“Okay, bye,” the two said.
Carter hung up and looked at Simon. “She must be referring to your call an hour ago.”
Simon nodded, relieved and despondent at the same time. “At least I know they’re all safe. Obviously, Geri just doesn’t want to answer me or call me back.”
“Well, the next step is for me to call Bobby Gee as Simon James,” Carter said, dialling the number Bobby had given. “Hello, is this Bobby? It’s Simon James,” Carter greeted when the man answered.
“Simon! I’m glad you rang. So Mr. Alexander gave you my message?”
“His PA did. I’m really excited about it, Bobby, even though I don’t know yet who your boss is. But Mr. Alexander said I should check it out, at the very least.”
“Yes, my boss is someone you’d want to work with. Can you meet with him tonight? He wants to interview you in person, and he’s keen to finalise this.”
“Tonight? I’m assuming your boss is in Sydney? I’m actually in Hobart.”
“Hobart!” Bobby said, sounding rather pleased. “We had no idea you’re there. How long are you there for?”
“A couple of days more. Can your boss wait until I get back?”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to. I’ll let him know. Whereabouts in Hobart are you staying?”
“We’re moving about. My current client is a tourist to this place.”
“I see. Well, I might give you a call tomorrow morning for further instructions.”
“No problem. And thanks again for finding me, Bobby. I can’t wait to meet your boss.”
“You’re welcome.”
Simon heaved a huge breath as Carter hung up.
“Well, we’ll have to wait for that next phone call tomorrow,” Carter said. “But I’ll continue to do some research and see what else I can find out. And I’ll let you know as soon as I get another call from Bobby.”
Simon thanked his buddies profusely and said his goodnights to them, the girls and their babies.
He drove away, a big lump of worry sitting on his gut. Who was Bobby working for? Had they done the right thing by pretending he was in Hobart when he could be meeting with Bobby’s boss tonight? Then they’d know sooner who was behind this and what he wanted.
But he was the one who’d insisted to Carter and Gavin that he wouldn’t show himself to the perps until Geri was physically safe in Sydney with him, just to be sure. That was why he was on the way to the airport to fly to Hobart and convince Geri to come back with him.
His Simon James phone rang and his heart jumped. He hurriedly answered it. “Geri!”
“Simon,” came Geri’s tearful answer.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in alarm.
There was a pause.
“Simon?” said an unrecognised male voice. “Sorry, but Geri just tossed me her phone to run to the bathroom again. Poor thing. I think she had too much alcohol.”
His heart thumped in fear. Bobby Gee’s boss must have instructed this phone call—and they already had Geri. “Who’s this?”
“I’m Mick. I’m a friend of Geri’s from way back. I’m consoling her because she’s quite upset—that’s why she’s been drinking. But don’t worry, nothing going on between us,” he added with a chuckle.
“Why is she upset?”
“You don’t know why? She regrets breaking up with you, of course.”
“I see,” Simon answered, deciding to play along. “Can I talk to her again?”
“She’s still in the bathroom. But I’m sure she’d love to see you. Where are you right now?”
“I’m actually in Hobart, but I’m still on the job and won’t finish for another two and a half hours.”
“Hobart? Great! Geri thought you were in Sydney. Well… can you leave work early?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Okay, no problem. Come as soon as you’ve clocked off.” Mick gave him an address.
“Great. I’ll be there. Tell Geri I’ll see her in less than three hours. And tell her to stop drinking!”
“I will,” Mick said, laughing. “See you soon, Simon.”
Simon exhaled harshly when he hung up, banging his hands on the steering wheel. Geri was with the bastards, sounding distressed. And he couldn’t be with her soon enough.
Simon got off the plane and jumped into the taxi already waiting for him. He called Carter to see if his friend had any luck with Tasmania police after he’d updated him before flying out of Sydney.
“The person at the station is giving me the runaround,” Carter said with frustration. “He said that the police are happy to work with us, but they want you to go to the police station to personally report this incident first. I think he’s suspicious that this is a prank call. Anyway, I’m waiting to talk to someone higher up.”
