Stolen Futures (The Meikle Billionaire Triplets Book One) Read online

  Shit! My phone! “Ludger my phone. I was on the phone with –”

  “Milo has it Boss,” He nodded in the slim Italian man’s direction and I saw him talking to the person on the other end before ending the call.

  Thank God for the day I hired Milo Coppola as my assistant. The man took on my life and all my problems as if they were his own.

  “She alive Milo?” I asked as we walked up beside him. I knelt looking at the young woman, as she laid lifeless on the hot pavement.

  “She is Boss, but barely. She is bleeding from her head.” He handed me my phone while pulling out his own. “It’s best we call an ambulance and report –”

  A weak hand shot up and pulled at my tie that hung loose around my neck. “No cops.” The woman coughed out. “N...no hospitals. No…”

  Caressing the side of her face I pulled my handkerchief from my inside jacket pocket and slowly wiped the dripping blood from her eyebrow. “Sweetheart, you have to go to the hospital. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for everything. I’ll make sure you get better.” I whispered trying to reassure her.

  She turned slightly towards me as her piercing eyes opened and caught mine, the pain in her eyes stopped me as I looked upon her slender face. Blood was soaking in her black curls and her breathing was labored. But she kept on insisting. “No…no cops…no hospitals.” She winced in pain and arched her back upwards crying with pain. “N-no…no cop…”

  “What do you want me to do? You need help!” She opened her mouth to argue with me again but instead screams of pain came from her. “Look if it is about the money don’t you worry, I said I’ll take care –”

  “I…will sue…you…if you c…call –”

  “Are you fucking mad right now?! Sue me for trying to help you!” I yelled and Milo hushed me immediately, not wanting the crowd to overhear.

  “Boss, let’s just take her.” he said, dialing a number on his phone. Grasping the tenuous situation. “Dr. Isaac is here this week on vacation with his family. I can give him a call –”

  “We are not doing that.” Ludger interrupted. “We don’t know her. Call the ambulance, and we will sort this out the right way.”

  José, who had been quiet the whole time spoke up. “Right or wrong, this woman needs help. She is in pain and she is bleeding. There are people around with cameras and we are here wasting time debating.” He looked at me. “Boss, if she dies here all these cameras have proof it’s our fault. She needs help Boss, and now.”

  He was right. Right way or wrong way, she was bleeding out in front of me. I glanced down at her and her soft brown eyes were closed again. She had passed out due to the pain.

  Against Ludger’s wishes I removed my jacket and handed it to Milo. “Call the doctor and get him here now! Use my jacket and keep pressure on her head. José get the car we are going back to the Icon.” Carefully I lifted the woman into my arms while Ludger carefully angled her head into my chest.

  Heading to the car, Milo called the doctor, while José started the car.

  “Christoff, you are going to regret this.” Ludger grumbled. “My job is to protect you –”

  I raised my voice, effectively cutting him off, not wanting to hear another word from him. “Which you do perfectly, but right now Ludger, I need you to shut up and help me save this woman’s life. Now help me get her into the car and let's go.” I knew he wasn’t happy with my decision, but José was right. This Miss ‘I will sue you’s’ life was on the line. A death I did not need on my hands. So, granting her wish at the moment was the easiest thing I could do right now.

  Once in the car Milo placed the jacket under her head which laid peacefully in my lap. Getting off the phone with the doctor, Milo assured me that the man would be at the apartment in an hour, but would ask his associate, who was twenty minutes closer to quickly meet us at Icon.

  Trusting Dr. Isaac enough to know that his associate must be trustworthy, I agreed. “I’ll take care of everything regarding Dr. Isaac's coworker. In the meantime, I will have my secretary cancel all meetings and our flight back home immediately. Just until this povero fiore, is better and not threatening to sue us.” Milo pressed a number that was on speed dial and smiled. “Let’s just be safe and still give Charles a call. Just in case she really does want to sue. I’ll ask him to draft something up to protect us.”

  He turned his head and greeted Charles’ secretary when she answered the line.

