Page 221 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4

I thought he might shake my hand but he continued to size me up. I just stood there awkwardly.

"Please, sit down."

I guess I wasn't supposed to stand. I sat back down in the metal chair under his scrutiny.

He opened up the file with my name on it. "Tyler Stevens." His eyes darted across the page. "Current residence of New York City. You grew up in Delaware. One living parent. No siblings. Not in a relationship. You are the perfect candidate for the Marine Corps."

Why did he sound so angry? "That's good, right?"

"It would be. Except for the fact that we obviously do background checks." He ripped the file with my name on it in half and tossed it into the trash as he sat down across from me at the table.

"What are you talking about?"

"Many people that enlist are trying to escape from their problems. We help people find themselves. We help them discover their full potential. But not criminals."

"I'm not a criminal."

"You have a warrant out for your arrest. For your refusal to appear for your questioning in regards to the ongoinginvestigation of James Hunter's shooting. With immediate request to be transferred to New York City."

"It's not ongoing. They just arrested Isabella Hunter for that. She was behind everything."

He lowered his eyebrows. "Isabella Hunter is dead. She died at 0200 Eastern Standard Time. The investigation is being reopened. And your original charges are being reinstated."

Isabella was dead? I wasn't sure what time it was, but I had just talked to Penny. Everything was fine. What the hell had happened? "Original charges?"

"You have been officially un-enlisted from the United States Marine Corps effective immediately."

"What original charges?"

Lieutenant Colonel John Williams stood up as a police officer walked into the room.

Shit.What the hell was happening?

The police officer grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to my feet. "Tyler Stevens, you are under arrest for blackmail and conspiracy to commit murder. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

I drowned out the rest of his words.Blackmail? Conspiracy to commit murder? What the fuck?

He pushed me against the wall and cuffed my hands behind my back.

Missing Pieces - Chapter 51

Hailey

Saturday

I tried to focus on my breathing. In and out.Slower.Inhale, exhale.

I lifted my head off the kitchen table. The house was eerily quiet. All day people had buzzed around me. I just kept nodding my head, not really hearing anything anyone said. By the end of the day there was a for sale sign sticking out of the middle of our yard. It felt like I had signed my life away. But what did it matter? My life here was my dad. Without him, there was nothing left.

But I couldn't listen to anyone say how wonderful my dad was one more time or I was going to scream. I knew that he was wonderful. I knew him better than anyone else in the world. And all I could feel was his loss. This huge hole in my heart. Yet, when I looked around the kitchen I could still feel his presence. I could see him making pancakes for me on Saturday mornings. I could hear him whistling. I could see him reading the paper while I did dishes after dinner.

It hurt. It hurt so fucking much.Inhale. Exhale.I just needed to keep breathing.

I closed my eyes tight. What I really needed was to hear Tyler's voice. He should have gotten my letter by now. He should know that I chose him. Could he feel that I needed him right now? I tried to remember the touch of his skin. The smell of him.Anything. But I just felt alone. I felt myself getting swallowed whole by my grief.

I wiped my tears from my eyes and pulled out my phone. I could find his number online. Everything could be found online. I typed his name into Google but there were thousands of results. Apparently Tyler Stevens was a very common name.

If I linked his name to one that was famous, that would certainly give me the results I wanted. I slowly typed in Penny Taylor after his name. The first thing that came up was a tabloid from earlier this year. The headline read, "Penny Taylor having affair with college sweetheart?" There was a picture of Penny holding Tyler's arm, laughing. He was smiling at her. There was so much adoration on his face. Obviously it wasn't real. Tabloids were meant to provoke people. But Tyler's feelings clearly were real. I thought that seeing something like this might upset me. But I think I was already as low as I could possibly be. I closed out of the internet browser.