"Are you okay?" Jade asked Harry as he escorted her to her car, and he nodded.
"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked and Jade looked at him with a concerned frown.
She couldn't help being worried about him. Harry could put up the hard and careless facade all he wanted but she could see that this whole Sara thing was beginning to get to him, and she couldn't blame him.
"Harry, you can talk to me if you're not fine. You don't have to be so strong in front of me," Jade said softly as they stopped by her car, and Harry drew a deep breath.
"I'm fine, esquire. There's no reason for you to worry your pretty intelligent head. You have better things to worry about," he said softly, and she shook her head.
"None of which is as important as your well-being," Jade said and he smiled.
"Including our vacation?" He asked with a grin and she giggled.
"I'm not worried about that. What's there to worry about when I'm actually looking forward to it?" She asked, and Harry smiled.
"Looking forward to confirming whether or not I'm a monk?" He asked, and she laughed softly.
"Why did you do that anyway?" She asked with a scowl and Harry rested his back against her the drivers door while she leaned into him.
"Do what?" He asked, not understanding what her question was.
"How could you laugh the way you did when I walked into the bathroom? It was embarrassing, you know?" She said with a pout and Harry smiled.
"What was embarrassing about it?" He asked with interest.
"You took one look at my body and you laughed as though I looked funny," she said with a frown, and Harry smoothed out the crease on her brow with his thumb gently.
"I wasn't laughing at your body. I laughed because you claimed to be embarrassed about being naked while I was fully dressed and I excused you, only for you to walk up to me naked," he explained and she scowled.
"You could have at least let me— allowed me to—-" unable to complete her statement she looked away from him and he chuckled.
"Allowed you to do what? You can't even say the words?" He asked in amusement and she eyed him.
"Pleasure you!" She snapped at him and he laughed.
"Pleasuring you was more than enough pleasure for me. You look so beautiful when you orgasm," he said and she gasped at his words making him grin.
"Don't worry, esquire. Soon I will let you do whatever you want with me as I will with you," he promised as he kissed her lips lightly.
"It made me curious though," Jade said, and Harry raised a brow.
"About what?"
"Have you ever found yourself in such a situation? I mean have you ever been seduced before that way?" She asked, and Harry shrugged.
"Sure. It would be strange for a man in my position not to have experienced that, don't you think? There are lots of desperate ladies out there, sugar. And I've met my fair share of them."
"Really? How did you handle it? You didn't laugh at them, did you?" Jade asked, and Harry shook his head.
"Nope. Told them they're beautiful and some day they will find the right man who appreciates their beauty, but that man isn't me and I'm not moved by things like that," Harry said and Jade smiled.
"Did you say it that way or were you harsh?" Jade asked curiously.
"I only get harsh when they don't listen the first time. Have you ever tried to seduce anyone that way before?" Harry asked and Jade frowned.
"No. I've never wanted anyone as I want you," Jade admitted and Harry smiled.
"That's good to know."
Jade sighed deeply as she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat, "I wonder what living with you would feel like. I mean waking up every day beside you. Coming back home to you and sleeping next to you every night," she said and Harry smiled as he pictured it.
"You didn't add driving to work together everyday," he said, and she pulled away to look up at him.
"That's true. Just like Tom and Lucy," Jade said thoughtfully.
"It would be beautiful, wouldn't it?" Harry asked and Jade pursed her lips.
"Won't it get tiring? I mean, seeing each other all the time," Jade said, and Harry raised a brow.
"You plan to get tired of seeing me all the time? You'd rather I make myself scarce?" He asked and she shook her head.
"Of course, not! I'm just saying what if we get tired?" She asked, and he shook his head.
"I could never get tired of seeing you all the time. But you don't have to worry. I travel a lot anyway, so you will have more than enough time to miss me in between," he assured her.
Jade sighed, "It feels good talking about the future this way, doesn't it?" she asked with a small smile.
