Page 49 of Anathema
“Adrian—” Dean sighed. “Adrian Valtores, and before you ask, I’ve already run a background check on him.” He added, handing me a single sheet of paper.
A complete background check coming out to one single sheet of fucking paper? You’ve got to be kidding me…
“This is a little light for a full background check, don’t you think?” I questioned, looking over what little information Dean had handed me. I stopped halfway down the page when another name stood out to me.
“Madison Scott?” I raised a brow, looking back up at Dean, and he pressed his lips into a hard line.
“I was waiting for you to get to that part. She is his ex-fiancée. They apparently dated for a while before it ended, and he essentially disappeared.” He scratched the back of his neck before placing both hands in his pockets.
“Have you reached out to her? Will she give us more information on him?” I asked, pulling my phone up and searching my contacts for her name.
“She won’t. I tried.” He sighed. “Madison doesn’t want anything to do with Adrian or even answer simple questions about him, for that matter. Said she—and I quote—would rather stab herself in the eye with an ice pick than relive the years they were together.”
“Great… so where does this leave us?” I lowered the hand that held my phone, placing it back in my jeans.
“If I may?” Eli cut in, stepping forward from where he leaned against the desk.
“By all means…” I gestured my hands out before dropping them at my sides, knowing there wasn’t anything he could say that could make this worse.
“You know where the hideout is and who you are looking for. Why not just get a group of agents and law enforcement to raid the place?” Eli looked between Dean and me, and I sighed, crossing my arms and pressing my thumb between my brows.
“You know exactly why Eli. If Minneapolis PD hasn’t interfered with them before, they aren’t going to now. Someone there is working closely with them, and they are sweeping everything under the rug.” It pissed me off, but that was how Anathema worked.
They threatened and pulled every single string they could to remain at the level they were. Untouchable. Every single government entity was their puppet to manipulate and corrupt.
“What else did you find, Dean? There has to be more than just his previous relationship with Madison.” I rested my hands on my hips before pacing in front of the door.
“I’m sorry, Derek, his record is clean. Which isn't surprising, considering he has a long list of contacts he currently holds power over.” Dean shrugged. "The man's been working overtime."
Fuck!
I punched the wall beside the door out of frustration, my knuckles splitting from the impact.
“Get Madison in here,” I ordered, flexing my hand from the pain and looking down at my bleeding knuckles.
“But she—”
“I don’t give two fucks what she said. Get her in here. Now.” I growled, and without another word, Dean sighed, pulled out his phone, and stepped out the door behind me.
If I had to go to her townhouse and drag her ass here, so be it. Madison had information on Adrian and would give it to us, no matter how much she refused.
Chapter 22
Alexis
Iwokeuptoan empty bed, and for the first time since Derek became a constant figure in my life, I was disappointed, a frown already creasing my brow. He must have left early this morning for work. He always seemed to work early, which shouldn’t have surprised me; I shouldn’t have assumed he would pick me over his job after a single—full—night oflove-making.Not yet, at least.
That’s exactly what last night was. We were always greedy with each other when we fucked, but this was different. Just as aggressive and demanding, but with a more passionate, emotional connection between us that was missing before, at least for me.
Everywhere he touched me, my skin tingled and buzzed, a sensation I continued to crave from him. When his lips caressed mine, I felt a high like no other. I was drunk on Derek and couldn’t be happier. He was my sweet escape.
Derek pressed my back into the bedroom door, my legs wrapped around his waist as his mouth sucked and bit along the side of my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access and moaned, tugging at his hair. Fuck, I loved the feel of my fingers tangled in his soft strands.
His hips ground against mine, his hard cock begging for my cunt. I could feel my panties soaking at the thought of having him inside of me. Nothing compared to him; absolutely nothing.
Tilting my head back, I captured his mouth with mine and devoured him like a starved animal. His hand came up to caress my cheek as he pulled away and stared into my eyes.
“What?” I breathed, my swollen lips missing the touch of his.