“That could take ages,” he said, remembering Geri’s tearful voice. “I can’t take any risks, Carter. I need to go to the address right now by myself.”
Carter sighed. “I thought you might say that. Just be careful, Simon. Your best bet is to go along with their pretence. I’m tracking you through your phone so let’s hope they don’t take it from you.”
“Okay.”
“Good luck, bro.”
“Thanks.”
Well, he was on his own. It was up to him to save himself and Geri.
Finally, he was at the address given by Mick. He paid the taxi and got out, his nerves jangling. He expected to have a gun pointed at him soon.
He walked to the front door of the house, which was completely dark, and rang the bell anyway. Not surprisingly, no one answered. Mick—whoever he was—had probably just picked this address because he knew there was no one home. But still, Simon had to act like he didn’t know what was going on.
After a while, he walked back to the sidewalk, looking around. Everything was quiet, and all the cars parked on the street were empty—except, perhaps, the black van with tinted windows.
He was right, for as soon as he turned his back to it, he heard its door open.
“Hello, Simon James,” a familiar voice said from behind him as something hard poked his back.
“Mick?” he said, pretending to be surprised.
“Don’t move!” Mick ordered, prodding him harder with what had to be a gun.
“What’s this about?”
“Get in the van.”
He did so, and another fucker tied his hands behind his back, covered his eyes with a blindfold, and patted him down. Unfortunately, they found his phone.
“Where’s Geri?” he asked when they started to move.
“Oh, don’t worry. We’re taking you to her.”
“Is your name really Mick?”
“What do you think?”
“Nah,” he answered. “You sound more like a moron.”
Mick hit him in the head with the gun.
“Hey, don’t do that!” Simon heard the driver say.
Mick said something back, but Simon couldn’t make it out. His brain had gotten foggy and…
“Finally he’s awake,” a female voice said, bored.
Simon struggled to hold on to the consciousness that was slipping from his grasp. A few seconds later, his head cleared enough for him to realise that he was sitting on a high-backed armchair with his wrists now tied to the armrests. Fortunately, his blindfold was gone and he could see that he was in the living room of a big, modern house, with a beautiful woman wearing a chic skirt suit standing in front of him.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Geri.
“Sorry,” Mick said from the door to his left. “I didn’t think I hit him that hard.”
Simon narrowed his eyes. Mick was apologetic, clearly in deference to the fashionable woman.
Suddenly Simon knew who she was. “You’re Maya Baron.”
“Impressive,” Maya said. “What gave me away? This expensive outfit?” she asked with a laugh.
“Where’s Geri?” he demanded.
Maya smirked. “Aw, you miss her, don’t you? How
did you feel when she dumped you for a million dollars, huh?”
“Glad to hear I’m at least worth that much,” he retorted.
A sob from behind him had Simon twisting his head. His heart wrenched at the sight of Geri gagged and tied to a similar chair. Tears streamed down her face as a large man stood beside her with a gun pointed at her head.
“Geri,” he said softly, his eyes pooling.
Maya clapped her hands mockingly. “What a lovely reunion. Bring her over here,” she ordered.
The burly man lifted the chair Geri was sitting in and set it down in front of Simon.
“It’ll be okay,” Simon said to Geri, smiling. God, he ached at seeing her helpless and distraught, but he tried to look composed and confident for her benefit. Even though he wasn’t special enough to her, surely his presence was helping her right now.
Geri blinked in response, her eyes trying to smile back.
“Ah, Maya,” Mick said. “Do you think me and Rex can go have something to eat? We haven’t had anything since breakfast. These two won’t be going anywhere, anyway.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Fine. Give me your gun.”
Mick handed Maya his and the two men left the room, closing the door behind them.
Maya snatched the gag off Geri’s mouth. “Now you can enjoy looking at and talking to each other. See? I’m not that nasty.”
“Who are those two? Hired thugs?” Simon asked.
