Lahat ng Kabanata ng THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Grant and I are on an island in Paris. There are two of them, both in the Seine River. This island is the more famous one, because it has the Notre Dame cathedral on it.It’s a beautiful sight. One of the most beautiful views I could possibly pick before I leave Paris.But it’s impossible to enjoy it, because I am clinging to my last few minutes with Grant like a dying woman clings to her last few breaths.We’re in an alleyway, surrounded by seven of Marcel’s men, all armed, all wearing black masks. The smuggler is waiting in his boat on the river, just in case Epicurus shows up – or if Agent Duplass gets any ideas about trying to arrest Grant.Speaking of Duplass, he and Mailin are a hundred feet away at the other end of the alley, next to a black SUV. Just like yesterday, Grant led them on a wild goose chase to get them here, but it appears they were telling the truth about coming alone. There’s neither hide nor hair of any French policemen – just two other American suits who were p

The water comes at me so fast. A split second later I’m engulfed in cold, wet darkness. It brings back the memory of when Grant and I parachuted into the English Channel, seemingly an eternity ago – even though it was only three days.I thrash back up to the surface, where strong hands hoist me out of the water and onto the boat.“GO, GO!” I hear Grant scream.Suddenly the boat lurches into motion beneath me, and we take off like a shot across the water.I cough and open my eyes to see Grant looking at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen in his life.Then he kisses me, hard and passionate, with the intensity of terror turned into joy.For a brief moment, there is nothing else in the world. Nothing else matters, except that I’m reunited with him.He pulls back to look at me, and clutches my wet hair in his hands as he laughs. His eyes glitter and dance as he drinks me in.“Are you okay?!” he asks.I nod. My heart hasn’t quite recovered from the adrenaline tidal wave of t

Over the protestations of both JP and Dominique, Marcel gives me a burner cell phone. I remember Mailin’s number from the other day, when Grant was on the phone with him during the Eiffel Tower bust and had me repeat it back to him.The memory hurts. All I can think of is Grant’s face – smiling, cocky, alive.No.Stop.Just put one foot in front of the other and DO THIS.I dial Mailin’s number and say a silent prayer.Please God, please let him be alive – Someone answers after a couple of rings.“…hello?” Mailin’s voice says cautiously.“Oh thank God,” I breathe out in relief.“EVE?! Are you okay?!”“Yes – but they got Grant.”“Oh shit…”“Yeah,” I say, and my resentment boils over. “Do you believe me now?”“I always believed you, Eve. But Duplass is definitely convinced.”“So he’s alive?”“Yeah. He got shot, but it was minor. He’ll be fine.”I almost say, Well, that’s too bad, but I refrain at the last second. Not the best move to wish death on the people you need help from.“Are YO

The plane taxis to the runway. Take-off is easy, and so is most of the flight.I wish the same could be said for the hacking.I’m able to get into every major telecommunication company’s satellite system, but none of them are running any sort of Atlantic Ocean uplinks – at least, not where Grant’s plane is.Next I try Russian satellites, Chinese satellites, European Union satellites. I don’t need to speak Russian or Chinese, since I don’t need to read emails or web pages. What I’m hacking is called machine code, which is the most basic of all computer languages, and it’s universal.But I still turn up nothing.“Jesus, I forgot how good you are,” Mailin whispers as he watches me work.I smile grimly. “Coming from an FBI agent, that’s damning me with great praise.”“I’m not FBI right now,” he whispers. “I’m your friend.”I look at him, and my eyes fill with tears.“Thank you,” I whisper. “I can’t tell you how much that means.”He nods, and we get back to work.Since I’m not getting anyw

Two things happen in parallel.The first thing is we land at Marin County Airport. Duplass must have pulled out all the stops with his FBI credentials, because there’s a black limousine waiting for us at the gate as we taxi in. I personally am overjoyed, because the limo has a high-powered wifi connection. I basically log off from the plane and log on seamlessly to the limo during the thirty steps it takes to get to the car. The limo has one of those ‘everybody faces everybody else’ style of backseats. Duplass, Mailin, and I sit on one side, and JP and Dominique sit on the other. I keep the backpack at my feet.I have to give it to Dominique: she takes one for the team and distracts Duplass as much as she can. They’re sitting directly across from each other, and she puts her all into, even going so far as to undo a couple more buttons on her blouse. Despite all his earlier objections about her being a criminal, Duplass certainly isn’t above ogling her breasts.A retractable barrier i