I’m close enough now to know their general location, and I put the tracker away to use my senses. From here, I’ll not only have to keep an eye out for the two of them but also make sure I’m not discovered.
Once again, I’m glad I participate in pentathlons. It will not only help when it comes time to aim and pull the trigger, making damn sure I accomplish a kill shot, but it’s helped with the stamina to get me here. I smile to myself as I imagine Rueben’s face, flushed with the exertion of the day. Jan is going to be the one I have to really watch out for.
When I eventually find them in the distance, I sink low, blending into my surroundings. The two of them are creeping with measured steps, trying not to raise too much of a ruckus.
From here, it’s simply a matter of finding the position from which to shoot. They are close enough that I don’t need a scope, especially with my race training, which has honed my aim.
As I wait for the perfect shot, I remind myself why I’m doing this. I don’t relish murder. For me, putting a bullet into Jan is no different than killing a rabid animal who has already attacked. I think of the description Jaques gave me regarding Fabian’s torture wounds before death. I think of what could have happened to Sloane and her brother if she hadn’t come to Monte Carlo.
Revenge is sweet, but making the world a better place is a bonus.
It takes the perfect opportunity, a slow release of breath, and one pull of my trigger finger. I open the eye I closed, just in time to see Jan Vorster fall back with a perfect headshot.
“I hope you rot in hell,” I mutter to myself.
As I watch Rueben flounder in panicked surprise, my finger lingers briefly on the trigger, itching to expend another round. His thirst for hunting doesn’t end at exotic African animals. When you control the media, it’s easy to keep certain misdeeds swept firmly under the rug, including the hospital records of more than a few women who got more than they bargained for when he invited them to his home.
I release my finger, knowing that killing him would interfere with my plans. As they say, karma is indeed a bitch.
And Reuben Bakker’s day is fast approaching.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Magnus
“What the hell is this?”
My eyes roll up to see Sloane charging into my office like an angry cat. She’s holding today’s Wall Street Journal newspaper in her hands.
“You set Gabriel up to lose money?”
“I am very sorry, Mr. Reinhardt!” My assistant cries, scurrying in after her with a horrified look on her face.
“It’s fine, Julie,” I say, waving her back toward her desk.
She gives one last fearful look toward the irate Sloane, before escaping, closing the door after her.
“So this whole thing was a set up to frame Ruben Bakker, and then make sure Gabriel loses money based on the information you had me email to him?” Sloane says, storming over to throw the paper onto my desk.
I’ve already read the story online. Rueben Bakker, founder of Conniver Media, has been arrested for the murder of his hunting guide Jan Vorster. Naturally, that caused the share price—only recently inflated based on the news that Magnus Reinhardt was interested in buying a lion’s share of the corporation—to plummet.
Unfortunate for anyone who had recently purchased a significant chunk of stock in Conniver.
“Why didn’t you tell me your plan?”
“I told you I was going to kill Jan.”
She glares at me as though I’m being deliberately obtuse. “Yes, but framing Rueben? Gabriel losing money? And we both know you’re still going to have him arrested for insider trading somehow.”
“So now you’ve figured all the pieces out.” It was easy enough to find someone to hack the email address to which Sloane sent the information and trace it directly to Gabriel. The trail and the information contained therein was forwarded on to the SEC, who are no doubt very interested in Gabriel’s recent purchase of several thousand shares of Conniver.
“I shouldn’t have had to figure out anything! You should have trusted me enough to tell me the entire plan.”
I stare at her, the same debate going on in my head that was there before all of this, only now with the hindsight of 20/20 vision.
“I thought about it, but, in the end, I didn’t want you to be unnecessarily concerned. I also didn’t want you inadvertently telling Gabriel or Jan what I was up to.”
“I’m not some wilting violet, Magnus! Nor am I an idiot. I wouldn’t have told him anything. Don’t you think I had the right to know how you planned on screwing him over in more ways than one?”
“What would you have done with that information except worry about it? There was nothing you could have done, so why cause you to sit here and fret?” I say, now getting angry. Doesn’t she see that I was trying to protect her?
“So much for being your equal,” she spits. “I suppose that’s only when it comes to sex.”
“Don’t,” I say in a dangerously low tone. “Don’t you dare throw that back in my face.”
“Throw what back in your face? The fact that you used me as bait, then hung me out to dry? The fact that you put both my brother and me in harm’s way without telling me? The fact that everything was just a lie so you could get your revenge?”
“A lie?” I say, shooting out of my chair to lean on my desk to confront her. “It was no lie, Sloane. I told you enough, so you wouldn’t worry. I told you enough so that I wouldn’t worry about you while I was gone. I told you enough so that I could concentrate on the mission.”
She stares at me with a smile of disbelief, then shakes her head. “You still don’t get it. I’m not someone you need to control, Magnus. I’m a woman who deserves the respect of knowing everything. I can’t believe I once upon a time almost said—”
She stops herself and looks off to the side.
