The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

Knox POV

I stand on the runway, my arms folded across my chest, Damien beside me, a tense lan and Mr. X, as we will call him so that he remains anonymous, a military connection of mine who was about to take Jackson on a trip with several of his men, to a prison that very few knew little about. I cracked a grin as the limo pulled out in front of the private jet while lan merely looked bored. Mr X's eyes were gleaming as he stood there in full military uniform, stroking his beard, a pleasant expression on his face. Jackson is torn from the limo, his hands restrained behind him in handcuffs, Mr. X's men drag him towards us while he struggles violently, his eyes wide with panic, his mouth gagged to prevent him from screaming out for help. He is kicking and flailing, but the other men deftly keep out of his way, also clad in military uniforms. One of the men kicks Jackson in the back of the knee, and he falls, kneeling, while Mr X reaches out and harshly drags the gag down, allowing Jackson to speak. He begins to immediately plead for his life like the coward he is.

"Please, please don't do this. I'll do whatever you want, I'll disappear, I'll never go near her again" he began to babble. He's in bad shape. His face is bruised and battered, his lip is split, and his right eye is blackened. Not to mention all the other injuries he received from our hands.

"How many times did Lorelai beg you not to hurt her?" my voice was cold.

He stops in the middle of his pleading and blinks at me, his mouth parting in surprise. He blanches at my question. His body began to tremble from the question. I gave him a cocky grin. He knows that whatever is about to happen is not going to be pleasant. "Please," he began again, his voice shrill and high-pitched, filled with desperation.

Mr X reaches out and grasps him by the collar, shaking his head. "You know, I despise a man who hits a woman. There is nothing more cowardly" he spits out, his accent heavy and thick.

"You look a little beaten up Jackson" I drawled, while lan remained quiet. "What's the matter? Didn't you like receiving the same treatment you've been giving Lorelai?" I asked arrogantly.

He spits at me. Mr X karate chops the back of his neck and Jackson swears out loud from the pain, wincing.

"What will it take for you to spare me?" he cried out pathetically.

I laugh. It's bloodcurdling. Even lan looks taken aback. I crack my knuckles, one by one, while Mr. X lets go of Jackson and steps back from the prisoner.

"Spare you?" my voice was dangerous. "You think I would spare you? No, no, no Jackson. There is nothing on this god's green earth that would make me spare your miserable sorry ass. You're going on a trip," I tell him, kneeling down to look the bastard in the eyes, "one that you're not coming back from, ever."

He lets out a sob, staring up at Mr X, who gives him a malicious grin. "You can't do this, it's illegal" he shouts, trying to get to his feet, while Mr X's henchmen shove him roughly down again.

"Do you think that matters?" I asked him softly as he turned bright red. "Money tends to make a lot of problems just disappear. You would know that Jackson, wouldn't you? The only reason you've never been arrested for dealing drugs is because you bribed the police who caught you that one time. I saw the financial records" I murmured, "you paid him quite a lot of money. You made Lorelai work her a*s off to pay rent while you lived in luxury. I got that million dollars back for her" I hissed, getting even closer as he tried to move his head back away from me. "You son of a b***h, even hell is too good for you."

"Can't be much of a drug dealer" Mr X comments blithely, "otherwise he would have had men to come to his rescue." "He's small potatoes," I said dismissively while lan yawned, "but the world would still be better off without him."

"You can have all my money" Jackson screams, "all of it. Just don't kill me, please", he began to look towards lan.

lan chuckles "Why do you think we're going to kill you? That would be too merciful for the likes of you," he said, frowning. Jackson pales. He manages to get to his feet and makes a mad dash for it, only to be tackled roughly to the ground by Mr X's henchmen. I wince. That sounded like it hurt. Good. It couldn't have made me any happier to see him being manhandled like that. "He's going to be in for a shock when we get there" Mr X comments with a shrug. "Are you sure you don't want to come and see him settled into his new accommodations?" he asks with a crooked grin.

I'm tempted, but the less I know the better. "Thanks, but I shouldn't know where he ends up," I tell him honestly. "That way I can't be tempted to finish the job."

