heart thief
black market billionaire
book one
BY: SKYLAR SWEENEY
Heart Thief, Book 1 of the Black Market Billionaire Series by Skylar Sweeney.
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© 2019 Skylar Sweeney
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Cover by Mayhem Cover Creations
Chapter One
LADY HEARTBREAK
- MASON -
I inhaled the scent of Indian food and taxi farts, my shiny black fingernails tapping away at the table top as I eyed the lunchtime crowd of Wall Street suits for some sign of Big_Broker666.
If my mysterious online contact didn’t show soon, the unemployment office would be calling my name for sure… Though at this point, I didn’t really care. Avenging my brother’s untimely death was my true occupation, and making certain that the disgustingly wealthy, handsome, and prominent Rex Bennett choked on his bad karma was my only hobby. No longer having to split a cubicle with a gamer sweating rotten jizz and hot sauce would be like a promotion.
“Lady Heartbreak?” The deep voice broke my concentration, and I jumped, coming very close to trading my silk scarf for a very fashionable strawberry-banana smoothie.
I scowled as I cleaned up the slush on the table, twisting my head to glare to the man.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to scare the shit out of strangers?” My sassy reproach trailed off as I took in the view. It was certainly postcard worthy, or maybe a Playgirl centerfold would be an even better use of the ink.
The man was tall and slender yet athletic, with shoulders that pressed against the fabric of his lilac tee and arms that bulged as he settled into the booth. His skin was like coffee with a heavy dose of cream, and his short curls hugged his head in a manner that softened the strong lines of his face. I squeezed my thighs together, wishing I’d worn thicker panties. He was almost as attractive as Rex, and I honestly hadn’t believed that anyone came close to that man. Just another of life’s ironies—giving ultimate beauty to the criminal son of a bitch responsible for my brother’s death.
The man quirked an eyebrow in amusement, and I faked a cough, cheeks reddening as I realized I’d been staring with my mouth hanging open. This is what happens when nights with your boyfriend are about as fun as a gynecologist appointment with Dr. Frankenstein, OBGYN.
“Big Broker, I presume?” I said as smoothly as I could manage. This man was sexy, but that wasn’t what I was meeting him for. Not to mention that Luke would go nuts if he found out I was meeting with some guy off the internet, especially over Rex. Despite being the lawyer who helped with my civil suits, Luke had a tendency to get weirdly jealous whenever I did anything related to my goal of making Rex suffer. I didn’t get it at all, since it was obvious I hated the man, but Luke often got really pissy when hearing his name.
Big Broker smiled like a car salesman the day after Thanksgiving, but the glower in his eyes didn’t match. I shifted in my seat, tightening my grip on my clutch. As attractive as he was, the way he looked at me was making me uncomfortable. Why did it seem like every man I had dealings with was a little bit creepy?
“Call me Wesley,” he said, offering his hand.
I took it firmly. No damsel handshakes for this diva. “I’m Mason.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“We’ll see,” I replied in a clipped tone. “We’ve been talking for a week online now,” I noted. “You keep swearing you can get me a look at King Corp Pharmaceutical’s new biosynthetic heart—the biosynthetic heart no one but the creators know about. I’d like to hear what you have to say, and since I’m playing hooky from work to fulfill your fantasy of meeting face to face, let’s skip the small talk and go straight to the heart of it. Pun intended.”
Wesley’s perfect smile wavered, brown eyes flickering and shoulders dropping, but then he took a breath and the Ken doll was back, complete with painted on grin.
“I can get you access,” the man replied. “But why do you want the heart?”
I smiled sweetly. “To take selfies with, obviously.”
Wesley frowned. “Let’s not play games. We both know that you don’t have good intentions for that heart.”
I glanced around, suddenly wary. “Are you a cop?”
The man’s lips turned up in amusement. “Definitely not. I want to steal the heart as much as you do.”
I stiffened, tugging at the loose red curl hanging by my ear as I looked around for some sign of this being a setup. Not that I knew much about setups. I wasn’t exactly a master criminal. I had stolen earrings from the mall when I was ten—and returned them the next day.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I murmured, and Wesley leaned toward me.
“Mason, this device isn’t your usual biosynthetic transplant, made from animal tissue and engine parts. It’s grown from human tissue and organically melded with the biosynthetic pieces. They process it in a speed growth chamber that mimics the human body. The chance of rejection is less than ten percent, so say goodbye to all the drugs. Once the heart is integrated, it might as well be your own, good for decades. This is King Corp’s greatest invention yet.”
King Corp was the most creative and productive medical corporation in the world, not to mention the foundation of the worldwide black market medical trade. They came up with amazing treatments and prosthetics then charged an arm and a leg for them. The information on the heart hadn’t even been released to the public yet, but I’d overheard an employee of King Corp talking about it during my latest failed attempt at suing their unethical asses and realized this was my chance: Rex Bennett stole my brother’s heart, and now I could steal his.
