Femme Fatale

Chapter Seven: Out For Blood

"No, no, no! Please God, no," Corey Lewis stammered to himself. He stood up from his desk suddenly, knocking his chair backwards. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Corey started to hyperventilate as he refreshed his computer screen over and over again to no avail. He pulled at his wild curls and shook his head in disbelief.

Five million dollars in bitcoin were missing from their account. The account that Corey swore up and down was untouchable. How could this have happened? He had developed the security measures himself.

Corey was gasping for breath like a suffocating fish out of water. His heart was beating loudly in his ears and the room started to spin. He was going to die. They were going to kill him. It was too much for the high strung blonde to handle. Corey let out a bloodcurdling scream.

When Jax, Michael, and Frank rushed into the office, they found Corey retching his breakfast into a wastebasket.

"The money is gone," Corey gasped, still hyperventilating.

"What the hell did you just say?" Jax asked angrily.

"Th-the money is gone."

Jax punched Corey square in the face, and the sound of knuckles against cheekbone made a terrifying crack.

"You son of a bitch!" Jax yelled. Corey had fallen to the floor, whimpering, but Jax mercilessly stood over him and unleashed a fury of punches. When the two other men finally pulled their leader off of Corey, Jax was still fuming like a bull that had seen the color red.

Jax's blue eyes were crazed – there was murder in his eyes – and his shaggy blonde hair was going in every direction. Even his beard was quivering with anger. He terrified the other men, and with good reason. Jax Teller was not to be crossed.

"Talk," Jax growled, jabbing a finger into Corey's chest.

"We got hacked. Tha-that's all I know," the nervous blonde stammered. He looked like he was about to cry.

The others cursed under their breath and shook their heads in disbelief.

"I-I'll find out who did this," Corey continued.

"You fucking better," Jax warned. "Or else I'll make you dig your own grave."

Jax gave Corey one last glare, then walked out of the room. Frank Martin, his right hand, followed.

Johanna Bennett had unknowingly angered the wrong people. Jax, Frank, Michael, and Corey were criminal masterminds. They had spent months planning out the perfect heist, only to have the money slip through their fingers mere days later.

Whereas Jax was hot-blooded and rough around the edges, Frank had ice running through his veins. He was as cold and calculating as they come. The two together were already a dangerous combination. Throw in the talents of Corey and Michael Huisman into the mix? That dangerous combination turned lethal.

* * * * * *

Corey had locked himself in the office for days, subsisting mainly on Red Bulls and Twizzlers. Michael was resting on the black leather couch nearby, bouncing a tennis ball off the wall with one hand and catching it with the other. Michael was a handsome Dutchman with blue-grey eyes. He was a fast thinking smooth talker who could charm his way out of any situation. He was mainly there for moral support, and possibly medical support. He never knew with Corey. His twitchy friend could have a heart attack or go into diabetic shock at any given moment.

"I think I'm getting somewhere," Corey said. Michael dropped the tennis ball and made his way to Corey's side.

"I can't pinpoint the exact location or moment we got hacked, but I found a few breadcrumbs. Some asshole named Thomas Bennett has been trying to access our accounts. He tried from Las Vegas, then tried again in some girl's apartment in New York. Her name is Alex Smith..." Corey's voice trailed off, and he began to type frantically as he mumbled to himself.

"Shit. I almost missed it. Alex Smith is actually Johanna Bennett – his sister."

Michael stared at the scattered chaos of the computer monitors, trying to make sense of it all. He clapped Corey on the back. "Nice work," Michael said.

Once the others were called in and told of Corey's discovery, Jax was silent. Finally, he spoke. "Here's the plan. We use the sister to get to Thomas. Once we get our money back... we kill them both."