by Lara Hunter
THE BRAZILIAN BILLIONAIRE’S BLACKMAIL BARGAIN
By Lara Hunter
And added touches by Holly Rayner
Copyright 2016 by Lara Hunter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.
All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.
Table Of Contents:
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
ONE
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I sighed in deep satisfaction, closing my eyes to the sounds of the surf gently hitting the shoreline. The chatter of happy sunbathers mixed with the crashing of the waves creating a sort of symphony. My favorite symphony. The smell of salt water and sunscreen filled my soul as very little else could. Life had definitely been worse.
I adjusted myself on my lounge chair, making sure the sun had access to every bit of skin that wasn’t covered in a skimpy bikini. That was how it went on Copacabana beach. The skimpier, the better.
Hearing giggling from a towel not far away, I turned my head, opening my eyes behind the big, dark shades I wore. A girl and a guy were flirting, with him squirting her liberally with sunscreen. She was trying her best to get him to behave himself, but it was a waste of time. He must be a little over stimulated, I thought, thanks to the many bodies walking and lounging around in varying degrees of undress.
God, what a beautiful day. I looked up at the nearly cloudless sky, smiling at the deep blue color. I had always wanted eyes that color instead of the dark eyes I’d inherited from my mother. The only clouds hung around the peaks of the mountains in the distance. Otherwise, the day was tailor-made for fun on the sand.
I didn’t particularly like sand, but I loved being near the ocean. It always did something to my soul, calming me in a way nothing else could. I felt most at ease when I was near the water, or even watching it from far away. It refreshed me. It spoke to something deep inside me.
What was it saying just then? That I was safe, that I had found my home-away-from-home. It had been three weeks since I’d arrived in Rio, three weeks of relaxation and recuperation after some tense times back home. I could start a new life. I had more than enough money to take care of myself, not to mention money to send home to Mom and Dad. It was time for me to reassess things. What better place to do it in?
I only wished the crystal-clear ocean waters could tell me what to do next. I was never one to rest on my laurels. One thing my boss had always enjoyed about me was my energy. It came right after my tenacity as the two qualities that had made me his best employee—and the one most likely to get into trouble.
No. I couldn’t think about that just then. I was too busy enjoying myself.
I shook my head, intent on observing the people around me, instead. Many of them looked a lot like me—something I had used to my advantage on first arriving. I could blend in seamlessly with the dark-haired, dark-eyed Brazilians thanks to Mom’s Portuguese heritage. For once, I was glad not to be blond-haired and blue-eyed; I would have hated fleeing to Sweden in the middle of winter. My body was a lot like theirs, too, thanks to the time I’d taken to work out and stay physically sharp. I saw a lot of high, firm butts and perky breasts in barely-there bathing suits, skin darkened by genetics and the sun.
Yes, it was the perfect place to get away, and I couldn’t have been luckier to be able to escape just when things had gotten a little sticky back home.
My phone rang and I frowned. Nobody ever called me. Nobody even knew where I was. I fished around in my beach bag for it, groaning when I saw the familiar number on the ID. What the hell did he want? I went back and forth between wanting to ignore him and wanting to find out what he needed. Why would he take the chance of calling me when he knew what was at stake?
The phone rang again. And again.
Finally, at the end of my patience, I answered.
“What is it, Frank?”
He chuckled. “Not the greeting I expected, Selena.”
I scowled. “What did you expect? And how the hell did you get this number? I got a new phone and everything.”
“You know me, babe. It’s my job to find out things like that.”
My eyes darted back and forth as I made sure nobody was listening in. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m retired? I don’t do that sort of work anymore. You have to forget I exist. Got it?”
“No can do, babe.”
I gritted my teeth. I hated when he called me that.
“And exactly why can you ‘no do’?”
He chuckled. I could almost see him in his little office. I’d only been there once, but once had been enough. For a man who made as much money as Frank did, he sure liked to play it off like he was poor. I guessed that was his cover. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was a sleazy, down-on-his-luck lawyer. The place was a hoarder’s dream come true, files everywhere. The calendar on the wall was three years out of date. It was his image. In reality, he was a high-priced mover and shaker in our world.
“No can do because this is an opportunity you won’t wanna miss.”