  CHAPTER TWO

  LUELLE

  Blinking my eyes open, I let out a soft groan as my eyes adjusted to the darkness around me and before settling on the ceiling above me. Straining, I slowly sat up, running my hands over my face and up through my curls, as I reached for my neck to massage it.

  I felt stiff and ached everywhere. My head was throbbing, and my eyes could barely stay open. I felt like death had just hit me with his truck. Rubbing my eyes again to adjust them more, I finally saw an IV-line dangle from the side of my eyes, drawing my attention to the catheter in my left hand.

  Frowning I looked around once more taking in my surroundings. I wasn’t in my small twin bed. I wasn’t in Tiffany’s small room which we had shared for the past seven years. Nor was I over at Gerald’s rat infested apartment. No, I was in a very large king-size bed, which felt as if I was laying on a cloud, which sat in the middle of an even larger room filled with furniture in each corner and floor to ceiling windows, with some very heavy looking curtains closed.

  No, you are most definitely not home Elley girl. You got hit by a car. More accurately you got hit by Christoff Meikle’s car.

  A smile slid across my face and I flung myself back into the pillows wanting to kick my feet up and do a happy dance, when suddenly a lightning bolt of a thousand kilowatts of pain hit my ribs and my head stung as if electricity had just run through me. All of it made me scream out and my back arch upwards to try and ease the pain.

  I must have made a hell of a noise because the next thing I knew the bedroom door was being flung open and the lights were being turned on, and there stood tall, broad muscular, Christoff J. Meikle.

  I was groaning so much from the pain I could not even get the chance to enjoy the sight of the man and lust over his billion-dollar looks as he rushed over to me. I did, however, get to watch as he administered something into my IV-line, place a medical syringe on the table next to the bed and sat down next to me. “It’s going to take time to pass.” he said resting his hand on top of my hair, trying to comfort me. “Try and calm down. I was late with your meds on purpose. You seemed to have been doing well. I am sorry for pushing you and your body so quickly.”

  “What did you give me?” I croaked out finally able to focus and look at him. My throat was dry. I hadn’t even realized how thirsty I was until now. I cleared my throat. “Water.”

  He stretched across to the table and picked up a glass with water in it. Had that been there this whole time? He slid a hand behind my head and helped me to drink. In four gulps, I emptied the short glass and he returned it to the table, after resting my head back on the pillow.

  “Morphine for the pain.” he answered my medical question. “My doctor said you would need it after the hit you took. Nothing is broken, thank God, but you will be sore and in pain for a while. You got twenty-eight stitches to the right side of your head and your bottom lip is split slightly to the right.”

  He stared intensely at me and my heart sank into my chest nervously. His eyes were a luxurious coffee brown, but with the look I was getting made them look intense and dark. He looked at me deep as if he could see into my soul or as if he knew something about me and just wasn’t saying. It made me nervous and I was not one to be nervous around men. And I wasn’t going to start now.

  Slowly I nodded and sighed as I was finally able to relax again. The morphine had started to kick in. “Is that all?” Really Elley? “I mean…nothing more?”

  He continued to just stare, and I looked off to the side even more uncomfortable. He took pity on me. “You're wearing ba
ndages around your chest and ribs. The good doctor didn’t want you moving too much and agitating yourself. So, he wrapped you up to help your healing time. You sustained no internal bleeding, just a few scrapes and bruises.” His hand was back on top of my hair, this time he threaded his fingers through my curls. “You have been asleep for three days. You scared me, but the doctor assured me you would wake soon.”

  You scared me? Did he just say that?

  “I’m sorry I did.” What the hell was I apologizing for?! Did I get hit too hard? “Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it Mr…” I trailed off purposely. I had a job to do here, pain or no pain.

  “Meikle. Christoff J. Meikle.” he said, giving me another one of those dark knowing stares.

  I pretended not to see it and nodded. “Sabrina Walker.” I lied. There was no need for him to know my real name. In two days, we would be out of each other lives, with me a few hundred grand richer. So, for now, ‘Sabrina Walker’ was who I am. This is just a job after all.

