The Billionaire

by Jordan Silver

"I love you too my Blossom."

  "Blossom do you remember that room I showed you?" I don’t know why the sudden though hit me but I went with it. There were men there but I still needed to make sure she was as safe as possible.

  "Uh huh, stop worrying Gideon we'll be fine."

  "Okay baby I'll see you soon."

  I used the rest of the ride to take care of her gift. Looks like it will be needed now more than ever now since her pseudo brother will be living with, us not to mention the baby will be here in a few months. The baby. Damn I haven't even had time to really take it in. I'm going to be a dad, I'm equal parts overjoyed and scared. She was still so young, though she didn't seem to mind too much after her initial fears had been assuaged. I guess I'll worry for both of us. She had so much faith in me. I'll have to be ever careful not to let her down. After this shit was put to bed I can concentrate on all the ways my life will be changing in the not too distant future.

  The place was buzzing with activity when we finally arrived. Dad had things set up as best he could under the hurried circumstances. With the need for secrecy he'd had to call in some favors but he'd got the job done it looked like. He had a couple rooms set up for triage and I noticed most of his female colleagues were on hand. I'd left it up to his discretion who he wanted to wrangle into helping him out.

  "We're all set and ready to go son. I’ve spoken to your guy in the air and apparently they're all steady on their feet no known traumas or outward wounds have been reported, so it'll probably be more running tests and having Charlotte talk to the females. Get a feel as to how much mental damage has been done, and where we need to go from there. I have to tell you son this is gonna cause a shit storm. Are you prepared for the fallout, is Ashley?"

  That was the question wasn't it? The one thing that kept me on the edge as to what exactly I was going to do.

  "I don't want her involved if at all possible."

  "That might not be possible son, the way this thing is unraveling somebody's gonna talk, too many people involved. We have to figure out how to get these kids back with their families and back into society, it's going to be rough."

  "And if I know my wife she's gonna want to have a hand in that." Just one more thing for me to worry about.

  "She's a good girl your Ashley you did good there son."

  "Thanks dad. What did you tell mom about this?"

  "As little as I could get away with you know your mother, she'd probably hunt the bastard down herself. I've asked her to keep her cool for now until we see how it plays out. Last I saw before I left the house she was starting research on how to make sure the senator doesn't slip through the cracks."

  He shook his head as he smiled. "You've got men on the house though right?"

  "Yep she's surrounded, not to worry son."

  I left dad and walked around the house to make sure everything was as it should be. I wasn't expecting any trouble here but you never know what the hell could go wrong. I needed to see them settled so I cold get back to her. I hadn't realized that it had been a while since we'd spent any time apart. Since she came home from the hospital I haven’t been more than a few feet away from her or at least monitoring her while I did something else.

  What was going to happen when this was all over and things went back to normal?

  "Thorpe we've got a problem."

  "What is it Gage?" I turned to the other man expectantly. Please don't let the plane have gone down or some shit now.

  "The code for your panic room has been activated."

  My heart dropped even as I checked the little device he passed off to me. I was moving even as I read the screen. My men were right on my heels as I rushed pass dad.

  "I've got to go dad Blossom..."

  I couldn't say anymore as my knees threatened to give out on me. I barley made it into the back of the already idling car.

  "She's probably safe boss, I think she's the one who went in, no one can get in there..."

  "Just get me to her and Gage...if it's him he's dead, get everything ready."

  "On it boss."

  Chapter 33

  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 mar
riage 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.

  Chapter 34

  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 w
as 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.