"It sure does," Harry said with a nod.
Although he wanted to suggest that they leave now so that Jade would get home on time, he refrained from doing so since he could tell she wasn't ready to leave yet.
"Jonas?" Jade called softly, and he looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"I will be there for you in every way she wasn't," Jade promised as she held his gaze.
"Are you offering to be my stepmom again?" He asked with a raised brow.
"When did I ever do that?" She asked, and Harry chuckled.
"Right inside this very restaurant the first time I brought you here, remember? (Chapter 289)," Harry said, and Jade giggled when she remembered it.
"I was only kidding then!" Jade said, and Harry chuckled.
"So you said," Harry said and Jade looked at him with interest.
"What was on your mind when I said that?" She asked when she remembered he had not smiled or laughed at her joke as she had expected him to at the time.
"I thought if you were ever going to go by the name Mrs Jonas, it would be as my wife. I wouldn't even let you marry any other man by that name," Harry said, and Jade giggled.
"What would you have done then?" Jade asked and Harry smiled.
"It's a good thing we both will never find out, right?" Harry said and then took out his phone when it started ringing.
"It's Candace," he told Jade before receiving the call.
"Missing my presence badly?" Harry asked and Candace rolled her eyes.
"I have no use for you. I'm spending the night at Tom's place with the girls and I was calling to inform you of that I won't be home when you get here," Candace said and Harry raised a brow.
"So I heard. Are you taking Jamal with you?" He asked curiously.
"No. He's staying back."
"Alright then. I guess I will see you tomorrow then," Harry said before Candace hung up.
"I guess it's time for me to go home," Jade said, and Harry nodded.
"Yeah. I will drive behind you and see you off…"
"Why? That's stressful. You don't have to do that," Jade protested.
"I already dismissed the men following you, so I need to. Besides, I plan to see Tom briefly," Harry said and she scowled.
"I should have know he had to do with it," she hissed, and he chuckled.
"Stop being dramatic and get into your car," Harry said as he kissed her forehead before stepping away to help her open her car door.
Once Jade got into her car, Harry went to get into his car and drove behind her.
As Harry drove his thoughts returned to the events at the restaurant and seeing Sara there.
Suddenly he wanted to take care of her urgently and get her out of his life for good. He wasn't sure he could patiently wait for her to bite the bait anymore. He had to make her bite it.
He dialed Barry's line as he drove, and it didn't take long before Barry received his call, "Hey, man! Any update?"
"Things have been silent on the end of the Millers. The only important call Rebekah Miller received today was from Emilia Peterson, her cousin. It seems like she was the brain behind them dumping the girl at the orphanage and taking over all that belonged to her," Barry reported, and Harry raised a brow.
Now wasn't that an interesting point of intersection for both Sara and Rebekah? Both ladies had played a role in all that happened to Candace. Good thing they were facing judgement soon.
"And Sara? Anything on her?" Harry asked as he kept his gaze on Jade'a car which was ahead of him.
"Between Sara and Mr Wilson, the lawyer is in a hot mess right now. Mr Wilson is threatening to take the lawyer down with him if he doesn't help him find the girl and find a way out of the mess…"
"Is Sara aware of this?" Harry asked curiously.
"She is. He reported it to her and she doesn't care. They are both planning to find someone to pretend to be the niece. And she is suggesting that the lawyer advise Mr Wilson to do damage control by claiming his niece was not abandoned as the media claimed but was rather happily reunited with her biological family thanks to him," Barry reported.
"Is there a way we can move things forward? I want things to go faster and for Sara to slip so she can be arrested," Harry said and Barry thought about it for a while.
"What if rumor gets out that the missing girl in question is Sara Walker's daughter who she sold for money, she might want to hurry things up, right?" Barry asked, and Harry considered the idea for a moment.
He had to put a lot of things into consideration before making any move. He didn't want to make things too complicated, especially for Candace's sake.
