Heart Thief (Black Market Billionaire Book 1)

by Skylar Sweeney

  Damn did he have some hardcore abs. How often did he go to the gym?

  He moved closer, and I wrinkled up my nose at the smell of alcohol and other not nice things that wafted from him, shaking my head.

  “Did you sleep here?” I asked in disbelief, and he shrugged.

  “I guess you could say that.”

  My brow furrowed in confusion when Bambi appeared behind him, giving me a broad smile and a wave.

  “Hi Macy!” she said, swaying her hips as she leaned against Rex. “Good to see you again!” She stood on her tippy toes and gave him a deep kiss, making me want to claw her eyes out. Not that I wanted to kiss him. I just didn’t think anyone should be kissing him, you know, because he was a bad man. Yeah, right. “It was fun, baby,” Bambi crooned, her tongue tracing his lips. “Call me again, anytime! Thanks for the tip!”

  With those classy words she marched off, leaving me staring up at Rex in horror.

  “You brought a prostitute to the office?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. “The office?! What the hell is wrong with you?” And here I thought breaking fingers was bad. At least that had an excuse. There was no excuse for bringing Bambi, of all people, to the office where we worked. Together. Right next door to one another. Where we’d kissed.

  Rex scowled. “Well, it’s not like you were interested. In case you’d forgotten, you were busy freaking out over some stupid fingers.”

  “Fingers are a big deal!” I shouted, unable to control myself. He’d driven me so crazy last night, first actually being likable, making me feel all bad for him and almost wanting to hang out again sometime—then going on to act like such a huge manslut, practically fucking at our table with a whore, then actually breaking my boyfriend’s fingers. I’d wanted to put him in his place then, but this was the final straw. “And dammit, Rex, these are our offices! We work here—as professionals! This is NOT professional!”

  Rex sighed. “Mason, I know that, but my new apartment is being renovated. The bedroom is a wreck, and this was easier than getting a hotel room at three in the morning since the money I needed to pay Bambi was in the safe anyway.”

  “Bullshit,” I snapped. “Don’t try and make excuses. The truth is that you’re simply an unprofessional, perverted prick!”

  “I won’t argue being an unprofessional, perverted prick, but my apartment actually is being renovated,” he said dryly. “It’s not an excuse.”

  “Sure it is,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm. “And I’m Ru Paul.”

  His eyebrows shot up, eyes twinkling. “Wow, Ru, you’ve really shrunk since the last time I saw you.” He laughed at my glare.

  “I’ll bet you twenty bucks that your apartment is just fine,” I snapped, smiling when he shook his head.

  “No way,” Rex said. “I’m not taking that bet.”

  “See, I knew—”

  “Twenty bucks is a lame bet. Let’s bet dinner.”

  I blinked. “Um…”

  He cocked his head to the side. “You were the one who wanted to bet. Getting cold feet? Come on, you feeling scared?”

  “No!” I snapped, eyes flashing.

  Rex shrugged. “Okay then, I obviously need to clean up. My stuff is still at my apartment and the shower works. Let’s go.”

  Rex started off down the steps, and I watched him, mouth hanging open. Great. Just great. What had I gotten myself into?

  “You make me want puke everywhere,” Mrs. Cho informed Rex politely as we walked by her desk, and he wiggled his fingers at her.

  “I love you too, Mrs. Cho.”

  I made a point of holding my nose when we stepped into the elevator, and he rolled his eyes.

  “Really?”

  I shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I have no interest in finding out what Bambi’s vagina smells like.”

  “You’re not missing much,” he said, smirking at the look on my face. “Let’s just say that she and I probably won’t be seeing one another again.” He paused. “Though I will need you to take the receipt she gave me to accounting so they can write off her payment.”

  My mouth dropped for what felt like the millionth time this morning. “Please tell me that’s a joke.”

  He grinned, but I didn’t get the chance to find out if he was serious or not before the elevator lurched to a halt.

  I let out a squeak, looking around frantically. “Why did we stop?!”