Maya laughed. “No, not hired. They’re my cousins and I know they’re behind me one hundred percent. They can’t be bought by anyone.”
Simon hid his snicker. That explained Bumbling Bobby Gee. Amateurs.
“That’s why I’m so angry at Justin,” Maya said, her features suddenly darkening. “He was stupid to have told you about us even after I told him not to trust anyone I haven’t vetted. Not only that, he came up with such a fucking ridiculous scheme. Pretending to be in love with this woman?” Maya pointed at Geri and rolled her eyes. “He’s hardly ever here in Australia. How can anyone believe he’s head over heels with someone here? And then you,” she said, sending a furious glare at Simon. “You said no! How dare a mere chauffeur decline such a generous amount of money just because his ego was bruised when his woman ditched him? That showed me that Justin had rocks in his head when he decided to tell you the secret that we’re at pains to keep.”
“And now you kidnapped us. How smart,” Simon said sarcastically. “Oh, right. Fifty million dollars is worth going to jail for.”
Maya gasped, outraged. “You think this is about my prenup money? Why does everyone think I’m after the fucking money? It’s not the money! I worked so hard to cultivate my position in our circle. I’m the current queen of social events for the rich and famous in Eric’s industry. If anyone finds out about me and Justin—if Eric wins in muddying my name—I’ll lose everything I worked hard for! Doesn’t anyone understand that?”
“But you’ll be losing all of those anyway if they find out you kidnapped us,” Geri said.
Simon lips tugged up, glad that Geri’s spirit wasn’t broken.
“No one will ever know,” Maya said smugly, going from manic to calm in a second. “Because the two of you won’t be getting out of here alive.”
“You’ll never get away with it,” Simon said.
“Oh, yes, I will!” Maya said, shrieking again. “I’ll find your parents and have them killed too! Justin said you don’t have any brothers or sisters, so once your parents are dead, no one will miss you!”
Simon stared at Maya. Had she become unhinged?
Chapter 18
Geri scowled at Maya as the hysterical woman turned to face her.
“And you,” Maya said, her mouth curved in an ugly snarl. “I know you’re an orphan with one sister and a niece who live here in Hobart. It will be so easy to find them and—”
“Don’t you dare touch them,” she said in a deadly voice.
“And what are you gonna do about it, huh? What can you do?” Maya laughed out loud, bending her back in a theatrical fashion as she waved her hands in the air. “Nothing!”
Geri swallowed, although she tried not to show her fear. What was happening to Maya?
“Maya,” she said gently, following her gut instinct. “I understand now. You’ve built something important and you don’t want to lose it.”
Maya eyed her suspiciously. “That’s right. That’s why I have to get you and lover boy out of my way.”
“What does Justin think about this?” Geri asked in the same soft tone.
“Fuck Justin! He’s an idiot! He goes and messes everything up by telling you about us. So you see, I have no choice but to get rid of you. But Justin’s still handsome, though. More handsome than Eric,” she said with a girly giggle.
Geri’s fear increased even as her anger lessened. Maya seemed to have snapped. And if Maya wasn’t in control of her mental faculties, she shouldn’t be holding a gun.
“Maya,” Simon said, “what if we’re not the only ones who know your secret? What if I’d told others? If you kill us, you’ll never find out who else knows.”
Maya’s eyes grew large. “Who are they, Simon? Who did you tell?”
Simon shrugged.
Maya walked to Geri and pointed the gun at her head. “Then your girlfriend’s dead. You have to be punished for what you did.”
“Wait!” Simon said. “It was just a hypothetical.”
Maya squinted at Simon as she tapped the weapon on Geri’s head. “That’s good, then. Because this is becoming a waste of my time. I have parties to organise. I have to leave. So maybe I’ll kill both of you now and get Mick and Rex to hide your bodies. They’ll be getting one million each, you know? That’ll still leave me and Justin with plenty.”