"I don't think so. That might make her want to put a hold on things because too many eyes will be on her. For the time being keep observing them. Let me know when they find someone to act as Wilson Peterson's niece," Harry said before hanging up.
Away from there, as Sara and Crystal got into the car after their dinner date, she received a call from her lawyer and rejected it.
"Any problem? I'm with someone important right now," Sara said, subtly letting him know she was with Crystal and there was a limit to what she could discuss.
"I think we might have a problem," Amos said anxiously, and Sara's brows pulled together as she glanced at Crystal who was pretending to be busy with her phone.
"Go on. I'm listening," Sara said as she was beginning to feel anxious herself.
Her brief exchange with Harry and Jade had left her nervous already.
"I just got off the phone with Wilson. I tried suggesting that even if we can't find the real girl we can pay anyone to act as her since no one would know about it, but he said even if that was already his plan, he still needs to find her and get rid of her. He thinks Thomas Hank might be searching for her as well as doesn't want him to get to her first," Amos said, and it took a moment for it to register in Sara's head.
"What? Why? Do you think they made the connection already? I mean, his sister worked with you and she is dating Ha…" she stopped when she realized she was saying a lot in Crystal's presence.
"I'm not sure. I believe they are two unrelated cases. I can understand that Harry might be searching for his sister since Jade must have confirmed it to them that you are searching for your missing daughter. But the relationship between Thomas Hank and Wilson is different. It has more to do with Wilson's daughter and Thomas's girlfriend's family. He is after Wilson Peterson in this case, not you," Amos explained.
"That doesn't make it any better. If they are working on it from both sides they will make the connection sooner than later and realize it's the same girl," Sara said as she began to tap her feet anxiously.
"I was thinking, since Wilson plans on getting rid of the girl as well, can I just tell him about you…"
"Are you out of your mind?" Sara snapped at him before he could complete his statement.
"Sara, this is not the time for any of this. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, and right now that friend is Wilson. Besides, this will take a lot of pressure off me if Wilson knows you are with the girl and plan to get rid of her as well," Amos pleaded.
"Why should I care about taking pressure off you when you are the reason I'm under a lot of pressure myself? If you had not been so stupid to involve Thomas's sister knowing fully well their family relationship I wouldn't be in so much mess," Sara yelled at him not minding her driver or Crystal.
Although Amos wanted to remind her that she had also slipped and told Lucy some stuff, but he decided not to do so. He needed to butter her up if he wanted to get what he wanted.
"You do realize that if Wilson goes down he is going to want to take me down as well, right? I don't know what I might be forced to reveal about everyone involved..."
"Does he have any means to prove the identity even if you present just anyone to him?" Sara asked, knowing without doubt that Amos had just subtly threatened him.
"I don't think so…"
"Good. Then it doesn't make any difference who you present to him," Sara said reasonably.
"He is going to kill an innocent girl if I present her to him as his niece. That will be two murders on me, Sara. Two. Let's minimize this by…"
"Don't you dare tell him anything, you hear me? I don't care what he does to whoever you get. Get someone to do the job and make sure they are paid more than enough to make it worth it. Don't call me over this again," Sara warned before hanging up.
Now more than ever before she needed to hurry.
"Is everything alright? You sounded quite upset," Crystal asked with a concerned smile and Sara flashed her a smile.
"Sure. It's just my agent. He gets on my nerves all the time. He can't get his job done. What's so hard about finding new models?" Sara asked with a shake of her head.
"I see. You should take it easy then," Crystal said with a small smile as she returned her attention to her phone.
Sara glanced outside the window as she thought about her conversation with Amos. As long as Crystal was with her, then she was safe.
They would keep searching but would never find Crystal because she was going to take her far away from their reach.
She was already several steps ahead of them, Sara thought with a satisfied smile.
From the corners of Crystal's eyes she spied the smile on Sara's face and she smiled. It seemed like there was a lot more to the case than she had been told. This was all very interesting.
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience