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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
Johnny was as good as his word. We were standing on the tarmac loading our gear inside of three hours.Five of us were standing by the plane: me, Johnny, Bert, and my two remaining bodyguards, Juan and Leo. Four of us were going. But I had to give them one last chance to back out.“You don’t have to do this,” I told them. “I’ll pay you handsomely if you do – three million dollars apiece, and that goes for you, too, Johnny – but I’ve got to tell you, there’s maybe a ten percent chance we come out of this alive.”“Twenty percent at least,” Johnny said in a deadpan voice. “Don’t be pessimistic.”“No matter what, it’s still shitty odds. You can walk away now and I won’t say a thing.”Leo shrugged. “Danger’s part of the job. I’m going wherever you’re going.”Juan grinned. “I was a Navy SEAL, sir. Frankly, this job’s been pretty damn boring till tonight.”“You people are insane,” Bert muttered.“A good time with a three million dollar payday?” Juan asked. “That sounds pretty sane to me.”“T
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
Within ten minutes, the Gulfstream G650 was heading for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. At a top speed of 610 miles per hour, we were going to be over our target within three and a half hours.I knew it was going to be the longest three and a half hours of my life. Johnny ran through the details during our flight. “Eve was right, we’re going to have to go out the aft baggage area. We can access it from inside the plane, so we’re good.”“Why can’t we just go out the door?” I asked.“Don’t want to get sucked into the engines,” Johnny explained. “Or bash your head on the wing and get knocked out.”“Oh.”“Do we have intel on the boat?” Leo asked. “I mean, what are we looking at here?”“Eve?” I said.The television monitor in front of us lit up with white letters on a back background. She had commandeered the plane’s internet connection long before we took off.It’s a custom-built mega-yacht, 300 feet in length. I’m keeping track of it via satellite – you’ll be able to parachute within a
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
We were allowed bathroom breaks – armed members of the crew unlocked our handcuffs, then escorted us out of the room and back – but other than that, we were kept chained to our brass chairs around the table. Sebastian kept toiling away, giving Miranda access to Connor’s companies, piece by piece – and I was the sword held over his head to get him to comply.The only ray of hope I had was my bobby pins. I checked my hair when I went to the bathroom; they were still there. If there was a moment when Miranda left me and Sebastian alone, I might be able to get us both out of the cuffs – and maybe someplace safe.Maybe.But now wasn’t the time.I just prayed the time would come……and that Sebastian, Connor, Johnny, and I all lived to see it.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
Two hours into the flight, Eve gave me the best piece of news I’d had in weeks – and I’m counting the moment I found out the murder charges against me were dropped.I’ve got confirmation – they’re both alive. Repeat: both Lily and Sebastian are alive.We whooped and hollered, and looked closely at the camera angle as Eve played it over and over. My eyes teared up as I watched Lily being escorted out of the room at the front of the ship – healthy and whole, even if she was at gunpoint.“Is that Armin?” Johnny asked in shock.“What?!” I said. “Eve – rewind the video and freeze it!” She complied, and I leaned in close to study the figure behind Lily. It was harder to see him because of the shadows and the grainy quality of the video, but I’d seen his face too many times over the last year for there to be any doubt.“That motherfucking Judas SON OF A BITCH!” I roared.“Shit,” Johnny whispered.I sat there stewing for a second, then said grimly, “I owe you an apology, Eve. You were right
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
We had been sitting in the room for several hours when Armin knocked at the door.“We picked up a plane on radar,” he announced. “They’re maybe fifteen minutes away.”“Excellent,” Miranda said, then gestured to Sebastian. “Take this one back with you.”Armin unlocked the chains around Sebastian’s ankles, forced him to his feet, and shepherded him out of the room. The last I saw of my friend was his panicked eyes as he disappeared outside.“What about me?” I asked.Miranda came over and sat in the chair next to me, the gun in her hand. “Now we wait for your fiancé.”
