Heart of Money (Alpha Billionaire Bad Boy Romance Thriller)

by Sky, Lydia

  “But he might’ve been a bad guy himself, it seems.”

  “He was.” Brad said bluntly.

  The detective eyeballed him for a moment as if he was thinking it over. Then he sighed and closed the notepad, stuck it in his pocket and averted his gaze to Brad once more, “It looks like your story checks out, Brad. At least, I’m not suspicious of you. I don’t see why you’d have a single reason to kill Richards, and I can’t figure out why he’d come to your house for any reason other than the one you told me. You’ve got grease on the back of your shirt if you hadn’t noticed, and I can tell it’s the grease of a gun barrel, so that part checks out too. I don’t think you two are some criminal masterminds who just decided to kill this man, but what concerns me is the Daniel fella. I almost wish you’d just killed him rather than beat his ass, ma’am.”

  “I thought I had. I didn’t want to, but now I wish I had for sure.”

  He laughed and walked past me, “We’re going to have people come clean this fucking mess up. In the meantime, you two stay in town for a few days, okay? You’re not suspects or anything, as of yet, but it won’t look good if you just leave tomorrow. And you’ll be questioned again, of course. But for now, try to relax. We’re going to focus on getting this Daniel fella.”

  “Detective.” Brad rasped.

  The detective turned his head, “Yes, son?”

  “I can’t promise that I won’t go after him myself tonight. I lied to Richards, yes, but now that I know he was crooked I don’t feel bad about that. But I can’t lie to you. I’m going to catch this guy if no one else does.”

  The detective’s glare intensified and then returned to normal, “I didn’t hear a word you just said. You never told me any of that. Or them either.” He pointed at the three officers.

  “No sir.” One of them said.

  The detective winked and walked out, the officers followed him. I looked at Brad silently until I heard the front door close, and then I broke out into a joyous laughter.

  “I can’t believe it. They were actually good. They believed the truth.”

  Brad shook his head, a small grin filling his face, “Yep. We’re good. It’s over, save for Daniel. Sweetheart,” He stepped toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder, then bent to kiss me, “I’m going to find him now. I don’t know how or where, but I know it’s going to be tonight. I can feel it. I can’t stand it anymore. He’s a rabid dog and he’s never going to stop until he’s caught.”

  “I feel guilty, like I should’ve made sure he didn’t move. I seriously thought he was dead, or at least not in the condition to get up and go anywhere.”

  “You fucked him up good. I’m sorry I left in the first place. God, I could’ve gotten you killed for goodness sake.”

  “Don’t blame it on yourself, baby.” I kissed him again.

  “We make a pretty good team, don’t we Court?” He asked.

  “That we do. That we do…”

  **

  Brad and I left around six o’clock in his Ferrari. He drove aimlessly around town before finally getting pissed off and deciding to go home. That’s when we passed the old decrepit looking house. It looked ancient and run down, and was about ten miles down the road from Brad’s property. He said he’d noticed it before but never struck him as anything but an old piece of shit house, and he didn’t know why it hadn’t been torn down. As we passed it slowly, our eyes glued out the window, a flicker of light erupted from the top window. It looked like the quick flame of a lighter. Perhaps someone was inside smoking a cigarette. Brad hit the brakes and looked in sudden interest.

  “What? Did you see that too?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Light.”

  “Somebody struck a match or a lighter, I think.”

  “In the far right upstairs bedroom.”

  “Do you think it’s him?”

  “Who else would it be? There aren’t that many squatters around here and we don’t exactly have much of a problem with the homeless people. I never see any of them, really.”

  “Shit. I was kind of hoping the cops would find him before us. What do we do?”

  “First thing, we turn off the lights and pull the car over. You’re going to sit in the driver’s seat with the lights off, and watch very carefully in the rearview mirror. If you see anyone approaching, drive like a bat out of hell. I can’t risk him sneaking out when I go in there and then running out here and hijacking you like he did Franklin. And after what you did to his face, I don’t think he’ll be so polite this time. Understand, babe?”

  “Got it. Do you have your gun?”

