When I eventually find them in the distance, I sink low, blending into my surroundings. The two of them are creeping with measured steps, trying not to raise too much of a ruckus.
From here, it’s simply a matter of finding the position from which to shoot. They are close enough that I don’t need a scope, especially with my race training, which has honed my aim.
As I wait for the perfect shot, I remind myself why I’m doing this. I don’t relish murder. For me, putting a bullet into Jan is no different than killing a rabid animal who has already attacked. I think of the description Jaques gave me regarding Fabian’s torture wounds before death. I think of what could have happened to Sloane and her brother if she hadn’t come to Monte Carlo.
Revenge is sweet, but making the world a better place is a bonus.
It takes the perfect opportunity, a slow release of breath, and one pull of my trigger finger. I open the eye I closed, just in time to see Jan Vorster fall back with a perfect headshot.
“I hope you rot in hell,” I mutter to myself.
As I watch Rueben flounder in panicked surprise, my finger lingers briefly on the trigger, itching to expend another round. His thirst for hunting doesn’t end at exotic African animals. When you control the media, it’s easy to keep certain misdeeds swept firmly under the rug, including the hospital records of more than a few women who got more than they bargained for when he invited them to his home.
I release my finger, knowing that killing him would interfere with my plans. As they say, karma is indeed a bitch.
And Reuben Bakker’s day is fast approaching.
Chapter Fifty-Eight Magnus
“What the hell is this?”
My eyes roll up to see Sloane charging into my office like an angry cat. She’s holding today’s Wall Street Journal newspaper in her hands.
“You set Gabriel up to lose money?”
“I am very sorry, Mr. Reinhardt!” My assistant cries, scurrying in after her with a horrified look on her face.
“It’s fine, Julie,” I say, waving her back toward her desk.
She gives one last fearful look toward the irate Sloane, before escaping, closing the door after her.
“So this whole thing was a set up to frame Ruben Bakker, and then make sure Gabriel loses money based on the information you had me email to him?” Sloane says, storming over to throw the paper onto my desk.
I’ve already read the story online. Rueben Bakker, founder of Conniver Media, has been arrested for the murder of his hunting guide Jan Vorster. Naturally, that caused the share price—only recently inflated based on the news that Magnus Reinhardt was interested in buying a lion’s share of the corporation—to plummet.
Unfortunate for anyone who had recently purchased a significant chunk of stock in Conniver.
“Why didn’t you tell me your plan?”
“I told you I was going to kill Jan.”
She glares at me as though I’m being deliberately obtuse. “Yes, but framing Rueben? Gabriel losing money? And we both know you’re still going to have him arrested for insider trading somehow.”
“So now you’ve figured all the pieces out.” It was easy enough to find someone to hack the email address to which Sloane sent the information and trace it directly to Gabriel. The trail and the information contained therein was forwarded on to the SEC, who are no doubt very interested in Gabriel’s recent purchase of several thousand shares of Conniver.
“I shouldn’t have had to figure out anything! You should have trusted me enough to tell me the entire plan.”
I stare at her, the same debate going on in my head that was there before all of this, only now with the hindsight of 20/20 vision.
“I thought about it, but, in the end, I didn’t want you to be unnecessarily concerned. I also didn’t want you inadvertently telling Gabriel or Jan what I was up to.”
“I’m not some wilting violet, Magnus! Nor am I an idiot. I wouldn’t have told him anything. Don’t you think I had the right to know how you planned on screwing him over in more ways than one?”
“What would you have done with that information except worry about it? There was nothing you could have done, so why cause you to sit here and fret?” I say, now getting angry. Doesn’t she see that I was trying to protect her?
“So much for being your equal,” she spits. “I suppose that’s only when it comes to sex.”
“Don’t,” I say in a dangerously low tone. “Don’t you dare throw that back in my face.”
“Throw what back in your face? The fact that you used me as bait, then hung me out to dry? The fact that you put both my brother and me in harm’s way without telling me? The fact that everything was just a lie so you could get your revenge?”
“A lie?” I say, shooting out of my chair to lean on my desk to confront her. “It was no lie, Sloane. I told you enough, so you wouldn’t worry. I told you enough so that I wouldn’t worry about you while I was gone. I told you enough so that I could concentrate on the mission.”
She stares at me with a smile of disbelief, then shakes her head. “You still don’t get it. I’m not someone you need to control, Magnus. I’m a woman who deserves the respect of knowing everything. I can’t believe I once upon a time almost said—”
She stops herself and looks off to the side.
Every single one of my muscles goes taut while my insides are in turmoil. My head screams for Sloane to finish that statement, even if it’s only to take the words back. It would mean that she feels the same way about me that I feel about her. If I know that much, I know I can win her back.
I’m nothing if not relentless.
“I want you to be
