The Billionaire From Miami_A BWWM Billionaire Suspense Romance

by Simply BWWM

  Jaime never came after her, but she locked the main door to her suite anyway, then took her laptop to the bedroom and locked that door, too. The office was the only room that didn’t have balcony access, and if she ended up trapped in this room with Jaime on the other side, she wanted some way of escaping.

  This was between her and Alex, and even if Jaime was in on it, she wasn’t involving him. She needed to see what was on the flash drive and decide what she was going to do. She was either going to leave, or she was going to give him the chance to fly right. There was no other option.

  She loaded the flash drive and sighed when it automatically started syncing with her accounting program. She should have turned the auto-sync off before she plugged the drive in, but she couldn’t stop it now.

  Once it was loaded, synced and organized by her software, she started opening files and skimming the content. Some of them seemed innocent enough, but it was the last file that had waded into something much bigger than she realized.

  The latest bank statements for business accounts at banks she didn’t recognize. It was a lot of money. An almost impossible amount.

  She clicked through each file, the picture becoming clearer with each new piece of information. With a sinking heart, she realized that Alex wasn’t just evading taxes. Alex was using his business to launder money in outrageously large sums. Which is why he needed luxury hotels and not just a handful of little hotels like Mirada.

  He was moving small enough amounts from each property’s account to these offshore accounts that the US banks wouldn’t bat an eye at the transfers without the whole picture. Just under ten thousand per business didn’t seem like much, but multiplied by twenty-two, meant that almost two hundred thousand a day was being moved.

  Laundering that amount of money could only mean one thing.

  Alex was part of a drug cartel, and he was using these businesses to launder money to hide it from the government.

  Suddenly, it all made sense. The guards, the nice house that was secluded in the middle of the city. The hotel that required a password to book a room probably catered to businessmen who needed a safe place to party, which explained the insane price of the rooms. It was probably by the hour.

  And the gas station? There were infinite possibilities, and being that close to a major highway, they weren’t good. Alex was in deep, and Nina realized in that moment that he wasn’t just part of a cartel. He had to be one of its leaders, or pretty high up. There was no way he had the amount of money he did without being someone very important in the cartel. A simple ultimatum wasn’t going to work.

  She was going to have to come up with something much more compelling, and she was going to have to stand her ground. She didn’t know how Alex had gotten wrapped up in something like this, but she knew he was a good guy, and even more important, she knew that he loved her. He wasn’t going to let her walk away, and she definitely wasn’t going to raise a child in this kind of life.

  *

  Nina was still sitting on her bed, trying to figure out what to say, when a text from Alex came through her phone.

  Your door is locked, it read. She shoved it in her pocket, steeling herself for a confrontation she knew would not be pretty.

  She opened the bedroom door, then opened the suite door and let him in, stomach in knots, mind racing. She locked the door behind him and sat in the chair, gesturing for him to sit across from her.

  “It must be serious,” he said, sitting down. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

  “The baby is fine, but I’m not okay, Alex. We need to talk.”

  He took a slow, deep breath.

  “Actually, that’s why I’m here right now. I have something I need to talk to you about, but I had to tie up a few loose ends first.”

  “I need to go first,” she said. “If I don’t say it now, I’m going to lose my nerve.”

  “Alright, what’s on your mind.”

  He leaned forward and reached out to hold her hands in his, but she ignored the gesture and he just sat there, waiting for her to find the words.

  “I know, Alex.”

  “At the risk of sounding like an ass, what do you know?”

  “Everything.”

  “I don’t know how you could know everything, but I’ll bite. What is everything?”

  “Stop playing with me. I updated your software, and the new system is more connected than in the past. I can check the points of sale in real time, retrieve cash office files directly from my computer without the properties knowing, and I can see every transaction that happens throughout the day, all from my laptop.”

  He sucked in a quick breath.

  “I didn’t know there were accounting programs that did that.”

  “It’s a program my college professor created. I helped him work on it and I still had it on my laptop. It’s still in the testing stages, but it works exactly like it’s supposed to. And I found something.”

  “What did you find?”

  “I think you know.”

  “We both know that I know,” he countered. “But what I need from you is to know what exactly you found so I know what to say.”

  “I’m not going to let this go, Alex.”

  “I don’t expect you to.”

  “Then, why not just tell me everything?”

  “Everything is a lot, Nina.”

  “I gathered that.” She sighed, looking down at her hands for a moment and wishing that this day would come to an end. “This is more uncomfortable than I thought. Look, I know you’re a good guy, Alex. But good people do bad things for money. I know you’re laundering money for a drug cartel.”

  When she looked at him, he didn’t look appalled. She knew that she was right, and her heart broke in that instant. She hadn’t wanted it to be true, but it obviously was.

  “I’m not going to insult your intelligence by denying it,” he said after a brief silence. “I started working for the drug cartel when I was a teenager. My stepdad brought me into the family business.”

  “Does the cartel own all those properties? The house? The cars?”