  “Of course. It’d be suicide to walk in there without it. I’m…” He paused, “I’m just hoping I don’t have to use it.”

  “I know. I’m worried about you this time, Brad. I feel like you’ve been lucky so far. Almost too lucky. It’s creepy in a way.”

  He laughed and looked over at me with his big blue eyes, “Baby, I know. And I feel guilty more than anything. Guilty over this whole damn week so far. I thought taking you here right after I met you would be the coolest second date you’d ever been on… And I know it was farfetched considering we’d just met each other, but I felt a weird connection with you. Like I knew it was going to last or something. Like you might be the one. Does that sound cheesy?” He blushed.

  “No. You’re such a gentleman, and so sweet. I normally wouldn’t have accepted a short notice offer to go to Hawaii with someone I didn’t know hardly at all.”

  “I normally wouldn’t put out the offer, but I’m a free spirit I guess.”

  “Now that sounded cheesy. But you’re right, you are a bit of a wild one.”

  “Hell, I feel like I’ve turned into an action star since I met you. Like I’m in the twilight zone or some shit, trapped in an eighties action movie.”

  “It’s been crazy for me too. And I feel like I’m the damsel in distress.”

  “Nah, you’re the badass in all honesty. What you did to him back at the house… Good god, that took some serious cajones.”

  “We both know I don’t have those.”

  He laughed, “Mental cajones, I mean.”

  “Right…” I drew out the word and laughed. We stared at each other like that in the dark, only the light of the moon shining in on us. The skies had completely darkened by then and the stars twinkled in the sky. They looked so far away, yet so close where we were. I felt a surreal notion of something swell up in my gut, and then it vanished. I still don’t know what it was, but I think it was just butterflies and anxiety. I had a bad feeling that it might be the last time I would ever see Brad.

  Then I felt his hand stroke my face as he did so often, softly and caressingly. I looked over at him and could feel tears swelling up in my eyes. I wiped them away and choked softly on my own emotions. I felt like I was going to start bawling any second, and then he spoke to me in a loving, reassuring voice, “Baby, it’s okay. I’m going to be fine. I’m just going to finish this now. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get back up and run away like the cowardly criminal he is. I’m going to bring him right in to the station with you by my side and tell them that’s how it’s done. Then you and me are going back to LA, and we’re going to have a normal relationship.” He let out a big deep laugh.

  I chuckled too. I had to admit it was funny how things had been since we’d met, and how this was certainly a strange beginning to a new relationship. Yet through it all, in such short of a time period it had been, I still felt so drawn to him, so lustful for him. I figured if it had been any other guy I’d have run for the hills, but I knew that none of this was Brad’s fault. The fault rested in the hands of the man who was most likely up there in that window, puffing away on a cigarette as he lay on the filthy old floor staring out at the stars. Who knew what he was thinking? Maybe he was simply taking things as they came, or he was planning some big escape, but the idea of him being able to hitch a plane ride off the island was a farfetched one, and I realized that he must have felt pretty hopeless
at that time.

  I wondered if he’d regretted any of his actions, and then I remembered how bonkers he was. So no, probably not. Brad shook me out of my thoughts with a quick rustle to my hair, “I’ll be back gorgeous. Remember what I said. You hit the gas pedal if you see anyone coming toward you. Don’t look at your phone, or the radio stations. Don’t do anything but keep those pretty eyes glued to the mirror. Okay?” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, and without waiting for my reply, he hopped out of the car and slammed the door. I crawled over to his seat and sat there nervously, watching him go in the rearview mirror toward the dark house. A big sigh came from deep within me, and I felt my eyes swelling up with tears once again. Oh shit, I hope so badly that he’s going to be okay…

  Everything was quiet for a few minutes. I still sat there in the car, the engine rumbling quietly, and then I heard shots fired. Although I knew Brad would want me to stay in the car, I simply couldn’t. My eyes widened frantically and I pulled the keys out of the ignition before crawling out of the car and breaking into an all-out sprint for the house. I had no weapons on me, and I didn’t have any kind of plan. I was acting solely on instinct; the instinct to help Brad.