  Rex gave a small shrug, smile still on his face, but I noticed his shoulders looked tense. “Probably just a short. I’m sure we’ll be back up soon.”

  I gulped. “Please tell me the elevator repair people aren’t still on strike?”

  Rex raised an eyebrow at me, looking amused, and moved to the back of the elevator, opening a section of what I thought was a decorative panel and revealing some sort of touch screen.

  He scanned the screen then gasped, making my eyes go wide. “What is it?”

  Rex shook his head, making a frightened sound. “We’ve had a HazMat Security Breach and we’re under a Level 5 Lockdown. Someone released radioactive material into the air vents.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth, looking around frantically for the air vents, and Rex burst out laughing.

  “The look on your face is hilarious.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, fists clenching. “That was not funny!”

  “You know that it was,” he said, eyes tearing up from laughter. “Admit it: If you’d done it to me, you’d think it was funny.”

  My lips tightened, and I scowled at him, refusing to admit that it was a little funny.

  “If it makes you feel better, a Level 5 Lockdown would send all elevators to the ground floor so that occupants could exit,” he said, flipping idly through the touchscreen. “Apparently someone without clearance got into an elevator from the ground lobby. He hit all the call buttons and the security system isn’t completely certain which one he’s in, so it locked them all down until the guards can check the shafts to make sure he didn’t exit through the emergency exit. Once they’ve checked, we’ll be moving again.”

  “Where was he trying to get?” I asked, and Rex shrugged.

  “Not a clue. Possibly the bathroom? Lucky for him, they have those in jail, because the cops are on the way.” He paused. “Most people couldn’t get in the elevators at all, which means he knows the building. So it may be awhile before they find him.”

  I sighed, sliding down the side of the elevator and slumping onto the floor. “Great, and I’m stuck in here with the guy who smells like vomit, booze, and vagina.”

  Rex moved across the elevator and slid down next to me. “Hey, I really did want to apologize for last night. There was no excuse for the way I acted. Molesting Bambi in front of you or breaking Luke’s fingers.”

  I sighed, shaking my head. “Honestly? I have to admit, the fact that Luke hitting me made you so mad that you broke his hand… it was sort of sweet, in a completely crazy way. And with Bambi… You were an asshole at the end, yeah, but it was your birthday. You’re supposed to have fun.”

  “You think any of that was fun?” he shook his head. “I got so wasted I literally could not see straight, which is never fun. And Bambi was a mistake. I just thought… if I did have to go out, I didn’t want to have to be all alone.”

  I shook my head. “You have some of the best friends I’ve ever seen. You weren’t exactly alone.”

  “You know what I mean,” he said quietly, and I nodded.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes, then Rex spoke up again.

  “Do you and Luke fight like that a lot?”

  I frowned, twisting the fabric of my skirt as I stared down at it. “We do have a lot of fights. He doesn’t usually hit me… but he throws a lot of stuff. Apparently I’m a little forward for most guys. Luke calls it Total Bitch Syndrome.”

  Rex shrugged. “You’re just honest. No need to sugar coat things.”

  “I don’t mean to do it,” I said, sighing. “Shit just comes out.
One second I’m being sweet and sexy, the next I’m telling someone that his hair cut makes him look like a member of *NSync back in 1996.”

  “It doesn’t bother me.” He bit his lip. “Can I tell you a secret? It might piss you off.”

  I shrugged. “I’m always pissed at you, so you might as well.”

  Rex chuckled. “You know when I was in Attica, how you’d come every few weeks to tell me what a loser I was and how I was going to be stuck in there as the rich white boy forever and on and on?”

  My face went red, and I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. It was wrong. You were already being punished. I didn’t need to try and tear you down more.”

  Rex laughed, shaking his head. “Mason, that was the only thing I had to look forward to. No one came to visit me except you. You saying I was going to end up some Crip’s butt lover really didn’t bother me in the least. Maybe you piss off most guys, but it takes more than a few snubs about my manhood to get to a guy like me.”

  “Wow,” I said, knowing that Luke definitely wouldn't be able to handle that kind of put-down. “How did you end up with such thick skin?”

