Billionaire at Sea 2

by K. L. Middleton

“Maybe the others decided on a mutiny,” said Ransom, who was walking in front of us.

  “I guess we’ll soon find out,” I murmured.

  Once we made it to the bridge, Jeff, who had his gun trained on the captain, asked if we’d heard the shots.

  “Ja,” I replied, pretending to be Franz “Was ist los?”

  “A little much,” said Marshall under his breath.

  “What was that, Franz?” asked Jeff.

  “He’s just wondering what’s going on,” said Marshall, his voice deeper than usual. “Like the rest of us.”

  “Just waiting for orders,” said Jeff, looking at Ransom. “What’s going on with him?”

  “He claims that he sent the wire. We need to verify it,” said Marshall.

  He grinned. “Sweet. Did you radio John so that he could check on it?”

  “Not yet,” said Marshall.

  “I’ll do it,” he replied, pulling out his phone. He turned around and began dialing.

  Marshall quickly slammed the butt of his rifle into the Jeff’s skull. He dropped to the floor.

  “You’re getting very good at that,” I said, impressed.

  “He deserves much more than a bump on the head,” said Marshall. “The piece of shit.”

  “Damian? Marshall?” said the captain, who’d been silently watching us the entire time.

  I pulled the mask up. “It’s us, Charles.”

  “Oh, thank God,” he said, looking relieved. “I’ve been worried sick about what’s been happening.”

  I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now. I can’t believe that Jeff was in on this,” he replied.

  “None of us can,” said Marshall.

  “What about the other gunmen? Did you free the other passengers and crew?”

  “Not yet. We’re heading there right now,” I said.

  “Be careful. All of you,” he answered, looking stressed again. “I don’t know about you, but I could have sworn that I heard gunshots.”

  “We heard them too. Hold tight and wait for me to return with instructions,” I said, watching as Ransom began removing Jeff’s coveralls. “And, if he wakes up, threaten him with this.” I handed him a gun.

  Charles relaxed. “Will do.”

  Once Ransom was dressed and had the mask on, we headed to the parlor.

  “Here goes nothing,” I said, putting my hand on the knob.

  “Wait, we can’t just go inside and expect them to turn their guns over,” said Marshall.

  “You have a better plan?” I asked.

  “Actually, yes. I do,” he replied.

  23

  Reed

  After Simon was shot, one of the other clowns hollered at Chuckles, while the rest of us moved away from the body, the horror of our situation clearer than ever.

  “You killed him!” shouted one of the band members, staring at the clown in disbelief. “What in the hell is your problem?”

  “I just took care of my problem,” he replied. “Unless you decide to be just as annoying as Simon the Celebrity and give me another one to deal with.”

  “That was a stupid move,” said one of the other clowns. “John’s not going to like it.”

  “He’ll get over it,” said Chuckles, looking around. “Now, if anyone else has something to say about this, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  Nobody said anything.

  “I thought so,” he said.

  “Can we at least cover him?” asked one of the crew members.

  “I must insist that you do,” said Chuckles. “I have a weak stomach myself, to be honest with you. I don’t mind the killing part, it’s the bleeding part that makes me ill.”

  I rolled my eyes. It was obvious that Chuckles was the wild card in the group. Someone who was much more unhinged than the others.

  Chuckles looked at Thane. “You. Why don’t you take that tablecloth over there and cover Mr. Celebrity?”

  Sighing, Thane stood up, walked over to the parlor and pulled the tablecloth off. He returned with it and placed it over Simon’s body, his face grim. As he was about to sit back down again, the parlor door opened and one of the other clowns stood in the doorway.

  “What’s up?” asked Chuckles.

  “Stryker is missing,” he replied.

  Chuckles swore and then started walking toward the doorway. “I’ll help you look for him.” Then both men were gone, leaving just three clowns in the room with us.

  Thane and I looked at each other.

  “Something is definitely up,” I whispered. If he’d disappeared than something was wrong. He wouldn’t take any chances unless the rules had changed.

  “I say we try taking these guys,” whispered Thane.

  “With what? We have no weapons,” I murmured.

  One of the clowns noticed us talking and came over. “I see that look on your faces,” he said. “That look that says you’re about to make a bad decision.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, wide-eyed.

  The man cocked his rifle. “I think you two should sit apart from each other.”

  The door opened up and a clown walked in. He was taller than the others.

  “What now?” asked the one threatening us with the AK-47.

  “Chuckles wants to talk to you.”

  “Me?” he replied, sounding surprised.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?” asked the clown.

  He shrugged. “Not sure. He said it was urgent though.”

  “Fine,” he said and then headed out the door.

  The clown who’d sent him away headed over to us. I looked up at him as he approached and our eyes met. He winked at me.

  “I could use some Taffy right about now,” he said softly.

  My eyes widened.

  Ransom?

  He winked again.

  A few seconds later, there was the sound of a rifle going off.

  “What in the hell is that?” snarled one of the other clowns.

  “I’ll go check,” said the other. He quickly left the room.

  I looked at Ransom, to see what he was planning on doing, now that there was only one clown left in the room.

