Romance: The Billionaire's Desire by Kelli Sloan Read Free Book Online

do this, Robert.”
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I have got myself in such a deep hole, this is the only way out.”
    “Kidnapping police officers is not a way out.”
    “I won’t kidnap you then.  I’ll just kill you.”
    “You won’t do that, Robert.”
    He laughs, “Don’t tell me what I will or won’t do!  You’re in no position to control this situation.”
    “Who was the witness?” I stall for time.
    “The witness?  What witness?”
    “The witness for the stolen painting.”
    “That was Gerald, one of my friends from university.  He owed me a favor so I asked him to stand outside the apartment all night and pretend that he saw Nathan breaking in.  Gerald was a very good actor at college, and judging by the way he convinced you guys, he still is a good actor.”
    “And the security footage?”
    “That was a matter of breaking into the security office.  It’s funny, you know.”
    “What’s funny?”
    “That the security office is the least secure place in any building.  It was easy to break in and steal footage for a night.”
    “You won’t get away with this Robert.” 
    “Maybe I don’t want to get away with it.  Maybe I want to get caught.  Maybe I want this pain to end.  Can you end this pain for me Detective?”
    He is clearly referring to his drug addiction, “We can get you help.  We have professionals that can help end that pain.”
    “I don’t want their help,” he replies, “They’re no help at all!  They tell you how you should feel.  They have no idea what I’m going through.”
    “I understand,” I reply.
    “How could you understand?”
    “I lost a sister to drug use.”
    “The cop’s sister was a user?  Well, that’s a sad story,” Robert smiles sarcastically.
    “She was a good person with a bad habit.  I can see that you’re the same,” I try to calm him down.
    “I’m not a good person,” he laughs, “I stole my grandmothers favorite painting to pay for drugs!  That does not qualify me as a good person.”
    “Good people can make mistakes.”
    He takes a long pause and then circles around the room, before coming back to press his face in front of mine, “Shooting you won’t be a mistake.  It will be fun.”
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 13
     
    A Moment of Fear

 
     
     
     
    Robert is swinging my own gun in front of my face, hovering close to me.  I can smell my gun and I can see that he has taken the safety off. 
    This man means business.
    “Do you want to kiss your own gun before it shoots you?” he questions.
    I can tell that he is not messing around. 
    He is not pulling a stunt.
    “Why steal the painting?” I stall for time again.
    “Why steal the painting?” he smiles with yellow teeth, “Because it’s worth a lot of money!”
    “Do you still have it?”
    He laughs out loud, “That is the main problem with my plan.”
    Robert begins to move away from me, towards his desk.  In the moments when he isn’t looking, I struggle to get my hands out of the ropes.
    “Here it is,” Robert opens a drawer and removes the small painting.
    “That’s worth two million dollars?  It’s tiny,” I mention.
    He laughs heartily. 
    “That’s the problem with the general population, they don’t understand art.  This painting is a thing of beauty.”
    “What are you going to do with it?”
    “Sell it.  I don’t want to keep it.  I don’t think a two million dollar painting would look good on these walls.” 
    “You can’t sell it now.  It’s stolen goods – nobody will buy that.”
    “And that is the problem with my plan.  There are not many drug dealers willing to pay the amount that this painting is worth.  And I don’t have the connections to move it in the right circles.”
    “You’re going to sell that painting for drugs?”
    “Drugs are more important than little old paintings,” he laughs.
    “Why don’t you ask your grandmother to loan some money?” I continue to stall while