Authors: Jordan Silver
The Billionaire (23 page)
Gideon
We entered the house through a secret compartment into
the underground office. My heart hasn't stopped beating me to death since I got
the news but I was steady as a fucking rock. According to what I found here
someone might very well die in the next five minutes. She had to be okay, I
won't accept any less, I hadn't found her only to lose her like this a scant
few months later, life couldn't be that fucking cruel.
Gage motioned to me with a finger to his lips; there
was movement beyond the door. I made my way cautiously over to the cameras to
see what was going on. There was no camera feed in the panic room, a stupid
oversight on my part; I'd just always thought I'd be on the other side and didn't
necessarily want anyone else looking in. That would be first on my agenda.
I heard him before he appeared on screen. "Come
out, come out wherever you are. Here little Ashley I have a message from the
doc, remember him?" He was feeling around the walls looking for a hidden
panel I guess. The man in my hallway did not in any way resemble the dashing
debonair senator of the media. He was disheveled and haggard looking. I guess
that's what happens when your world is crumbling down around you.
I made a move toward the door but the guys got in my
way.
"Steady, steady, we don't know who's out there,
we're going in blind the cameras to some parts of the house were deactivated. I
can't let you go out there man not until we know for sure."
"Get the fuck out of my way Gage." He might
be right but I couldn't stop to think about that now. Somewhere on this very
floor not far from me she was scared, that thought alone had me going crazy.
"Where the fuck is she you sure she's here we
can't be seen here together?" Another man could be heard through the door,
I wasn't quite sure who he was until the senator started talking because his
face was hidden.
"Shut the fuck up doc this is all your fault I
told you we should've kept a closer eye on her but no you thought that fuck up
had it under control, now look at the mess we're in."
"Calm down senator, no use passing blame around
we need to find the girl and find out what she told this Thorpe fuck."
"And then what?"
"Then we off them both and get the hell out of
here."
"We can’t kill the girl I need her...."
"You always were a crazy fuck, it’s too late for
that."
"Screw you doc."
"You sure Starks said she was here?"
"Yes."
Gideon
I felt my heart drop, Jason? Had Jason betrayed us?
But how why?
Wait a minute that didn't make any sense. If it had
been Jason she never would've made it to the safe room, would she? What the
hell was going on here?
"Let's move I need to get to my wife."
"Okay Gideon we're just making sure that that's
it. We still haven't located the security detail in the building and we don't
know how we were breeched, if it was an inside job then we need to be careful,
we could be walking into a trap."
"Where are they?"
"Don't know yet they're not at their post that
much we know other than that I couldn't say and we can't go looking because
we'd alert those two and whoever else they have with them that we're here.
She's safe in that room boss you have it stocked with everything she needs.
We'll have her out in no time."
Yes, again all that's true but my baby will be scared
and she's been through so much already in her young life...
"They don't leave here alive." Forget trials
and long drawn out bullshit, today was the last those two fucks will ever draw
breath.
"That's a given boss."
It felt like forever before Gage gave the all clear.
Maurice had gone somewhere and came back with the news that the guards had been
knocked out. At least they were still alive. Apparently the two now crawling
through my house baiting my wife had used some sort of sleeping gas. I was still
trying to figure out who had told them where to find her. I know our marriage
had been in the papers yes but neither of those men are locals and my address
isn't public knowledge. Sanders might've talked before he bought it but he
didn't know where I lived either so which Starks had it been?
The father or the son?
"How much longer?"
"Soon Gideon, there's a lot to take into
consideration here, we have an unknown in the house granted it wasn't the kid
that sold us out, which I'm inclined to believe he didn't. If we off these two
assholes we have clean up, the teams already on standby by the way; you're
gonna want to get to Ashley as soon as possible and I'm thinking you don't want
her seeing dead bodies laying around, too many questions. So we have to do this
right. On top of that, although this place is like a fort it’s still surrounded
by other high-rise buildings and you have more glass in here than the Corning
ware factory; you get the picture? We need them in the right location to act,
then we'll move."
What he said made perfect sense but still all I could
think of was her fear. Now I had the added worry of whether or not her friend
had betrayed her as well. Knowing her if that proved to be true it would hurt
her more than being hunted by her old tormentors would.
One thing's for sure, if Jason Starks had betrayed us
kid or not he was done.
Ashley
I know Gideon will come and get me, I know Gideon will
come and get me. I kept saying it over and over to myself as I rocked back and
forth. I wasn't really scared, not really. Gideon had told me all about the
room so I knew that no one could get in. I think I'm more worried about Gideon
coming home and getting hurt. I hadn't had time to grab my phone when I'd seen
them coming on the cameras.
I still don't know what had made me look. I'd been
watching a movie and laughing, just biding my time until I could go bother
Jace. I'd been about to go get a snack, which seemed to be all I ever did these
days. It was then that I'd fooled around with the computer and seen them. I
didn't stop to think, with my heart in my throat I'd sprung into action and had
gone flying down the hallway. I knew if they got their hands on me I'd be dead,
my baby would be dead and I'd never see my Gideon again. That more than
anything had propelled me into action. When panic threatened to over power me I
kept his smiling face in my head.