Geri inhaled deeply, trying to concentrate on a strategy—any strategy—that would save her and Simon. An idea flashed in her mind.
“Maya,” she said, “do you know why Simon refused Justin’s offer?”
Maya smirked. “He thinks our money is no good for him. He hates Justin for stealing you—even though it’s only an act. That’s why I know he’ll rat on us if I don’t kill him and you!”
“Well, that’s not the truth,” she said, glancing at Simon, hoping he understood that she was only trying to negotiate with an unpredictable Maya. “Justin only offered Simon one hundred thousand dollars. That wasn’t enough, especially when Justin wanted me to break up with him. Do you know what I mean, Maya? Look at me. I was guaranteed one million, so I accepted it. What I’m trying to say is, we can make another deal right now. Why would you want the mess of blood and dead bodies? If one of the neighbours sees you leaving this house, and they learn that two people were killed here, they might talk about you. That will be bad for your image. Simon and I are happy to make a deal with you, and we will keep our mouths shut about you and Justin.”
Maya frowned. “But Justin said Simon also rejected a higher offer of two hundred thousand.”
Ah, hell, she hadn’t known about that. She glanced at Simon.
“Yes, I did,” Simon said to Maya. “But I was still insulted. I know I’m worth more than two hundred thousand. If someone said to you you’re only worth two hundred thousand, Maya, wouldn’t you be insulted?”
“Of course I would be,” Maya retorted. “But you’re only a chauffeur, and I’m a VIP socialite. Anyway, this only proves that you’re greedy. What if you blackmail me and demand more afterwards? No. I can’t take the risk. I have no other choice. I’m really sorry, Geri.”
Geri shut her eyes as Maya pointed the gun at her. She opened them again when Simon laughed out loud.
“Why would I blackmail you for more money when I’m richer than your husband?” Simon said.
“What?” Maya asked, gaping at Simon like he was the one who’d gone crazy.
Geri was giving Simon the same look. What on earth was he trying to do? They couldn’t afford to antagonise Maya further.
“Like I said,” Simon said, “I’
m simply insulted by Justin’s offer—that’s why I didn’t accept it. The truth is, neither you nor Justin can offer me what I’m worth. Plain and simple.”
“You’re such a liar!” Maya shouted.
“Have you heard of Alexander Jets?”
Maya huffed. “Are you kidding me? Of course I’ve heard of Alexander Jets. Justin and Eric have flown with them. Lots of important people fly with them—people like me.”
“Do you know Simon Alexander?”
“No. Who’s he?” Maya asked with suspicion.
“The sole owner and CEO of Alexander Jets. Me,” Simon said.
Geri’s eyes bulged out. Had Simon lost his mind? This was digging them into a deeper pit.
Maya chortled. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m telling the truth, Maya,” Simon said quietly. “And I’m well connected with lots of VIPs and celebrities. I can introduce you to them. This can be our new deal. You don’t even have to pay Geri her million dollars, because I have plenty of money for the both of us. Set us free, and you can add many more important people to your network. You’ll be even more important.”
Maya stomped to the corner of the room and pulled out something from a bag. “I’m gonna check you out,” she muttered as she sat down and tapped on an iPad.
Geri’s shoulders drooped. This was it. Maya would prove that Simon was lying and she’d kill them.
“Geri,” Simon said softly.
She smiled at him. “Thanks for trying.”
“No talking!” Maya ordered, waving her gun at them.
Geri filled her lungs. When would this nightmare end? How would this nightmare end?
“Hey!” Maya bellowed. “I don’t see a picture of you on the Alexander Jets website.”
“Just Google Simon Alexander of Alexander Jets. You’ll find some entries of me. I’ve deliberately not put pictures of me on the company website.”
“Don’t push it, Simon,” Geri whispered in warning. “She’ll be more unmanageable if she gets angrier.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m—”
“Oh my God!” Maya shrieked. “It’s true!”
Geri’s head whipped towards Maya. What?
The Unmasked CEO (Captured by Love Book 7) Page 15