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
Johnny passed out tiny earpieces with microphones, along with four objects that looked like walkie-talkies.“What are these for?” I asked.“They’re shortwave transmitters. They’ll allow the four of us to communicate onboard the ship,” Johnny explained. “And they have Bluetooth capability, so if Eve’s able to commandeer the ship’s wireless computer system, she’ll be able to speak to us directly when we’re onboard.”Words appeared on the television screen: Put them on.We all did as ordered. Suddenly a familiar feminine voice – one I had heard only for a couple of hours, and many weeks ago – spoke in my ear.“Hello, gentlemen. I’ll be assisting you on your mission of rescue and revenge this evening.”Juan chuckled. “Hot girl talkin’ in my ear – the night just got even better.”“Good to hear your voice again, Eve,” I said.“Thanks, Connor.”“Why are you breaking the rule about no voice contact, though?”“We’re in the final stretch, so I figure it can’t hurt. Plus there’s no real way arou
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
I sat there staring at Miranda, both furious and sick with dread at the same time.She didn’t seem bothered at all by the violent drama about to unfold. She lounged in the chair like she was in a theater, waiting for a movie to start. The only thing out of place with her demeanor was the gun in her right hand.“What were you doing in Tokyo and Italy?” I asked.“I told you, we’re not talking about that.” There wasn’t any anger or annoyance in her voice, just cool detachment.“Either I’m about to die, or you’re about to die – so what does it matter if I know?”She looked at me with mild amusement. “I’m not about to die.”Her self-confidence enraged me – and at the same time, the double meaning behind her last sentence chilled me to my bones. Still, I kept pressing. “So tell me.”“There was a shipment of prostitutes in Tokyo, and a shipment of heroin in Italy.”“…into the US?”“No,” she said, her voice registering just the barest hint of sarcasm. “Into Guam. Of course into the US.”“But
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
We had to access the cargo hold and jump from there in order to avoid getting sucked into the engines, so we removed an access panel in the Gulfstream’s cabin wall and set it aside. Cold air blasted out of the dark hole at hurricane force.While the others prepared to jump, I unzipped one of the tiny pouches sewn into my black fatigues and pulled out the wedding rings. I rubbed them again, felt the embossed patterns in the metal, and kissed them once more.Today was supposed to be our wedding day, not the day we both might die.No, I told myself. That’s NOT going to happen.I’m putting this on your finger TODAY, Lily. I swear it.Then I replaced the rings and zipped them up tight and secure.Everyone else was finally ready. Leo grabbed his AR-15 and disappeared through the hatch. Exactly twenty seconds later, Juan crawled in after him.Twenty seconds after that, Johnny slapped my shoulder. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”My heart pounding, I crawled into the darkness and tried to reme
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend. His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in r
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
But as far as wedding days go, it wasn’t the only one.Come on, I’d gotten married in sopping wet clothes, on a deserted island in the Caribbean, with only four people total in attendance.Did you really think I wasn’t going to have a billionaire-style shindig, with all my family and friends?Connor and I decided on it spontaneously, as soon as we got back home. But rather than hold it in New York City, with all its bad memories from the last couple of weeks, we held it two weeks later in Lake Cuomo, Italy. Have you ever seen pictures of Lake Cuomo? It’s like an Italian Renaissance fairytale. George Clooney bought a residence there, with good reason – it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And that’s where we had our wedding.There was only one shadow hanging over the entire day.After we were escorted back to St. Vincent by the policemen, Connor immediately hired a team of divers to go down to inspect the yacht’s wreckage. There was one body in particular he wanted found.B
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
It turns out Johnny was right: we didn’t see a single shark the entire way.That doesn’t mean it was a piece of cake. What with Johnny and Connor’s wounds, and my needing to rely on their help when I was tired, it took us almost an hour. By the time we got to the island, we were exhausted. But Sebastian was there to greet us. As we approached where the waves started to break, he saw us and started yelling and waving ecstatically from the beach.“A little help!” Johnny shouted at him. Sebastian immediately raced out into the waves and dragged me to shore. “Thank God, thank God,” he kept sobbing as he helped me lie down on the sand. Then he went back out and helped Johnny and Connor limp their way onto the beach.We all collapsed next to each other. Connor and I held hands as we stared up into the blue sky, too weary to speak.“I thought I’d never see you again,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his face.I was touched; it was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him.“No such luck,” Co
