Billionaire’s Quarry: A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set) (115 page)

‘Jesus. H. Fucking. Christ.’ He awoke cursing loudly then gulped in some air to calm himself. Sarah lay beside him, stirring, but very much alive and unharmed. Isaac rubbed his face, trying to scrub pout the images that tore through his brain.
What the fuck?
What a dream to have.

He stroked a hand gently down her back and she mumbled something. He smiled, wanting her to wake up now, wanting to see her vital and alive and…then his heart froze as she mumbled again. A word, a name.

Dan.

***

Sarah had been uncomfortable all morning. For lunch, they’d had chowder in one of the little seafood restaurants along the waterfront but Sarah hadn’t been able to keep up her end of the conversation. She’d asked Isaac if he was okay a million times;
in the end,
he’d almost snapped at her. She felt guilty but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Dan was watching her, even now. She kept thinking back to outside the bar last night, the feeling she had that Dan had moved past her, was playing with her. The dream she’d had didn’t help. Dan, standing in her kitchen. Telling her still loved her but she had to die so they could be together. She kept thinking of the day she’d found George. The look on his face. Terror. Her stomach roiled with unease. ‘Are you okay?’ His voice broke through her reverie.

‘Sorry, it’s just,’ she coughed, embarrassed, ‘I had a dream last night and it’s unsettled me.’

‘About what?’

She hesitated and he glanced at her. ‘Sarah?’ A nerve twitched in his jaw.

‘I can’t really remember it.’

‘Try.’

The atmosphere had changed. She felt a ball of tension lodge in her chest as he stared at her, his eyes searching. ‘I really can’t remember.’ She glanced down at her hands, trying to hide the lie. Isaac was mad at her but she didn’t know why.

‘Did I do something?’ She asked him now, feeling tears prickle her eyes. Isaac shook his head but stayed silent. Suddenly she couldn’t stand the tension and pushed back her chair.

‘Excuse me,’ she choked out and stumbled, half-blind with tears to the restroom. She locked herself in a stall and silently sobbed. It was the first time she’d seen this side of Isaac – brooding, angry. Someone knocked at the stall door. ‘You okay, miss?’

Sarah gulped back. ‘I’m fine.’ Her voice sounded strangled.

‘Okay.’ The voice didn’t sound convinced. ‘Are you Sarah? Your boyfriend asked me to come see if you were okay. He asked me to tell you he’s sorry and he loves you.’

Sarah drew in a shaky breath. ‘Thank you, please tell him I’ll be out in a minute. Thanks again.’

The voice was warm. ‘You’re welcome, sweetie.’

Sarah calmed herself down and unlocked the stall door. At the sink, she splashed some water on her face. There was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair waiting outside the door who smiled kindly at her.

‘Sorry, honey, looks like he left.’

Sarah felt a sharp jolt of pain and stepped into the main restaurant. She relaxed immediately. Isaac was seated at the table; he looked up and smiled, worry creasing his face. She turned to the woman.

‘No, it’s okay, he’s there.’

The woman looked at Isaac and shook her head. ‘No, sweetheart…that’s not the guy who gave me the message. The guy I spoke to was blonde…’

‘About six foot, blonde curly hair, blue eyes?’ Sarah’s voice was flat, dead. The woman nodded, obviously worried now but Sarah simply moved away and went back to a waiting Isaac.

‘I want to get out of here. Now.’

Outside, she stalked in front of him, wanting to get away from the restaurant. He gripped her arm and stopped her. What? What’s wrong?’

She whirled on him. ‘Oh, now you want to talk? Had enough of giving me the silent treatment?’

Isaac’s shoulder slumped and she could see the shame in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I was…I was upset about something.
God
…you only said it in your sleep, it could mean anything but…’

‘What was it?’ Her voice was hard.

‘It sounds so ridiculous when I think about it now…but you said ‘Dan’ in your sleep. It upset me, I know, I know, it’s stupid but after everything that’s happened…what? What is it?’

