I hope you enjoyed Luke and Judith’s love story. I’d appreciate it if you would leave a review here before you forget.
On the next page is the first chapter of Hiding with the Billionaire, the first in the Billionaires of REKD series about four Harvard graduates.
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The Billionaires of REKD is a side series of the Safe Harbors series which features more clean romances with happily-ever-afters. Also following is the first chapter of A Change of Plans, the first book in the Safe Harbors series.
Lyn wants to move on. She just doesn’t realize it will take pirates, shipwreck, and an intriguing surgeon to do it.
Chapter 1: Hiding with the Billionaire
In spite of the warmth of the Arizona spring, Ahri Meisner held her cold hands to her chest, fear battling frustration, as her husband frantically threw his clothes into a suitcase.
“What’s going on, Zed?” She kept her voice level. When he was like this, it never helped if she showed her emotions. “Where are you going this time?”
“It’s business.” He refused to look at her, which wasn’t a good sign and shot her anxiety even higher.
Ahri had never seen him so agitated before, and that was saying a lot, considering how Zed had been acting lately. What had he gotten himself into? She wished for the time when he’d have trusted her with it, when they’d first married. They’d told each other everything back then. The way he’d started pulling back from her had been gradual, subtle. She hadn’t recognized it until he’d taken the new job last year.
“Why won’t you tell me anything?” She stepped closer.
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
Better if she didn’t know? She watched him grab his socks from his dresser and toss them into the suitcase. It was like she was staring at a stranger; she didn’t feel like she knew him at all anymore.
Last year, when he’d started working late or attending meetings out of town, she’d thought it was just the new job. She’d tried to get him to talk about what he was working on, but he would always turn secretive. Why? He was a certified public accountant. It wasn’t like she was asking for client information.
That had been when she’d first considered that there might be someone else. The thought had paralyzed her for a while. Was this what her mother had gone through, seeing the signs and watching her husband pull away from her, unable to do anything to stop it?
Finally, in desperation, Ahri’d asked Zed straight out if he was seeing someone else. He’d told her to stop being stupid. His response had been so indignant, so honest, that she’d believed him. The confrontation hadn’t stopped his secretiveness though or kept him from moving into the spare bedroom.
They’d stopped going out, both as a couple and individually with friends. It was like they existed in two bubbles within a bubble, excluded from anyone who’d once mattered to them and separated from each other.
With Zed out late at business meetings or away on business trips, she’d sat home alone as a distraction from her pathetic life and played the game her brother had helped create. The few friends she’d had left hadn’t been able to talk her into going out with them.
She’d floated in a kind of limbo, unable to fix her marriage but refusing to move out, not after what her father’s leaving had done to her mother. Once upon a time, Ahri and Zed had been friends, and friends didn’t run out on each other.
“Have you done something illegal?” she asked.
Zed zipped up the suitcase and faced her. Her throat went dry at the anguish in his expression.
“Please tell me,” she whispered.
“We’re done.” He picked up the bag, seeming to steel himself, determination closing him off from her with a finality so firm it was like he’d turned a key in a lock. “I’m leaving, and it’s not safe for you to stay here either.”
A cold chill went down Ahri’s spine. It seemed like she was standing on the edge of a cliff that had started crumbling underneath her, and she was about to plunge into the chasm below.
“Why do I need to go somewhere?”
“Will you stop asking stupid questions?” Zed shouted. “I told you it’s not safe. Can your mother take you?”
Take her, not stay with her. Ahri felt stupid, like her brain couldn’t make sense of his words. He wasn’t just going on a business trip; he was leaving her. How ironic since she’d been debating leaving him for six months.
“I can’t go to her,” she said, raising her voice for the first time. “Don’t you ever listen anymore? She moved back to Korea last month.”
“Call your brother then.” Zed didn’t spare the sneer he always used whenever he mentioned Kayn. “He’s got plenty of money to keep you safe.”
There was that word again. Safe.
“Zed, please. Are you okay?” She reached out to touch his arm, but he jerked away.
“Don’t you get it?” he hissed, the veins in his neck bulging and his expression crazed. “It’s over. We’re over.”
Ahri dropped her hand and stepped away. She bit back a bitter laugh. It’d been over from the moment he’d taken that new job.
“It’s been fun, but . . .” His words dropped off and he stared at her for a few seconds, his expression a myriad of emotions—sadness, regret, and something Ahri’d never seen there before. Fear. That was when she realized his hands were shaking as he walked away. Out of her life.
She didn’t know how long she stared at the quilt on his bed, rumpled from his frantic packing. Still numb, she walked into his bathroom. He’d been in such a hurry he hadn’t even taken his toothbrush.
Rafe Davis, CEO of REKD Gaming, stared at the computer monitor on his desk. Success might cause him to self-destruct like one of the champions from the battle arena video game that had helped to make him and his partners all billionaires. How could something that had seemed so incredible at the time have turned into a burden he didn’t know if he could shoulder anymore?
