Billionaire Decoded

by Nella Tyler

  Then, Heather thought of something. "Is it this colonel from Bolivia or a member of his group that messed with my computer?"

  He shook his head. "From what my security has been able to find out, the answer is no, but it's probably somebody else that has dirt on me." He paused and avoided looking in her eyes.

  "What is it?" she said, her heart sinking. She had seen that loaded look. He wanted to tell her something else, but wasn't quite sure if he should. "You need to be honest with me, Brecken. What?"

  He sighed. "Unfortunately, my hiring you seemed to alert the suspicions of some."

  A cold sensation swept through her. "When do you mean?"

  "It's hard to explain, Heather. I guess in a nutshell, it means that anytime I do anything or make a change, people tend to get wary and suspicious. All I can tell you is that there have been some questions about why I hired you. I do have to say one thing, though – Alyson hit the nail on the head to a certain extent."

  "What do you mean?" she repeated, needing additional clarification.

  "As you can tell from our most recent liaison, I have feelings for you. Of course, those feelings are purely physical and emotional in nature. But there are some that are suspicious. They don't know you. You’re a new face in the company. So they're going to be watching you, too."

  Her heart skipped a beat. "What?" She couldn't believe it. Now, he was telling her this? Now? She frowned, backing up a step. "When were you going to tell me about all this, Brecken?" She shook her head. "I took the job at Shaw & Burks thinking it was one thing and now I find out it’s something else? Something a lot more questionable and probably dangerous?"

  She couldn't believe it. Despite her intense sexual attraction to Brecken and the wonderful time they had just shared together, this…this knowledge was not something she had expected. She glanced up at him, her eyes wide.

  "Am I in danger, Brecken?" she asked. “I need you to be completely honest. If I'm in any danger, or you even think I'll be in danger, you better tell me, right now."

  He nodded. "I understand, Heather that this comes as a shock. If you decide you don't want to work with me anymore, I'll understand, but confidentiality is a must. I can tell you that I have not divulged any information regarding United States military or the military of our allied countries that will put them in harm's way. I have gathered information about foreign militaries and passed it along to a contact I have in the State Department and sometimes to the CIA. Still, the majority of the public in general is not going to understand what I do or why."

  "To be honest, Brecken, I don't, either." She shook her head. "I don't want to do anything that puts myself or my family in danger."

  He nodded. "I understand. Heather, let’s walk back to Mabel’s. You can go home, think about what I told you, and then think about whether you want to continue working for me or not. Believe me, the accounts that you're dealing with have nothing to do with my secrets. Nothing. Just programming clients. I promise. Everything you've touched is on the up and up. I just want you to know that."

  She didn't know what to think. Her mind was spinning in a thousand different directions. Still, she wanted to believe and trust in what he had just told her. She was not involved in any illegal activity. "Brecken, I can't say I understand exactly why you're doing what you're doing, but if it's not harming American lives or any of the lives of our allies, I think I can believe in what you're doing…to an extent. As long as you're telling me the truth – and all of it. Have you left anything out?"

  "I've told you the truth, Heather, and I don't have anything left to hide."

  She caught a look in his eye and wondered briefly about that. He swallowed.

  "Come on, let's go back to the Bed and Breakfast. We can finish talking there if you want."

  Heather walked with Brecken, not sure what to think anymore. She wanted to hear more about him and what started him down this path. She wanted more details. What kind of secrets and confidential information was he trading and selling? She asked him that very question, and he said he would explain more when they got back to his room.

  When they returned, Mabel and John were still out. They walked inside and then up the stairs to his attic room. He unlocked the door, slid the key back into his pocket, and then entered, holding the door open for her. She followed, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore. She needed more information. She wasn't sure what to think.

  "Brecken, I'm not going to lie,” she said. “I'm confused. I'm torn. I want to believe you, to believe that what you're doing is right, but it I have a feeling that what you’ve told me is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to have a relationship with me, I'm going to need to know more about you, and I'm not sure where the best place to do that is here or down in Boston. I don't even know what I want to do right now.”

  Heather did know one thing. She didn't want to lose her job. That it wasn't turning out to be quite what she expected was an understatement. Still, he assured her that nothing she was working on had anything to do with the more secretive part of his business. Everything she was working on was legal. Should she believe him? Could she?

  He sat down on the bed and then patted the quilt beside him. She sat down, her leg so close to his that she could feel his warmth. She wanted to unravel the mystery of Brecken Shaw. What made him tick? Navy SEALs were trained to adhere to a code of honor. Had he broken that code? Or was he merely taking it to the next level?

  "Ask me anything you want, Heather. I'll answer."

  She thought a minute. "Do your parents know what you're doing, really?"

  He sighed and shook his head. "My mom died when I was a teenager. My dad… He had his own company. He made millions as a commodities trader. My dad was smart, driven, and dedicated." He glanced down at her. "You know that Formula One drag strip I took you to?"

  Heather nodded.