  A yawn escaped my lips and I settled deeper between the soft sheets and the fluffy oversized comforter.

  “You should get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning and we can talk some more then.” Christoff got up in what seemed like slow motion, before adding, “Goodnight …Sabrina Walker.”

  I slept through the entire morning the next day and woke sometime around four in the afternoon. A much older woman, who introduced herself as Marlene Brown had walked in as I had started turning in bed with a syringe in her hand, it must be another dose for my pain.

  “You up now? Time for your pain medicine Dr. Isaac said.” She said with a smiling Jamaican accent. “You want to eat now, or you want to take a bath? I’ll help you if you want.”

  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I sighed and grunted against the small pain coursing through my right side. Looking over at the dark round woman, I smiled back at her. She was short and round, but not fat. She had a slightly bigger stomach but that wasn’t enough to say that she was fat. She had a broad nose and wide dark eyes and full round lips painted in pink lipstick.

  From looking at her I could see that she was maybe in her late fifties and it was evident she had experienced more than her fair share of hardship thrown her way in life, by the exhausted look creased on her face.

  “Miss Walker? You hearing me?” Her words slowly registered along with her thick Jamaican accent.

  I nodded. “Bri. Call me Bri.” I had almost forgotten the name I had given Christoff last night. Thank goodness, she said it. “I’ll eat first thank you, but can I use your phone please Marlene.”

  She gave me the morphine through the line and looked at me. Hesitation clearly etched on her features, “Mr. Meikle said no calls for you until he sees you. I’m sorry child, but he doesn’t want you calling some news company or a lawyer until you two talk.” She shrugged and continued, “He said you didn’t want him to call the police when you got hit. He said you insisted no hospital. So, no calls until he can talk to you.”

  “Really?” I snarled, throwing back the covers and getting out of bed. “He hits me with his car and now wants to hold me hostage.”

  Marlene helped me as I struggled to secure my footing. “It’s not like that. You is not a hostage.” She tried to set me back on the bed, but I pushed at her. “You need to slow down before you hurt you self again, Sabrina.”

  “Bri, and I need a phone. I have people who are worried about me.” I thought of Jason and how he must be freaking out not hearing from me. Then I thought of how he may have already told Gerald that I had been killed by a car. The thought sent a sudden kind of panic through me.

  Jason wasn’t the smartest person, and if he thought he had killed me, I knew he would most definitely tell Gerald, what I had planned and how he went along with it. Leading Gerald to kill him the first chance he got, once he was out of jail.

  I had promised to call him in two days and no later. And if I recall I was out for three days. Jason would be frantic. I needed a phone. “Where is my bag? I need my bag.” I looked past the dark woman and scanned the room behind her. No bag. “Marlene, I need to call someone. Please.” I looked back at her and settled myself. “Your boss said I have been out for three days and today makes four. Please, my friends will think the worst. I have to call them at least please.”

  She hesitated and stared at me. Trying to decide what to do. She slowly nodded, after it seemed like forever, finally nodded and pulled a gray cordless phone from around her back pocket. “One call and I listen to who it is.”

  I agreed, taking the phone from her and punched in Jason’s phone number. It rang four times before it was finally answered. “Jason?” I asked not hearing a voice come through.

  “Fucking Christ Almighty –”

  “I’m okay Jason. I’m alive.” I quickly assured him not wanting him to give away my name, with Marlene standing beside me listening.

  He let out a heavy sigh before going on. “You had me worried. I thought the worst. I waited and waited. I had decided to give you until the end of the week.” He started babbling and I knew he was freaking out. “I got scared…”

  Hearing how scared he was, I smiled slightly wanting to reassure him some more. He suffered from anxiety and if it got out of control his asthma would kick in. “Listen, I took a hell of a hit alright. But I’m fine, I promise you.” Another sigh. “I was out for three days. They have me on morphine for the pain and an IV-line to keep me hydrated. I knew you’d freak out.” I looked at Marlene as I continued to reassure Jason.