  The parlor door flew open and Chuckles staggered into the room, blood all over his chest and some dripping from his mouth. He toppled to the ground. As everyone stared in shock, Ransom lifted his mask.

  “Hey. Over here,” he called out, dropping his gun.

  Stunned, the last clown turned toward him, missing Marshall and Damian’s entrance. Both of them had rifles of their own.

  “Weapon down!” hollered Marshall, cocking his gun.

  He turned around.

  “Put down your weapon!” ordered Damian.

  Ransom picked his gun back up.

  “The others in your group are down or dead. It’s just you now,” said Marshall. “It’s over.”

  The man put down his gun.

  24

  Mia

  About two hours into the drive, John announced that we were almost at the house.

  “I hate to do this to you,” he said. “But, you’re going to have to hide in the trunk. My accomplices can’t see you with me.

  “But, Tracy is in the trunk,” I replied, staring at him in horror.

  “We’ll dump her body first.”

  “I am not getting into the trunk,” I said firmly. “I mean, seriously? You can’t really believe that I’d want to lay in a spot where a corpse had just been resting?”

  “She’s barely cold,” he argued. “And it wasn’t like she was bleeding out or anything.”

  I shuddered. “There’s got to be a different way.”

  “Yeah, there is. You arrive with me. They see you. You die.”

  “Can’t I just wait for you a couple of blocks away?”

  Tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel, he sighed. “Why, so you can make a run for it?”

  “I see. You still don’t trust me,” I
replied, pretending to be hurt.

  He didn’t reply.

  I forced tears to my eyes and then made a dramatic point to wipe them.

  “Look, I’m sorry,” he answered. “It’s not my intent to upset you.”

  “Well, you are.”

  He let out a ragged sigh.

  “You expect me to trust you and yet you won’t reciprocate? Need I remind you that it was you who broke the trust between us originally?” I said to him.

  “This is quite different,” he said dryly.

  “Look, there is no way in hell that I’m getting into

  that trunk,” I told him.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later, Tracy was out of the trunk and I was locked inside, kicking and screaming.

  “You’re overreacting!” he said loudly.

  I could smell traces of her cologne and sweat and it made my stomach curdle. “Get me out of here, John! I will never forgive you if you don’t get me out of here!”

  He ignored me. “You won’t have to be inside for very long. Now, listen – I’m going to start driving soon and when I turn the engine off later, you can’t make any noise. If you do, you’re going to die and that is no joke. I won’t be able to save you. Do you hear me?”

  I let out an angry growl. “Let… me… out!”

  Sighing, he got into the car and started the engine. For the next several minutes, I found myself getting tossed around and angrier by the moment. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, we left the smooth pavement of asphalt and entered a bumpy road.

  “You okay back there?” he hollered.

  Instead of answering, I vowed that I’d do whatever it took to free myself and rescue Jake, if it was the last thing I’d ever do.

  25

  Marissa

  “Hey. Wake up,” said Dan, nudging me.

  I’d fallen asleep on the couch after smoking a joint with Pete. “Leave me alone,” I mumbled, my eyelids heavy. I couldn’t stand Dan. He was jealous of my relationship with his brother. Not to mention, he was an idiot. If not for me showing up when I had, Jake might have gotten away.

  “John is on his way,” he said.

  I opened my eyes and sat up. “Already? Where’s Pete?”

  “In the bathroom,” replied Dan.

  “Do you know if we’ve been paid yet?” I asked, grabbing my pack of cigarettes from the coffee table.

  “I don’t know. All I know is that Peter said to wake you.”

  I lit up a smoke. “Anyone check on Jake?”

  “I did. He’s still sleeping,” said Dan. “I don’t think you should have given him that sleeping pill.” He frowned. “He’s just a kid.”

  “Like you know anything about children,” I muttered.

  “More than you,” he murmured.

  “Excuse me?” I snapped.

  Pete stepped out of the bathroom. “John’s on his way.”

  “I heard,” I replied. “Did Damian pay up yet?”

  “Doesn’t sound like it,” said Pete, walking over to me. He grabbed my cigarette and took a drag.

  “What would your fans say?” I mocked, as he handed me back the smoke.

  “I don’t smoke that much,” he said.

  Pete played third baseman for the Sea Rays. Recently, he’d torn an ACL muscle, and was still recovering from surgery. Although, it had been an accident, the timing couldn’t have been better.

  I stood up. “I could use a drink. The suspense is killing me.”

  “Why is John driving all the way back out here anyway?” asked Dan.

  I opened up the refrigerator and grabbed a can of cola to mix myself another cocktail. “I don’t know. He probably wants to check on Jake. Make sure you didn’t let him get away again.”

  “That was an accident. I didn’t know he was going to try running,” said Dan.

  “Obviously,” I replied. I had to admit, however, I was proud of my son’s courageous attempt to escape. He definitely got his street smarts from me.

  “Is he going to return him to his father, after he pays us the money?” asked Dan.

  I snorted. “Are you on crack? Of course not. Jake is staying with me and Pete. Isn’t that right, hon?”

