My Dad’s Billionaire Enemy

by Winters, Bella

  I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be far away, in a world where none of this had ever happened, where my dad had a normal job, and Malcolm and I had met under different circumstances.

  I wanted to be in a world in which this disparity between opulence and the poverty it created didn’t exist, where Liam Hawthorne didn’t exist, where he wasn’t staring at me in a way that made me remember what almost happened when I escaped.

  I stood there, my shoulders aching as I sagged against my bonds until Liam finished every last morsel of food on his plate and drank every last drop of his wine.

  He wiped his face clean on the table cloth and then stood.

  “Call for a maid,” he said to one of his men, who bowed and immediately disappeared. “The rest of you, leave us.” They did as he said, scattering like rats from the room.

  Then, his attention turned back to me.

  He walked around the table, coming towards me with the same hunger in his eyes. I tried to scream, but the gag muffled it, and it only sent tears running down my face.

  “We’re going to have a lot of fun, you and I,” he said, looking my body up and down. “I promise.”

  He reached up, unhooking my wrists, and beginning to undo the ropes that held them in place.

  “I know your father will understand. This is the interest I’m taking since it took him so long to do as he promised. If he’s upset, I’ll just pay him a little extra. That always shuts him up.”

  How many other times had Liam given my father extra money for vile things? And would my father really be okay with whatever was about to happen to me, what was happening to me?

  I could only think of one reason why he might be untying me, and the thought of it did not sit well in my stomach.

  I may have avoided it when I escaped, but unless someone stopped him within the next few minutes, I knew that Liam Hawthorne was going to rape me.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Malcolm

  “What do you mean?” Kline asked, his brows furrowing together. “That can’t be right.”

  “Didn’t you hear me? Your daughter is in danger. Very immediate danger.”

  “That wasn’t the agreement though.” He seemed to be saying this mostly to himself. “They were just supposed to get her out of here, then take her to the hotel we agreed on, not… How do you know she’s with them?”

  He glared at me as if I might hold some extra information that he didn’t know.

  It did seem as if, this time, I actually did. It made sense that Liam would lie to him about what he planned to do. Kline would have never agreed to it, and Liam was the type of man to go behind people’s backs.

  He thought that the things that he did could be excused because he had money, and at the same time, never felt like he had enough of it. He was exactly the kind of person I hated most in this world.

  “Because I have footage of them kidnapping her. And I have to say, he was a great deal less gentle than I was. Wake up, Samuel. He didn’t rescue your daughter, he took her by force, and he certainly didn’t do it just to allow you to finally kill me.”

  “What are you suggesting?” his voice was low, dangerous. I was hoping he wouldn’t just kill me if he didn’t like what I said, but I could never really know how things were going to play out.

  “You know his reputation, Samuel. Think. What would he do with a pretty, young woman like your daughter when he knows there won’t be any consequences?”

  His expression flickered to one of horror. It was just for a second, but it was enough.

  “We might still be able to save her from the worst of it. Think, I have the manpower, and the will, as well as the money to compensate you afterward. And you must have a vague knowledge of where he would have taken her. Between the two of us, we should be able to track him down and rescue her.”

  Kline’s gun was still aimed at me, which was not where I hoped we would be at this point in the conversation, but I could still understand. He was scared, confused, and concerned for his daughter’s safety.

  He seemed to consider things for a good few minutes. Then, finally, he sighed and lowered the gun.

  “You’re right, Astor. But don’t think that this means I forgive you or am suddenly on your side.”

  “Of course, I don’t make assumptions,” I said with a grin. A rush of relief had gone through me the moment that Kline put away the gun. I was usually confident, especially in my abilities to persuade people, but there had been a few times during that conversation that I had been unsure.

  I stood, walking over to Kline and offering him a hand. He didn’t take it. “We should go,” I said. “My men are waiting on me, and they probably already have some ideas about how we can rescue her.”

  Kline laughed, but it was not a happy sound. “You really took a gamble there, didn’t you Malcolm?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. There were guards in here the whole time though, and you know I could have killed you if I wanted to.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. You never know until it happens, and I intend to avoid finding out.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “I would hate to have to kill you, I think then Aurora would kill me.”

  Kline stiffened. “I’d prefer it if you did not talk about my daughter that way.”

  “Noted, now let’s go.”

  * * *

  Thankfully for us, Kline was intimately familiar with the layout of Liam’s base, as well as its location.

  It was a bit careless of Liam, but I knew how much he liked to show off, and it seemed as if he thought his new hitman would be the perfect man to appreciate his new decorations. (I was informed by Samuel that they were really quite gaudy.)

  The only problem was we had no idea where Liam might be holding Aurora. We would have to move fast, and question people along the way. I didn’t want her there any longer than was necessary.

