Billion Dollar Hearts (Inconguity Series Book 3)

by Thandiwe Mpofu

  “Is that what you think? I mean, Gideon couldn’t even get his hands off of me you know. All of this ugliness you say.” She purrs and then laughs when I fall silent, unable to control the growing jealousy within me.

  He did tell me. He told me that from the moment he saw her, he wanted her. Justifiable because she is beautiful, making me feel self-conscious even.

  “You see, Charlotte. He wanted me. He has a thing for women with a weakness you know, which is probably why he fucked you. Don’t think he wanted you, of course. He just likes to feel like a man, coming to the rescue for the damsel in distress.” She says with a wave in the air and a smug smile on her face.

  “I would hate to feel like there was something special about you.”

  “Yet you feel threatened by her!” Sam cuts in, her voice coming from the corner of the room.

  I breathe a sigh of intense relief as I hear that throaty lilt of her voice, albeit it being hoarse. No doubt she is dehydrated but I don’t think our hosts are bothered by that.

  “Excuse me?” Tabitha does a complete one-eighty and turns to look at Sam, giving her the stank eye.

  “You heard me bitch. Your vain, plastic looks are nothing compared to the bombshell that is Chloe and that threatens you. In fact. . .” She pauses for dramatic effect, “I think it scares you. I mean, how can the sexiest, wealthiest bachelor to walk this earth choose her over you right?”

  Sam has a way of insulting someone in the sweetest manner possible and in the most extreme dimwit cases, the person on the receiving end would think they are being given a compliment. Probably comes from years of working part-time as a model. The fashion industry can be vicious, but Sam is more than a match.

  “You know what else I just realized. This isn’t about your ‘lover that Gideon put in the ground is it?” Sam questions, her head tilting to the left as she sets Tabitha up. I’ve been around Sam whenever she starts tearing apart a person and she always goes for the weakest points.

  I watch as Tabitha begins to fidget, glancing at me every once in a while as Sam speaks. She was confused before but now, now she is catching on and doesn’t like where Sam is going with this.

  “This is about you wanting to eliminate what you see as a block between you and Gideon because somehow, you wanted both this Craig and Gideon but it never worked out, did it?”

  “And who are you to say that.” Tabitha says as she begins walking towards Sam, probably to beat her up. I can’t have that.

  “I’m not the one bitch.” Sam spits in her face as soon as Tabitha is near her. A loud screech leaves her mouth, piercing my ears with that awful sound.

  “How dare you spit at me?” Tabitha launches herself at Sam but before she can actually touch her, the door bursts open a deep voice brings everything to a dead silence.

  “Tabitha, now that’s no way to treat our guests now is it?” A deep voice says silkily, sounding entitled and rather amused by what he sees.

  “My lord.” Tabitha says on a whisper. Is that fear I detect in her voice? “Sir, I thought you were now entertaining the guests.” She says, turning to look at the man whom I can’t see as he is out of my line of sight.

  “Yes, yes, but I came to see our new girls.”

  Our new girls? What does that mean? I turn to make eye contact with Sam whose gaze is already waiting for me. Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, no doubt seeing just how messed up my face is. I can’t even feel my left cheek and I feel so tired but as soon as the new voice entered, I’ve perked up because I know who exactly it is.

  “I told you, father. They are just being whipped into shape, stripping them of their identity. Like you said, they have to ready for tomorrow.” It seems Caleb is back.

  “Yes, but I wanted to see her for myself.” His deep voice is near, somewhere to my left no doubt. I can feel his eyes perusing me, analyzing me but I don’t immediately turn to look at him. I won’t give Giovanni the satisfaction of seeing just how scared and shaken I am.

  I’m breaking but before I can do that, I need answers.

  So, with that thought in mind, I turn to look at the man that has brought all this grief to me. It seems as if he was already waiting on me because as soon as I turn, our gazes collide and it’s almost like looking in the mirror.

  Gray eyes collide with my gray eyes and my head starts spinning.

  Chapter 20

  Gideon

  “Mr. Black, I must say, I didn’t think I would ever hear from you—voluntarily of course—not after all that went down before. . .”

  Yeah, I’m still very much salty about that. “Believe me, I don’t want to be making this call at all, Agent Felix.” I say, cutting him off as I turn let in traffic, driving up the road that leads to the top of the little mountain.

  “Oh, so to what does this rookie owe the pleasure of your call?” He questions. I can feel the bated excitement on his end, he obviously doesn’t think I should be talking to him but he is just the man I want to talk to right now.

  “I believe you are at work right now, aren’t you?” I question though I already know. I just need to know if he will lie to me about it.

  “No, I left an hour ago. My shift is done.” He says, his voice now filled suspicion. “Why are you asking?”

  He obviously doesn’t trust me, has never actually trusted me right from the start when he came around with McGuire to my office. He is smarter than most people think.

  “It’s about your partner.” I say, cutting to the point. I can already see the large, looming structure ahead.

  “Which partner?” He questions.

