim, so leave her the fuck alone,” Jordan growled at him.

Stan’s face turned bright red and the air was thick with tension as he clenched his jaw, mulling over what Jordan had said.

“Whatever. Pepper, take care of it. We’ll talk tomorrow. In the meantime, take it to the police and let’s get this shit cleaned up before Mr. Callahan has our asses,” he ordered, stalking away.

After a very long night of explaining my theories to the cops and cleaning up the water, we were finally headed back to my apartment. The police were going to question Daddy about his knowledge in regards to Cole. Hopefully they would be able to incriminate him for the fire. The cleanup wasn’t too bad. Thankfully, not many of the pieces were really damaged. It was the mess of the food and the dishes all over the floor that we’d spent the most time cleaning up. Had Jordan not thought to cover the pieces with the tablecloths, the damage might have been more extensive.

Walking in the apartment, I noticed a black jacket draped over the recliner. It looked like Bray’s. He must have left it yesterday after the party. Everyone had been pretty wasted.

After we made it back to my room, Jordan shut the door behind us and headed straight to the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on before he came back out to me.

“Babe, I think we are more than deserving of a hot shower right about now,” he said, peeling off his damp clothes.

“I completely agree, Jordan. Can you help me with my dress?” I asked, turning my back to him.

He came over to me and unzipped the dress but didn’t move away. Instead, he slipped his hands into the dress from the back around to my stomach. The chill of his hands caused my breath to hitch.

“You are so beautiful. Even when sopping wet, crying, and with makeup running down your face, you mesmerized me tonight. Everything about you draws me in.” He pulled his hands back out and brought them to my shoulders, slipping my dress off. The silky material, no longer wet, slid to the floor in a heap around my ankles. “Damn, woman. Did you pick out those panties and bra just for me?” His hands rubbed down along the sides of my ribs and stopped to cup my ass.

“No, for my other boyfriend,” I teased.

He growled at me and nipped my bare flesh where my neck met my shoulder. Laughing, I tilted my head to give him better access.

“I would happily kill any man who ever looked at you, babe. You bring out my inner caveman,” he whispered, sucking my neck into his mouth, making me moan. I could feel his arousal hardening up against me from behind.

“Oh God, please don’t tell me you’re envisioning me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Kill me now,” I joked.

“Woman, that is actually a really fucking hot image,” he murmured into my ear. Quickly, he spun me around to face him. His eyes skated across my body appreciatively. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he surprised me by heaving me over his shoulder.