Until Valerie: Happily Ever Alpha World Read online

  I look over the list that Rowan provided me of their vendors again, reading each and every name slowly to make sure I didn’t miss seeing it. I stand up, needing to be on my feet, a strange feeling overcoming me as I look at the format of the vendor list compared to an inventory part list generated by the software system that Wes pulled for me. The two lists look completely different, with the list from Wes having the date and time stamped with the software company’s name on the bottom. Rowan’s list was typed into excel and printed.

  My heart is pounding, disbelief buzzing throughout my body as thoughts I don’t want to be thinking start forming in my head. Usually when items are left off a list, it’s because they don’t want to be found. I return back to the software system to see who initiated and approved each transaction. Tears start to form in my eyes because there’s only one name that appears for each transaction.

  Rowan Pryor.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ROWAN

  I quit working forty-five minutes early and decide to hit the gym. I’ve been lax with my workouts, preferring to spend my mornings making love to Valerie before we shower and get ready for work. I’ll take that workout versus going to the gym any day, but today I felt the need to lift some weights, hoping the endorphins and some alone time will help me sort things out.

  The first thing I start thinking about is what we’re going to do when the audit is over with. Valerie has indicated that once she’s completed investigating the last two years of invoicing, expenses and deposits, she’ll go back to her office to finish her report to the IRS. That probably gives me one more week with her here, if that. I despise the idea of not being under the same roof as her for work purposes anymore and not seeing her at night is non-negotiable. I’m more than willing to sleep at her house during the week so she doesn’t have to commute to work, especially since she occasionally has to work late nights. I don’t want her to work late and then have a thirty-five minute commute after that. Since I would be going against traffic in the morning, my commute would be minimal. Weekends can then be spent at my house. I think this is the best solution, one that will make Valerie happy.

  I now need to figure out what I’m going to do about Kyle. He has continued to make passive aggressive comments about my relationship with her. His comment at Wes’ house this past weekend about how I’ve chosen “pussy over bros” almost had him spending the night in the hospital. I was ready to pummel him into oblivion. He says he was joking and that he’s happy for me, but his actions show otherwise. Valerie doesn’t think I notice, but I see how she shrinks into herself whenever he’s around. It’s my job to make her feel safe and it’s clear that she doesn’t around him. Although we’re SEAL brothers, I really need to re-evaluate my friendship with him. If he’s not going to treat my girl with respect, then he’s dead to me. Life’s too short to keep negative and toxic people around. I have no problems cutting him out of my life.

  Just like I had no problems cutting my father out.

  The environment at work has now become uncomfortable and I refuse to get Wes involved. This is his establishment and we’re all his employees. It would be easier if I just left. With the inheritance my grandmother left me and my savings from the Navy, I don’t need to work. I choose too. Maybe it’s time to start following my dreams. I now have the dream girl - why not start my dream career? I’ve always wanted to start up my own finance and wealth management firm. One that upholds strong morals and values. One whose employees feel more like they are part of a family and have a healthy work/life balance. Wes has done an incredible job creating that environment here and it inspires me to do the same. This town can handle another firm and with its slower pace of life and small town charm, I feel my firm would do well here.

  Maybe I can even persuade Valerie to come work with me?

  The thought of her and I working and owning a business together gets my adrenaline pumping. I finish my bench pressing, grab my phone, and email my lawyer right away to find out what I would need to do to make this happen. This needs to happen.

  I will make it happen!

  My excitement takes over my concentration, so I finish my work out early and hit the shower. I’m going to take Valerie to a nice dinner tonight to break the news, hoping that she’s going to love the idea so much that we have something to celebrate. I quickly get dressed and head back to the main building to get my girl. I frown when I see the door to the conference room closed. 5:30 is late to be having a closed door meeting. I walk to Wes’ office to see it’s empty, but notice that his and Kyle’s car are still in the parking lot. Something doesn’t feel right about this situation, so I walk back to the conference room door and knock, opening it before anyone has a chance to respond.

  Wes and Kyle are huddled around Valerie, who’s sitting down with her laptop. All three look up when I come in, but it’s Valerie who draws my attention. She’s white as a ghost and her eyes look at me with despair.

  “Angel,” I growl as I walk toward them. “What’s going on?” If Kyle said one disrespectful word to her, we’re going to have words.

  Her hand shakes as she closes her laptop and she gulps, but it isn’t her usual swallowing down her lust for me.

  It’s more like fear.

  “Rowan, what do you know about P2B Distributions?” Wes asks, his voice tense, eyes cold as they look at me. The air is thick with tension as everyone stares at me, waiting for an answer.

  “I don’t know anything about them,” I answer, the name not sounding familiar and not one of my distributors that I order parts from.

  “Of course he’s going to fucking say that, Wes,” Kyle sneers at me and I’m immediately on guard, sensing an enemy in my territory. “Don’t play us as fools, Rowan. We know what you’ve been doing. Valerie has caught you.”