Every single one of my muscles goes taut while my insides are in turmoil. My head screams for Sloane to finish that statement, even if it’s only to take the words back. It would mean that she feels the same way about me that I feel about her. If I know that much, I know I can win her back.
I’m nothing if not relentless.
“I want you to be mine, Sloane. Stay here in Monte Carlo with me.”
Even I’m surprised that it came out. Anyone in the business world knows that you should never be first to speak or give anything away in a transaction. But now that it is out, I won’t dare take it back. Not if it means Sloane staying here with me.
Sloane turns back to face me, eyes wide. Her chest rises and falls heavily as her breathing intensifies. “You…you…”
Suddenly, her eyes are wild, darting every which way but directly at me. “You don’t get to say that, Magnus. Not now. Not after all of this!”
“Why not? It’s what I want. And I know it’s what you want as well. I can’t think of any other woman that I want by my side.”
Now, she’s focused on me. Rather than the pleasure or happiness I expected in her gaze, it’s resentment.
“You haven’t learned anything, have you?”
“Learned what?” I ask in exasperation, suddenly angry again. How dare she cause me to rip open my heart like this, yet again, only to fling the contents right back at me.
“You can’t hold onto someone with demands. You can’t hold onto someone that you manipulate or try to shelter like a china doll. I would have thought what happened with your sister would have taught you.”
“Do you want me to let you go, is that it? In the hopes that you’ll come back to me? I can’t do that, Sloane.”
She laughs and stares at me with pleading eyes. “This! This is what I’m talking about! It isn’t up to you, Magnus!”
“So you’re going back to New York?” I’m officially shocked. This isn’t how I expected it to go.
She gives me a long considering look. “Maybe that’s where I belong. Maybe I am just a guppy.”
I hear the challenge in her voice, daring m
e to defy that statement. I know what Sloane wants me to say, what she expects me to say.
But I’m still clouded by my own…what? Ego? Self-righteousness? Stupidity?
“Then, you aren’t the shark I thought you were.”
She looks at me as though I’ve slapped her. It rips my heart all over again, especially when I see tears spring to her eyes.
I instantly want to take it back. I’d happily fall on my knees to snatch those words and toss them into some abyss where even the past can’t find them.
But Sloane has already moved on. I see it in her eyes. An ironic smile twists her lips as she stares at me, letting them fall.
“And to think, all you had to do was say ‘I love you.’”
Before I can even utter a word, Sloane spins around and walks out of the office.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Sloane
“Sloane!
I stop turning my head back and forth to find my brother. I focus on the area from which my name was called. He doesn’t even have a car, but he wanted to be here to meet me at the airport all the same, which I find sweet.
Certainly enough to forgive him.
“Theo,” I say with a smile as he rushes over to hug me. He holds on tight and doesn’t let go. “Okay, okay, I’m going to need to breathe at some point.”
I add a laugh if only to make him feel better. I know he must have been through hell back here in New York, not knowing what the heck was happening on my end.
He pulls away and laughs awkwardly. Then his eyes brighten with excitement. “Oh hey, did you hear about what happened with Gabriel Fouché? He was arrested! They walked him right out of his office in handcuffs in front of everyone, with the press right there. Insider trading, they say. Was that you? And that guy who took us was killed! I’ve obviously figured out the connection between the two, but I can’t find the source of it all.”
I give Theo an indulgent but tired smile. This is typical Theo, his head and his mouth working a mile a minute when he’s excited about something, usually some new program in his head.
However, even with first-class accommodations back home, I still want nothing more than my bed. I’m exhausted physically and mentally, not to mention emotionally.
“Let’s get the Uber,” I say, guiding him to the exit after he takes hold of my large rolling suitcase. I left all the dresses, as well as the diamond earrings Magnus bought for me back in Monte Carlo.
I wanted a clean break.
I close my eyes and try, yet again, to put Magnus Reinhardt firmly out of my mind. I keep playing “what if” in my head about that day in his office.
What if I’d given him a chance to answer?
What if I’d just said the words first?
“You know what? I’m craving some white pizza,” I say, throwing my arm around Theo. “I’ve had enough of caviar and champagne.”
* * *
I’m back at work the next day.
Of course I am.
Because that’s exactly the kind of guppy Sloane Alexander is.
But Magnus has managed to keep his teeth firmly sunk into my life.
I’m in Jamie Reaves’s office as he gives me the good news.
“Naturally, now that Magnus Reinhardt has decided to make us his law firm of choice, a partnership is a no-brainer for you. Of course, once you make partner, the need to pull in business is even more crucial. So whatever magic trick you pulled out of your hat to snag this whale, keep it up!” He says with a patronizing smile. “Now, that said, there are still some—”
“Magic.” I say it so softly that Jamie stops talking to make sure I actually said something.
“Pardon?”
“Magic,” I repeat with my brow furrowed. “What makes you think it was a magic trick that landed me Magnus Reinhardt? Unless, of course, that’s code for something else.”
He coughs with discomfort. “Well, I would never presume such a thing, of course.”