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The happiest moment of my life was when Connor proposed to me.The second was when he burst through that door.And the third was seeing the look of surprise on Miranda’s face when she realized what I had done to her.While Connor kept her talking, I picked the lock and undid the handcuffs from my right wrist. (Bobby pins to the rescue!) Then I grabbed Miranda’s arm and slapped the cuffs on her.Anytime I’m ever depressed about anything from now on for the rest of my life, I’m just going to remember the look of surprise on that murderous bitch’s face, and everything will be better. Instant anti-depressant.Miranda yanked her arm up with a clank! of the chain, but she was locked to the metal armrest of the chair – which was bolted to the floor.She screamed in fury, and pulled the gun’s trigger.BLAM!But I’d purposefully bumped her aim away from Connor – so all that happened was one of the creepy glass spider cases shattered into tiny shards.The gunshot hurt my ears, but I’d been expe
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I couldn’t take the shot. I wasn’t Johnny; my aim was good, but not stellar, and the floor was already at a 20 degree tilt. Miranda had her gun at point blank range to Lily’s head. If she pulled the trigger before I got her – I slowly held my .45 away from my body and let it fall to the floor.All the ugliness I knew was inside Miranda revealed itself on her face. It was the evil leer of a serial killer, the grin of a Great White Shark.“I win,” she gloated.My heart sank.It was over. I had failed.I looked at Lily, both sorrow and love welling up at once. She was seated in some sort of chair bolted to the floor, and was handcuffed to the metal armrest.Lily’s eyes were frantic, but her lips were moving. She was mouthing something…Keep her talking.I couldn’t tell for the life of me what she had in store, but I complied. I looked up at Miranda. “You win. You can do with me whatever you want, but please – let Lily go.”“Don’t waste your breath,” Miranda snarled. “Walk towards me w
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The door suddenly burst open, and there stood Connor with a gun in his hand, just like the star of an action movie.My heart soared with love – and fear. Because Miranda was standing behind my chair, just like the villain in an action movie.I was between them – Miranda’s human shield.I felt the barrel of Miranda’s pistol jam against the back of my head.“Drop it,” she commanded, “or I kill her.”Connor looked at me helplessly.“Don’t worry about me – shoot her!” I begged him.But he wouldn’t take the chance. He held the gun slowly away from him and let it fall to the floor. CLUNK.I felt Miranda’s pistol stop pressing against my scalp, then saw it appear next to me as it pointed at Connor.“I win,” she said, and I could hear the sneering triumph in her voice.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I rushed over to Leo’s body, staggering in the tilting hallway as I ran.He was lying face-up on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him on the floor.He saw me coming. Tried weakly to lift his AR-15 – I put two more rounds in him with my .45.BLAM BLAM.He lay still after that.Adrenaline coursed through me like a drug, sharpening my senses while making everything unreal.I felt sick. I had just killed a man. I had just taken a life. He was a traitor, yes, and someone who was planning to hand me over to be killed – but still, I felt queasy.Lily.She was all that mattered. I pulled myself together.“Nice shooting,” Eve said in my ear. “Oh ye of little faith.”“What?” At first I thought she meant something about me doubting my abilities to shoot someone, which didn’t make any sense.“You thought I was a turncoat? AGAIN?”“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”“Hmph. We’ll talk later. Go down the hallway the way you were originally heading – there’s a half-dozen g
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
BOOM.There was a massive explosion somewhere on the ship. Every glass pane in the spider terrariums rattled, and a couple cracked.“What the hell?” Miranda said, and stumbled to her feet as the yacht began to tilt to one side.After my initial shock from the blast, I watched Miranda’s face. She was reacting with more fear – in fact, with more emotion – than I’d ever seen her display before.She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.After all the indignities the bitch had put me through, I couldn’t resist. “Guess my fiancé’s here,” I said, and gave her a little smile.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I was halfway down the deck when Eve spoke in my ear. “Connor, there’s a problem.”“What?” I whispered.“Juan and Leo are on the other side of the yacht, but I’m not getting any video feeds of them.”There was a dull WHUP in the distance, then another one a few seconds later.Not like gunshots, exactly. But they did sound like a heavy book being dropped on a wood floor.I ducked into an alcove with a door in it, and hunkered down into a squatting position. “Juan? Leo?”“We separated, and Juan ran into a guard,” Leo’s voice said. “Juan’s dead, but I got the other guy before he could sound the alarm.”SHIT. Already things were going to hell, and we’d barely engaged the enemy yet.But… something didn’t make sense…I frowned. “I heard two silenced shots. How come I didn’t hear any regular gunfire?”“They’ve got suppressors, too. The first one was the guy shooting Juan, the second was me shooting the guard.”I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. I just chalked it up to