  Satisfied that I was actually calling family, she moved and left me alone in the room. “Look I’m not allowed any calls because they think I’ll call the media or a lawyer. So, I won’t call you for a while, okay.” I kept my eyes on the open door looking out for Marlene.

  “What if Gerald calls?”

  “Tell him everything is going as planned and I’m in the zone. He knows when I’m working, I don’t want any distractions, so he won’t ask to talk to me.”

  There was a moment of silence. Then Jason spoke again. “Are you safe there?”

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to worry him about that. “Yeah. He has a maid here and she seems nice. I’m safe. As soon as I can, I’ll get to work. Just listen for your phone alright. And if you need to call me back, my name is Bri Walker.”

  “No problem.”

  I hung up and placed the phone on the night table as Marlene came back into the room with a tray in hand. She ordered me to get back in bed and once I was sitting comfortably against the headboard, she handed me the tray of food and I noticed her taking back the phone. “Thank you,” I whispered and she nodded before entering the adjoining bathroom.

  Staring at the food in front of me, my stomach instantly growled. Not knowing it was hungry until now. Marlene had put together a dish of some Jamaican foods that I had not eaten in a long time. Ackee and saltfish complemented with some fried dumplings and boiled bananas. In a small bowl, she had cut some fresh strawberries and melon with a spoon of yogurt to the side, with a glass of what looked like orange juice and a cup of what smelled like peppermint tea.

  It was more food than what I was normally accustomed to eating but I dug in like a greedy child and stuffed my mouth with everything. Taking small pauses to wash down the food with the orange juice. Wiping my mouth with the napkin that was on the tray, I slowly sipped the hot tea and relaxed into the bed. I felt as if I was in heaven. A nice warm bed, a decent meal in my stomach, what more could a girl ask for?

  Closing my eyes, I started to nod off when I heard Marlene return to the room. “You was hungry!” Her smile was wide when I looked at her and blushed, embarrassed at how quickly I had scarfed down the food. She had only just stepped away five minutes ago. “I filled the bathtub with some warm water for you. Towels and washcloths are on the side of the tub, with some soaps, bath salts, and shampoo to wash your hair. But take time washing your hair. We don’t want the stitches to come out.” She removed th
e tray from in front of me and took the empty teacup from my hands. “You want help?”

  “I should be fine. Thank you for all your help, Marlene.”

  “Not a problem.” She smiled again. “A robe is also on the side of the tube. And if you need help just call out. I’ll leave the bedroom door open so I can listen out for you.”

  The bathroom was the most extravagant room I had ever seen in my life. It was as big as the bedroom but lustrous. White and gold were placed on every inch of the room. On a long white and gold speckled marble countertop sat two clear white bathroom sinks, with one long mirror above it, stopping exactly where the countertop ended. A new toothbrush and toothpaste laid beside one of the sinks and I turned to examine the room some more.

  In the middle of the bathroom stood a round glass floor to ceiling shower with three different showerheads. One to the ceiling and the other two on opposite sides of the glass. Having never seen such a thing like this before it was just simply...breathtaking.

  To the back of the room, beyond the shower, sat a large white vanity makeup table with three lighted mirrors to capture all angles of whoever sat there to do their makeup. It was then that I realized I was staying in some woman’s bedroom. How lucky, whoever this woman was, to have such an en suite bathroom.

  Moving towards the shower as I pulled the IV pole along with me, I glimpsed at the tub that was to my left, through an open archway. I made my way over and just as I had expected, the bathtub was just as awe-inspiring as the rest of the bathroom. Sitting to the far right, was a large white tub that could hold up to five people in it, built into the white gold marble with a golden faucet on top.

  The side was carved into two open squares and in one laid a few fresh towels and washcloths. While the other held a few luxurious bath oils, bath salts, body wash, shampoos, conditioners, and a variety of soap bars. On the wall above the tub, were five hooks, each with new white robes hanging from them.