The Billionaire’s Marriage Of Deception

The girl laughed, “I don’t think so Calvin. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll act like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Calvin couldn’t help tensing but then he got with the program and relaxed, leaning into her.

“You’re Xio?”

“In the flesh,” the girl said.

“Wow. I was expecting…someone else.”

“No sh*t sherlock. So…about your little…problem.”

Calvin snorted.

“Michael tells me you’ve had…conversations with this man about possibly sabotaging Ms. Moore’s businesses.”

“No ‘possibly’ about it.”

“We suspect he was responsible for the deaths of Ms. Moore’s parents. However evidence was tampered with.”

Calvin leaned as far back away from her as he could without falling off the stool. “You’re police?” he asked in shock.

“FBI,” Xio corrected.

“So why all the cloak and dagger?”

“Florian has kept himself out of jail because he’s a paranoid son of a bi*ch. You have a tail who reports back every single movement you make. We had to lull him into a false sense of security about this place. Get him suitably distracted.”

Calvin grinned, “The twink?”

Xio shrugged, “We will protect you.”

Calvin snorted again. “Yeah because Florian doesn’t have people in law enforcement,” he commented sarcastically.

“Michael said the same thing. That’s why he hired his former boss to guard you. Demore Williams and his team are the best of the best. Half the people in this bar are on his payroll. They’re all here for you. Whatever it takes Calvin. Are you game?”

Calvin looked down. “I can’t let the bodyguard outshine me now can I?” he said wryly.

“Good. So where do we start?”

Calvin took a deep breath, “Finley McNamara; fixer. Sometimes when he’s had too much to drink he gets…word diarrhea. He might have mentioned a journal; it’s coded of course but it has a record of all kills.”

“You don’t happen to know where this journal is do you?”

Calvin smiled, “It’s funny. Because he writes in it so much and it’s in code; Florian just keeps it in his office desk drawer. Of course there is a key, and a code. Both of which I have copies of. The trick is to get in his office. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”

Xio smiled, “Well you’re in luck. Before I joined the FBI I had a long history as a thief.”

Calvin gave her a sidelong glance, “Long history? You don’t look old enough to even have graduated Quantico.”

Xio laughed. “Good genes,” she said getting off his lap at last. “I’ll be in touch. We’ll make plans. Now stand up and kiss me.”
“Why?”

“So your little friend over there can see how much you like me idiot.”

“Oh,” Calvin said standing and leaning into her. She grabbed the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him in for a savage kiss. Calvin was still staring at nothing in shock when she existed the room. The bartender placed a tot of whiskey in front of him with a laugh.

*****

“So it turns out that Calvin did not actually try to use you. He was saving you from a worse fate,” Michael told Amanda as they lounged in the library reading.

Amanda breathed in deep and shrugged. “I feel like…maybe I owe him something but I don’t know what. Should I lend him the money to get his business on its feet? Give him the cash?”

“You don’t want him back?” Michael asked, clutching hard at his book like it was trying to run away.

Amanda regarded him with a raised eyebrow, “I’m already married to someone else.”

“True. You are…”

“And I want to stay that way…why? Do you want to…? Are you…?”

“NO! I was actually afraid that once I told you that Calvin wasn’t the bas*ard you thought he was then you’d maybe want a second chance with him.”

Amanda shook her head, “Maybe a year ago when my heart was still breaking over what happened. But now…” she looked him in the eye, “You’re all I can see.”

Michael looked down at his book, hiding a smile, “Well…good coz I’m here for the long haul.”

“Good to know,” Amanda said.

“They’re going to catch Florian. I don’t want you to worry about that.”

“I don’t. I know you won’t let anything happen to me.”

*****

Amanda opened the news headlines page on her iPad next morning as Michael lay asleep behind her and a certain headline jumped out at her.

FLORIAN VALENTINE ARRESTED FOR MURDER

She clicked on it and read the story. The reporter didn’t have much detail, just that the police had evidence that implicated Valentine in multiple murders. Amanda shook Michael awake. He always slept light and awoke alert so it didn’t take more than one shake before he was sitting up and looking around for the threat. She passed him her iPad.

“Did you know anything about that?”

Michael read slowly.

“I knew that something was in play. I didn’t know the details.”

“Is Calvin involved in this?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he safe?”

“Yes; he’s going into witness protection once all this is done. Before that, Demore is guarding him.”

“Oh.”

“He’s going to be fine.”

Amanda nodded.

“Do I get to say goodbye?”

Michael shook his head regretfully, “What you can do though is write an email to an address I’ll give you and they can pass it on to Calvin.”

“Okay,” Amanda said with a nod.