  I reached the house in what must’ve been twenty seconds, but it felt like an eternity. My legs felt like rubber and the dark grass seemed to be shifting in slow motion as my feet clomped across the soft blades wet with evening dew. The ocean’s night tide could be heard as it slammed into the rocky beach a hundred yards to my right, and my nostrils were overwhelmed with the scent of salt and sand.

  And gunpowder.

  I crashed through the front door, though not as dramatically as it sounds. It was unlocked, and I merely bashed against it with the right side of my body as the darkness of the house’s interior seemingly swallowed me up. It was silent in there, and I couldn’t find any sign of Brad. There were no lights to be seen, and I couldn’t even hear footsteps.

  “Brad?” I let out a helpless squeal.

  Then there was a crash that sounded like glass shattering, and directly ahead of me out the back window of what must have once been a kitchen, I saw a body drop past it and thud loudly on the ground.

  “Oh my god.” I couldn’t tell whose body it was, it was simply too dark. Rushing out the front door and scurrying around back, I peered nervously around the corner. Relief hit me like tidal wave as I saw the dark figure slowly flip onto its stomach. It wasn’t Brad.

  “Bastard.” He murmured, and began crawling on all fours to wherever it was he planned on going.

  “Get in the car!” An angry voice broke out and I looked up at the shattered window. Brad was standing there bloody faced, clutching a crowbar in his hand, “He’s got his gun still, Courtney. Get in the damn car.” He bellowed louder and louder, and I looked down in sheer panic to see Daniel aiming his rifle in my direction. He was still on his side, and the moonlight hit him just enough so that I could see he had the sickening twisted grin stretched across his ugly face.

  The rest was a blur, but it happened in a matter of seconds although it seemed to be in slow motion. Jumping to my left, I managed to avoid the blast of the rifle as it smashed across the corner of the house. I crawled hurriedly to my feet and heard a thump behind me. I knew immediately that Brad had jumped out of the window. Then there were footsteps, and the sounds of a rabid struggle.

  “Brad, are you okay?” I screamed.

  “Get to the car.”

  I ran frantically toward the car, and heard a loud smacking noise like bones breaking. I stopped and began to run back, but then I saw Brad walking around the corner from the back of the house and my heart rose back up into my chest. He was dragging Daniel’s limp body from the shirt collar, and he had the rifle held in his injured arm.

  “Is he dead?”

  He didn’t speak until he got a few feet from me, then he stopped and dropped the body onto the grass. He held the rifle aimed at his face and spoke calmly, thought slightly out of breath, “No, babe. I told you I’d take him in, and that’s exactly what I aim to do.”

  I looked down at Daniel as he lay still on the ground. Eyes closed, dried brown blood mixed with wet bright red blood all over his face. He looked dead as a doornail, but his chest was bobbing up and down so I knew he was alive. The panic still hadn’t left me completely; I didn’t feel like it would be done until it was finalized. I didn’t feel like it would be over until he was sitting in a jail cell with his ankles cuffed together, or in police custody at the very least. I wanted to go home, and I wanted to lie down and sleep for three days.

  Chapter 16

  Los Angeles. That’s where we were. We were home.

  It was three days later, and we’d flown in the night before. Brad had refused to be interviewed after the third time the detective showed up on his porch in Hawaii, and he told the guy to shove it. He’d told him everything he had to tell, and he also told him we were flying home that night. The detective had smiled and shaken his head, and seemed to be searching for something to say. Finally he blushed and muttered, “Have a good trip, sir.”

  Brad stirred next to me. It was dawn, and I stood to my feet and stretched my arms as wide as they would go. My legs were still sore from the few nights before, from all the running and he tension flowing through my muscles. But the tension was gone, finally, and I opened the curtains to let the dim light of early morning float through the Malibu bedroom. The beach was bright and the tide was steady down below the mountains of Malibu, and I looked over at Brad and crawled back into bed, but I felt restless and unable to sleep.