  “No, don’t do that. You know exactly who I’m talking about.” I grit out. I don’t have time for this bullshit. My grip on the steering wheel has been tight since leaving the city, my brain spinning and my imagination has been working overtime. Coming up with all sorts of scenarios of what Chloe might be going through. Ranging from hurt to dead. That said, I’m not in the mood to play circle games.

  “Yes, what about McGuire?” He questions, his voice now dejected with a bite of anger that makes me raise my brow.

  “I would like to know where he is.” I inform him.

  “You should have called the bureau for that information.”

  “I’m not in the mood of being spun around in circles when I know that even they don’t know where he is.” Silence greets me at the end of the line but I know he is there.

  “So why call me?” He questions but I know it’s a test. He wants to know why I trust him. I don’t really trust him; I just think that there are resources to be harnessed when it comes to the newly appointed federal agent.

  “Because you don’t trust the pig and something tells me you know far more than they give you credit for.”

  “That might be true but I can’t give you any information. I would get fired and then imprisoned.” He says but I don’t say anything as I reduce the speed of my car. The silence eats at him though as he starts to speak again.

  “Before I was assigned to be his partner, the agency had an operation in motion to keep an eye on McGuire for a few months. They have reason to believe that he is a dirty agent.” He starts, voice low and informative.

  “Can’t say I’m surprised there.” I say.

  “He has been insisting on working on the syndicate in Chicago. You know, the Miami syndicate, for years now. They also found out his massive fixation to snakes and all this inky shit that raised eyebrows.”

  “So, he has been under investigation?”

  “Essentially, yes. But the Bureau hasn’t cut him off yet because they believe he is valuable and can lead to something.”

  “Why me?”

  “Your company was framed by somebody you have a history with. McGuire found out and decided to run the information back to Lorenzo.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s as far as I know. The rest, I don’t have clearance for.” He says with annoyance and I know he is telling the truth.

  “So, where is he?” I question o
nce more. When I get my hands on that sick, twisted pig. . .

  “Since the gala night, he has been acting rather strange. Stranger than usual.”

  If I should hazard a guess, I think it would be because of Giovanni being in town.

  “Where is he? Because as of five hours ago, my girlfriend has been missing.” I grit out as I park my car in the lot and shut down the engine. I’m so angry and I feel worthless, making me punch the steering wheel.

  “Well shit, that explains it.” He says with a realization in his voice.

  “What?” I demand.

  “He’s been tracking her down for weeks now.” Weeks? “Shit, this is bad. I think he took her out of state.”

  “And where would he go?” I demand. My phone vibrates, it’s Max.

  “To their headquarters of course.” He says as I read the message on it.

  MAX: Got it. Chicago.

  Yes, that’s what I thought. Just needed confirmation because these bastards can do anything really.

  “Another thing before I let you go, Agent Felix.” I say as I stare up at the structure before me. I’m faced with a lot of confrontation and I just know I won’t like any of it. My patience is already running thin and I can’t handle lies. Not today.

  “Since I’ve already practically lost my job anyway, shoot.” He breaths out but I’m not worried about it.

  “I’m going to need everything you have on Giovanni, blue prints of all the known residents occupied by the MIAMI syndicate.” I inform.

  “That won’t be hard to find out.”

  “Why is that?” I question.

  “Because as soon as you show their symbol—which I believe you have discovered already—then you can find what you are looking for.” He informs quietly. I get the feeling that he is only telling me this now because he feels as if he doesn’t have anything to lose anymore.

  “Thank you.” I say as I begin opening the door of the car, immediately making eye contact with the man I came to see.

  “If you do end up losing your job, or actually want to work in a place that appreciates your level of rare skills, you have my number.” I inform and at his stunned silence, I hang up.

  Time to get this over and done with.

  “That thunderous look on your face will kill you one day.” He says as I come up the couple of steps that lead to the side porch of the house by the lake.

  “You are wrong, it has kept me alive all this time.” I respond quietly. I watch as he takes me in, his body now frail and obviously weakened by the ordeal he has been through already. His hair is now more salt than pepper, his otherwise strong jaw now slack from all the time he spent not using it.

  “I would have liked to think this visit is going to be friendly but I know that look in your eyes.” My grandfather says as he studies my tense posture, the rigid set of my shoulders and the anger that pulses from me. He would know all about it, he taught me all of it.

  “I think it’s time for you to explain everything, don’t you think.” I say as I take a step closer to where he sits in his wheelchair.

  “Imagine my surprise to find out that you regained consciousness more than a week ago and never told anyone.” I grit out.

  “Oh please, as if you have ever known me to divulge my business prematurely.” He says with a chuckle that I once admired but don’t know what to think of anymore.

  “I have known you to be a lot of things but a liar isn’t one of them, until recently of course.” I say as I lower myself in the seat right in front of his. I want him to see the look on my face as I confront the man that I have blindly trusted all my life. I would have laid my life down for him, done anything for him. Yet here he is, with his sharp gaze taking me in.

  “I was going to let them tell you.” He says, waving a weak hand around the air as if what he is saying is common knowledge.

