The Beautiful Billionaire

LINDEN What the fuck?

“Klayton is dead.” I didn’t know what to feel, relieved of rage. I wanted to deny that he was dead. He couldn’t be- it was too merciful for that asshole.

“What? How?” My wife held my arm, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “He can’t. He didn’t deserve to die. He deserved to rot in jail for what he did to Dad, Qamar, and everyone he hurt.”

“I’m so sorry, Estelle.” I looked at her. Sometimes, the image of her on her knees with a gun pointed at her still tormented me, and my anger toward Klayton settled in my chest permanently.

“Boss.” Lynx walked in my direction. “You’re informed?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s going on?” Moses might have noticed the tension.

“I just received a call from the warden. Someone stabbed Klayton in the cell.”

“I can’t say he deserved it, but karma is real.” Qamar shrugged. He was still recovering from his stubbed wound.

“One bad guy gone isn’t a problem. Considering what he did to your wife and Mr. Bladwyn, I think that’s good. You deserve some peace.” Striker gripped my shoulder. “And you don’t have to look over your shoulder all the time.”

I felt my wife’s hand on my back as she said, “I thought I lost Dad, and I thought I was going to die. If killing isn’t a crime, I’ll do it myself, but still, that was mercy. He deserved worse.”

I wrapped my arms around her, hugged her tight, and pressed my lips against the top of her head. “I’m not worried about that, but who made the order.”

“It happens. When you’re a bad guy, and someone hears you pointed a gun at an innocent pregnant woman, you could be the target of mass convicts. Trust me, brother,” Striker said.

“It’s unsettling, but I have a bad feeling about this- this is personal. Someone did the job inside with an order from outside the prison.”

“We should be drinking Champagne. I know it’s terrible to celebrate one’s death, but he’s not a good guy. We’ll find out who did this, boss. Or do we?” Quinn said.

“What are you thinking, son?”

I looked at Gustav. It was the first time he called me son. “I’m sure Weston has a lot of enemies, rivals, and those families of the people who died in the shootout. Can you think of anyone?”

“I’d love to take the fall knowing Klayton and his father are dead. They’re greedy, manipulative, and monsters, but I have no idea who could order the kill.”

“You should stay out of this, Gustav.” Moses’s words caught my attention. “This is not your business anymore. Killing him might be a mercy after what he did to you, but it’s over. Just leave this issue alone. I will let you know if I find something.”

It was maybe hard to accept, but I had a family to protect. One dead Klayton was one less threat to my family and loved ones.

“He’s right, sir.” I nodded. Before I could say something more, my phone rang again.

I answered the call. “Linden.”

“Am I speaking to the great Gabriel Linden?” That unfamiliar authoritarian voice made the hair on my nape stand. My heart thundered in my chest, and my hand around my wife’s arm tightened.

“To whom am I speaking?” I shouldn’t have asked. The accent gave it all away- a thick Russian accent.

“We haven’t formally introduced Linden. The last time you paid my country a visit, my men were chasing you. People feared me, but you are not one of them. You came to my country and killed my men to save one man. I’d say that was admirable.”

“What do you hope to achieve, Vasilyev?” My chest rose and fell fast because I had a good idea why he suddenly reached out, and I shouldn’t have asked him that question when I wasn’t ready to hear his answer.

Everyone around me stopped dead in their tracks. Eyes pinned at me, filled with horror and shock, including Moses. My wife tightened her arms around me, gripping my jacket.

“I met Mr. Braddson, a powerful man he is. I admit I was a little intimidated. I was hoping I would meet you in person, but I had a feeling you had no idea he was meeting me. I wanted to shake your hand. It was a buzzkill, really, that you were not with him.”

“Get to the point, Vasilyev.”

“I made a deal with Mr. Braddson. I wouldn’t touch a few people around you, including Jakob Resnikov. He’s Jasper Greer to you. I would have killed him, not for betraying me, but for killing my relative, Yelena Ivanov.”

“He didn’t kill Yelena.”

“His father did, but they shared the same blood, and in my country, anyone who has run the same blood as Hanslo is my enemy, and anyone who uses his money to put food on their table. If I remember correctly, you were there when Yelena died. Your brothers Gunner and Ward died, yet you came all the way here to save the son of the man who ordered to kill your brothers.”

I gulped as I remembered what happened that day. Even Cenric was still visited by that nightmare. “Why are you calling me?”

“I don’t threaten woman or hurt woman for pleasure unless she hurts the people I care about, then I won’t blink nor hesitate-”

My jaw locked tight as I briefly closed my eyes. My teeth almost cracked, trying hard not to let him get on my nerves, but I failed.

“Are you threatening my family?”

“Oh, no. You got me all wrong. Someone came to you and blamed your father-in-law, hurt your men, and almost killed your wife.” How could he possibly know this? But I shouldn’t be surprised. Klayton probably talked to save his ass.

“You made the order.”

“I’m doing you a favor,” he confirmed. My knuckles turned white.

“So you want a fruit basket or something?” Everyone looked at me in confusion. Since this conversation was not on speaker, they were curious about what Ilya and I talked about.

“You, American, always expect something in return when you do them a favor.”

“You’re merciless. I expect your service is not free.”

“Yeah. You don’t have to- what do you call it, sugarcoat? Yes, I killed people. I’m a wanted man by righteous governments, but they are killers, too, mass murderers. Our only difference is that they run the government, they get to choose who gets killed, and who are the sacrificial lambs, and people should follow their rules, especially the poor. In contrast, I’m not guided by their laws. I don’t follow them. I am my own law, my own code. You killed people, too, Linden, because you follow their orders.”

“What do you want? A plaque? A medal?”

“I wanna meet you face to face.”

“Why?”

“You’re interesting.”

“You wanna meet me because I am interesting?”

My wife gasped. My gaze moved to Moses, Gustav, Striker, and everyone gathered before me. Lynx shook his head for me to say no to Ilya.

“I know you’re in acquaintance with the mafia in Sicily. I have no quarrel with Siciliano.”

“Why should I meet you? Give me one good reason before I hang up the call right now.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll die first before I let anything happen to you. You have my word. My deal with Mr. Braddson is not only liberating you from your enemy, from my enemy. You are also under my protection now.”

“I don’t need your protection. I’m capable of doing it myself. I have resources-”

“Because you think Osmium and the Hover can protect you? Do you really believe that? How did Weston get to your father-in-law’s house?”

“Then why did you let it happen if I am under your protection?”

“I’ve proven, haven’t I?”

“I’m not doing favors for you, Vasilyev.”

“I’m not asking unless my family is in grave danger and your country, and there’s no other way to protect them, but I will pay for your service.”

“I don’t need your blood money.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Not by money. My life, Linden.”

I swallowed hard and blinked. I had a feeling this was just a part of his elaborate plan. There was something big behind his words. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I want you to know that I won’t harm any of your family. One day, you may need my help. Right now, you don’t, but soon.”

“Did you order the kill?” I wanted to confirm it for the second time.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.” And he didn’t disappoint. Son of a bitch.

When he confirmed it, I knew my family wouldn’t be safe even with my men protecting them 24/7. If whoever he hired managed to kill Klayton in prison, he could easily order someone to kill Jasper, any member of my team, or, worse, my family.

“When?”

“I’ll call you. I have to arrange a flight.”

“Let me guess. I cannot choose the place.”

As soon as the call ended, Estelle forced me to face her. “Gabriel, what are you doing?”

I looked at her and kissed her forehead. “It’s gonna be fine.”