  She gasps and looks at Kyle in anger as she shakes her head. “I haven’t caught Rowan doing anything, Kyle. There’s no concrete proof.”

  “Of course there’s proof!” Kyle spits out, pointing his finger at her computer. “These transactions were made under his login! He’s in charge of ordering parts and supplies here.”

  “Angel, please tell me what’s going on?” I soften my voice as I look to her for answers. I will myself to calm down, ignore Kyle, and focus on her. She’s the only one who can calm the storm of violence that is brewing inside of me.

  “I discovered large sums of money being paid to a vendor named P2B Distributions. The sums are not similar to what has been spent with other vendors and are scattered within a two year time frame. There’s no detailed description of what kind of parts are ordered in the system for me to even price compare or see if these parts are even in the same category as your other supplies. When I searched for the company online, nothing turned up. The address that is provided in your software system is an address to an abandoned warehouse.”

  “In Massachusetts,” Kyle interrupts, his voice laced with disgust. I give him a deadly look before returning my gaze back to her.

  “Yes, in Massachusetts,” she confirms. “The phone number for them is also not a working number. I couldn’t get any details from the bank as to who the owner of the account is since it’s after hours. Wes will file a fraudulent claim tomorrow as soon as the bank opens.”

  I shake my head at her words, clarity hitting me at the implications that are being made. “So, am I being accused of money laundering on flimsy evidence?” I turn my attention toward Wes, wanting to hear it from his own mouth. “Because once you find out who the owner of that account is, you’ll know it isn’t me.”

  “No one is accusing you of anything, Rowan,” Wes confirms in a tired voice. “In my eyes, you’re innocent until proven guilty.” I nod at him and turn my attention to Valerie. While I appreciate Wes’ words, her opinion is what matters to me the most.

  “What about you, Angel? Do you think I would do that?” My breath catches in anticipation of her answer. If she doesn’t believe in me, then I know we have no future.

  Please bel
ieve in me!

  She shakes her head, her mouth forming the word “no” when Kyle interrupts her. “Oh, my God, how fucking stupid are we?” he says, his voice snickering. “No wonder Rowan’s been acting like a lovesick fool since Valerie walked in. He wanted to make her fall in love with him so she wouldn’t report him. What were you going to do, Row? Fuck her and then leave her once she turned you in?”

  Before he can even utter another word, I lunge at him with the full force of my body. We crash to the floor and I swiftly sit up to straddle him, my fists making continuous connections with his face as rapidly as I can throw them. Valerie’s screams break through my concentration and Wes is able to haul me off of Kyle.

  “That was a real stupid move, Rowan!” Wes hisses in my ear before bending down to help Kyle. Valerie races over to me, checks to make sure I’m okay before throwing her arms around me.

  “Please baby, don’t,” she begs when she sees the hatred in my eyes as I look at him. “The truth will come out.”

  “The truth will come out while Rowan rots in jail,” Kyle wipes the blood away from his mouth, looking at me with malice. “I’ll be pressing charges now since I fear for my safety.”

  “Christ, Kyle, is that really necessary? He’s your friend!” Wes states in disgust.

  “He’s not my friend anymore - he’s a traitor! He’s also a trained killer by the United States Navy. That fucker can kill me while I sleep if he wants.”

  “What the fuck happened to you, Bro? Are we just now seeing your true colors?” I wonder out loud, not believing that I used to once consider him a close friend, a brother.

  “Kyle, go home! We can discuss this more tomorrow,” Wes demands, shoving Kyle in the direction of the door.

  “You better lawyer up, Rowan,” Kyle remarks before looking at Valerie. “When you realize he was only using you, I’ll be here waiting to show you what a real man is like.” He winks at her and Valerie has to physically step in front of me to prevent me from going after him again.

  I watch Wes escort Kyle out before I look down at Valerie. “Do you think what he says is true? That I’ve been using you this whole time?” Her eyes are filled with anguish and the idea that she might believe him makes me want to throw up.

  She rises up on her tip toes, looking me straight in the eyes while she places her hands on my cheeks. “I would never think that, Rowan. I know what we have is real.” I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent to calm me down. We stay like this until we hear Wes walk back in and clear his throat.

  “I asked Kyle to sleep on his decision about pressing charges against you. We’ll see if he listens,” Wes sighs out in frustration, looking exhausted from what has transpired this evening. “Because you’re a suspect in a crime, you’ll be suspended from work with no pay until further notice. I need you to turn in your keys.” I nod my head, unclasp my arms from around Valerie and retrieve my keys out of my pocket to give to him.

  “Let’s all go home and try to get some sleep. Valerie, I’ll see you here tomorrow. Rowan, I’ll be in touch. I hope this is all some sort of misunderstanding.”

  “I’m sorry Wes, but the only person who could pull this off is Kyle.” I need Wes to understand that he does have a traitor in his crew and it isn’t me.