  I kissed him on the cheek and he stirred again, then his big blue eyes widened. He yawned and stretched his arm out, embracing me in a tight hug, “Morning beautiful.”

  “Morning.” I kissed his nose.

  “Sleep well?”

  “Incredible. It’s crazy though… Feeling so stressed compared to how I feel now. Night and day, baby. I feel so much better.”

  “Come closer.” He rasped.

  I craned my neck forward. He kissed me slowly, gently, not giving me any provocative or sexual signs. Then he suddenly rolled on top of me with such swiftness that it caught me off guard. I smiled excitedly and let out a small giggle. He kissed me again, but this time he slid his hand down my nightgown and up to my crotch. I moaned against his mouth, and felt his tongue begin to glide down my neck. He sucked on my tender skin lightly as his fingers slid into my aching cunt.

  Morning sex was the best with him; he’s always so feisty when he wakes up.

  His tongue slid further down my body after he pulled my night gown over my head, and it stopped on my breasts, “Oh baby, you’re so perfect.” His tender lips wrapped around my nipple and his tongue prodded it softly, just enough to make me squeal lightly, and then I felt a long hard cock prod anxiously against my pussy.

  “Yeah, fuck me.” I moaned, “I want you to tie me up.”

  “You didn’t get enough action in Hawaii as far as thrills go?” He joked.

  “No, baby… Show me how it’s done.”

  He crawled off the bed and pulled a tan rope out of the closet, then he strutted cockily toward me and jumped onto the bed, fastening the rope around both my wrists. It wasn’t much of a challenge for him even considering the fact that he was still in a cast, so I knew he’d done it before. He was good at it, and the idea of him being with someone else made me feel so jealous, but I knew I couldn’t fault him for it… It was before he and I knew each other, and he was so good looking I was certain it was easy for him.

  His tongue slid into my mouth as he tightened the ropes and then tied them to both sides of headboard in thick strong knots. I felt like I was being dominated completely by him as he pulled his boxers off and began to stroke his long throbbing cock. Aching for it to be in my mouth, I tried to grab for it and then remembered quickly that I was tied up.

  “Why don’t you put that big thing in my mouth?” I tried my best dirty talk.

  He slid it in without replying, and once it
got halfway to my throat I choked on the girth of it. God, he was so thick it was unbelievable, but it wasn’t too thick – it was perfect. Up and down it went, popping in and out of my mouth like it was a lollipop. I groaned through the thickness of his cock, my moans vibrating against the throbbing shaft as he mouth fucked me dominantly.

  “I’m gonna fuck the hell out of you now.” He muttered, and pulled his wet shaft out of my mouth, then slid it down to my breasts and squeezed it between them. My eyes were closed, but when I opened them I saw that I couldn’t see. He had blindfolded me and I hadn’t even felt it! Despite not being able to see anything else, I could certainly feel it. In fact, being blindfolded seemed to heighten my other senses and as his cock sandwiched between my breasts and slid smoothly in and out of them, I shuddered in bliss.

  “Oh fuck,” I moaned, “Oh fuck, I’ve never had anyone do something like this.” The tip of his cock pressed against my lips with each thrust forward, and I felt my pussy dripping gently onto the bed sheets. Then I felt his cock pull away from my breasts and his hard muscular chest pressed against my torso. I knew what he was going to do next, I could feel the heat of his cock permeating against my pussy, and then he slammed it into me. I let out a shrill cry of pleasure as he began to pummel me with his big massive cock, and it seemed to swell up inside of me and grow even longer.

  I couldn’t fathom how incredible it felt to be fucked while blindfolded, but in the general sense it felt better than it ever had before. My pussy was so sensitive and I think the not knowing of it made it all the more sensitive. He thrusted into me hard and dominantly, and then he’d pull out quickly and tease me with the not knowing of when he was about to pummel me again. I felt his hand wrap around my ass cheek and then slide to my hips, and before I knew it he was flipping me half way upside down with my ass hanging up in the air.

  What on earth was he going to do next? I bit my lip, wanting to ask, but also wanting to just find out by waiting.

  I didn’t have to wait long. Oh shit, it was incredible.