"I'm sure your husband has this place rigged some
kinda way so he knows what's going on. I bet you he'll be here any minute with
his goon platoon to rescue us."
Jace had been saying funny things like that for the
last half hour to keep my mind off of what was going on. I'd stopped looking at
the cameras that showed the two men combing the house looking for me. It made
me sick to my stomach to watch. Jake had turned off the volume after they'd
started taunting me but every once in a while he took a look to see what they
were up to. I couldn't bear to look at them, evil.
"Hey Ash how about a game of chess? I saw a board
around here somewhere."
I just looked at him, he was trying so hard to keep me
from losing it but this couldn't be easy for him either.
"I'm sorry Jace." He threw a cheese doodle
at me.
"Don't be stupid you didn't do anything wrong, I
just wish I'd been armed so I could've shot those two assholes instead of
hiding out in here. Why didn't you let me go get the gun like I wanted
to?"
"Now who's being stupid? You can't shoot a United
States senator they'd lock you up and throw away the key."
"What do you think Gideon and his guys are gonna
do to them, invite them out for a beer?"
" I don't wanna think about it."
"So don't, you want some ice cream?"
"Ice cream, he has ice cream in here?"
"Did you look in the refrigerator? Dude was
planning for Armageddon."
"Yeah, but ice cream wouldn't it go bad?"
"Who knows what goes on in the head of the rich
and crazy? I'm sure he has it restocked every few months or something."
"I'll thank you not to call my husband crazy
thank you very much." He threw another cheese doodle at me.
JACE
I have to keep Ashley calm, for a minute there I
thought she was
gonna
lose it. I had no doubt that
Thorpe would be here soon if he wasn't already. The guy didn't strike me as the
type to mess around with her safety and knowing what has been going on lately
I'm sure he had it under control. The other reason is my guilt. I'd heard one
of the assholes tell the other that Starks had told him she was here, that
could only be my father. I should've killed him when I had the chance,
should've killed all of them for what they did to her.
Gideon
The doctor checked his watch as he followed the
senator down the hall. I could breathe easier now since they'd moved to the
second floor, one floor overhead.
"I'm going for her."
No one tried to stop me this time as I made my way to
the door. With gun drawn I looked both ways before making my way stealthily
down the hall to the door camouflaged as a mural. It would be hard for anyone
who didn't know that it was there to find the
seam
as
it wasn't obvious to the naked eye.
I used my own code to open the door and step in. The
door was hardly closed before she came flying at me.
Starks just looked at us and rolled his eyes and I
have to admit to breathing a sigh of relief. I'd begun to grow rather fond of
the kid, wasn't really looking forward to putting a bullet in him; glad to know
I wouldn't have to.
"
It's
okay love I'm here
you can stop crying now." Her poor body shook with the force of her sobs
as I held her as close as I possibly could. The way she clutched at me tore at
my heart, reinforcing the certainty that I'd been right to tell Gage in the end
to save those two for me.
Gage was right, taking them out here would raise too
many questions, I hadn't thought of that. Keeping them on ice at a secret
location until I could deal with them made way more sense.
I still had to wait for the beep in my pocket to let
me know it was clear to leave the room. I didn't want her getting anywhere near
those two monsters. I'm sure she'd have a million questions especially when
news of their disappearance hit the airwaves in the not too distant future, but
I'll deal with that when the time came.
"Look at me Blossom." I lifted her
tearstained face and ignored Starks's kissy faces in the background. The kid
might not catch a bullet but he just might get a smack to the back of the head.
"You're safe, everything's going to be okay; this
worrying can't be good for the little one now can it?" I covered her still
flat stomach with my hand, not only to offer her comfort but for me as well. To
reaffirm to myself that everything I loved was safe.
When enough time had passed that I thought the coast
was clear I led the two prisoners from the room. Not that anyone could mistake
the panic room for a prison it had been built with every comfort in mind and
after meeting and marrying Blossom in the last few weeks I'd made doubly sure
it had everything needed. She was leaning heavily against me like all the air
had been knocked out of her, too much. I kept a tight rein on my anger though
not willing to add to her distress.
I exchanged a knowing look with Jason when I caught
him removing the headphones that he'd had plugged into the monitor. That could
only mean one thing, he'd been shielding her from what the men were saying, but
he himself had been listening in. Chances are he heard them make mention of his
father and his part in what had taken place here today. It was a fucked up
situation in more ways than one. More so because I'm
gonna
have to sit this kid down at some point and explain to him why I offed his old
man, but first I had to see to my wife. No doubt all the excitement was too
much for her. Poor thing, she's been having a rough couple of weeks, but if
everything went well this would be the last time she had to face any danger
associated with her father and her childhood.
My guys were gone like the wind by the time we made it
out and I sat her down in the kitchen while I went to make her some tea. The
kid was talking to her calmly about nothing in particular as I listened, trying
to take her mind off of what had just happened I gather. Knowing my Blossom
that would be easier said than done.