  "He used to take me out there. We used a hang out together all the time until Mom died. Then, my dad changed. Nothing made him happy, not even me." He was quiet for several moments. "By the time I graduated from high school and went to college, we rarely spoke. We drifted apart so far I didn't know if we would ever be able to come to a meeting of the minds again. Then, just before my last mission in Afghanistan, he died."

  "I'm so sorry," Heather said, meaning it. The thought of either of her parents dying sent a shiver of horror through her. She couldn't imagine life without her parents.

  "I guess you could say I've never forgiven him."

  “Forgiven him for what?" she asked.

  "For never being happy with me, for never telling me he was proud of me. When I completed BUDS training to become a SEAL, you know what he did?"

  Heather waited.

  "Nothing. He didn't come to the graduation. He sent me a card." He shook his head. "I was so angry with him, figured that he didn't care, that he wasn't proud of me. It was only later, after he died, that I found out that he couldn't come. He was going through intense chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer. He didn't want me to know."

  "You haven't forgiven him for dying before you guys could make up, reestablish a relationship," she said simply.

  He gave a slight shrug. "I suppose in a way that's true. The last memory I have speaking with my dad was him yelling at me on the phone, telling me that I wasn't good enough to take over his company. He was right. I was fucked up. That was just before I joined the Navy and applied for the SEAL program. After I graduated, I didn't hear from him for months."

  "You didn't know he was sick," she said.

  "And, I didn't make any efforts to open the lines of communication," he said honestly. "I'm stubborn, Heather, and my father was even more so. Now, it's too late."

  She could tell that he was deeply affected not only by his father's passing, but the fact that his father had passed when they'd been estranged. "Everyone makes mistakes, Brecken. I'm sure that your father loved you. The point is that we need to learn from our mistakes. Once you have children of your own, I
'm sure that you'll do your best to make sure that they’re a part of your life, not repeat the same mistakes that drove you and your father apart."

  *

  Heather and Brecken ended up talking late into the afternoon and then into the evening. Before she knew it, they were both lying down on his bed together. She had fallen asleep in his arms. When she woke up, she looked up at the ceiling, confused. She turned her head and remembered where she was. He stood by the window, but slightly off to the side, looking down at something on the street.

  "Oh my goodness! I have to get home. What time is it?"

  Brecken turned from the window and smiled down at her. "About seven. Heather, I think it's best if my driver takes you back down to Boston today. Just to be on the safe side."

  Heather climbed off the bed and moved toward Brecken. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest. "Why would you think that?"

  He wordlessly gestured toward the window with his chin. She moved toward it, careful to stay off to the side. Her eyes widened. She saw a man across the street, just standing there. "Brecken, that guy… That's the guy that was watching me, taking pictures!"

  "They must've followed me here," he said.

  "They?"

  Her heart was pounding in alarm as she watched as Brecken pull his phone from his pocket. He called someone. Within a few minutes, she heard the rumble of a truck coming around the corner. A Ford 250 or something. She glanced out the window and watched as two men got out of the truck, looking competent and tough. Ex-military buddies of Brecken's? She wasn't sure, but what she did know was that the tall man in the suit quickly left.

  As soon as the mysterious man was out of sight, Brecken hustled Heather downstairs. "I'm going to have my guys take you down to Boston-"

  "Brecken, my stuff is at my parent’s house. I haven't even said goodbye!"

  "You can call them later, can't you?" He shook his head. "I honestly feel that it would be safer for everybody, for now at least, if you just go back down to Boston."

  She began to feel sick to her stomach. Within the next minute, she had been hustled downstairs and was climbing into the back seat of the crew cab truck with two complete strangers. They were large, muscular, and quiet.

  Brecken spoke to the driver. "Take her back to her apartment in Boston. Watch over her."

  Before she could say a word, Brecken kissed her and then quickly shut the door. Her mind racing, she sat in her seat as the truck pulled away from the sidewalk. She turned to watch through the back window, as his silhouette grew smaller as they drove away. He disappeared completely when they pulled around the corner.

  What the hell? She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, thinking to call her mom, let her know that she had an emergency and had to get back to Boston.

  "Don't call yet," the driver said, glancing in the rearview mirror. "In fact, give me your phone."

  The guy sitting in the front passenger seat turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Take the battery out of your phone. You can put it back in when we get to Boston and call your folks."

  For a second, Heather hesitated, but then she did as directed. If the battery was out of her phone, her phone couldn't be pinged. She knew that much. What the hell was going on? In less than two weeks, her life was no longer her own. And all because of Brecken? All because she had gone in for that interview?

  The journey back to Boston didn't take as long as she thought it would. The entire way, her mind whirled with questions and uncertainties. By the time they arrived at her building and then entered her apartment, with two men behind her, she was beginning to have serious doubts. Those doubts only increased when they walked to her windows and drew the curtains.

  To say that she was growing afraid was an understatement. They had told her on the way down that they would stay with her to make sure that everything was safe. Safe from what, she wondered. She had been wound tight the moment she had seen the strange man outside of Mabel’s. She couldn't relax with these men, either. She was afraid and readily admitted it to herself, her heart pounding and her hands trembling.

