Billionaire at Sea 2

by K. L. Middleton

  “My sentiments exactly,” I said.

  One of the gunmen on the yacht helped tie the ships together. Then I watched as four of them climbed over to our side. The one in front, who I presumed to be the leader, had the most gruesome of all the masks. I had to admit, it was so bad that it almost made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Only because I knew how terrified Jake would have been in his company.

  “Where’s my son?” I said to the group.

  “Somewhere safe,” replied the leader. I noticed that he was no longer using a synthesizer but his voice was still muffled from the mask and unrecognizable. I somehow had a feeling that I knew him.

  “What is it that you want?” I asked.

  “Money,” he replied. “Like I said before.”

  “How much?”

  “Aren’t you going to ask me about the other guests that I have?” he asked, sounding more amused than anything.

  I looked over toward the Carver. “Where are they?” I asked, hoping that they were alive.

  The leader waved his hand toward the boat. A few seconds later, Mia and Ridley were escorted out of the salon.

  They were alive.

  I sighed in relief.

  “Where’s Jeff?” I asked, watching as two gunmen brought the women to my yacht.

  He chuckled. “He’s doing just fine. Aren’t you, Jeff?”

  One of the clowns removed their mask. It was Jeff.

  My blood began to boil. “You? Why?” I snapped angrily.

  “Because I’m sick of rich bastards like you who think they own the world,” said my officer-on-watch with a vehemence that surprised me. “Throwing your money around like it’s nothing while the rest of us struggle with bills.”

  “You don’t seem to be doing too badly,” I said, glaring at him. “You drive a BMW and I’ve heard you talk about your home. If you’re struggling financially maybe you should reevaluate your spending habits instead of committing a felony.”

  “Easy for you to say,” said Jeff, staring at me with hatred. “You were handed your fortune on a silver platter. As far as your baseball career, that’s not real work. That’s getting highly overpaid to play a goddamn sport.”

  “At least it was done honestly,” said Ransom.

  Jeff grunted. “Don’t even let me get started on you, Mr. Hollywood. The only struggles you’ve ever faced had to do with figuring out which chick to bang or being sober enough to remember the words to your songs during a concert.”

  “Says the man who’s involved with kidnapping a little boy,” Ransom said, not looking at all bothered by Jeff’s words. “By the way, I cleaned up my act. You, on the other hand, will have to live with this for the rest of your life, especially if someone gets hurt.”

  “Okay, enough of the bullshit,” interrupted the clown in charge. “We don’t have all day. Let’s get down to business.”

  “I agree,” I replied, my head ready to explode. “Now, who are you and what in the hell do you want?”

  “You really haven’t figure it out yet?” said the leader.

  “The only thing I’ve figured out is that you’re a bunch of clowns and nothing about this is funny,” I replied.

  “Humor is definitely not our intent.” He pulled off his mask and it was like taking a sledgehammer to the gut. I knew that he was an asshole but this blew me away. “John? What in the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m getting paid. That’s what I’m doing. Only, I’m going to need a much bigger paycheck to heal my broken heart, since you moved in on my girl.”

  “You know him?” exclaimed Marshall.

  I glared at John. “Your girl? If I remember correctly, you traded her in for a cheap, trashy bimbo. That’s your girl now and very fitting for a scumbag like you.”

  He ignored my dig. “You wanted Mia ever since you noticed the picture on my desk. Just like a vulture, you swooped in and played Prince Charming. Looks like you’re just as much of a player off of the field as you were on it.”

  “I didn’t steal anything,” I said angrily. “You stole my son and you lost Mia all by yourself because you’re a stupid asshole who can’t handle a woman with more brains than you.”

  The look on John’s face gave his next move away. He tried taking a swing at me but I averted it.

  Marshall chuckled.

  Ransom grunted.

  Humiliated, John tried attacking me. This time I blocked his punch and then put him in a head-lock.

  10

  Damian

  Chuckles cocked his gun and screamed for me to let John go.

  I did what he ordered and then backed away.

  John turned around. “I should kill you,” he said, his face red.

  “Then you won’t get paid,” reminded Marshall.

  John growled in the back of his throat. “She’s not worth it anyway,” he said, staring at me with hatred. “You can have my leftovers. By the way, did I tell you that I also had your ex, Marissa?”

  My eye twitched.

  He grinned evilly. “We still keep in touch. How do you think I found out where to find your son this weekend?”

  Enraged, I launched toward him, but Ransom quickly got between us.

  “Get ahold of yourself, Damian,” he said angrily, pushing me backward. “This isn’t helping anyone. Especially not Jake.”

  Shaking with rage, I dug my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from pounding the smirk off of John’s face.

  “Listen to him,” warned Chuckles. “And calm your shit down or your son will pay for your little temper tantrum.”

  I let out a ragged breath, promising myself that if Jake and I got out of this alive, I’d scour the ends of the earth to find John. I’d make him pay for crossing me.

  “How much money do you want?” asked Ransom, turning to John.

  John reached into the pocket of his coveralls and pulled out two envelopes. He handed one to Ransom and the other to me. I opened mine and there was a dollar amount, along with the instructions on where to have it wired.