His gaze shifted to the folder on his screen that held the emails his assistant had diligently filtered. Maybe two assistants weren’t enough. He did have other staff members who carried a fair amount of his workload, but he wanted to spend more time working with the game’s writing team. His MBA from Harvard made him the perfect partner for the administrative part of the job, and he did it well. He just needed more, the creative outlet his friends had.
Rafe rubbed his temples against the growing headache. Once their launch into the world of Esports was complete, he could take some time from his admin duties. Until it was, he didn’t dare slack off. Their pro teams from various regions around the world were finishing up their spring splits online and then heading into the International Summer Invitational. REKD expected at least twice as many viewers worldwide as they’d had last year. It was going to be huge.
Glancing out the window, he took in the gardeners who were planting bright annuals in the flower beds. North Carolina had provided a mild morning, and one of the storyline teams sat outside, brainstorming. He wanted to be out there with them.
He let out a deep breath. As his mother was fond of saying, there is no rest for the weary.
“Rafe,” Kayn called as he burst into the office, “I need your help.”
“Mr. Rafferty,” Rafe’s assistant Olaf said, rushing in behind Rafe’s partner and head programmer. “I’m sorry, boss. He wouldn’t let me announce him.”
Rafe raised a hand to indicate he didn’t mind the interruption.
“I don’t know what to do,” Kayn said when Olaf had retreated from the office.
“Sit down.” Rafe’s headache ratcheted up. If Kayn’s programming team had run into a problem, it could delay the update. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s my sister.”
Rafe blinked and then let out a breath. He’d met Kayn’s sister many times when she’d visited Kayn at Harvard and later when she’d attended a few company events.
She’d been pleasant, if a little quiet, probably overwhelmed by her older brother’s good fortune. Pretty too. Rafe had found himself drawn to her unusual hazel-green eyes. He reminded himself that she was married.
“What’s going on with Ahri?” Rafe asked.
“She’s in some kind of trouble.” Kayn sat on the edge of his chair, his fingers tapping nervously on his leg. It must be serious if he was this upset. “I’ve told you what I think of her husband.”
“Has she finally decided to leave him?”
“Believe it or not, he left her.” A flash of anger crossed Kayn’s face. He jumped to his feet and started pacing. “It seems Zed’s gotten himself into some kind of trouble, and he told her she needed to get away.” He stopped in front of the desk, his jaw muscles working.
At the tone of his friend’s voice, the hairs on the back of Rafe’s neck stood up. The siblings were close, talking several times a week, but Kayn had never come across as overly protective. Was Kayn angry and afraid? Considering how much he disliked Ahri’s husband, it could be the former, but why the latter?
Rafe leaned forward. “What happened?”
“She said she thought she was being followed on her way to work yesterday.” Kayn started pacing again. “When she got home from work last night, already creeped out, she saw the police there. I guess a neighbor had scared off someone who’d broken into Ahri’s apartment. It’d been ransacked.”
Rafe rose and began pacing too. He wouldn’t allow his reason for being so vested in Ahri’s wellbeing to be anything more than because she was his friend’s sister. It had nothing to do with him being interested in her even before she’d gotten engaged. She was married. Or had been. He gave himself a mental shake.
“And she didn’t tell you about it until this morning?” Rafe asked.
“She said there’s been a rash of break-ins, and the police thought it was random. Then first thing this morning, she saw the same guy who’d been following her hanging around outside her apartment building. That’s when she called me. It’s also when I found out Zed had left her the night before.”
“You can’t trust her safety to coincidence.”
“I’m not going to. I have a mover coming this afternoon—had to pay out my teeth to get them to do it last minute.” Kayn paused and rubbed his face, looking weary for the first time.
“Take the jet and bring her back with you,” Rafe said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“I was hoping you’d say that. I know this isn’t business, but I’ll pay for the fuel and whatever else the accountants think is fair.”
“Don’t worry about it. You have plenty of room in your suite. Or, she can stay at my mother’s.”
“Boss?” Olaf asked hesitantly over the intercom.
“Good timing.” Rafe took his seat again. “Kayn will need the jet ready in an hour for a flight to Arizona.” He looked up. “Phoenix, right?”
“Yeah.” Kayn shifted uncomfortably. “That’s another problem.”
Rafe straightened, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“My team’s right on the cusp of getting this right, and I’m in the thick of it.”
“And you need to be here, or they’ll have to wait until you’re back.”
“Yeah.”
Rafe stared out the window and rubbed his temple again. A delay would cost them tens of thousands of dollars. He let out a breath. It didn’t matter. Family came first.
“Then we’ll roll it out late,” he said.
“We can’t. You’ve got all the marketing lined up.” Kayn’s voice turned hesitant. “There’s another option—you go instead of me,”
“Me?” Rafe jerked his gaze back to his friend.
“I wouldn’t entrust her to anyone else. I know you’ll make sure she gets here safely.”
“I don’t know . . .” Rafe said, staring at one of his closest friends. He and Kayn had met while taking a computer class at Harvard. When Rafe had found himself overwhelmed, computer whiz Kayn had come to the rescue. They’d hit it off and been friends ever since, and he’d been there for Rafe when Tess had ditched him. He was flattered that Kayn would trust him with something this important, but didn’t a distraught woman need her brother at a time like this?