“Of course,” I say with a tight smile. “Just like I would never presume that the two clients you’ve brought in over the past…ten years, has it been?”
Jamie actually blushes with embarrassment, which I find hilarious, but manage to keep from laughing.
“At any rate, I would never presume that they only signed with the firm because of your father’s connections.”
Now, he’s indignant. “Connections are everything in this business, Sloane. That’s something you’d know if you—”
“Right, I do know that, beyond just you beating me over the head with it for the past four years, of course. I know that because the only reason Gaultier Financial chose us for distribution of the assets after its dissolution was because the attorney on the other end…what was her name?” I pretend to have forgotten, looking to him for help.
“I don’t see how that is—”
“Jessica! Jessica Rouche, that’s right! I know that because she and I were on the phone daily. And I know that we were chosen because she told me it was because she felt comfortable leaving everything in my hands after so many hours talking to me.”
“Playing phone tag with a gal pal hardly amounts to—”
“I quit.”
Once again, I’ve said it so quietly it has more of an impact than if I’d screamed it. But Jamie Reaves definitely heard this one.
He looks shocked.
Which is nothing compared to how I feel.
Did I really just say that?
The confirmation in my head should terrify me. Quitting just when I’ve reached the pinnacle of everything I’ve wanted?
Instead, I feel emboldened.
“I’m sorry, did you just say—?”
“I quit.” I look him square in the eye and feel my mouth hitch into a smile I can’t even try to hide.
“Sloane, I think you need to think long and hard about this before you—”
“No, Jamie, I don’t,” I say simply, even adding in a shrug. “I quit. You’ll have your letter of resignation on your desk by the end of the day. Right now, I’m going outside for lunch. It’s a beautiful early fall day, and I want to soak it up.”
He stares at me wide-eyed as I rise out of my seat and walk out of his office. Just as I reach the door, I turn back to him.
“And, as far as retaining the services of Magnus Reinhardt, I wouldn’t depend on that. In fact, I have a feeling he’ll be calling in the remainder of his retainer fairly soon.”
With that, I walk out.
* * *
“Girl, you shoulda seen his face,” Whitney Howard says, cackling into the phone. “I thought he was going to pop an artery right there on the spot.”
The old Sloane would be moaning with regret. The new Sloane smiles into the phone.
“Jamie hasn’t been taking it out on anyone, has he?”
“He tried with Maya—why she doesn’t just quit to be a hockey girlfriend is beyond me—but I nipped that shit right in the bud.”
I relax and settle back against the headboard. I knew there was a reason I was growing to like this coworker of mine. I bite into a greasy egg roll. I ordered a shit ton of Chinese food to go with the Netflix binge-watching I’ve settled on today.
“So…what really went down out there in Monte Carlo?” Whitney asks in a conspiratorial tone.
“Nothing,” I say, feeling my face heat up.
She just laughs as though she can see right through the obvious lie. “Come on, girl. I ain’t going to tell anyone. I’m all for playing United Nations when it comes to getting some. If these American boys aren’t going to show us some love, why not fish in foreign waters? My friend, Jasmine, is headed to Armenia soon—talk about hot men! Hell, I wouldn’t be married today if I wasn’t fluent in the international language of shameless flirting.”
“I didn’t shamelessly flirt,” I say…just before erupting in involuntary laughter.
There may have been at least a full six-pack of beer to go with today’s Chinese food.
Whitney laughs with me. “
Magnus Reinhardt? I ain’t even mad. And a ten-million-dollar retainer? Then snatching it right back while giving that ass, Jamie Reaves a big fat middle finger? Hell, I’m high-fiving your ass.”
I laugh and shake my head, allowing myself to embrace this bit of ridiculousness. The old Sloane would have been appalled.
The new Sloane doesn’t give a damn.
* * *
That night I read the news about Gabriel Fouché’s death.
I stare at the laptop, reading the story from my bed as I dangle re-heated lo mien into my mouth.
A car accident as he was driving to his home in Nantucket while free on bail, no doubt to escape the press camped outside his home like vultures savoring the kill.
I’m probably one of only two people in the world who know his death was no accident—well, maybe three depending on who Magnus hired to take care of it.
I should be disgusted with what I know.
I should have my reservations about being with Magnus confirmed.
I should be saying good riddance to bad rubbish left in Monte Carlo.
I should probably go to the damn police.
Instead, I just feel a certain sense of satisfaction. The man would have had Theo and me killed. He did have Linus Caldwell killed. He also had Magnus’s mother killed. The same word I uttered to Magnus that night on the Mako spills from my lips.
“Good.”
Chapter Sixty
Magnus
It’s been a week since Sloane left.
I discovered she left Douglas & Foster, which thrilled me. I thought for sure it meant that she was coming back to Monte Carlo. But I have yet to hear from her.
I know it’s my stubbornness that kept me from stopping her from leaving my office that day—then from leaving my city. That hasn’t stopped my brain from chasing after her as futilely as a dog chasing his own tail.
The Monte Carlo Shark: An International Legacies Romance Page 28