  Fifty million dollars.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered angrily.

  “I was going to ask for more, but then I knew it would take a lot longer to gather. So, I went with what I knew you had on hand,” he replied.

  “Are you kidding me? I don’t have this kind of money on hand!” I said angrily.

  “Yes, you do. By the way, did I mention that my associates and I met with your personal accountant last night? Unfortunately, after our meeting, his car went over a cliff. I’m thinking that it had something to do with the brakes,” said John, biting his lower lip. He grinned. “On a happier note – he did verify that you have enough funds available before his untimely death. You just need to do a little transferring.”

  I stared at him in horror. They’d murdered my accountant? “Is this really true?”

  He nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so. If you don’t believe me, you might be able to Google it. From what I hear, the media has already gotten wind of it.”

  “You’re a madman!” said Mia, approaching us. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

  “That’s a little harsh. After all, I was just following orders,” said John.

  In other words, he wasn’t the one at the top of the chain. That was even more troubling.

  “That doesn’t make you any less crazy,” she mumbled.

  “From your perspective, I imagine not.” John sighed and looked at me. “You have until six p.m. to get your funds wired. Don’t miss the deadline or your son will die.”

  “Before I do anything, I want proof that Jake is still alive. I need to speak with him,” I demanded.

  “I figured as much,” he replied, reaching into his coveralls. John swore. “I’ll be right back. I left my phone on the boat.”

  As he walked away from us, Ransom showed me his note. The demand was for ten million dollars.

  “I’ll pay you back,” I told him.

  He didn’t reply.

  �
�Damian,” said Mia, touching my wrist.

  I looked at her. “Are you okay?” I asked, studying her face for bruises. I’d noticed that Ridley had some on hers.

  “I’m fine,” she said, her eyes searching mine. “I’m so sorry that this has happened. It’s all my fault.”

  “It’s not,” I said firmly. “Don’t blame yourself for any of this. This plan was obviously in the works long before you and I met.”

  “He’s always been a prick,” muttered Ridley.

  “Are you okay?” asked Marshall, staring at her face with concern.

  She nodded.

  “Which one of the bastards did that to you? John?” he asked in a low voice.

  Ridley touched her bruises and winced. “Yes. Who else? Is it that bad?”

  “It looks painful,” replied Mia. “I wanted to kill him when he hit you.”

  “You and me both,” she said, glaring at John who was returning.

  “As far as I’m concerned, he is a dead man,” mumbled Marshall.

  “Are we having a powwow over here, or what?” snapped John, frowning at the five of us.

  “We were discussing cowards. You know, the kind who resort to slapping around women to feel powerful?” said Ransom.

  John ignored him. “Put the boy on,” he muttered into the phone. After a few seconds, he handed it to me. “You have twenty seconds.”

  “Hello?” I said.

  “Dad, is that you?” exclaimed Jake.

  I felt so overwhelmed with my emotions that I had to turn my back on everyone. “Yes. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I just want to go home,” he said.

  “I know. Has anyone hurt you?”

  “No. When can I go home?” he whined.

  “Soon,” I said, my voice husky. “I love you, Jake.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.”

  The line went dead before I could say anything more. Letting out a ragged sigh, I handed the phone back to John.

  He stuck it into his pocket. “Now, here is the deal –

  I’m leaving you with my men. You have until six p.m. to wire the funds, and no later.”

  “How do I know that you’re going to release my son?” I asked.

  “Because Mia and I are going to go and get him. Aren’t we, Mia?” he said.

  Mia’s eyes widened. “What?”

  John reached out and grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.”

  “No. Let her stay!” hollered Ridley, coming to life. “Mia, don’t go with him. He’ll kill you.”

  “I’m not going to kill her,” he said. “Unless she gives me reason to.”

  Ridley glared at him. “Bullshit. You said there would be no witnesses.” She looked at me. “I’m sure that means he’s going to kill your son, too.”

  “You know nothing about my plans, so save your breath,” John said angrily.

  “Actually, I heard him say the same thing,” said Mia quietly.

  “It was a scare tactic to keep you both quiet,” said John, looking like he was ready to explode again. “Of course we’ll let the boy go. That’s what this is all about, right?”

  “Why isn’t he with you now?” asked Ridley. “It really makes no sense that John left Jake behind in the first place. Unless he’s never giving him back.”

  I had to agree. It seemed like a huge waste of time.

  John turned to Chuckles. “Give me your gun. I’ve had it with this one. She’s too much of a troublemaker.”

  “No! Please, John,” begged Mia, looking panicked. “Don’t hurt her. I‘ll go anywhere you want.”

  He stared at Ridley with loathing.

  “Please,” Mia repeated, her eyes brimming with tears. “I swear to God, I will do anything you ask, just don’t kill her. She’s like a sister to me. Please.”

  “You kill her and you’re not getting any money from me,” I said, glaring at John.

  He let out frustrated growl. “Fine, but if she says one more word to me, I’m going to make sure it’s her last. Come on, Mia. Let’s go and get Jake.”

  “No. Mia stays,” I replied, stepping between them.

  Two of John’s men stepped closer to me, their rifles raised.

