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Christian had invited me and five other men to be flown in by helicopter to his yacht. The yacht and the helicopter had been mine once. If I remembered correctly, I had sold him my companies in Europe and threw in the yacht and helicopter as a bonus to get his business, and to rid myself of all my surplus manufacturing businesses that were a drain on my hotels. He’d gotten control of my companies, and now he owned my wife. However, Alex wasn’t easy to own, or so I’d thought.
Nevertheless, the business arrangement didn’t include Alex. She’d planned that on her own, I thought, looking around at the other men sitting quietly but for the sound of the propellers. They might have been consumed by their thoughts as I had been doing throughout the bumpy ride. The clouds were darkening, and it appeared they were threatening to erupt. What was the saying—red sky at night, sailor’s delight? Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.
I observed the attention had been focused on me with some men gazing at my attire, and some glared brazenly at me when meeting my eyes, but then quickly lowering their heads when they recognized who they were sitting next to, and across from.
I guessed once they knew I was Maximillian Blackstone, something clicked in their memories, and they probably had read in the newspapers about me, or heard from their friends. Nevertheless, I had a reputation, and it all depended on who had passed the stories around whether that reputation had been good, bad, or sinister.
Was this his plan to embarrass me in Alex’s eyes, or just an afterthought? I thought I knew the answer to that question without giving it any extra thought on my part.
At the time I’d offered up my companies to be sold, I’d promised Alex I’d sell everything, and I was on the road to doing that when I had an accident and found Alex in bed with Jonas. I only saw what I wanted. I didn’t know Alex thought I was dead and Jonas’s bride had been murdered by her jealous boyfriend.
I couldn’t see anything, but my brother and wife entwined in each other’s arms. I couldn’t think because of my own jealousy, and I proceeded to extract revenge from the two people I thought had harmed me—Jonas and Alex. I didn’t know their pain and I didn’t want to know. All I thought about was my selfish needs, and for that I was now paying the price.
When we neared the helipad and were ready to land, I caught sight of women sitting around the pool. That was when I realized it had been peculiar that women were invited, however, Alex had asked for the company since this was a party after all. I could have stayed at home, but I wanted to see her beautiful face, and talk to her. Beg her to come back with me.
Or kidnap her.
When we landed, Christian had stepped down the stairs after the pilot had turned off the motor, and the helicopter was silent. We departed, and I climbed out in my tux, Christian appeared to be bothered by my mode of dress. His eyes scanned my body and face.
After he’d greeted his guests, he saved me for last. “Happy to see you, Mr. Blackstone. You know it’s warm here, but I see you’re not sweating. We’ll have to take care of that because as you know it’s healthy when you sweat.” What the fuck did he mean by that? Normally I would have put that to him in those words, but I was at a disadvantage now.
“Please, don’t call me Mr. Blackstone. You make me feel so old. Call me Max.” I could look in his eyes and see his contempt for me. He couldn’t hide it, because he was too young and never had to. His smirk rose on both sides of his mouth, and I knew exactly how he wanted me to feel as if I was too old and had lost a step or two, because after all he was married to my wife now, and that meant something to him, but not to me. If me being forty disarmed him, then so much the better for me. His youth of twenty-five proved to be a disadvantage too. And I was just the guy to teach him that lesson.
I pegged Christian as being greedy, he had my wife, and he wasn’t satisfied with that. He had my companies and my prized possessions, so what else did he want to take from me? I thought, offering him a pacifying smile.
Yes, I could have stayed home, enjoyed the time I had with my children and worked from home, but my intentions were to get my wife back by any means necessary.
“Follow me, Mr. Bl... I mean, Max. You look very handsome and prosperous today.” What was that about? No one could be as prosperous as this young man who strutted around as if he was king of the world, and he probably was because I gave up that title for my family, and now I didn’t have the woman who was my queen who had made that possible.
Christian led me to the dining room, where he sat at the head of the table along with two more guests, the captain who he’d positioned next to me. The captain and I had a few words, and I asked him strategic questions about his next destination. He informed me that they would be heading for the Mediterranean Sea, that was after they’d traveled west to Cancun, where Christian had a villa along the coast.
The steward then came from the shadows in the back of the room, and stood over the servers to make sure the food was ready, and the waiters were serving it properly.
Most of the guests and crew knew Alex had been my wife, and Alex would never be Christian’s. In my mind I would never see her as belonging to anyone, but me. Those were my lingering thoughts as I glanced around, looking for Alex.
When I glanced up, I noticed something about the steward as he passed me trying to disguise himself. He wore one of those large white hats called a ‘toque blanche’ and a white double-breasted coat over a pair of black-and-white houndstooth pants.
I turned quickly to touch his arm when he passed me, but he kept his stride walking hurriedly away from the table. Christian noticed and turned to me with a questioning glance. “I think I recognized one of your crew. You know this was once my yacht,” I reminded Christian, to satisfy his curiosity.
Narrowing his glance and aiming his body around to see the man. “I thought I’d fired most of the previous crew, however, I did find them positions. I’m not that cruel,” Christian admitted falsely.
Smiling, I turned to him. “Perhaps you’re out of practice.” And I drank the water in a glass with Christian’s logo on everything, including the large chandelier overhead.
When I glanced in the direction of the steward, he was serving at the far end of another table, but his back was to me and perhaps I’d been wrong. However, I had been determined to learn if I was right, and I did know this person.
Rising from the table after an excuse, I marched over to the man, tapped him on the back and greeted the man with a smile, so Christian wouldn’t realize I was fucking angry. I nodded at the steward, still smiling. “Can I speak to you a moment,” I said, my voice stern, but calm.
He followed me to the open bar in the corner. “Make me a drink. Now what the fuck are you doing here?” I glanced over and Christian was in serious talks with the captain and the first mate and his eyes weren’t focused on me. “I thought I told you to stay with my children and make sure they’re okay. When the fuck are you going to do what I asked of you for once? It’s you who got Alex into this shit—”
“Then it will have to be me who will get her out,” Jonas barked in a smothered voice. He placed a dirty martini in front of me. I reached and drank it. I needed it. “Trust me, Max—”
“I’ve already trusted you more than I should, and look where’s it’s gotten me,” I said, raising an eyebrow and furrowing my brow to let Jonas know that we were not dealing with one of his lawyer friends who didn’t have any money.
“This man is perhaps richer than the both of us. He can buy and sell us and make us disappear if we fuck this up. And I don’t know what he’ll do to Alex. My children could be without both parents,” I whispered with a sturdy, don’t-fuck-this-up voice.
“There’s something you should know—” I didn’t like the sound of Jonas’s voice and because he was willing to admit something to me. That wasn’t like him. Jonas never told me anything unless it was beyond his control, or he was deep into shit.
“I don’t have time now, Jonas. Christian-fucking-freak is calling you.” I turned because I didn’t want my talk with the steward to be suspicious, so I headed back to the captain’s table with Jonas.
“Steward, will you tell my wife we’re expecting her for dinner.” I glanced at Jonas.
“Yes. I’ll tell her.” Jonas had disguised his voice, he was nervous, and I didn’t know why and I didn’t have time to listen, when he’d said, “There’s something you should know.”
What the fuck is it? I wondered as I sat at the table between the captain and Christian.