We arrive at Ty's place, and he is fixing the flat on his bike.
"You should have a car," Joseph says.
"Not enough freedom,” he replies grinning. "So, we have a big day today." His eyes are popping with adrenalin.
"We do, if we see The Kingmaker, don't do anything rash, we need answers first," Joseph says.
"Okay, I will keep it cool," he replies.
We walk to the remote unit, the door is wedged open, so we enter.
"Morning Bob," I say.
"Hiya Stacey," he replies.
"Where is Bart?" I ask.
"Under the table, he crashed at about six am, we have been busy.""Why are you not sleeping?"
"Energy drinks," he says showing us his waste basket.
"Did you find any strange calls coming from around the area?” Joseph asks.
"Yeah, one made around ten calls in the space of maybe an hour. The destination was different, but not by much, maybe fifty miles in total. I reckon they were on a bus," Bob replies.
"Do you have a final location? No, their cell is off. I will let you know when they come back online though," Bob says.
"What about the staff from Tina's," I ask.
"That was easier than I thought, we got through quite a few, we only have a handful left to come back."
"Did you notice anything strange about them?" Joseph questions.
"Not from the ones we have finished, they are just your typical club girls and bar staff, we still have Tina and Michelle to finish. That Orlando is clean, but Tina's was a problem. I was locked out of a few places, but I could not tell why," Bob explains.
"Just text me when you have an answer," Joseph says.
"There was one thing you might be interested in. Owen has siblings, one dead and one alive, but I was not able to get a final result on that either, maybe later," he says.
"Keep going ‘till you have finished and let me know," Joseph says. He looks serious, now.
Bob smiles wildly. "As a treat. I have nearly hacked their system," he says nodding.
"The Kingmaker's network?" Joseph asks.
"Yup, it is not easy, he has so many layers and false links, but nearly there," Bob explains.
"Can you crash it?" I ask.
"Stacey, I can do anything with it I want once I am in," he says, enjoying his ego.
"Keep that one ready for action," Joseph says.
"Get off to your meeting, and I will update you later," he says.
"How do you know about the meeting?" I ask plainly.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere," he says smiling.
We leave Bob and the sleeping Bart to finish what they have started. We head to the club with Cally and Ty. Tina should be arriving anytime soon, so we all wait in the corporate room.
"I have just thought," Joseph says.
"What's that?" I ask.
"Where is Conor?" Joseph says.
"Don't worry, he has been off sick," Shona says.
"We have been so busy, I had forgotten all about him," Joseph replies.
"Does Beau have to do anything today?" asks Shona.
"Crap, what day is it?" Joseph asks.
"Wednesday!" I say, winking at Joseph.
"Can you call him? God, this may be our last chance," Joseph says.
Shona takes out her cell and calls Beau. She hands Joseph the phone and it’s on speaker.
"Beau, is your end ready?" Joseph asks.
"It is, I just have to give Robin the nod and press the ‘enter’ button," Beau's voice sounds out from the speaker.
"It is Wednesday, not Tuesday. is that a problem?" Joseph asks.
"Not now, I automated the dumping of the stocks, we may lose a couple of hundred million on the trades, but it is a lot faster," Beau explains.
"Just get ready for my signal," Joseph says as he hangs up the call.
I wish we were back in the shower, destressing and then making each other aroused for hours. But this could be fun, too. Just less… wet, I guess.
“Shower is calling.”
Joseph
“It’s getting interesting, as always.”
Stacey watches from the window into the club, as a few customers are arriving. Girls are milling around on the floor below her.
“I can see Michelle, she is walking around looking everywhere,” Stacey says.
“She is probably looking for you or me,” I reply.
“She will get what’s coming to her, hopefully, today,” Stacey remarks.
“I just wish we had an idea where the damned Kingmaker is.”
“I have just seen Tina and her baby toy-boy Orlando, come right through the door,” Stacey says.
“One of us will have to go and greet them,” I say looking around on the table.
Shona stands, “I’ll go and get her,” she says.
I look as my cell phone begins shaking, Bob has sent a text.
The Kingmaker is on the move.
Thanks. I text back.
“Well, The Kingmaker is up and running, he is moving, once he stops and uses his phone, we will have an idea where he is,” I say.
“Owen has arrived as well, he is at the bar,” Stacey says. “I will run and get him.”
Shona passes Stacey as she walks in with Tina. She takes a seat at the far end of the table, Orlando sits close to her side.
“Good morning to you all, nice to see you could all make it,” Tina says smiling.
Cally sits. “You have us all confused why you want to speak to us, especially with the guys,” Cally says.
“It will all become clear in a few moments, and it will be a benefit to everyone I think,” Tina comments.
Stacey comes back into the corporate room with Owen, Tina looks at him.
“What is he doing here?” Tina asks.
“Owen has been helping us,” I say.
“But, this should not be possible,” she says.
Owen smiles, “I know what you are going to say. Don’t worry, I will explain soon,” Owen says.
“Now, even I am getting confused,” I say.
“How do you two know each other?” Stacey says.