Sarah suddenly started to laugh but there was no humor in the sound. ‘Believe me. If I said Dan’s name in my sleep, it would be because I was having a nightmare. And if that woman in there is to be believed, a nightmare that’s about to come true.’

Isaac shook his head, confused. ‘I don’t get it.’

She told him about the message. He stared at her. ‘She must have got the wrong Sarah.’

Sarah’s body sagged. ‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’ But when she looked up, she saw the same uncertainty in his eyes that she felt in her bones.

Neither of them spoke on the way home.

***

‘Okay, I have to ask,’ Isaac said finally, after a long evening where they had both stared at the television without seeing or absorbing anything that was on it. They were on his couch but, for the first time, there was space between them – physical and psychological. Isaac felt it keenly. ‘If Dan is back…what does it mean for us?’

Sarah looked up, startled and her eyes softened when she saw the hurt in his eyes. ‘Isaac…you are the love, the
absolute, irrevocable
love of my life. If Dan does come back…well, that part of my life is over. As far as I’m concerned, you are my future.’

Isaac visibly relaxed. ‘That’s all I needed to hear. God,’ he lay down and put his head in her lap. She smiled down at him, smoothing his short hair with her hand. ‘What a wild ride we’ve had.’

Sarah grinned. ‘Because your life was so boring before.’ She looked pointedly around the apartment; high ceilings, perfectly decorated, priceless art on the walls. Isaac laughed and sat up.

‘They’re just things.’ He stroked her cheek. ‘This is what’s real. I’m not saying I’m not a lucky s.o.b. because clearly, I am.’

‘Well, you worked hard for it, and your talent is in being a huge nerd boy. Geekdom is very lucrative,’ Sarah was grinning at him. ‘Everything I’m good
at
isn’t unless you get very lucky. Not that I’m complaining. You’re right, things are just things.’

‘Hey now, come on, you have your own business, that’s a big thing.’ He grinned at her.

Sarah rolled her eyes. ‘What I’m saying is, I may never be on an equal financial footing with you…but that kind of thing doesn’t matter to
me
if it doesn’t to you. I don’t want diamonds and pearls and fur coats – not that I’d wear them. All I want from you is your time. I can match you on that.’

Isaac nodded thoughtfully. ‘I get it. Can I ask one favor?’

‘Go for it.’

Isaac gestured around the room. ‘Look, I can’t pretend I’m not disgustingly rich but I hate flaunting it. You know me by now, I’d still do the same job if it paid peanuts. But let’s be real: I do have a lot of money and just occasionally I’d like to spoil you…no, listen – ‘ he said hurriedly, seeing the doubtful expression on her face. ‘I don’t mean with material things. Maybe I could spring for a luxury vacation, maybe I could replace your truck when it finally falls apart – as a present. But more, I’m thinking…our kids could go to college without worrying about debt; you could go back to school if you wanted. We could
build
schools, or help the community on the island.’

Sarah tangled her fingers in his hair. ‘Haven’t we already discussed that you being perfect is really irritating?’ But she grinned. ‘Building schools – now that kind of spending spree I can get on board with.’ She leaned over and kissed him. ‘Also, a sex dungeon would be nice.’

Isaac laughed loudly. ‘You wouldn’t need to ask me twice on that.’

‘You like a bit of kink?’

He shrugged. ‘Who doesn’t?’

She crawled onto his lap. ‘Well,
Mr.
Quinn, I’ll try anything once…and if I like it, more than once.’

He trailed his fingers across her cheeks. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

‘I’m counting on it.’

***

Hank’s Bar was full with the Sunday night football crowd. Finn and Mike sat at a corner booth. Hank, an ex-city cop and the owner of both the bar and an oversized
mustache
that made him look like a walrus, had offered them a free beer and busted their chops for a time before turning his attention to the game. The 49ers were getting a
mauling
from the Seahawks and the bar was raucous with their support. Finn and Mike stared at the screen blankly for twenty minutes until an ad break afforded them the quiet to talk.

