The Billionaires Too (#2)

Deal Too

"Why bother coming if you are not even going to walk through those doors and see your brother?" Those were Sonya's words earlier before MJ left the hospital.

Under normal circumstances, MJ would have been pissed by Sonya's nagging, but she was right.

Her visits were becoming less frequent, and she never stayed for too long. She always wondered to herself what the use was, whether she was in the hospital, in the parking lot, or hotel, there was no change in Jorge's condition.

She had avoided going to where it all began for quite some time, but she could not run from it forever.

Upon arrival, the beach house was nothing like she remembered, it felt like a place harboured by the dead, like there was something left behind.

She did not know how to feel, either the place was cursed or her family was.

First it was her kidnapping, and now Jorge was shot.

The house that was once his sanctuary, a safe haven, was now bound by a yellow tape, a reminder that a crime had taken place.

It did not feel the same anymore, in a way, it had become a home, somewhere they could run to for comfort and a peace of mind, but right now, it felt like the one place they had to steer clear of.

She went under the tape and opened the door, and the first thing she saw was the blood covering the floor.

She slipped around the puddle and walked into the house, taking in everything. Everything was still the same, there was no sign of a break-in or theft, Jorge's laptop was sitting right there on the coffee table, they would have made some cash from it.

It was clear that this was not about money or material things, it was a matter of life and death - they were after blood.

MJ did rounds around the house, and by the time she came back from upstairs, she found Zoe waiting for her outside.

"Miss Billings, is this a bad time?"

MJ frowned. "Zoe?" The woman was standing there with her signature look, jeans and her brown leather jacket. "Did something happen, is everything okay with my brother?" She stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her.

Zoe shook her head, probably catching on to the panic in MJ's eyes. "No! I mean, nothing happened. I'm sorry for showing up unannounced, I know we didn't have a meeting scheduled."

That was such a relief and a red flag to MJ, with the way things were, she expected to receive a call to let her know that he did not make. She did not want to be negative, but she did not want to hang on to false hope either.

The only thing keeping her mind occupied at the moment was the search for the culprits responsible for this demise.

"Are there any developments in my brother's case?"

The defeated look on the detective's face was not assuring at all. "Unfortunately, no," Zoe said.

MJ clenched her jaw, trying not to lash out. She needed answers, something to work with. "Then why are you here, Detective?" She gritted.

Zoe gave a small smile. Did she even realise how useless she was right now? "I spoke to Shannon, and she swore that she didn't see anything and she wasn't involved."

She already knew that, it was not even an option to begin with, MJ knew very well that the only thing Shannon Botha was guilt of, was saving her brother. Was Zoe not listening to what was said in their first meeting, wasn't she part of the conversation?

Jorge's shooters were people in charge of the city, people who could make changes with just one phone call. It was someone who would not go down withouta fight. She thought that was clear already.

"Detective?"

Zoe's eyes perked up. "Yes?"

MJ had almost forgotten how incompetent the South African police were, getting commendable results from them was miraculous.

"Don't you ever waste my time again and don't return to me or contact me unless you have something concrete for me."

Zoe looked as if someone had poured cold water on her face, she nodded mindlessly. "I understand, Miss. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

It was no use kicking the poor woman, she was already down. This was a top priority to her, and she was still not making progress, that was definitely taking a toll on her already.

MJ had to take a deep breath to calm herself, the whole thing was stressing her out, but she had to remind herself that she needed allies more than enemies right now. Better yet, she needed to play her cards safe. "Look, I think there is a way for us to get to the bottom of things," she said calmly. "Your sister might also be able to help. A few months ago, I met a boy, he was a street kid."

Zoe's face lit up as she caught on. Clearly it was known what good the kids were for. "Do you think he might have seen something?"

MJ shrugged. He probably saw something of he was still in the streets, or even worse, in the country.

Guilt settled at the pits of her stomach. She knew what it was like living in the streets, the fear, the cold, the hunger, and the danger. There was no life out there, it was a survival of the fittest, the streets had a way of eating up the people.

"His name is Chad. I don't know where he is, I don't even have a picture. But please, I would appreciate it if you could help me find him."

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you meet him?"

"Sonya's apartment building. I doubt you are gonna find anything there. Last time I was there, their elevators were not working, I wouldn't count on their security cameras."

"Can I ask you something?" Zoe quipped, wetting her lips. "Say this boy leads us to your brother's killers, what are you going to do?"

MJ shook her head, undecided. That was a million dollar question. "Honestly, I don't know." That much was true.

She considered calling Liam, but she did want to distract him from his mission, she had no one else to turn to.

For days now something had been nibbling at her mind, things were about to get dangerous, and for that - she was prepared to make a deal with the devil.