Mr X smirks "if that's the way you want it. It's hardly going to be glamorous, being in a prison specifically made for terrorists. He'll be lucky if he survives a whole year. You know they beat and torture the prisoners?" he commented wryly as I smirked at him. "I'm aware" I said calmly, "but I'm fairly certain he was torturing Lorelai for a lot longer than that, so my heart is not going to bleed for him. I appreciate this favor from you."

Mr X shrugs "You've done me enough favors in the past, it's only fair I return them. I'll ensure the private jet is returned." "There's no rush" I assured him, "we have plenty."

He chuckles "You may not get it back," he says as his men deposit Jackson back in front of us.

"Well, we should prepare the prisoner," he says to his men, who begin to grab the gag as Jackson's eyes widen in horror. "You'll never get away with this. Somebody is going to notice that I'm missing and go looking for me. They'll realize it was you" he screams before the gag is unceremoniously placed back into his mouth and tied roughly around his head again. Mr X rolls his eyes. "So dramatic," he says thickly, waving his hands at his men who pick up Jackson and begin to take him up the steps "If he doesn't shut up then I'll knock him unconscious," he threatens.

I hope he has a reason for doing just that.

I shook his hand. "Thank you again and good luck with your trip."

His eyes crinkled with good humor "I hope to hear from you again soon. I might have some more confidential files for you to look at" he winks. "Maybe a new prototype or two."

"I look forward to it" I smiled as he shook lan's hand.

He began to head into the plane. I watched as the doors shut. "We should get off the runway," I said calmly.

My driver and Damien began to gesture for us to get into the limo. Ian joins me on one side while Damien sits on the other. The driver starts the car. Ian folds his arms.

"Do you think you went too far? Where is that plane going?" he asks.

I shrugged, "If anything, I didn't go far enough, and I have no notion of where that plane is going", I advised him as the limousine began to drive away from the plane, "you shouldn't know either."

lan's expression is grim. "The connections you have make me afraid sometimes" he admits.

"Those connections sometimes come in useful", my voice is casual, my expression bland as I turn to glance out the window "And I'm not the only one who has powerful connections or connections in high places, am I lan?" I ask pointedly.

I'm not the only one with secrets, lan has a lot of them as well.

He chooses to remain silent, but his lips tighten and his jaw clenches, signaling that he agrees.

"What about Jackson's identity and..."

"I've already erased every bit of his identity I could in the way of digital fingerprints. His birth certificate, driver's license, library card, hospital records, and anything that I could have has now been successfully deleted. As far as the digital world knows, Jackson Jones doesn't exist. There is no record of that name or that birth. If anybody tries to look him up, they'll come up empty. He's vanished.

"What about his friends?"

"A drug dealer has no friends" my voice is low, "it's too dangerous to have any. Lorelai is unlikely to care what happens to Jackson and his family is dead. I checked. He has no living relatives, or at least no close ones who will think about going looking for him. We're fine" I assure lan, who merely nods while Damien looks off into the distance.

"You surprise me," lan said, glancing at me.

"How so?"

"You've never been this ruthless before. Why is it different this time?"

I looked lan in the eyes, my expression turning hard. "Because this time he hurt something precious to me. He hurt the girl I'm in love with and that's unforgivable. Don't tell me that you have a problem with this, lan?"

He shakes his head. "No, in fact, I admire you for taking such a stance. Normally, you're far more compassionate than either father or I would like you to be. This is a different side of you and I approve wholeheartedly. I think you should be this coldhearted more often" he said approvingly.

I smirked at lan. "One day you're going to find yourself in this same position and when that day comes, I'm going to be the one to say I told you so."

He laughs but it's hollow. "Keep dreaming Knox. I'm happy for you, but don't try and hope for the same thing for me. Two out of three of us is more than enough, let's be satisfied with that."

I frowned and opened my mouth before closing it and shrugging. If lan wanted to continue to believe that love was never going to find him, then who was I to change his mind? He was harboring a secret, one that only I knew about, and it pained me to think that it was the reason he thought he would never find someone. I sighed and settled back against the seat. lan would find somebody, if he would just open his mind up a little.