  “No,” he said, almost chuckling. “Believe it or not, I saved my money and worked my ass off, and when I got the life insurance from my parents, I took that money and invested in my first property. Every dime I made, I reinvested until I had more than I knew what to do with.”

  “That’s smart.”

  “It is. My stepdad wanted out for years after he met my mom, but he never had enough money to buy his freedom. When he died, I picked up where he left off, but I did it knowing I wouldn’t do it forever. They took everything he had, but he showed me how to play the system.”

  “The offshore accounts.”

  This statement actually earned a look of surprise from Alex.

  “You’ve got some nerve.” He laughed. “Man, this kid is going to be the death of me if he’s anything like you.”

  “And if it’s a girl?”

  “I’m in more trouble than I know how to handle.”

  This time when he tried to take her hands, she didn’t pull away. She looked into his eyes, searching for the man she knew he was, and trying to reconcile that with the stereotypical cartel employee. She couldn’t see it.

  “Do you run the cartel?”

  “No. Not even close. I’m one of the higherups, but I still have to work for a living. When they saw how well my investments were doing, they saw an opportunity to use my good name and reputation for something more. It came with a pay raise, my own guards and the lifestyle I’d always wanted. I finally didn’t have to hide what I had, because they expected me to live like this. It’s part of my cover, and as long as they see the money they expect to see, there are no issues.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “It’s already done,” he said. “Carlos wasn’t happy, but he understood. A lot of men get out when they start a family. You can’t imagine what rival cartels do to families.”

  Nina felt sick. She hadn’
t considered that.

  “I arranged to buy out tonight, and Carlos accepted my offer. I know you love this house, but I think it’s best if we move somewhere else.”

  “Away from Miami?”

  “No. Just not this house. You can keep the car, though. I bought that with clean money. And I still want you to manage accounting for my properties, but I’ll only have fifteen.”

  “I can guess which ones you’re letting go of.”

  “The ones they were using to launder money. I’ll transfer them to an umbrella corporation, so they still appear to be in my name and don’t draw attention, but as of tomorrow, everything will be done, and I’ve asked them to have Jaime take my place.”

  “At least he’ll be happy about something.”

  “Jaime is a good guy. If you give him a chance, you’ll see that.”

  “He called me trash.”

  “I’ll talk to him. That isn’t going to fly.”

  “So, we’re just moving and getting a new place?”

  “If you’ll come with me. I understand if that’s hard for you to do.”

  “All I want is for you to give up this life so we can raise our child better than you were.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”

  “I know what you mean. It’s not that simple, but I’m taking steps to make sure we can walk away and I—”

  The house shook and the lights flashed, then went off, the room pitch black in an instant.

  “What was that?” Nina asked, but Alex already had her by the hand, dragging her toward the door that led to the balcony.

  “DEA,” he hissed. “Follow me.”

  She did as she was told, running onto the balcony just as gunfire erupted and men started shouting.

  Alex vaulted over the railing, hung for a second, then dropped silently into the garden.

  He stood beneath where she was, holding his hands out and motioning to her. She was shaking her head when there was another explosion, this time closer, and more gunfire. Men were shouting and running from the carriage house, and she didn’t have time to be afraid.

  She climbed over the rail, lowered herself as far as she could, then jumped. Alex’s strong arms grabbed her, softening her fall so the landing wasn’t so jarring. Before she could catch her breath, they were on the move again, heading straight for the dock. Alex pushed her ahead of him, pulling a gun and returning fire when the bullets started flying their way. She heard Alex grunt, but he kept running.

  A shadow appeared on their right, heading in the same direction. Nina prepared for the impact of bullets, but the figure wasn’t aiming in their direction. When he made it to the gate ahead of her and punched in the code, Nina almost cried out in relief when she recognized Jaime.

  “Come on,” he urged, closing the gate behind Alex and running down the dock behind them.

  Nina didn’t wait for Alex to help, leaping onto the yacht and running to the helm. Alex and Jaime had the ropes untied by the time Nina got the engine fired up, men shouting in Spanish already getting closer.

  “Go, go, go!” Jaime yelled, and Nina gunned it, heading north as fast as she dared.

  Alex sat down on the chair across from her, his breath coming in heavy gasps while Jaime rummaged around in a box that Nina quickly realized was a first aid kit.

  “Are you shot?” Nina asked.

  “It went through,” Alex said, his voice calm. “I’ll be fine, Jaime just needs to clean the wound.”

  “Oh my god, Alex! You’ve been shot! Why wouldn’t they just arrest us instead?”

  “That wasn’t the feds,” Jaime said, cleaning Alex’s wound while Alex gritted his teeth against the pain. “That was Mal Hombres. A rival cartel.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” Alex corrected. “It was our people, Cienfuegos. I should have known it couldn’t be that easy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I bought them out.”

  “You quit?”

  “I had to. This isn’t a life, Jaime. At least, not one for a family. I told them you would be the best replacement.”

  Jaime was speechless, still cleaning and dressing the wound.