“King Corp claims it's miraculous,” I replied. “Sounds like magic to me.”
“It’s science,” Wesley stated. “But the heart has to be handled carefully, which means that while I can give you access to King Corp, you won’t be able to take the heart alone. You’ll need help transporting it without damage.”
“I don’t care if it’s damaged,” I snapped, feeling a wash of guilt at the words. This kind of technology could change the lives of millions of people. Someone deserved to benefit from this heart. Just not him. “Rex Bennett needs to pay for stealing my brother’s heart.” My voice cracked on the words, and I had to force down the tears trying to rise.
“I agree,” Wesley said. “I know about your brother. I know that Rex Bennett basically killed him. And I know that being being so well connected kept him from facing real justice for his crime. Rex should not be the first person to receive that heart. But isn’t it just as wrong for the technology to go to waste? What would your brother want?”
I sniffled, not really wanting to consider what Franklin would want. My brother wouldn’t have approved of taking the heart at all. He’d have wanted that murderer to have it, because my brother was simply that sort of person—loving, generous, and endlessly forgiving. But my brother was in heaven, and I hadn’t been there to see him go. I’d be happy to go to hell myself if it meant making Rex Bennett pay, and this was the perfect opportunity.
“Rex Bennett is a billionaire, with a ‘b.’ He could have gotten a donor heart on the bla
ck market with his fat wallet, but he stole Franklin’s instead. Hell, he did it himself, carjacking the transport, holding a gun to the nurse’s face, and taking the cooler from her hands.” My face twisted in anger. “He actually left a note behind saying ‘sorry’. That’s all it said. Sorry.” I shook my head, disgusted. “You’re right. I want this heart to succeed. But not if Rex gets to live a healthy life while my brother rots in the ground.”
My voice cracked, and I could no longer hold back the tears. I wiped furiously at my face, angry at myself for breaking. The ten year anniversary of Franklin’s death was approaching. In a few short months it would be a decade since I’d heard his laugh, and it still felt like yesterday that I lost him. That I left him all alone to die.
Wesley nodded. “I understand your pain. My father spent his entire life working on that heart. They swore he would be the very first human trial. Then a few months ago, Rex Bennett pushed him out. He stole the bio-heart from my father, the same way he stole your brother’s transplant.” His breath caught. “My father’s too old to receive a heart from the donor list. That’s why I need you to get this heart out unharmed.”
Wesley’s eyes shimmered with tears, and I reached out, squeezing his hand.
“So this bio-heart… it’s a match for Rex and your father?”
Wesley chuckled, dabbing at the corners of his eyes. “My father used to joke that he and Rex have the same taste in women because they have the same heart.”
I smiled, then bit my lip, dropping my eyes to our clasped hands. “Look, Wesley, the truth is that I make sales calls for a living. When I heard about this heart, I immediately thought it would be the perfect way to get back at Rex—talk about irony, right? But I can’t even steal extra napkins from a hotdog stand without getting caught. If you need the heart for your father, you need to find someone who knows what they’re doing.”
“No,” Wesley said, shaking his head. “You’re exactly who I need, Mason, because you’re the perfect person to get inside that building.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason Rex almost never comes to the hearings for those lawsuits you file,” Wesley said.
I laughed. “You mean because he has better things to do than hang out in small claims court?”
“No,” he replied, “because his little fraternity of naughty billionaires won’t let him. They’re too worried he’ll pay off a suit, which could have legal consequences for them.” He gave me a smirk. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors of what a bad boy he is.”
I snorted. “I’ve read a gossip column or two. God knows New York loves to talk about their A-Listers. He’s a black market dealer who likes his prostitutes and his booze and his fist fights. I can’t say I’m surprised. What does that have to do with me?”
“Have you ever seen his prostitutes?” Wesley asked, raising an eyebrow.
I rolled my eyes. “I have better things to do than search the Net for paparazzi pics of Rex Bennett screwing cheap dates in public places.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just say… all his hookers are you.” Wesley grinned at the look on my face. “Don’t believe me? Google it. Curvy redheads are his passion.”
I shook my head, frowning. “I’m supposed to believe he’s going to let me waltz in the door to his office—which has paranoid levels of security—because he thinks I’m hot? There are plenty of curvy redheads in the world. I’m sure he can find one that hasn’t been arrested for pissing on his doorstep or sued him dozens of times. And trust me that he will recognize me. We’ve met more than once. We aren’t friends, or even associates, but he has called the cops on me for harassment more than once, and he won’t want me wandering his super secret building.”
“Ah, but there’s a job opening as his assistant,” Wesley replied. “He’s had some… issues… with past assistants, so he’ll definitely vet anyone that applies, interviewing them thoroughly to make certain they can be trusted. Anyone but you. Rex won’t care why you’re there; he’ll be feeling too guilty about what he’s done to you. See, as much as the media likes to play him up as some big bad ass, the man’s a huge fucking pussy about certain things. He doesn’t hire redhead hookers because he thinks they’re hot. He hires them because he feels guily over how much you hate him, and they remind him of you.”