“I’m about two seconds away from hanging up on you, Frank.” I sat up, arms around my knees, phone between my ear and shoulder. Suddenly the day didn’t seem so beautiful. It seemed chilly, actually, even with the hot sun beating down on me. An opportunity for what? To get arrested?
“You do that, and you’d be shutting the door on one of the biggest opportunities of your life. One last job, babe. That’s it. With the money you’d make off of it, you wouldn’t have to work another day in your life.”
That got my interest.
“How much money are we talking here?”
“They wouldn’t say, but they assured me it was high six-figures.”
I gulped. “How high?”
“You can find that out on your own.”
“I really wish I didn’t have to do this again, Frank.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I already had too close of a call last time. It’s only been a few weeks.”
“It’s cooled down now,” he assured me.
“You’re not very convincing.”
“Trust me, babe. You have nothing to worry about here. If there was really an issue, I’d be out of the country, too.”
“You weren’t the one doing the dirty work.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure they could trace me if they wanted to. Besides, you won’t even have to leave Brazil. That’s where the company’s located.”
“Sure, but if somebody finds out a girl worked at a Brazilian company taken down the same way one was back in the States, they could put two and two together.”
“I didn’t know you could be such a chicken.”
His words made it sound like he was joking, but I knew better. I’d worked with Frank for far too long
to have any illusions about him. Besides, he would get a hefty commission off of my work. His ‘finder’s fee’. If I said no, he’d lose out.
“So? You in?”
High six figures. Who wouldn’t be in? I didn’t need much money—I’d been debt-free for over three years and lived a simple life. It was my parents I was most concerned about, always. They needed my help. If I could put away half a mil, it would be enough for them to retire on in style and still leave some for me.
“All right. I’ll meet with them, but this is just a discussion. I’m not trying to commit myself one way or the other until I find out everything I need to know about the job.”
“No can do,” he said again.
I rolled my eyes, holding back a groan of frustration. “Why not?”
“They don’t wanna meet in person. They made a big point of telling me that—must have repeated it three, four times.”
Hmm. I narrowed my eyes behind the big, round sunglasses, looking out at the waves as they came into shore. Over and over they came in. Even if they’d wanted to stay away, they couldn’t. Just like I couldn’t seem to stay away from my not-strictly-legal profession.
“That sounds a little sketchy.”
“The way I see it, they’re just trying to be careful. I mean, if they can afford your services, they’ve got a lot riding on this.”
I could see his point.
“Don’t send me into this with no idea what’s happening, Frank. You’ve gotta have something else for me. Anything.”
“Babe, they didn’t give me any more information than what I just shared with you. Not for lack of trying, either. I did my best. You gotta believe me.”
“Right, right.” I sighed, wishing I had a choice. The fact was, I’d started to wonder what I was going to do about Mom and Dad around a week into my forced vacation. I had money saved up, earmarked for them, but that money wouldn’t last forever. I had to keep it coming in somehow. After that, with them squared away, I could move on with my life and do things that didn’t involve skirting the law.
“You still there?” he asked.
“You know I am,” I smirked. “I’m sure you can hear my skin crisping in the sun.”
“I heard a lot of bouncing bodies, actually.” His nasty chuckle curdled my blood. He was old enough to be my father.
“Now that I’m completely grossed out, okay. I’ll give them a call.”
Frank rattled off the number, which I added to my contacts before ending the call.
I left the beach with a heavy heart. Not that I didn’t like the idea of the money—money being the only reason I got into that business in the first place—but I hated the thought of putting myself at risk again. Just when I thought I was out of it for good, too.
It seemed like there would never be an end to needing more, more. More money. More security. And at the end of the day, it was the easiest job in the world when put up against the amount I made for it. A few weeks or a month at a corporation, learning their secrets, before using those secrets to take the company down. Well, I didn’t do the actual taking down. My client did, once I gave them the status reports I so carefully crafted. I was one of the best, or so they told me. I knew how to find things out, just like Frank did.
Had it really been four years since I’d started? I thought back over that time as I walked across the white sand, finally reaching my hotel after what felt like forever. Probably because of my mood, I guessed. Anything would have seemed like a major inconvenience with the state of mind I was in.
I took a minute to rinse off under the shower behind the hotel, getting rid of the sand that always seemed to stick all over me no matter how careful I was to avoid it, then retreated to my room.