  “We’ll see, Rowan,” Wes says and bids us a good night.

  The drive back to my house is filled with silence with Valerie and I consumed in our own thoughts. We are so exhausted from tonight that we don’t bother eating dinner and go straight to bed.

  “I’m scared, Rowan,” Valerie whispers while we cuddle in bed. We’ve been holding onto each other since the moment we laid down, needing each other’s comfort for strength.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, Angel. I promise,” I reassure her, my fingers brushing her hair away from her gorgeous face.

  “How can you promise that? I don’t even understand what Kyle’s motives are for stealing anyway.” I told Valerie all I knew about Kyle; how he told me he had a normal childhood growing up in Ohio and that he comes from a loving, tight knit family. But now I’m starting to wonder if any of that was even true as none of his family has come to visit him here.

  “Sometimes the power of money can make people do desperate things. Maybe Kyle needs money. I don’t know and quite honestly, I don’t care. All I care about is us. I know I’m innocent and as long as you believe in me, then nothing else matters.”

  She stares into my eyes for a long moment before her gaze drops down to my lips. She swallows and looks back up at me, her eyes telling me the words she’s not quite ready to say.

  “Make love to me, Rowan,” she says and pulls me in for a kiss that leaves me breathless. Even though she says she believes me, Valerie is making love to me as if this is the last time we’re ever going to be together.

  I pray to God that she’s wrong.

  Chapter Seventeen

  VALERIE

  I barely slept last night, the idea that this might be our last night together weighing heavily on my mind. Rowan tossed and turned most of the night as well and when we finally did fall asleep, the alarm to get up went off one hour later. We dragged ourselves out of bed and decided to go eat some breakfast before Rowan dropped me off at the shop.

  “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be back at 5:30 to get you, Angel.” He kisses me hard and caresses my cheek before driving back home. Him not walking in with me was a loud reminder of the accusations against him.

  Wes was already seated in the conference room when I came in, a cup of hot coffee waiting for me. He looks up as I sit down and I can see he’s just as exhausted as I am.

  “Morning,” he says with a sad smile on his face. “I talked with the bank this morning and submitted the summons you provided me to get the information we needed on that bank account. The account was closed the day we received the audit letter from the IRS and the money was transferred to an off shore account.” Wes hands me the paperwork and I immediately look for the name of the owner of the account.

  “Who’s Charlene Whitaker?” I ask, hoping that name is associated with Kyle and we can prove Rowan’s innocence.

  “I was wondering if that name was mentioned to you yet. That was Rowan’s maternal grandmother.” My stomach knots up at his words, my heart wanting to scream out in denial. “She died almost two years ago. Rowan was pretty shook up about it since he was close with her.”

  I nod slowly, happy that Rowan wasn’t around to hear this. “Where’s Kyle?” I inquire, dread filling me at the thought of having to be around him, especially without Rowan.

  “I gave him the day off. Told him to relax and that if I needed him, I would call.” Wes’ cell phone vibrates and I see him frown at the name that flashes across his screen. “Excuse me while I take this,” he mutters before answering the phone and leaving the room.

  I’m grateful for a moment to myself as the news of the name on the account deflates some of the optimism I had of clearing Rowan’s name. That’s another piece of evidence that is mounting against him. I refuse to believe that any of this is true. I know Rowan is a good man. He would never steal from his friends, nor would he ever use people. I believe this with all my heart. There’s got to be something that I’m missing to prove that he’s innocent and this is all just a huge mistake.

  Just then my cell phone vibrates with a call from Rowan. “I’m being escorted into the police station. Kyle pressed charges,” he says as soon as I answer.

  “What? No!” I shout as I bolt up from my seat. Wes comes in at the same time and I can tell by his face that whomever he just talked to told him the news.

  “Everything will be okay, Angel. I should be done by the time I need to come get you. I’ve got to go.” He pauses and I should’ve taken that moment to tell him I loved him, but instead I chickened out.

  “Okay, be safe. Call me as soon as you can!” I hang up and watch Wes grab his car keys from the table.

  “Since I was a w
itness and their employer, I’m required to come down to the station to give my testimony. They’ll probably need your statement as well. I have a family member who is an officer. I’ll see if he can come here to get your statement instead. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I know what’s going on.”

  Wes walks out and I immediately burst into tears. Being alone in this room has made the severity of the situation that much more real. I wish I could call my sister or Emma, but I can’t. I swipe at my tears, frustration and anger starting to boil up inside me.

  “No, this is not happening! He’s innocent!” I say out loud to no one but myself and continue where I left off yesterday with the reporting.

  Z, Harlen and Everett take turns checking up on me, bringing me coffee and running out to get me lunch. Their normal easy banter is strained today under the weight of the situation. I don’t know what Wes has told them, but I doubt he has kept anything a secret. Wes would die for these men and vice versa. Their bond is as strong and tight as blood brothers. I’m sure he has left nothing out about what is happening.