  The hideout was under one of the large buildingsdowntown, and thankfully we had no trouble to get in. With the men we had brought, those who were guarding the entrance cowered and we were able to pass.

  I had no doubt that they would alert Liam to our presence, but I didn’t mind that. Let him know we were coming, it was of no consequence to me.

  Kline showed us the elevator that led to the floors underground, tucked away at the back of the building. It was the kind of thing that you wouldn’t notice unless you already knew that it was there.

  We crowded as many of us as would fit—me, Kline, and the Four. Kline instructed the rest of the men we brought with us what floor to go to. I told them that we would wait for a few minutes, but I wanted to split up to cover as much ground as possible.

  I already told them who we were looking for and what they should do on the drive over. There hadn’t been much other time for briefing since I wanted to get going as fast as possible. I had already wasted enough time waiting for Kline and convincing him to join us.

  We rode the elevator down in silence. I knew the Four didn’t dare interrupt my thoughts when I was in this sort of mood, and Kline was clearly just as anxious and angry as I was.

  I was too impatient when we got out of the elevator to wait for the rest of our men. Kline already told them where they could go once they got out, so we headed in a different direction.

  Liam’s base was exactly as I expected it to be. It was gaudy, stuffy, and quite dusty in places. The hallways were dim, and there seemed to be quite a bit of unnecessary space only being used to show off his ill-acquired wealth.

  We wove through, quickly scanning each room for anyone that might have information on where Liam might be.

  Each person we came upon cowered, and each had the same response. That they didn’t know where he was, they had just been informed that he shouldn’t be disturbed.

  Their response could only mean one thing, I knew. That Liam was about to have his way with Aurora. I would never forgive myself if we got there too late.

  Kline had the same sense of urgency that I felt, and together we rushed through t
he place, almost leaving the Four behind in the process. I could feel us becoming closer, as we experienced similar emotional stress, though I doubted that the camaraderie would last.

  Finally, we burst through a closed door that Samuel had never been in, and there they were.

  Aurora was tied up in the center of the room, looking absolutely frightened. In front of her was Liam. He was looking at her with a hunger in his eyes, and he had just finished undoing her binds.

  “You scoundrel!” I screamed, launching myself across the room at him.

  He looked up at me, surprise in his eyes, as I tackled him— pushing him away from Aurora.

  My vision was blurred by anger. The only thing I could see was Liam beneath me as I pinned him down with my knees and punched his face so hard I felt the bones in my knuckles crack.

  Liam was bigger than me, and he bucked beneath me, throwing me off of him and to the side. I stood, only to receive a hard blow to the chest that knocked me back even more.

  My eyes watering, I got into position, readying myself for another onslaught of attacks.

  “You think you can win this fight?” I yelled. “Come at me!”

  Liam launched himself towards me, and I used his momentum to throw him down. He got up, and we engaged in a series of blows. Neither of us had a clear advantage, and I knew there were only so many hits my body could take.

  Liam was unpredictable and just as well-trained as I was. This made him dangerous, especially in a fight.

  But I wanted to win. I needed to win.

  He had hurt the best thing that had come into my life in a long while. He made her cry, and so I would make him suffer.

  Then Liam stepped back. It was just for a moment, only enough so that he could ready himself for another blow, but it was enough.

  A gunshot rang through the room, and Liam Hawthorne fell to the ground, dead.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Aurora

  It was too much to process at once, but I knew enough to be relieved. Liam was lying on the floor, bleeding out from a probably fatal gunshot wound that my dad had inflicted.

  I couldn’t believe that he was here, that he had shot Liam, and that he brought Malcolm with him to save me.

  It confirmed everything that Malcolm had said. Though on the one hand, I was glad that my dad had come to my rescue, there had still been a small part of me holding out hope that Malcolm was lying about who my dad was.

  But now the truth was right in front of me, and there was no way to dispute it.

  “Dad….” I said, stumbling over myself to get to him. He wrapped me in a tight embrace, holding me close enough to make me feel safe, even in a place such as this.

  “I’m here now, it’s okay,” he whispered, stroking my hair with one hand.

  Malcolm’s voice interrupted us. “I’m pleased you two are reunited, but we have to get out of here, now. There’s no telling what these people will do once they discover that their leader is dead.”

  To my surprise, my dad pulled away from me and nodded, the expression on his face deadly serious. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing my arm tight.

  “I’ve already contacted the others,” Misha said. “They’ll meet us outside.”

  “You brought other people?” I asked Malcolm.

  “I wanted to make sure we got you out safe,” he replied. “With more people, we had a better chance of finding you faster. I’m grateful that we weren’t too late.”

  I nodded, hating to think of the things that might have happened to me had they just been just five or ten minutes later.

  I would have been violated.

  I still would never forget the way that Liam stared at me when he ate; and how his hands felt against my skin when he undid my binds; much less the way he had looked in death, a puddle of blood spreading around him. But there were still worse things that might have happened to me, and the thought of them made me shiver.

