Page 64 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

I exhaled heavily. “Jesus, don’t you have somewhere to be.”

Amusement passed my friend’s expression and his lips tugged up. He casually turned the page of his newspaper. Why in the fuck he was reading the paper today of all days, I couldn’t comprehend. “The more important question is, what are you going to do about your dick?”

“He’ll have to cut the fucker off.”

They both snickered while I ignored them and sipped my drink.

The universe was trying to send me a sign. Or torture me—it was still up for debate.

Chapter26

Odette

Days dragged on; nights even more so.

Twelve days. Twelve nights. The countdown to our doom. I’d set out to save lives and somehow managed to end them. If we’d never found ourselves in Ghana, my sister wouldn’t have picked up those diamonds. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, Billie wouldn’t have put her career on hold for me. Round and round we went. Like a vicious, never-ending cycle.

After med school, I got the opportunity to work my residency in Ghana with the United Nations. Leading the effort in Ghana was the World Health Organization, and just as Dad had, I jumped at the opportunity to make a change. And Billie, she was there with me every step of the way—with my son—ensuring I had the chance to fulfill my dream. The exposure in Ghana was amazing, and the WHO agendas covered all areas of the global healthcare spectrum.

My whole adventure turned out to be the best kind of experience. With the exception of the stolen diamonds. And here I was, back in my childhood country, beaten up and stone broke.

My bruises had faded, but the pain and fear remained. We were at the end of our road. If we couldn’t get false identities and disappear, I had one last option. It would ensure my son’s survival, but not my sister’s nor mine.

I was on edge—every little noise startled me. Considering we were currently in a hotel in Washington, D.C., that was a problem. Doors opened and slammed all night. Toilets flushed. Voices traveled. So much for getting any rest tonight.

I hadn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep since we left Ghana. But since we’d left New Orleans, sleep downright eluded me. We used the last of our money to fly here and try to get in to see Nico Morrelli. The word on the dark web was that he could set us up with new identities. A new life. Maybe I could even find a way to continue practicing medicine.

My brain analyzed everything we’d done—from our plan to turn in those stupid diamonds, to how we’d run into Byron.

Byron Ashford.

God, he still looked as good as I remembered. There was no mistaking those muscles hidden under the expensive material of the three-piece suit. Rock-hard body. Goddamn it, he was so tempting. And abstaining from sex didn’t help my cause. If he stripped his clothes off, I feared I’d totally be on board with having sex with him.

Not that sex with Byron was anywhere on my mind. He was currently the least of my problems. I had to figure out a way out of this clusterfuck.

Staring at the dark ceiling, lying still so I wouldn’t wake up my son who cuddled into me, I couldn’t come up with a solution to our problem. Our million-dollar problem.

What kind of interest is that, anyhow?I wondered.

There were two choices left; change our identity or come up with a million dollars. The latter we didn’t have. The former was a possibility.

We had another forty-eight hours left to come up with a solution. Or we’d all be dead.

The back of my eyes burned. I wished Dad were still alive. I missed him. His quiet confidence. His wisdom. Although if he were still alive, he’d be disappointed. In Billie, and in me. It didn’t matter that I’d busted my ass through medical school as a young mother. It didn’t matter what I sacrificed; only how badly we fucked up. The year in Ghana should have been a highlight of my career. It turned into a nightmare. All because Billie grabbed that little black bag.

But I couldn’t turn my back on her. It was only thanks to my sister that I finished medical school at all. She sacrificed her own career for me. It was the least I could do for her.

Bang.

Another slammed door.

My eyes darted to my son, worried he’d wake up, but he was out like a light. His navy dinosaur pajama bottoms had rolled up his legs, so I pulled them down, then brushed his dark hair from his forehead.

I swallowed hard. I’d managed to forget Byron over the years. Okay, maybe not exactlyforget, but I did succeed in suppressing memories of our night together.Barely.He obviously had no issues forgetting me.

Slipping out of bed, I padded barefoot to my suitcase we’d been living out of for the past six months. I dug through it and pulled out my laptop.

“What are you doing?” Billie’s voice was barely above a whisper, but it drew a startled whimper from my throat. I whirled around, finding my sister’s eyes on me. She was wide awake too. She patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Talk to me.”