  “You’re one of my best men, Jaime. You are the best, and you’re like a brother to me. I knew you would be the right man for the job.”

  “What do we do now?” Nina asked.

  “I turn myself in and make a deal, I guess,” Alex said. “I need to talk to my lawyer and—”

  The sound of a gun cocking stopped him midsentence.

  “I’m not going to let you do that,” Jaime said, his voice cold. “I did not give up everything so you could turn yourself in.”

  “If you want to work for them, then fine, Jaime. Go for it. Your name won’t cross my lips. But, if you think they’re going to welcome you with open arms after tonight, you’re wrong. Any of my men that got away will be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives. Carlos decides who lives and who dies, and it looks like he made his choice.”

  “That’s not what this is about.”

  “Then what is it about?”

  “If you turn yourself in, everything I’ve done will be for nothing. I’m not willing to give this up without a fight. You’re as good as dead to me if you do that.”

  “Jaime, you’re not making any sense.”

  “Don’t you think it was a little too convenient that I hired on as a bouncer right before you bought the club? And what about growing up in your hood? Come on, Alex, don’t make me spell it out. I was the perfect man for the job because being the perfect man is my job.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Nina said, staring at Jaime. “You’re not making any sense.”

  But Alex knew exactly what was going on, and he looked devastated.

  “We were friends for five years, Jaime. You’ve been with me longer than anyone. How could you do this?”

  “Do what?” Nina asked, frustrated.

  But it was Alex, not Jaime, who answered.

  “He’s undercover, Nina. Jaime is DEA.”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me,” Nina said. “All this time you were acting like I was sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong and we were practically on the same side?”

  “I was worried you would blow my case.”

  “Why didn’t you just say that?”

  “Would you have kept that from Alex?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then, that’s why I didn’t say anything. Men get killed for being suspected of being an agent. My life wasn’t worth telling you.”

  “Put the gun away, Jaime.”

  “No. You’re under arrest, and as soon as we get to land, I’m going to dispatch agents to clean up that mess at your house and gather evidence.” He turned and looked at Nina, who was still steering the boat north. “You don’t have to worry, you can testify against Alex and save yourself. They won’t try you, anyway. You’ve only been here a few weeks and only just found out, so you’re safe.”

  “I won’t testify against him.”

  Both men stared at her in shock, but Alex smiled.

  “I have enough to nail you both for laundering and fraud. If you don’t testify, you’re screwed.”

  “That’s a chance I’ll have to—”

  There was another explosion, causing all three to jump. A fireball sailed into the air, then disappeared as another explosion rocked the neighborhood. Alex turned to Jaime and smiled.

  “Looks like your evidence just went up in smoke. Put the gun away and we’ll figure this out. If you can keep me out of jail, I have no problem giving you all the credit for bringing me in.”

  “Alex, what if he’s lying?”

  “We don’t have many options, Nina, and it looks like Carlos was serious about getting rid of every trace of my existence.”

  “You’re going to need protection,” Jaime added, holstering the gun and going back to work bandaging the wound.

  “So, that’s it? You’re just going to forgive him for
pulling a gun on you and lying to you for five years?”

  “What choice do we have, Nina? I don’t want to go to jail, and I’ll be damned if you do. We have information that isn’t available anywhere else, and the DEA needs us to get to the bigger fish.”

  “I don’t know about this, Alex.”

  “It’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

  “We need to get to shore and find a way to get to the office,” Jaime said.

  “It’s not like we can call an Uber.” Alex laughed. “Maybe we can get close enough to walk from the docks?”

  “It’s further inland. We’re going to need a car.”

  “I think I can help with that,” Nina said, and both men watched her as she pulled out her phone, pushed a couple buttons and turned the screen toward them.

  The map of the surrounding area popped up, and a cartoon car started moving slowly, turning onto Bayshore Lane and heading in their general direction.

  “What the hell?” Jaime said.

  “It’s grenade proof.” Nina shrugged. “The mechanic was telling me all about how it could withstand almost any explosion.”

  “I didn’t know you could call it with your phone,” Alex said. “That’s fantastic.”

  “I thought it was silly, but now, I’m kind of glad.”

  “We need to get to shore and hide. We need to make sure it’s not being followed.”

  Jaime stood, taking the helm from Nina and steering the yacht while Nina went to sit with Alex, still watching the car move along the map.

  Alex leaned against her, hugging her close and kissing her cheek.

  “Good thing you had your phone,” he said.

  She turned her head until her lips were against his ear, watching Jaime out the side of her eye to make sure he wasn’t listening.

  “That’s not all I have in my pocket,” she whispered. “Everything is going to be alright.”

  They huddled together as Jaime guided the yacht to the shore, cutting the engine and setting the GPS anchor since there was nowhere to dock. They took the inflatable dingy to shore, leaving the yacht where it was and finding a place to hide close by.

  Nina selected an address a block away, locking the position where the car was supposed to They watched from down the block, waiting for the car to appear, then watching for a while longer before they finally approached the car. Jaime covered the door as Alex opened it, but the car was empty.