  I cock my head to the left watching him quietly. I don’t have time for all of this bullshit.

  “I have known all along that you regained consciousness. I have also known all about the cancer you had Dr. Brown hide from your family.” I say and if he is shocked by the revelation, he doesn’t show it.

  The man still impresses even me with his impassive poker face that rivals mine. You can never tell what he is thinking, yet I feel like I have a handle on the situation.

  “I can’t say it’s something I wanted you to know. I’m not proud of my decisions to keep you in the dark, but I can’t say I’ll ever apologize for any of them.”

  “Including having me find the long, lost daughter of a man you have pretended to be friends with all these years in order to get your own revenge huh?”

  Chapter 21

  Chloe

  I feel like I can't breathe, my lungs are constricted not allowing air to pass in and out freely. My gaze also begins to swarm and I realize that I’ve been holding my breath looking at this man for a while now.

  The man in question stands proud and tall. Almost as tall as Gideon but not quite. He has a smashing head of hair, salt and pepper, perfectly slicked back by some kind of fancy gel that doesn’t glimmer or shine with the overhead light. There are laugh lines around his eyes that betray the evil in his sharp eyes that are looking at me now. Eyes so much similar to mine.

  He looks to be around late fifties, early sixties but I can see the strength in his posture. The way he carries himself like he knows it all and that anyone who looks at him should fear him.

  “Interesting.” He rumbles out that one word as he observes me. I’m mute, wondering who on earth he is.

  “I really wasn’t done. . .” Tabitha interjects but her voice drags on into silence with a just a wave from the formidable and straight-out threatening man in front of me.

  He looks at me once more, then looks over at Sam—who is also frightened by him—but doesn’t say anything to her.

  “This is going to be one hell of a feast!” He says and then begins laughing. Have you ever heard a sinister, evil laugh before? One filled with malicious intent? That’s exactly how this man laughed now. I don’t know who he is, I have never seen him in my life but I can say with absolute certainty that this man. . .this man knows me. Or knows more about me.

  “Prepare them, and then bring them down.”

  “But. . .”

  “Silence!” He demands and the room immediately falls into dead quiet.

  “I’ve waited what seems to be decades for this, and tonight, I will finally get what I want!”

  “Who are you?” I question, my voice weak having had struggled against the tortures Tabitha has inflicted on me all this time.

  The man only looks at me, then turns to look at the men behind him then he starts laughing again without answering me, as if I asked a taboo question.

  Casting me one last curious look, he turns on his heel and leaves the room, still laughing and somehow with that sadistic laugh, fear grips me by the throat, a chill goes down my spine.

  There it is, the real reason I am here and the reason my life hangs in the balance.

  Before I can react in any way or before the tension that had settled in the room with the arrival of that man can dissipate—two men come forward, untying me from the chair that I have been strapped to for however long hours. From the corner of my eye, I see other men also untying Sam.

  I’m very much aware that this act is not to set us free but after they untie me from the metal chair, they force me to stand then move to stand either side of me, waiting.

  “What?” I question again.

  “You should start walking.” A small, timid voice says from the entrance and I lift my head up to see who just spoke. The harsh light from behind her has me squinting my eyes but I can make out a small figure standing by the doorway, standing with a soft posture as if waiting for me.

  I take her advice and start walking. Taking one step forward, I realize with great relief that I still have strength within me even though I feel weak. Each step that I take towards the open door, the two men beside me matc
h it and I glance to my right. Something about the man on my left is familiar though, but I have never seen these people in my life.

  “What do you want with us?” Sam spits out as she walks closer to the petite woman. I have no idea what happened to Tabitha or where she went but as I look around the room, I notice that she is gone.

  “Master said you are to come down to the party and as such, you have to be prepared accordingly.” The woman softly replies but for whatever reason, she can’t seem to look us in the eyes.

  She turns on her heel and quickly begins walking down a brightly lit passage way and I almost gasp as soon as I step outside the dingy room that we have been in all this time but Sam is not so successful, her gasp is loud and audible.

  “What the actual fuck?” Sam question as she looks up and down the passage way. Understandably because it’s really regal looking. There are priceless pieces of art hung up the perfectly painted walls. There are antique pieces of furniture dotting the long passage way and the splendor of it all is totally at odds with where we just came from.

  “Keep walking please, we don’t have time.”

  The woman instructs, already much further down the passage way than we are but I can’t get over where we are. It almost feels like we have entered another universe all together, as if our lives have transpired on to another place filled with class and timeless beauty.

  Someone nudges me from behind rather roughly and I turn to see one of the goons just pushed me. “Move.”

  “We are moving asshole.” Sam says as she takes my hand, dragging me after her. “Urgh, how did we get here Chloe? My mind is blank. One moment we were at that private airport and the next thing I know, I’m waking up to your howling screams.” Sam hurriedly whispers in my ear as we walk faster now, walking like sheep being led to the slaughter.

  “How are we going to get out of this?” Her grip on my hand tightens with each word and if she continues, she will soon cut off my blood circulation.

  “I don’t know, Sam. These people aren’t exactly friendly.”