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I touched my face and almost laughed. Somehow, I could still feel the effects of Zoe’s slap even though two days had passed.
Two fucking days of absolute misery.
Being in such close proximity was driving me bat shit crazy. The sooner I got off this goddamn island, the better.
“Pops has made an additional list. I’ll send that to you,” Francois said.
“I’ll work on it as soon as you do. Nothing that you’ve sent me up to this point raised any red flags.” While Zoe had done everything in her power to ignore me, I’d spent time in my secure computer room, doing what I could to hunt down the aggressor.
It was fascinating that so many of Jean Baptiste’s very formidable enemies had died, some by being murdered, andothers from cancer or other natural causes. Tony hadn’t found anything either, but he’d yet to receive Zoe’s phone records, although they were expected at any time. I’d asked her once again if there was any chance she’d developed enemies of her own and she’d barely managed to provide a single word answer. No.
She was lying to me and had now had every reason to distrust me. I wasn’t handling the situation as I should but there was no other recourse now.
“Fuck. It’s like looking for a needle in a damn haystack. There’s nothing on the street either. However, Arman is on the mend, doctors amazed he’s doing so well.”
“That’s good to hear,” I told Francois, relieved that Arman would make a full recovery. “When is he going home?”
“A few days, or as long as the hospital staff can keep him tied down. He was ready to leave last night, and they almost put restraints on him. They’re forbidding him to make phone calls, but he’s been driving me crazy.”
I chuckled and took a gulp of coffee, gritting my teeth as I walked out to the veranda, staring out at the ocean. “He is hardheaded.”
“Uh-huh. Like someone else I know.”
“He’s hiding something, Francois. We need to find out what that is before it’s too late.”
He took a deep breath. “You know how he is when he’s trying to wrap his arms around something. He always manages to dig himself out of the muck.”
“Yeah, well, I have a bad feeling the muck had turned into quicksand.”
“I’ll talk to him, but I can’t promise shit. I might be his brother, but if he won’t confide in you then I’m not certain what the hell you think he’s going to tell me.”
“It’s all about that phone call. I feel it in my bones.” The nagging feeling continued to pulse in my stomach, as if whatever I was missing would rear its ugly head at any moment.
“Like I said, I’ll talk to him.”
“Has Thomas left for Texas?”
“Not yet,” he admitted. “He’s taking some time to check with his old contacts from the FBI. Ms. Wells doesn’t appear to have any skeletons in her closet but he’s continuing to dig.”
I rubbed my eyes, hating the exhaustion settling in. “Keep an eye on our business in South America. If Alturo and his family are behind this, they’ll attempt to heist the diamonds.”
“Yeah, I already thought of that,” he said. “So far there’s nothing drawing any red flags. I think whoever is behind this is waiting until our empire crumbles naturally.”
“Just like years before.”
“I remember, Mr. Boogeyman,” he said, teasing me about the moniker as he’d always done before. “Enough business right now. We will figure this out. We are a powerful empire just like Ms. Wells suggested. Now, how is paradise?”
Powerful empire. One aspect of business that the men of the Thibodeaux family never admitted was that once you were on top of your game, there was only one place to go. Given our expanded power swept now from Nevada to Florida, from owning sports and racing teams to nightclubs and the latest destination community just outside of Dallas, the empire waspoised to take a huge tumble and would if the veil of decency was pulled out from under us.
That alone would tank the stocks, investors pulling out right and left. And if we were framed for any illegal activity, we might as well kiss our freedom goodbye. Whoever was doing this was a brilliant businessman, not necessary a thug like Alturo.
“Hot. Humid. Annoying. Perfect July weather.” As Zoe walked out onto the pool deck from her bedroom, my cock reacted as it always did around her, stiffening to the point my balls ached. She purposely ran her fingers across the keys on the piano before giving me a hard look. She’d yet to sit down and play anything, likely on purpose since I’d spanked her there. My actions were still something I found difficult to accept, although I’d enjoyed every minute of it.
Every action methodical, she moved down the stairs and I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her as she placed a towel and bottle of water on one of the tables.
“See. As hardheaded as Arman is. For what it’s worth, you’re doing the right thing by staying there.”
Right now, I couldn’t care less about doing the right thing.
