Impulse (Billionaire Secrets 5)

Her hands trembled as she moved the phone away from her ear and put the call on speaker. “You’re on speaker phone now,” she said, with more courage than she felt.

“Good. That works out better. Now you can both hear me,” the eerie voice said. “I’m sure you’ve already seen our warnings.”

“Who are you?” Simon barked. “What the hell is this all about?”

“You’ve flown just a little too close to the sun, Mr. Diesel,” the voice said. “It’s time someone clipped your wings.”

“Cut the crap,” Simon said, a dangerous edge in his tone. “Tell us who you are and we’ll go easy on you.”

A sardonic laugh was the response. “We know what your weakness is. Your father.”

“Leave my family out of this.” Simon balled his hands into fists, his face reddening with rage.

“He’s the one who would inherit all your wealth if something... unfortunate were to happen to you. Maybe it’s time you share that wealth with us instead, Mr. Diesel. Spare your father and share your wealth with us; otherwise, we’ll make an example out of him.”

Click.

Icy-cold fear crept down her spine again, chilling her down to the bone. “I don’t think this is a prank. Not if these people managed to get my cell number.”

“How many people have your number?” Jake asked.

“More than I can count,” she replied. “I’ve been giving my contact details to everyone who works with the media. It’s not like I have a choice.”

Simon surged to his feet. “Heather, we have to get you out of here. Now.”

Arguing with him was pointless. Especially when he got like this. The terrifying call might have been about his father, but the caller had known her name. Known exactly who she was. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she contemplated the severity of the situation. They had threatened Simon’s father. Had called her phone. They had even known about Simon’s financial situation. Suddenly nowhere sounded safe, Dover least of all.

“What they said about your father inheriting your money... is that true?” she asked.

He glanced at the security head, hesitating for a moment. “I haven’t updated my will in years. Which means my wealth would be transferred to my parents.”

“Who has that kin

d of information?” she asked.

“Not many people. Me, my lawyer, and my mother,” he said. “But it’s a pretty easy thing to figure out. I’m not married and I don’t have kids, so my parents are the only people left.”

“Whoever this is could be taking a stab in the dark,” Jake pointed out. “They specifically said Simon’s father was inheriting, so maybe these nuts were just making a guess.”

“They sounded like they really wanted to hurt your dad,” she said. “I really think we need to go make sure he’s okay.”

“Leave that to me,” Simon said firmly. “Right now, I want you safe at my apartment before I get my father. Are we clear on this, Heather?”

She nodded, trying to ignore her sudden tremor of anxiety. “Yes. Only, shouldn’t we tell Agnes and the rest of the board about this?”

The security head stood up and buttoned his jacket. “You leave all that to me. I’ll make all the security arrangements and update board members. I also need to take your phone.” He gave her an apologetic look.

Reluctantly she gave Jake her phone. “Well, I do have another phone that I can use as a replacement until I get this one back.”

Jake gave her a grim nod. “Thanks. The security team and I are going to see if can trace the origin of that call and pin down whoever sent those death threats on social media. My advice to you both is to lay low, don’t take unnecessary risks, and I’ll be in touch as soon as I’ve informed the board of this.” He paused, eyes narrowing as he focused on her. “Your boss has your best interests in mind, okay? So, in addition to laying low I suggest you do exactly as Mr. Diesel tells you, ma’am.”

Chapter 10

She had never seen him drive so fast before. As Simon raced through the streets of Seattle, Heather braced herself in her seat. When he finally stopped the car in the underground parking lot of his building, she was more than glad to get out of the car even if her legs were shaky and nausea roiled her stomach.

Without a word, he took her hand and walked her to the front desk of his apartment building. Hank, the doorman, was sitting at the front desk, a warm smile appearing on his face when he spotted them.

“Hey, Simon. Hey, Heather.” Hank’s smile faded as they got closer to the desk. “Boy, you guys don’t look so good. You okay?”