  He gave me a smug smile. “See, you seem to keep forgetting that you’re not the one calling the shots. I have your son and trying to play hero to Mia isn’t going to benefit him. If anything, it’s going to make things much worse. Now, before you get him, yourself, or Mia, for that matter, killed, I’d back the fuck up.”

  I stared at her helplessly. Something told me that if I let Mia go with him, it would be the last time I’d see her alive.

  “It’s okay,” she said, giving me a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.

  I glared at him. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  John gave me a cold smile. “Come on, Mia,” he said, pulling her away. “Let’s go and catch up on things.”

  11

  Jake

  There were two of them with me – Dan and another guy I hadn’t seen before. He wore one of the spooky clown masks and Dan kept calling him Peter.

  After they let me talk to my dad, I was taken back into the bedroom.

  “You didn’t eat all of your food, Bud,” said Dan, looking into my Happy Meal box. I’d wrapped the half-eaten cheeseburger back up and had only touched a few of the fries.

  “I’m not very hungry.” I sat down on the bed and brought my knees to my chest. “When can I go home?”

  “When your dad sends us the money,” he replied.

  I frowned. “How much?”

  “One hundred-thousand dollars,” he said.

  “Do you get some of it?”

  He nodded. “Yes. We’re splitting it. I’m getting ten-thousand dollars.”

  “Hey, what did I tell you, dumbass?” said Peter angrily as he walked into the bedroom. “Quit talking to him.”

  Dan’s head slunk down. “I’m sorry. I keep forgetting.”

  Peter cuffed the back of his head.

  He gasped. “Ouch. That hurt!”

  “I swear to God, if you weren’t family, you’d be in much more pain than that. Now, get out of here!”

  Dan’s eyes filled with tears. Silently, he left the room.

  Peter looked at me.

  I quickly lowered my eyes.

  He walked out and shut the door behind him.

  Relaxing, I lay back down on the bed, wishing that my dad would hurry and pay the men the money so that I could go home. After a few minutes, I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off.

  ***

  Sometime later, a loud noise woke me.

  “No, we can’t do that!” hollered Dan from the other room.

  “Keep your voice down,” ordered Peter loudly. “You’ll wake him.”

  “But, he’s just a –”

  “Shut up!” growled Peter.

  “But…”

  There was a loud slapping noise and then I heard Dan crying. I’d never heard a man cry and it scared me.

  “I’m sorry,” said Peter, lowering his voice. “But, you have to keep your shit together.”

  Feeling anxious for Dan, I got out of the bed and listened at the doorway.

  “I thought we were going to bring him to his dad?” Dan asked, after several seconds.

  “No. We’re not doing anything. In fact, John is on his way for the kid,” he murmured.

  “Will he kill him?” whispered Dan loudly.

  I sucked in my breath. Kill me?!

  “Quit worrying about the boy. You’ll never see the little shit again anyway.”

  I began to tremble. Were they really going to kill me after all of this?

  “You said that nobody was going to get hurt,” Dan said sounding upset again.

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen to him. He’ll probably go home. But then again, I don’t know for sure. Now, stop worrying about this kid and think about the money we’ll be getting. Think about that new bicycle you wanted. You know, the one that we couldn’t affo
rd before? After this week, we could buy you as many as you wanted.”

  One of their phones began to ring.

  “Hey, what’s up?” asked Peter, his voice much friendlier. I couldn’t tell who he was talking to, but he told the person on the phone that he loved them before hanging up.

  “Was that her?” asked Dan.

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t like her. She’s not very nice,” pouted Dan.

  “Soon you won’t have to worry about her or the kid. By the way, she’s heading on over.”

  “What if she lets him out?”

  “She won’t. She just wants to know that he’s okay.”

  I frowned. Who was she?

  “Can’t you just tell her over the phone?” said Dan. “So, she doesn’t have to come out here? I hate that woman.”

  Peter grunted. “Obviously. She’s coming over so deal with it. Just stay out of her way.”

  Dan sighed.

  Peter let out a long sigh. “I’m going outside to have a smoke.”

  “Okay.”

  I heard him leave the house, so I walked back over to the bed. I still wasn’t sure who they were talking about, but she sounded nice. At least about me.

  The bedroom door opened and Dan walked in.

  “Hey, little guy. You sleep okay?” he asked, staring at me with concern.

  I nodded. “I miss my dad. Please, don’t let them kill me.”

  Dan’s face fell. “Nobody is going to kill you.”

  My eyes filled with tears. I could tell from the way he was looking at me that he was only trying to make me feel better. Just like my dad had when he’d told me about divorcing my mother.

  “That’s a lie,” I said, staring up at him. “You’re not taking me to my dad. That John guy is going to kill me.”

  Dan looked horrified. He shook his head quickly. “No, Jake. Nobody is going to hurt you. In fact, John is going to take you to your dad.”

  “Why can’t you?” I asked him. He was the only person that I trusted. I could tell by the way he acted that he didn’t want to hurt me.

  “I just can’t. But, John will. That’s what my brother said.”

  “What if John doesn’t?”

  “Don’t worry, bud. He has to. Your dad isn’t going to give up the money if John doesn’t deliver you to him.”