‘So,’ Mike took slug of beer ‘What’s going on with you and Caroline?’ He cleared his throat, embarrassed.

Finn grinned at Mike’s expression. ‘Dude, relax. That’s not the advice I wanted.’

Mike look relieved. ‘What then?’

‘Dan Bailey. Molly says she saw him, I’m not convinced.’

‘Okay. So?’

Finn shifted in his chair. ‘I checked him out. And came up with nothing.’

Mike waited. Finn held his hands out.

‘Don’t you think that’s weird? No tickets, no medical records, nothing?’

Mike shrugged. ‘Man…I don’t know. Maybe he had a reason to stay under the radar. If you’ve got a gut feeling, do a little digging. Where did he come from?’

‘New Orleans. So he said.’

‘Well, there must be someone down there who knew him.’

Finn shrugged. Mike rolled his eyes. ‘Have you talked to the NOLA police department?’

‘No.’

‘Is that because you’re worried you might find something out – or that you’re worried you won’t?’

Finn sighed. ‘I honestly couldn’t tell you.’

Mike finished his soda. ‘Dude, just talk to somebody. Get this, whatever it is, out of your head and move on. At the end of the day, does it matter? Dan Bailey’s long gone. C’mon, bro, I hate leaving Mols alone at night, especially now.’

***

She had been away from the island for days and now, at last, she was back. He watched her get out of Quinn’s car and go into the Varsity, saw Molly exclaim in delight and wrap her arms around her friend.

Sarah looked beautiful, her dark hair pulled up into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, her glorious body in her usual uniform of jeans and tee. Quinn had parked the car across the street and was now walking over to the coffee house. He studied the tall man, the man who was fucking
his
Sarah, had that honey skin under his touch, had her lips around his cock. He could see the attraction; Isaac Quinn was an imposing man, athletic, smart, rich beyond belief. The thought of him all over Sarah’s body made his blood heat to boiling point and he clenched his fists, trying to keep control.

He was still staring out of the window at them when Caroline arrived. Following his gaze, she made a disgusted sound.

‘Christ. That dude can’t keep away from that whore, can he?’

He turned to her and the expression on his face made her blood freeze. He walked away from the window, lit a cigarette and sat down. She followed him and tried to smile.

‘Did you want something, Caroline?’

Her posture became seductive. ‘Only what I always want from you, baby.’

His nose turned up in a sneer. ‘And you call Sarah a whore?’

Caroline flinched but smoothed out her expression and smiled at him. ‘I just want to make you happy. Baby, you want me to make you feel better?’

He shook his head and she sat down on the bed opposite him. When he had not said anything for a few minutes, she shifted uneasily.

‘Look – ’

He focused on her for the first time. ‘Caroline, if you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?’

She thought about it. ‘You.’

He smirked. ‘Apart from that.’

She thought about it and her face settled into a grim smile. ‘I want her gone. For good. Not just someplace else, I want her – ‘

‘Dead.’

Caroline nodded. ‘In the most painful
way
you could imagine. Worse than George.’

She got up and walked over to the window. ‘I wish I had the nerve to do it myself. I should have just put a bullet in her years ago.’

He smirked. ‘Caroline, I doubt you would even know how to take the safety off.’

She turned to scowl at him. ‘There are other ways. I could have poisoned her, stuck some acid in one of her fucking cupcakes. Snuck up on her when she was swimming, drowned her.’ She laughed to herself. ‘Is that you were going to do that day? The day you watched her swim then killed her dog?’

He smiled bleakly. ‘No. I just wanted to watch her.’

Caroline stared at him in disgust. ‘You still want her?’

He got up then and went to her. ‘I want her dead as much as you do, Caroline. But I want to make her life a misery first, watch her suffer. You can understand that, right? Sarah Bailey will be slaughtered, eviscerated and she will feel every moment of unimaginable agony before she succumbs.’