“That’s fucking ridiculous,” I said shortly. “Rex Bennett doesn’t have a conscience. Everyone knows that—he spent nine months in prison for breaking some poor single mom’s fingers in the middle of a big box store. And there’s no way he’d trust me enough to let me work in his building.” I stood up. “It’s been fun, but—”
“Believe what you want,” Wesley snapped, looking annoyed at my response. “But the truth is that Rex won’t care why you’re there; he’ll be too grateful for the chance to earn your forgiveness.”
“I’d never forgive him,” I said shortly, the mere idea making sick. Just like I’d never forgive myself.
“Me neither,” Wesley replied shortly, anger making his hands ball into fists. “Never. So don’t worry about that. I couldn’t forgive him if I tried.”
My eyes widened, a little weirded out by the intense response, but I slowly sat back down. I understood anger, for sure, but this was almost a scary level of it. I hoped I didn’t look so crazy when I talked about Rex Bennett’s part in my brother’s death. Especially not today. I’d dressed up so nice, with a white lace blouse tucked into my favorite navy pencil skirt and a green vintage scarf at my throat. I’d even braided my bright red hair around my head like a crown. I looked like a 1960s vintage princess, and I wasn’t comfortable with being mistaken for a serial killer on Criminal Minds when I talked about getting revenge.
Wesley shook his head as if to clear it, then reached down, picking up a briefcase that likely cost more than my apartment. He removed a manilla folder and slid it across the table to me without saying a word. Hello, drama.
I opened it, eyes narrowing at the resume inside. The resume was marked clearly with my full name and a list of my achievements, or a version of them. I’d sacked groceries at Whole Foods, not marketed for them, and the closest I’d come to managing corporate conventions was when I attended ComicCon with Franklin at twelve.
“What the hell is this?” I flipped to the next page. “And where did you get my Social Security Number?”
“That’s everything you’ll need for your King Corp interview,” Wesley replied. “I scheduled it for tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock at the King Corp corporate office in the Brotherhood Building.”
“You really think I’ll get the job?” I said doubtfully.
“You’ll get it,” he said, sounding beyond confident.
That made one of us.
“So once I do, what then?” I asked, guessing it couldn’t really hurt to try. It wasn’t as if my current job was paying any better than flipping burgers at McDs. “Walk in at nine, walk out at five with a biosynthetic heart stuffed in my purse?”
Wesley chuckled. “Like I said, you’re going to need help. There are three labs on the executive floor, where Rex houses projects he cares about and wants to keep an eye on. The heart is in one of those. I’m not sure which—you’ll have to find that out.”
Wesley reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out… a vibrator?!
My eyes widened, and I started to stand again. “Um, this has been fun, but I think I’m going to go now.”
I should have known this guy was a pervert. Though at least he was a hot pervert. God knew those were rare.
“No, wait, I’m sorry,” Wesley said, looking embarrassed. “I promise, the only fetish we have in common is taking down Rex Bennett.” He glanced down at the vibrator, wincing. “This isn’t what it looks like. It’s a security override device. The, um, outer covering is a disguise. To help you get it through the metal detectors.”
My face went red at the idea. “They’ll let that through?”
Wesley laughed. “Security will let it through.
Trust me. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s sneaking things in through security.”
“So what does it do?” I asked as I eyed the thing, still not willing to touch it. Who knew where it had been?
”This device is configured to override the security panel,” Wesley said, “allowing you access to the lab. You will hold the button down for fifteen seconds, which will activate a signal, restarting the entire security system. While it is resetting—which will take eight minutes in total—the lock will be vulnerable to using the override code for entrance.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, and he smiled.
“It changes daily. I’ll send it every day through a text, encoded as a the phone number on an app update. The heart will be in a growth chamber, which is transportable. However, it needs to be plugged back into the proper circuitry within twenty minutes after being disconnected from the system.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked.
“Once you get the job, take your time figuring out where the heart is and deciding when is the best time to get it out. Then let me know twenty-four hours before you plan to take it, and I’ll bring a van with the proper equipment to hook it up to.”
Wesley pulled out a cellphone like those that people used back in the early 2000s and handed it to me. “My number is programmed in there. No one can listen in or trace this phone. Do you have a landline in your apartment?”
“Yeah, but there’s no phone hooked up to it.”
“Go ahead and get it connected,” he said. “Those are the hardest to crack, and King Corp has a fantastic hacker working for them, so we can contact each other that way to make sure no one is listening in.”
I nodded slowly, though that seemed kind of paranoid to me. Of course, this heart was worth millions.
I bit my lip at the thought. This little act of revenge could end up landing me in prison for a long time if I wasn’t careful. As a natural redhead, orange was so not my color, and I knew from my visits to Rex at Attica that prison was not a fun place to be.
Heart Thief (Black Market Billionaire Book 1) Page 1
