“Pervert.” I shook my head at him, my heart racing.
He laughed. “Only for you, Bianca. Only for you.”
“I’m sure you say that to all the girls,” I teased as he kissed me lightly on the nose. My stomach flipped as he held me close to him. His body pressed into mine, and if I closed my eyes, I could pretend we were back on the island. Just the two of us.
“All the girls don’t matter.” He stroked my hair and I could feel his heart beating in his chest. We stood there for a few minutes, both of us knowing that this was our safe haven.
“Why did you let me just leave the island?” I looked up at him curiously. “I haven’t been able to figure it out.”
His eyes were dark. “I knew there was no point trying to keep you there against your will if you didn’t trust me. So I let you go.”
“Why did you let me go before the merger went through?” I asked him softly. “How did you know I wouldn’t try to stop it?”
“I didn’t know it hadn’t gone through as yet.” He looked away from me. “I was taken aback when I found that out.” He turned back to me and grabbed my hands. “Bianca, I want you to know that I don’t care what you do about the merger. This was never about money for me.” He stepped back and gazed into my eyes.
“But it was for David, wasn’t it? That’s what was in the kidnapping for him? Me being gone for the merger to go through?” I stared at Jakob, just thinking. The whole dynamic between David and Jakob still didn’t add up, not completely. They distrusted each other so much. And David had kept asking me about Jakob as if he wasn’t sure of Jakob’s moves. How could they have planned this together if they couldn’t stand each other?
“David is greedy, he always has been,” Jakob said. “Ever since he was a little boy, all he thinks about is money and the company. That’s what Jeremiah Bradley stood for at the end of the day, money and power—and it’s what David inherited.”
“I still can’t believe he made up another person to pretend that he had nothing to do with the company.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe he fooled me so well. I had no idea that he had any business acumen.”
“You had no idea at all?”
“No.” I bit my lower lip. “But only because that’s what he kept telling me. I should have realized he was trying to throw me off the scent.” I sighed. “I should have realized that there was no Mattias Bradley.” I looked at Jakob keenly to see how he reacted to my statement. I wanted to be 100 percent positive that there was no Mattias Bradley.
“He was nothing but a figment of the imagination.” Jakob looked into my eyes. “A name made up by my father to protect my brother and his interests.”
“Why the name Mattias?”
“Have you ever heard of Saint Matthias?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“He was the apostle chosen after Judas betrayed Jesus and he was crucified.”
“Okay.” I looked at Jakob blankly. “What does that mean?”
“He became the twelfth apostle, chosen by God after the apostles prayed to him for guidance. There were two men for them to choose from. It was between Matthias and a guy called Joseph, also know as Barsabbas. Both men had been with Jesus through his whole ministry, and ultimately Matthias was chosen. Such an important role he played, but he was only mentioned in the Bible once. But the most important part of the story is that Matthias was with them every step of the way, even before he was chosen. He witnessed the ministry of John the Baptist and he witnessed Christ’s ascension.”
“So?”
“So my dad liked his story. And he wanted to choose a name that represented something powerful. Mattias was created to protect my brother and his assets. Mattias was created and entrusted by God, that’s what my father liked to think.” Jakob shrugged and gave me a smile. “I take it you’re not a religious person?”
“I never went to church growing up and I’ve never read the Bible.” I made a face. “Are you religious?”
“I never talk religion or politics with friends.” He winked at me. “I don’t like to lose them.”
“I didn’t ask you to talk religion or politics. I asked you if you were religious.”
“I believe in God, let’s leave it at that.” He took a step back. “And with that we should get going. Hopefully, Larry’s wife can help us.”
“Yeah.” I frowned. Why was Jakob being so evasive? I thought we were finally past that. I was about to ask him more about the creation of Mattias when his phone rang.
“Jakob Bradley,” he barked. “What?” His voice was cold and his eyes narrowed as he gazed at me. “Are you sure?”
“What’s going on?”
He held a finger up to me. “Shit!” he exclaimed angrily, and hung up.
“What’s going on, Jakob?” I frowned
He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room. He grabbed his remote control and turned the TV to CNN. My jaw dropped as I gazed at the breaking news headline on the screen: Top New York Lawyer Busted for Tax Fraud and Evasion Expected to Blow the Whistle on Several Billionaires.
“Oh my God,” I whispered as I stared at the screen. Larry Renee was in handcuffs, being walked to some cars surrounded by police. “What’s going on?” I looked at Jakob, who was standing there with his fists clenched and his jaw tight.