  Rex shrugged. “Just my childhood. I think my dad's number one hobby was coming up with ways to terrify and humiliate his sons."

  I made a face. "That's horrible. What kind of stuff did he say?"

  Rex chuckled. "Stupid stuff, but things that would scare kids. Like... when I was twelve, I took up gardening, and my dad swore that he'd scheduled an appointment with a doctor to cut my balls off so that my body would match my mind.”

  My mouth opened then shut again as I stared at him, not even able to begin to think of something to say to that. “He didn’t really mean that, did he?” I finally choked out, not that it made it any better that a father said that to his son.

  “No, definitely not,” Rex said with a smile. “Believe it or not, when you have as much money as my family does, it’s easy to find doctors twisted enough to do stuff like chop your kids’ junk off if you’re willing to pay enough for it. Money buys everything. Except happiness.”

  “Ugh,” I said, making another face. “That’s disgusting. And terrible. I can’t believe your dad said that to you. Was he always that cruel?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not as bad as it seems—I got used to it. It doesn’t stick with me or anything. Well, I don’t think it does. My Brothers—the ones you met, not my real brother—swear that it does, because I always talk about what a bitch and a wimp I am. But it’s true. I am a total pussy. My Brothers can do anything. I can’t even look at a papercut without feeling sick.”

  “Rex, you broke a guy’s hand last night without blinking,” I said, staring at him in complete disbelief. “And you kicked that guy Kansas’ ass the other day. I don’t think that your average person would consider that being a wimp. In fact, I’ve called you a lot of names in my life, but I am pretty sure that ‘wimp,’ was not in the lineup. Wimp is basically the last thing that come to my mind when I think about you.”

  He frowned, then shrugged. “I guess it depends on who you’re comparing yourself to. According to my father, I’m a cowardly piece of shit. But you asked how I got my thick skin. That’s how.”

  I shivered, unable to imagine what it would be like to grow up with an asshole like Rex’s father. And this bastard was seriously one of our Senators?

  “Hey, Mason. Howdy, Rex.”

  I yelped at the greeting, eyes jerking up as a man seemed to pop out of the ceiling. At least I assumed it was a man. The figure was wearing a black stocking mask over his face, completely covering all his features, and was hanging upside down by his bent knees from the emergency exit, looking like an evil Spiderman.

  “Hey Jones,” Rex replied, and my eyebrows shot up. Was that really Jones, the guy from last night? Doing Spiderman tricks in the elevator shaft? Wow. “You catch him?”

  “Have him on Level Nine,” Jones replied in a very serious voice, actually dropping down and landing on his hands then gracefully flipping over into a standing position, like a gymnast. Freaky. “But he left his purse behind.”

  Rex nodded solemnly, like men left their purses behind everyday.

  Jones pulled a walkie talkie off his belt and spoke into it, “Elevator shaft C is all clear. Go for transit.”

  The elevator jerked and began moving downward, and I sighed in relief. I was more than ready to get out of this small space and somewhere less crowded. As intriguing—and disturbing—as it had been to learn about Rex’s very fucked up childhood, being in small or private spaces with the man pre-shower was not my number one choice of destinations right now. He smelled bad.

  Mason and I are headed to my apartment,” Rex informed Jones. “I have a bet to win.”

  “Sounds good. It’s a nice day. You should walk.”

  “I think we will,” Rex replied, and I stared at him.

  “Are you kidding me? Do you know what it feels like to walk in heels like this?” I kicked up a foot, pointing out my five inch stilettos, and he laughed.

  “It’s only four blocks away,” Jones said.

  I sighed, adjusting my sunglasses again. “Whatever. I’m too hung over to argue.”

  “Exercise is good for hangovers,” Rex said, not helpfully at all.

  “Thank God,” I moaned as the doors finally opened, and I jumped to my feet, stumbling into the lobby. It was unusually empty, with only a couple of suits next to the doors and the rest of it clear. I guess they were all off interrogating the guy they’d caught in an office somewhere. “We were in there forever.”