Yes, it had been four years. I’d been so disillusioned back then, losing my first and only job as a journalist only six months after landing it. There I was, thinking I’d work my way up at the news station. What a cruel wake-up call that had been. I shivered as I remembered the feeling when they’d fired me. “Cutbacks,” they’d said.
I dropped my bag on the floor once I reached my room, with its white curtains billowing in the sea breeze that blew in through the balcony doors. I went out there, soaking up all the sun and salt air I could. I wouldn’t be there much longer.
Sure, the work I’d done had gotten me out of debt—a good thing, since three months without a job had been murder on my credit cards, not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars in student loans hanging over my head. It had helped me provide for my parents. But it had also left me unable to look myself in the eye sometimes when I brushed my teeth. The people behind the corporations were just that. People. And I helped ruin their lives.
I turned away from the view of the beach, suddenly chilly again.
TWO
I stared at my phone, wondering if I should wait to call or jump right in.
After a shower and a change of clothes, plus some ceviche from room service, I felt better. My mind was a little clearer. I could think.
It only made sense, taking the job. If I did it well, I could get in and out of there in no time. Frank had assured me there were no problems with the law. Could I trust him? I prayed I could, because otherwise, I could be signing my own warrant.
No way. Everything’s going to be all right. I had to keep telling myself that if I had a hope of pulling off one more job. I couldn’t let fear get in the way any more than I could allow sentiment or sympathy to stop me. It never had before. No matter how badly I felt for taking down something somebody had worked hard to build, I had never stopped.
It had been easy in the beginning. That first job had been a piece of cake, an obvious good guy/bad guy sort of thing. I was a hero, taking down a greedy, lying, swindling CEO who’d fleeced the public and his employees for years. Getting the evidence together and handing it over to the client had almost been a pleasure, and when I’d seen the news reports on his trial I’d just about jumped for joy. I’d done that. I’d made it possible to take him down.
If only the entire world could be that black and white. If only there weren’t people who did bad things for good reasons. Sort of the way I lied and spied and made people trust me so that I could help destroy them at the will of the highest bidder.
I shook my head, clearing the memory. I needed to be on top of my game if I was going to gain the client’s trust. I’d already decided to take the job. I didn’t have much of a choice. I needed to be sharp, quick-witted, and able to ask the right questions.
There was a picture of my parents in my wallet. I was probably the only person my age in the world who carried an actual photo in their wallet, the way people did back in the day, but I couldn’t risk putting a photo of them on my Brazilian phone. I didn’t want to run the risk of anybody tracing me.
There they were. Smiling, happy, in the little apartment in the retirement village I’d set them up with years earlier. They could finally stop working themselves into an early grave. They were only in their late fifties, but could have passed for at least ten years older. I’d never seen either of them complain. I’d also never seen them take a vacation until I was the one paying for it. It had been a joy, taking care of them. They could finally rest and enjoy life. I owed them that much.
That was why I picked up my phone and dialed the number Frank gave me. My heart raced as I waited for them to answer the phone. Who would it be? A boardroom full of stuffed shirts, plotting their takeover of the world? The early stages of a job were always the most exciting. There were just so many possibilities.
“Hello.”
My eyes opened wide at the sound of the electronically altered voice. It was deep, low, and clearly coming through some sort of device. Creepy, really. The sort of thing a person usually heard in horror movies.
I forced myself to get over the surprise. “Hello. A friend of mine told me to call you. He said you have a job for me.”
“Yes. A job for someone of your considerable talents.”
Unnerving. I felt li
ke I was talking to a machine.
“What do you want me to do, exactly?”
A chuckle. “You are to infiltrate a Brazilian corporation by any and all means necessary. The De Rocha Medical Group.”
I took notes. “To what end?” I asked.
“You are to uncover evidence of illegal activity conducted by the company’s corrupt CEO, Lucas De Rocha.”
I wrote it all down, picturing the man in my head. Probably some fat cat hiking up the costs of healthcare for the poor of Brazil. The thought made my blood run cold.
“What’s the purpose of this?” I asked.
“What do you think, Selena?” came the sarcastic reply.
I managed to hold back a gasp. How did he know my name? I knew Frank was professional enough to keep personal information to himself. He would never give my name to a potential client without my permission. We didn’t have a deal yet. Whoever was on the other end of the line had the means to find out whatever they wanted. Of course, they also had the means to offer a lot of money for the job.