I made them both tea though Jason looked at me like I
was nuts when I put his down in front of him.
"Drink it."
"Dude this is for old women, sorry Ashley."
She snorted tea through her nose and started coughing
through laughter. It wasn't so much what he said as how he said it and the look
on his face when he said it, as if I'd given him strychnine.
We both laughed because she was laughing and then
suddenly the air didn't feel so thick anymore. I sat next to her with an arm
around her shoulders while she sipped her tea. I wanted to ask a million
questions but decided to wait until she was done. I could watch the tapes later
to see how everything had unfolded but I needed to hear her tell it. Needed to
gauge just how scared she was and might still be. They'd breeched our home
after all, a place I'd convinced her was safe. That more than anything pissed
me the fuck off, that they'd sullied our sanctuary so to speak. Which reminded
me.
"Baby I forgot in all the madness. I got you
something."
"You did, what is it, where is it?" Her eyes
lit up and I expected her to start patting me down any second to find her
treat. It’s amazing how she could switch from one emotion to the next so easily,
I’m sure it’s something she’d learned to do as a kid. Maybe it was a good thing
I’m not sure, the psychiatrist we’d discussed her seeing would get to the
bottom of it hopefully.
"It's not here, I have to show you." Her
face fell into a sulky pout, which I found
sexy
as
hell so couldn't resist taking a nibble out of her lip. I started to draw her
into my lap forgetting for a second that we had an audience.
"Geez get a room." Jason got up to place his
cup in the sink. I watched him as he rubbed the back of his neck; somehow I
wasn't buying his laid back act. He seemed wound up and ready to spring at any
moment. I studied him to see what if anything I could learn from his body
language but he wasn't giving anything away. For all his manly size it was easy
to forget that he was just a young boy. A boy who'd been on the streets for way
too long hiding from his own father, because he'd tried to save a friend. A
friend who was now my treasured wife, needless to say Jason Starks' life on the
run was at an end. I will of course be taking care of him from here on out no
matter what his thoughts on the matter. I'll just let Blossom deal with that
when the time
comes
as I have no doubt his pride might
get in the way of common sense.
"I think I've had enough excitement for one day
maybe I'll go watch some TV in that gargantuan room you gave me." He
stretched and yawned as he started out of the room. "Jace you ok?"
"Never better Ash, I'm just tired and I have to
go ponder the fact that my father is an even bigger asshole than I
thought."
He left the room and I could see her confusion at his
last remark so to sidetrack her I made a split second decision. "Let's go
get your gift baby you up to going outside?"
Of course I knew it was safe, the culprits were under
guard except for Starks but I wasn't too worried about him. I'm sure the other
two hadn't let him in on all they'd had planned or he would've most likely been
here with them. Even in their evilness there was hierarchy.
I bundled my little wounded soldier up and after
saying bye to Jason we headed out to see her gift. I had to make a phone call
on the way to set things up. This wasn't quite how I'd envisioned giving her
this particular gift but somehow it seems to fit after the events of the day.
We were finally free, well almost. I couldn’t wait to get our lives started out
from under the bullshit. I still had some shit to take care of before the night
was done but that can wait. She’d had too little joy in the last few days. I
wanted to give her something good, something that would help take her mind off
of all this. She hadn’t asked about the safe house because again, that was her
way. She knew if there was something to tell I would’ve told her. She was also
steering clear of any mention of the two who were just hunting her down, which
I was immensely glad of because that was a conversation I was not looking
forward to.
I held her hand as we drove through the streets not
wanting to lose contact not even for a second. When I let myself think of what
could've happened to her the fear threatened to choke me. After today I was
going to make damn sure that nothing like this ever touched her again. I don’t
see how I’m going to keep her away form the children that were even now at the
place I’d secured for them. I wasn’t sure how involved I wanted her to be in
that whole scenario. If it were up to me she’d never give her past another
thought but that’s just wishful thinking. Even I couldn’t pull that one off.
It made me sick
to my stomach to think what might've become of her had I not come along, had
she not caught my eye that day not so long ago, which was beginning to feel
like years. Soon, hopefully before the little one gets here, things would've
settled down and we could look forward to a life of love and peace. I’m going
to spoil her ass rotten starting tomorrow and everyday after. Starting with
this.
I felt her excitement as soon as we entered the gates.
The long driveway that led to the monstrosity at the end was lined with
blossoming trees, their scent permeating the evening air as we drove through.
"Gideon?" Her hand tightened on mine as I
kept driving until we reached the front door.
"Is it?" she turned to me with her eyes wide
and brimming with excitement. It did my heart good to see that.
"Yes love, it's all yours." She threw her
arms around me and peppered my face with her precious kisses.
"Can we go in? I wanna see it."
"Sure love the key's under the mat."
I got out and walked around to her side feeling
lighter, this had been a good decision after all. Maybe a few hours spent in
the house she'd picked out weeks ago, that I'd bought her only today would go a
long way to erasing some of the terror she'd faced earlier.
