Beauty and the Billionaire

“I just do. It’s not in your nature, and like you said you know you love him. Would you take five million to walk away from him right now if I offered it to you?”

“No!”

“See?” She smirks smugly.

“It could have been fake.”

“Don’t lie to yourself.”

“Crap.” She’s right. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it was real. I was hanging on to a bit of hope that it wasn't. “I wish I had a picture of her or something. Her face was so clear.”

Fawn pulls out her phone and starts clicking away. “There has to be something online about them. Roman told me Oz’s father used to be a big deal until he wasn’t.”

“Dane stepped in.”

“Yeah.” She keeps clicking away. When her lips purse, I lean over to see what she is looking at. I see Dane in a tux. He’s staring down at a beautiful redhead who is standing too close to him. In fact I think they’re on a date. She’s laughing about something. Her dress leaves nothing to the imagination. There is something familiar about her. I’m not sure if the irritation is how I might feel about her or seeing the picture.

“When was that?”

“Six months ago, but don’t jump to conclusions.” It’s hard not to. We would have been together then, or he at least had to be pursuing me. “Oh! Here’s a pic of his mom.” I recognize her immediately, a flood of memories coming back to me.

“This keeps getting better.” I sigh. There is no doubt in my mind that she offered me that money now. My stomach turns. That means the other dreams are true too. This is going from bad to worse. I’m not even sure what I should do.

14

DANE

I should be in the shower with my wife, but Carter called saying he had some information and is on his way up. We’d stepped out of the shelter to come back to the room to shower and change. I have two men stationed there to protect Faith just in case, but Roman is there also. That’s the only reason I even considered leaving.

A knock sounds at the door. When I open it, I’m surprised to see my brother standing there. His hair is sticking up everywhere, and his pants look like he’s been rolling around in the dirt. I bet they are actually clean and he spent a ridiculous amount of money to purchase them looking that way. I’ll never understand the styles these days.

“What’s going on?” I ask. He steps in, giving me a one-armed hug.

“I was worried about you and I finished my finals so I’m out early.” I start to close the door behind him. The elevator dings before I shut it all the way, and I see Carter stepping off. I wait, holding it open for him.

“Your brother is in town,” he says when he gets to the door.

“I know.” I motion for him to come in.

“Carter.” My brother gives him a chin nod. Neither of them care for each other much. That’s because Ryan doesn't enjoy when he has a security detail. It’s a game to him to try and lose them when he has one assigned to him. One that makes Carter’s job harder.

“Ryan.” Carter gives one back before his attention comes back to me.

“What do you have?” I ask, wanting to get to the point. His eyes flick to Ryan and then back to me. It’s his way of silently asking me if it’s okay for Ryan to hear whatever he’s about to tell me. “Go on.”

“I threw out a wide net last week seeing if anyone put a hit on Kennedy.” My chest goes tight. Even the mention of that being a possibility has me wanting to tear this room apart in answer, but the last thing I want to do is scare my wife.

“And?” I push, wanting him to spit it out already.

“I gave the description of her and the name. Honestly I didn’t think I’d get anything back, but I wanted to make sure I covered all my bases. I was wrong.”

Ryan takes a step closer, intrigued by what Carter might have found out.

“Someone took the job, but it wasn't supposed to be a hit. They wanted her shaken up and warned to never speak badly about the Osborne family name again. The message was supposed to be for her to disappear or they’d make her permanently disappear.”

“Motherfucker.” My heart is pounding hard. My fists are clenched at my side. Carter keeps going. My blood boils more with each second that passes.

“A lot of people passed on the job because the person wanted to pay in three installments. One for the booking of the job, the second when it was all planned and ready to go, and the third when it was done.”

“I don’t give a fuck how they paid. I give a fuck about who ordered it.” I have a sinking feeling I already know who.