  “We were only stuck in there for nine minutes,” Rex pointed out in amusement as I practically dashed through the metal detectors, sucking in big breaths of smoggy-fresh air.

  “No, we were definitely in there at least half an hour,” I said confidently. “I’ll never get your stench out of my nose.”

  Rex snorted and nodded down the street. “My new place is this way.”

  “If you’re so close now, why do you drive everyday?” I asked as I hurried to keep up with him. “In Manhattan I’d think it would be faster to walk.”

  “It makes the car payments worth it,” he said, grabbing my arm and tugging me forward. “Please keep up.”

  I yelped, and my brow furrowed suspiciously as I was dragged along with his obscenely long strides. “What’s going on?”

  Without another word he grabbed me around the middle and picked me up, bride style, holding me tight to his chest as he began to jog—no, run—down the street. I screeched, wrapping my arms around his neck to keep steady.

  “What the hell are you doing?!” I shouted, and he grimaced, sweat trickling down his forehead. I didn’t think it was from the heat.

  “I’m sorry, Mase,” he said, and I scowled at the nickname he gave me. I never said he could nickname me. “I just want to be sure you’re safe. We’re almost out of the radius, then we’ll catch a cab, okay?”

  “Safe from what? Your total insanity? Because it’s not working! And what’s a radius?” I shook my head, feeling dizzy as I clutched him tightly, my right breast rubbing against his pec and my face pressing into his neck as I tried to hold myself steady in his arms while he pounded along, literally shoving people out of our way.

  I choked as I heard sirens approaching in the distance, eyes going wide as a helicopter—yes, a helicopter—flew directly overhead, landing on top of the Brotherhood Building.

  “Don’t panic, okay?” Rex said, voice completely steady as he squeezed his arms around me in a reassuring way. He dashed across another intersection then slowed to a walk, sighing in relief. “We’re out of the blast radius now, and we were out of the kill zone once we got across the street from the building. Just stay calm.”

  My mouth dropped open, eyes going huge in shock. I squeezed my arms around his neck, heart pounding. “Are you saying that there’s a bomb?”

  “Possibly,” Rex said, signaling a taxi. “The intruder left a bag behind in the elevator. It contains something whic
h could possibly be a bomb. Jones is evacuating the building now, and the bomb squad is on the way. It’s probably only a scare tactic. Ninety-five percent of bomb reports are scares.”

  He set me down, and I climbed into the taxi, hands trembling and breath coming in quick pants.

  Rex followed, giving his address to the driver, an address that was definitely more than four blocks from the building.

  “How did you know about it?” I demanded, and Rex shook his head, nodding toward the driver.

  “We’ll talk about it as soon as we get to my apartment. Right now we have to be discrete—it will keep people from panicking and getting hurt. Okay?”

  I nodded slowly and pressed up against his side, not giving a damn that I was cuddling with my enemy. I’d been in an elevator only a couple dozen feet from a bomb, and I hadn’t even known it. Right now I simply wanted to wrap up in someone’s strong arms until I felt safe again, which might very well be never.

  I’d worry about cutting Rex’s balls off for not telling me what was happening later.

  - mason -

  Any other day, I would have spent a good amount of time admiring the chic styling of Rex’s lavish SoHo apartment, which was a new residence since the last time I’d broken into his living space and played junior high pranks, but after the day’s little bomb scare, I wasn’t up for much more than sipping my cup of chai tea and mindlessly staring out the massive window at the Hudson River below.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Rex murmured, wrapping an arm over my shoulders as he sat down next to me on the sofa, a tea cup cradled in his own hands.

  I just kept staring out at nothing, my mind whirring a million miles per hour as my heart continued to pound much too fast for its own good. Rex gave me a tight smile then picked up the remote resting on the coffee table and turned on the giant flatscreen hanging on the wall before us, flipping it to a local news channel and setting it on mute.

  My strange look must have been question enough, because he shrugged and gave my shoulders a squeeze.

  “If the building blows, it will definitely make the news. If it’s only a scare, it will make the news eventually, once the story is leaked. Either way, if we keep our eyes on the media, we’ll get an update soon.”