  "You guys are making me nervous," she finally snapped.

  The driver of the car just looked at her. "It's not our job to keep your emotions in check, Heather, it's our job to protect you."

  “Protect me from what?” she demanded. Neither answered. She sat down on her couch, staring at them as they stared out her windows, standing off to the sides. She finally shook her head. She reached into her pocket and retrieved her cell phone and the battery, popping the battery back into place.

  "Brecken already called your parents, told them that you had to come home early for work reasons."

  Heather stared at him in stunned amazement. She wondered how that conversation would've gone, knowing her father's reservations about Brecken. She didn't know how this had happened, when everything had suddenly spun out of control. One minute she was working in the billing department, and now she was embroiled in international intrigue, secrets, and God only knew what else?

  Despite her weariness, her emotions and imagination ran wild. How long did those two guys think they were going to stay inside her apartment? After what seemed like a couple of hours, but to her surprise had only been fifteen minutes, she rose from the sofa and move toward the window.

  To her surprise the guy who had driven the truck stepped in front of her and wordlessly pointed back to the sofa. She stiffened her back, frowning, wondering what the hell was going on. She sat like that for the next hour, but then she'd had enough. She stood. Her blood boiled.

  "I want you to leave,” she ordered. “Now.” She didn't want them in her house. She didn't need bodyguards or whatever the hell they were. In fact, she didn't want to deal with any of this.

  The other man turned to her with a guarded expression. "Did Brecken say he was going anywhere?"

  She stared up at him in amazement. “How the hell should I know what Brecken is doing? I don’t even know what's going on!"

  She stepped to the sofa and retrieved her phone, surprised to see a missed call from Brecken. He must've tried to call when the battery was out of her phone. "He called me. I'll call him back." His phone rang, but he didn't pick up. She glanced at both men standing near her windows, both watching her. She didn't like this. In fact, she was definitely regretting her decision to take the job at Shaw & Burks. She could've kicked herself for being attracted to him, having sex with him – on the floor, no less – no matter how wonderful it had been.

  Again she told the men to leave, but they merely stared at her, crossing their arms over their chests. What the hell? Were they bodyguards or…or something else? And then, thinking back to her interview, she recalled that Brecken had only asked her a few questions. One of them had been rather odd, but he said that he had learned everything he needed to know about her from that one question.

  "What are you like?"

  Chapter 8

  The moment the truck bearing Heather disappeared around the corner, Brecken was on his phone again, calling the local airfield. Someone knew where he was, where Heather was. Had someone followed Heather up here? How could they? She'd taken his private jet. So had he, so who the hell was tracking him, and how?

  "Get the helicopter ready," he said as soon as his call was answered. He would take the rental car and return it to the agency at the airport. By the time he got there, his chopper would be there waiting for him. Before he left the picturesque street, however, he took his cell phone apart, double checked it, and made sure there was no tracking device in it. There wasn't. He put it back together with a frown.

  What the hell was going on? He didn't like the fact that someone had been following him. Could it be the Bolivians? He didn't put anything past them. Again, he realized that he had made many enemies, and many people who wanted to take him down. Still, he always tried to be careful. He made sure that his security team had the latest equipment and technology at their disposal to ensure that he was
protected.

  He was out in the middle of nowhere in New England. How the hell had anybody managed to track him up here? He’d left his jet and rented a car. Nobody knew what car he was going to rent. Someone would have had to follow him out to the parking lot to place a tracking device on it. No one had. So how had he been found? He decided then that someone must have been tracking Heather's movements. He wasn't sure how. He was not about to call her. If someone had put a track and trace on his line, or hers, he didn't want to say anything or even imply that he and she were in any way connected.

  Then again, if somebody were up here watching them, they would have seen her go into the Bed and Breakfast. They would have been watched afterward when they ventured to the park, and then back. He wasn't happy.

  On the way back to the airfield, he called his head of security. "How the hell did someone managed to track me?" he demanded.

  "Sir, I don't-"

  "Find out, and fast." He disconnected the call and slid his phone back into his pocket.

  Despite his concerns and his annoyance with his security team, he kept thinking back to Heather. Making love to her had been glorious. She had given as well as she had received. While not as experienced as his former fiancée, what she did offer was honest and heartfelt. Just thinking about her got him hardening again and he forced itself to focus his thoughts on the winding road that wound its way through the New Hampshire wilderness on the road back to Manchester.

  He wished he could have stayed up here longer. It was beautiful, just as she had told him. It was also peaceful and serene. While he never would've thought of coming up here on his own, visiting the region and spending time with Heather was certainly something he would do again if he had the opportunity – hopefully sooner rather than later.

  If only he had made a few different decisions. If only he could somehow be rid of Alyson. He had a sinking feeling that she would hang like an albatross around his neck until he figured out a way to get her to move on. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that Alyson could turn into such a pain in the ass. She was close to the stalker stage, but because she was a half-partner in the business, he knew there was no way in hell he was going to get rid of her.