  “I’ll never let this happen to you, ever again,” my father said, squeezing me to his side. “Now, we have to go.”

  With my dad leading the way, we made our way through Liam’s underground hideout. The few people we encountered on the way looked at us curiously but didn’t attack.

  I was grateful for this. I didn’t know if I could bear to see any more death.

  There was something about death that stuck with you, no matter who it happened to. They could be your worst enemy, but seeing them die in front of you would still be traumatic.

  This was how I felt about Liam. I didn’t care much that he was dead, but to see it happen in front of me, and with such clear detail too….

  Not too long after we got outside, the others that Malcolm had mentioned joined us, and we separated into cars.

  I was riding with Malcolm, Noah, and my dad. The two of us sat in the back while Malcolm drove and Noah sat in the passenger seat. Malcolm had wanted me to join him up front, my dad had disagreed, and that was the end of that conversation.

  As soon as we were a good distance away and heading back to the mansion Malcolm spoke up.

  “We need to talk about where you want to live, Aurora,” he said, making eye contact with me in the rearview mirror.

  “What do you mean?” my dad asked. “She’s going back to her home.”

  “Shouldn’t you give her a choice?”

  “What choice is there to make?”

  Malcolm sighed. “I know that you don’t agree with this whole thing, Samuel, but I want her to move in. She’ll be safer living with me, and there’s plenty of space. If you really feel the need, you’re welcome to move in as well.”

  My heart jumped in my chest at the thought of living with Malcolm, formally this time. I could wake up beside him every day, have breakfast in his sunlit kitchen, read the abundant books in his library, and go to sleep next to him every night.

  “Malcolm, the only reason this whole thing happened is because you kidnapped her. I’m thankful that you helped save her, but I can’t just forgive you for that. And then to let her move in with you? That’s on a whole different level.”

  “She’s an adult—”

  “Yes, I am,” I said, butting into the conversation. “So I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here. I can make my own decisions.” My father was right. Moving in was too fast, especially after everything that had happened. I needed some time to myself to think, and for things to go back to normal.

  “I don’t think moving in with you right now is the best idea. Liam was the main threat I needed to be protected from, and he’s gone now. For the moment, I just want to take things slow, go back to living a more normal life before jumping into things.”

  Malcolm looked disappointed, but he nodded in agreement anyway. “Of course. I can respect that. But if you ever need anything, know that my doors are always open.”

  “We’ll keep that in mind,” my dad said, his words sharp. It was clear he didn’t want this conversation to go on any longer than necessary, and that he didn’t agree with what was happening between us.

  I could only hope that in the coming months he would come to understand Malcolm as I did, see all the many complicated sides of him. There was no one way to categorize Malcolm— good or bad. But I knew that I liked him and I trusted him, and that was what mattered.

  * * *

  When we got back to the mansion, my dad wanted us to leave right away. But I told him there were some things I wanted to get first.

  He seemed to understand what I meant, and though he wasn’t particularly happy about it, he let me do it.

  What I really wanted was time with Malcolm, just the two of us. I wanted to talk about what was happening, and where we were going to go from here. More than that, I wanted to kiss him again before I left.

  Malcolm and I headed up to his room, and one the way he told a main to pack a bag with the clothing he bought for me.

  When I protested he merely shook his head. “They’re yours, I want you to enjoy them,” he said.
“Besides, I expect to see you in them again.”

  “That’s a promise,” I replied with a laugh. “But you’ll have to take me somewhere fancy enough to wear them.”

  He smiled a mischievous smile. “Oh, don’t worry. You know me.”

  I blushed, thinking of how he had booked an entire restaurant just for me. I had no doubt in my mind that the dates we went on next would be just as fun and interesting, and hopefully would end just as wonderfully too.

  Sleeping in his bed that night had been like occupying heaven.

  He closed the door behind us and pulled me to his body as soon as we entered his room. He buried his head in my hair, whispering to me, “I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”

  “I trusted you would come for me,” I said.

  “But why would you? You know I'm a selfish, cruel person. I didn’t even want you to move in to protect you. I just wanted you to be around.”

  I pushed back slightly so that I could look him in the eyes. “But you came, didn’t you? And you came before that too. And I know that you’ll come every time I need you.”

  He looked down at me with wide, blue eyes. “But what if I don’t?”

  I sighed, leaning my head against his chest. “No what-ifs for the moment. Can’t we just be?”

  “I suppose,” he said, resting his hand on my lower back. “I still don’t know how this happened. How I managed to catch your attention. I know I say I’m not a bad man, but every time I think about how much better you could do.”

  “I don’t want anyone better. All I want is you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Malcolm

  Aurora left shortly after with her father, to get settled back at home. I missed her, but there was nothing I could do about it. Her father made it clear that they needed space.