“I already asked her if you could bring her back here instead.” Kayn raised his hands at Rafe’s expression. “I feel guilty enough, but she’s tougher than you might think. When our father abandoned us, she’s the one who kept us together. Our mother was an emotional mess. If not for Ahri making her pull it together, we’d probably have ended up in foster care.”
“Um, boss?” Olaf said over the intercom.
“Hang on, Olaf.” He glanced at Kayn. “You’re sure she’s okay with the substitution?”
“Her exact words were: Just get someone here right away.” Kayn shrugged.
“All right then.” Rafe reached for his keyboard. “Olaf, please clear my schedule for today and most of tomorrow. There’s nothing on my calendar that can’t be postponed.”
“Thank you.” Kayn was already backing toward the door. “I’ll get back to work. I owe you, man.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Rafe called after his retreating back before turning to the intercom. “Olaf, please order a car too.”
“Already done, boss.”
Rafe grinned. He doubted there was anyone as efficient as Olaf at this job.
“I need a suite with two bedrooms for one night. I’ve been wanting to check out that Phoenix gaming den anyway. I’d like to see for myself how people are liking our more recent updates.”
“Good plan.”
“And please see if Bill Ryze is available to come,” Rafe added.
“Security?”
“It’s a sensitive issue.”
“Understood.” Olaf hung up but then appeared at the office door, looking hesitant. “Um . . . I know this is bad timing, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yes?” Rafe braced himself.
“I’m giving notice.” Olaf’s voice had gone soft, like he was a little kid who was having to confess something.
Rafe’s headache spiked, his heart sinking. Cass, his other assistant, was expecting a baby soon and would be off work for the twelve weeks after. When Olaf had been placed on the waiting list for law school in the fall, Rafe had thought he’d have more time to find and train a replacement.
“I’m guessing a place opened up.”
“Yes.” Olaf’s excitement burst through his reticence. “I just found out last night. Since they’re accepting me so late, I’m on a time crunch. I’m really sorry to just drop this on you.”
“How much longer do I have you?” Rafe rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Until the end of the week. I have to be on the road first thing Saturday morning.”
“At least I’ll be back in time to say goodbye before you abandon us.” Rafe tried unsuccessfully to make it sound lighthearted.
“Ah, boss . . .” Olaf sounded sincerely regretful. “It’s really been a pleasure to work for you. I’ve learned so much.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Rafe was happy for the kid. “You’ll make a killer lawyer one day. Now get to work.”
“Okay, boss.”
Rafe leaned back in his chair. Could it get any worse?
Ahri Meisner’s on the run. Her hiding place may keep her safe from her husband’s murderers, but what about her heart?
Get Hiding with the Billionaire here.
Chapter 1: A Change of Plans
STARING AT THE CRUISE SHIP, a shiver of anticipation ran through me. After almost a year spent saving on a high school teacher’s salary, I could hardly believe we were here. Even the clank of luggage and supplies being loaded intensified my excitement, and I decided the rare blue Seattle sky had to be a good omen. Elle was right. This trip would be just the diversion I needed. But I would never admit that to her, or she would keep trying to run my life like she had since kindergarten.
I watched with amusement as she stretched up on her tiptoes, scanning the crowded dock. “Looking for handsome pirates?”
“Oh, please,” she snorted. “Modern pirates don’t look like Johnny Depp. Besides, there aren’t supposed to be any in the Pacific Ocean.”
“Johnny might be a little tall for you, anyway. Maybe we can find you a handsome Hobbit in New Zealand.” I kept a straight face.
She gave me a mock glare and opened her mouth to retort, but something caught her eye and her reply died on her lips.
“What’s wrong?” Alarmed, I started to turn around.
Elle grabbed my arm to stop me. “Don’t look, but there’s a guy over there watching you.”
“Sure he’s not watching you?” I tried not to peek in the direction she had indicated.
“I know when guys are watching me.” She wasn’t being arrogant, just honest, and after twenty years, I should have known better than to ask.
The man supposedly eyeing me had just finished checking in, and we ended up next to him and his group as we made our way to the ship.
He was tall. Really tall. At nearly six feet myself, I paid attention when guys were taller than me. I caught a whiff of pleasant cologne.
Elle gave him a sideways glance, and I casually turned my face in his general direction. He was looking at me. When our eyes met, he looked away and said something to a little girl whose hand he held.
“He’s cute,” Elle whispered.
That’s what she said about every guy she tried to set me up with. “Looks like he has a daughter.”
Elle shook her head, keeping her voice low. “I overheard them. The little girl called him uncle. She belongs to the couple he’s with.”
As we went up the gangway, I squinted at the ship’s balconies, wondering which one might be ours. I paused on the threshold and took a deep breath, hoping to capture this memory. The interior smelled like a hotel, lacking the engine stink I remembered from my single day-cruise experience. Several feet ahead, Elle signaled for me to catch up.
A Lady for Luke Page 12