Owen turns to me. “I don’t know Tina, but she knows me,” Owen says.
“We will sort all this, let's hear what Tina has to say first,” I reply.
“Tina, do you know Cherry?” Stacey asks.
“Yes, she was at my club.”
Stacey rests her arms on the table, “Do you know Michelle?” she says.
“Ah, you found out. Good for you,” Tina says.
“You seem to know quite a bit about people who are at this table,” I say to Tina.
“There is a good reason for that,” she begins to say.
My cell starts to vibrate. Another text from Bob.
Can I call? I have some critical updates.
Call me now. I text back.
The phone rings as I stand from the table. I listen to Bob's voice.
“Are you alone?” he asks.
I walk from the corporate room and close the door behind me. “Okay, I am alone,” I reply.
“I have a few things, they all came through at the same time,” he says.
“What is it?” I ask.
I watch through the glass as Tina is chatting with the girls, they are smiling as old friends do.
“Owen was the first information, it looks as if he was part of a team, his siblings. He is part of a set of triplets, the one who is dead is his sister, his brother is in hospital in a coma,” he replies.
“Fuck, so he is more mixed up in this than he was telling us?” I ask.
“Yeah, just be careful, he may be a plant from The Kingmaker,” Bob says.
I see Owen looking in my direction as I stand behind the glass door talking. I nod and smile back to him.
“What is the next piece of information you have?” I ask.
“The Kingmaker, he is moving,” he says.
“Any idea where he is headed?” I ask.
“Yeah,
it looks like he is moving toward the club.”
“Fuck, do you have an estimated time?” I ask.
“The pings are really slow. I think he is walking, and it looks like he is coming from the far side of the docks,” Bob says.
“That is a good hour’s walk, so we have time to get our guard up,” I reply.
“And Tina,” Bob says.
“What about Tina?” I ask.
“Well, you are not going to believe it,” he says, changing the tone in his voice.
“Try me, I have heard plenty of weird and wonderful things this week,” I reply.
“It is no wonder that she was hard to get all the information on,” he says.
“Come on spit it out,” I snap.
“Well, she is not just a hooker or a club owner,” Bob starts to say.
I look through the glass.
How all these people have come together because of one person is strange…
“Tina is Black Ops,” Bob says.
I shake my head. “Say that again.”
I glance through the window. Concern washes over my face. Owen looks in my direction and can see something is not right. He stands and walks toward the door, so I urge for him to stay in the room.
“What sort of Black Ops is she?” I ask.
“It is hard to tell, she has links to Homeland Security, the CIA, the FBI, you name it, and I can trace her to all of them?” he explains.
“Is it a good thing? Or are we sat in a room with a deadly weapon so to speak?”
“That Joseph, you will have to figure out for yourself, and you need to do it quickly before The Kingmaker gets there,” Bob says.
“Is there any more information?”
“That’s it, and as far as I can see, there will be no more,” he replies.
“Today is the day, then.”
“Good luck Joseph,” Bob says.
“Bob, burn The Kingmakers network, bring his whole world down crashing,” I say.
“With fucking pleasure,” Bob replies and he hangs up the call.
I quickly dial Beau.
“Hello,” I hear a voice say.
“Who is that?” I ask.
“Who is that, and where is Beau?” the voice says.
“Is that Robin?” I ask.
“Yeah, Beau said he had to pop out urgently, he left his cell and said someone might call,” Robin says.
“Has he given you instructions?” I ask.
“He said, Joseph, who I assume is you, will say ‘do it,’ or something like that. All I have to do is hit ‘enter,’ and we vape every single cent we have,” he says.
“That sums it up. None of this will raise any alarms with Beau, will it?” I ask.
“No, I am not sure why, but we never did deals that link back to him. Although he is worth billions, no one can prove it,” he says.
“Robin,” I say.
“Yes,” he replies.
“Just do it, hit that fucking button,” I say.
I hear the noise from the phone, the single tap on a keyboard.
“His magic is working, the market will be all over the news in a few minutes,” he replies.
“Thanks, Robin.”
“No problem, and good look to you all.”
I hang up the cell and walk back into the room. “Some information, sorry. Please carry on Tina,” I say.
I remove the picture of The Kingmaker and slide it across the table toward Owen.
“That’s him?” Owen asks.
“Yes, you recognize him?” I ask plainly.
“Not really, if I passed him on the street maybe he would look familiar, but not from that photo,” he says.
“Well, as I was saying. Things have been rather exciting over the past couple of months, and they are coming to the stage where something has to happen, either good or bad,” Tina says.
I listen to Tina, but my mind wanders. Beau has left his office. He might be coming here. The Kingmaker is coming here. Shit… Operation Rotation.
“Sorry Tina, we all need to get outside, away from the spa. Down by the side of the dock,” I say urgently.
“Why?” she asks.
“Both The Kingmaker and Beau are on their way here,” I say.
“What?” I hear the girls cry together.
“Quickly, let’s go.”
We all leave the room and rush through the club.