  “Uh, yeah,” he answered, turning on the television.

  I bit back a smile. Pete would do anything I wanted. Little did he know that after today, I wouldn’t need his help anymore. I wouldn’t need anything from him or anyone else for that matter.

  “That’s not what you said before,” Dan said, looking at his older brother.

  Pete glanced at him, frowning. “Of course it is.”

  Dan looked confused. “No. You said that – “

  “I said that I didn’t know what John meant to do with Jake,” he said. “Because at that time, I didn’t. But, Marissa has cleared it all up for us.”

  “John’s not touching my Jakey,” I replied, feeling guilty enough that they’d scared the hell out of him. I’d seen the picture they’d sent to Damian. After being kidnapped and then surrounded by all of the freaky masks, he’d obviously been frightened to death.

  “Your mascara is all over your face,” said Dan, looking at me.

  I rubbed under my eyes. “Did I get it?”

  He shook his head. “No. You still look like a crack whore.”

  Pete coughed.

  I turned and saw that he was smiling. “Don’t encourage your brother. He’s not funny,” I said, glaring at him.

  “I didn’t even say anything,” said Pete, wiping the smile from his face.

  “You didn’t have to,” I mumbled, heading toward the bathroom.

  “Personally, I think you look like a girl who just got laid. Now those are sexy,” said Pete.

  “Too bad you’re not going to see a girl like that anytime soon,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Oh, babe. You know I was just –”

  I slammed the bathroom door shut and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, my makeup looked like shit and my eyes were still a little red from the pot. Sighing, I turned on the water, washed my face, and then ran my fingers through my hair. After I was finished, I stared at my reflection. Damian had always claimed that I looked like the movie star, Anne Hathway. I’d almost taken offense to it, thinking that I was much prettier. Right now, I couldn’t hold a candle to her. I seriously did look strung out.

  It’s lack of sleep, I told myself. One good night’s rest will fix everything. I’d be getting enough of that right after John paid me my share of the money and I knew that Damian was gone.

  Stepping out of the bathroom, I walked right into Pete. “There’s my beautiful girl,” he said, pulling me into his arms.

  “Screw off,” I said, pushing him away.

  He gave me a hurt look. “Come on, babe. Don’t be like this. You know I love you.”

  “If you love me, go and get us some tacos. I’ve got the munchies,” I told him.

  “I’m hungry, too. I’m going to wait for John first, though,” he replied. “Then I’ll head out for food.”

  “I suppose you’d better,” I said, knowing that John would be pissed if Pete wasn’t here.

  “So, did you get the tickets?” Pete asked, sitting back down on the sofa.

  “Not yet. It would be too suspicious,” I told him.

  John made it clear that I couldn’t leave the state or do anything that might attract attention. I couldn’t even shop for clothes until everything had blown over. The plan was that after the money was wired and verified, there’d be no witnesses. Damian, his crew, and his friends were all going to die. Even Ransom, the arrogant asshole. I’d tried flirting with him once and he’d made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with my advances.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he’d said, staring at me with annoyance. “Damian is my friend. You’re his wife. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  Like he was anyone to preach.

  Ransom had screwed his way through Hollywood, back before he’d met his an
noying fiancée, Tiffany. No, I had no qualms about taking some of his money, along with Damian’s.

  Once Damian was out of the picture, I’d be able to get full custody of Jake. At least, that’s what John had told me. We’d both be wealthy millionaires and nobody would suspect anything, since taking out key witnesses wasn’t going to stop at sea.

  “He’s here,” said Dan, who was standing next to the window.

  “Good. Maybe he’ll have more news for us. Anyone else want a drink?” I asked, filling my glass with ice.

  “No. We’re going to need a clear head, from here on out,” said Pete. “Just in case things fall apart.”

  “Nothing is going to fall apart,” I replied, unscrewing the bottle of rum. “Damian will pay us the money. He’ll do anything to get Jake back.”

  “I’m sure he will. He might also send someone out to look for him,” said Pete. “Which is why I think we need to be wary.”

  John stepped into the house and looked around. When his eyes rested on me, he frowned.

  “Hey,” I said, smiling at him.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Making sure my son is comfortable,” I replied, hiding my distaste for the man. Although we needed each other for this venture, I couldn’t wait until he was out of our lives for good. He was a slime-ball.

  “Keep your voice down,” he whispered harshly. “He might hear you.”

  “He’s out cold. He can’t hear anything. Besides, he already knows I’m here,” I answered.

  John’s eyes narrowed. “He saw you?”

  I explained how Jake had escaped out of the bathroom window when Dan was supposed to have been watching him.

  “So, Jake knows that you’re involved,” said John.

  “Yeah, but… it’s a good idea I showed up here,” I said. “The boy would have been long gone by now.”

  John looked at Dan and then at Pete. “You morons. Do you know how much time and energy we’ve put into this? If he had gotten away, everything would have been for naught.”

  “It’s all good. The boy is in the bedroom sleeping,” said Pete. “There’s nothing to worry about.”