“Back entrance, Beau will come through the front, just keep him away from us,” Shona cries.
We rush through the hallway past the rooms and through the storage room, I watch the others as I quickly run into my room. I grab a couple of pistols and follow them to the barber shop.
I catch up with Owen and Stacey and hand Stacey one of the guns. She slips it into the waist of her jeans. I offer one to Owen, he reaches to take it.
“Can I trust you?” I ask.
“I have some explaining to do,” he says.
“I think you fucking well do, and you better do it now,” I say holding the gun in front of me.
Owen looks into my eyes. “I was part of The Kingmaker’s first team. There were three of us as you know, but one of my siblings was a girl. The Kingmaker only wanted teams of boys so he used us for testing. Then boom, he tried to get rid of us,” Owen says.
“You told me you knew him in college?”
“I did, I found he was taking samples from me when I was sleeping. He was cloning me, that is where all the basis of his experiments came from,” Owen explains.
“So, you are me?” I ask. I feel confused again.
“No, he found a different source, that was why he tried to have us exterminated because he deemed us unreliable,” he adds.
I hand Owen the gun. “I can see why your reasoning is personal,” I say.
“Yeah, my brother is in a coma, and my sister, she was not so lucky,” he replies.
“Tina, she is Black Ops, I have just found out,” I mention quickly.
“She is what?” Stacey asks.
“She is undercover somehow, but good or bad, I am not so sure. We will see in a few moments,” I reply.
We arrive by the others at the side of the water, and we have clear space to see if The Kingmaker and Beau arrive.
“Quickly Tina, tell us what you know,” I say.
Tina looks at me. “I can tell that you know I am slightly more than an ex-hooker or an entrepeneur,” she says.
“Yes, now proceed, quickly if you can,” I reply.
“I am, as you know, a Black Ops operative. I have been on the hunt for The Kingmaker for years and have never got this close to him,” she says.
“What about the hooking?” Shona asks.
“That was a good cover, and I am a woman who has needs, too. What can I say, I just love sex, and lots of it,” she says, smiling at Orlando.
“So, you are on our side?” Stacey asks.
“Yes,” Tina replies with a serious face.
“What about all the times you had Michelle in your office, huh?” Stacey asks.
“I was planting information. Why do you three think you have all ended up with brothers as partners? The only way I could draw The Kingmaker out was by setting you all up as bait. Sorry about that,” she says.
“It is for our benefit, not to worry,” I say. Stacey winks at me.
I look to the left and can see that Michelle is walking toward us with Beau. He has a gun pointed at his head. I look the other way. A tall shadowy figure is walking along the water’s edge.
“The Kingmaker!” I yell.
“I have you all where I need you,” a deep voice says. It comes from The Kingmaker in a surreal tone.
“Don’t come any closer,” I yell.
The Kingmaker holds his hand up, he has his thumb hovering over a button.
“Say goodbye to your lives,” he says pushing the button.
I scream and grab my head. I fall to my knees. I see Ty and Beau fall to their knees. Shots ring out, and I see Michelle’s body falling behind Beau.
>
Smoke pours from Stacey’s gun. “You don’t fuck with my guy,” she says. “Not my Wet Wednesday guy.”
Cally and Shona begin crying as our lives seem to be slipping away from us.
The Kingmaker gets closer.
I slowly get to my feet and hold my hand out in front of me. A small chip rests in the palm of my hand.
“You hoping this would save you?” I ask.
Beau and Ty get to their feet. We stand together.
“But why did you all fall to your knees?” The Kingmaker says.
“The mental link, it works in extreme circumstances, I would say this is extreme,” I say.
I raise my gun toward The Kingmaker. “You are finished, it is over,” I say.
A shot rings out from the side of me. The Kingmaker clutches his shoulder.
“That’s for my sister and brother,” Owen says.
“It is never over, you will all see me again,” The Kingmaker says as he steps from the dock.
The splash of water quickly fades as we all stand looking into the water.
“I think we are all safe,” I say.
Tina sighs. “For now.”
“He just disappeared in the water,” says Shona.
“Yep, and it’s Wednesday… Wet Wednesday!” says Stacey laughing.
“Fuck, that was close,” say Beau and Ty at the same time in unison.
“I knew you were gonna say that!” I say laughing.
“Oh my God, it’s not over yet, is it?” asks Cally.
“Not by a long shot,” Tina says looking in the water.
“I think we all need a spa,” says Owen. “Are any of the girls working yet?”
We all laugh. It truly has been a Wet Wednesday. It’s starting to rain as we run back to the club.
“It’s getting interesting, as always.”
About the Author
Living in New York with her best friend and husband Jeremy who is the absolute sole inspiration for her hot romance stories every time, well nearly... She predominately enjoys writing Billionaire and Alpha romance, but she has spent a great deal of her career writing romance. When she’s not cooking up some steamy plots she is living out her own happily ever after with her gorgeous fireman who caught Annalise's smitten eye.
I adore my readers and love connecting with them socially.
Wet Wednesday (The Billionaires Temptations Book 3) Page 19
