The Billionaire's Twins Play Matchmaker novel Chapter 51

“All right kids, orderly fashion please,” the teacher announced. “Remember this is a public place so we are going to conduct ourselves like responsible young men and women. Keep close to your buddy. Now we are heading to the Educational wing first.”

Alexis slipped her arms into those of her brothers. Luckily their class had an odd number of students and they made a natural group of three. They had waited anxiously for this day. Finally they would get answers directly from their father.

‘Those goons are following us,’ Theo commented tapping on his sister’s arm in their secret language which she relayed before answering.

‘Is the one from the diner here?’

‘No. He must be watching mom again.’ Theo didn’t know why but it made him anxious.

‘It’s fine. I don’t think he intends to hurt her.’

‘I think you’re giving him too much credit.’

‘Maybe.’ Alexis was fully willing to accept the fact she was giving their father some credit he hadn’t earned.

She only had a brief conversation with him but it was enough to give her an impression of the man and he didn’t feel like one of their aunt’s usual henchmen. In fact he seemed fairly personable and it was hard to think of him strictly as a villain. But it was just a feeling.

They headed into the exhibit with their attention divided. Listening to the keepers they also kept an eye on their shadows. Time slowly ticked down to their confrontation. Sean read off the various information cards for Alexis’s benefit though she found it difficult to focus.

‘Guys, I think someone is taking pictures of us.’ Theo tapped.

‘Really? Who?’

‘Some weird guy with a beard.’

‘Can you be more specific?’ Sean asked.

‘Four o’clock. Cargo pants. Leather jacket. Big camera.’

‘Looks like a professional camera. Could be a photographer…or…’

‘A reporter,’ Alexis supplied after considering her brother’s comments.

‘Why would he be taking pictures of us?’

‘Us? Or just me?’

‘Good question. We’re so close together it’s hard to tell.’

‘There’s a touch pool around here, right? When we get there let’s split up and see who he’s focused on.’

‘Right.’

When they finally reached the touch pool Sean and Theo left Alexis petting a spotted ray. Each circled the pool in a different direction pretending to be enthralled by the urchins and rays. After several minutes they returned to their sister each tapping the same message.

‘He’s only taking pictures of you, sis.’

To their surprise their sister wasn’t the least bit shocked as if she suspected as much. Her next answer made both almost fall over.

‘Then he must have been sent by our grandfather.’

‘Seriously?’ they both tapped.

‘Has to be. If it was our father he would be taking pictures of all of us. If it’s just me then I’m the only one he knows about because I was the only one on stage.’

‘So what? We’re chopped liver because we don’t play piano?’

‘That’s what you are concerned about?’

‘It’s getting close to lunch guys, focus. We have to shake our new tail.’

‘So let’s use the goon squad,’ Sean suggested. ‘We wanted to get rid of them too anyway.’

‘Right. Here’s what we’ll do…’

* * *

Jake sighed trying to seem interested in the aquarium full of fish and aquatic animals. His focus was on the trio of kids wandering with their classmates. It was remarkable how close the siblings seemed to be. The brothers walked on either side of their sister keeping her safe and out of harm’s way. If either of them were bored with their mission they certainly didn’t give any sign.

When he and his partner parked at the school Jake had thought it would be another boring day until the school bus pulled up. Suddenly it was a flurry of activity as the teacher, their aides and other chaperones wrangled the class. Luckily they had parked at an angle that gave them a proper view to see their targets board the bus with everyone else.

Sensing their day was going to get a whole lot more interesting they followed the bus to the aquarium and followed the group of boisterous kids at a discreet distance. Jake glanced at his partner who seemed to be taking particular interest in some of the exhibits. Apparently he had never been to the aquarium and was enjoying the experience. As long as they did their job and the kids returned safely to the school it didn’t matter if they were a little distracted.

Jake shook his head looking to their targets to see one of the brothers had disappeared. He jerked to attention scanning the crowd but didn’t see the boy. Jake’s gaze returned to the other two. They didn’t seem overly concerned with their brother’s absence as they touched one of the hands-on models. The pair chatted comfortably about the model as if unaware of their missing sibling.

“Hey watch it, jerk!” a voice suddenly declared. “And why are you taking pictures of kids anyway? You some sort of pervert? Perv alert! Perv alert!”

Jake immediately turned to the voice to see the missing brother circling a man who indeed had a camera pointed in the direction of the siblings. Laughing the boy ducked back into the crowd leaving the man facing a rather stunned throng of kids and adults whose trip was suddenly disrupted. The man seemed frozen as if not sure how to explain himself. While he hesitated Jake and his partner moved in.

They appeared like security guards so the crowd did not bat an eye as they quietly gripped the man’s shoulders and escorted him away. Once out of sight of the crowd the pair became less friendly. Jake snatched the man’s camera while his partner kept the man under control. Not only did the digital camera have pictures of kids but they were all of the young girl they themselves were tasked with protecting.

“What is this?” Jake demanded.

“That’s none of your business,” the man said. “You have no right to detain me. I’ll call the police.”

“Assuming you still have your fingers,” Jake retorted causing the man to fall silent. “So let’s try this again…”

* * *

Silas stood at the edge of the penguin enclosure looking at the small birds that were quite comfortable in the New York fall chill. Beside him Thomas held a case with the ransom money. To keep a low profile both were dressed casually though they certainly didn’t fit in with the crowd. As it was close to lunch most visitors had moved on to the café.

Thomas glanced at his friend. In all these years he couldn’t recall a time Silas looked so angry or on edge. They still hadn’t been able to track where the email came from. At the risk of revealing too much Thomas had employed the lead of the IT department to look into it but the only result was that the email’s IP was from inside the building meaning either someone in the company had sent it or someone had infiltrated the network.

Even now IT was checking the network’s firewall trying to find how a hacker might have breached it. Thomas expected a full report once they returned to the office. For now they had to wait blindly for their solicitor to show themselves.

“We meet again, Mister Prescott.”

They tensed at the voice sharing dubious looks before turning around. Seated on a rock no more than ten feet away was the young girl they had unknowingly met in the hospital, the same young girl who had shined on stage, the young girl whose blind eyes sparkled with amusement at their silence.

Alexis leaned back drawing a knee to her chest and hugged the leg as she waited for them to come out of their stupor. In truth she also had to catch her breath. Losing the camera man and their shadows had been easier than slipping away from their chaperones. In the end Theo had to make up another distraction.

“…How long have you known?” Silas finally found his voice. Was it wrong to want his daughter to call him dad?

“That you are our biological father? Since I was five,” she shrugged making him suck in his breath. “I didn’t know it was you at the hospital until the director said your name though.”

Silas fought a nervous twitch as his hands became clammy. He hadn’t forgotten that first meeting either. Despite his ignorance at the time it had been the first conversation he had with one of his children. He had been impressed with her resilience and quick wit then and he still was.

“Mom never told us about you,” Alexis continued. “She doesn’t know we know. She thinks we were asleep when she and Aunt Tracy talked about you. We put the rest together on our own.”

Silas forced him to swallow back his disappointment. So Ava never told them about where they came from. But his children were smart and learned it on their own.

“We also know she wasn’t born Lynn Carter if that’s your next question,” Alexis confirmed his suspicions. “We know all about the Carlisle family. To be honest we find them disgusting. They’ll get their karmic payback soon enough.”

Silas’s brow furrowed at that. It seemed she was referring to something specific almost as if they planned the downfall themselves. But that was impossible they were only ten…then again…just who sent him the email?

“Sean is very good with computers,” Alexis benignly smiled. “He and Theo are both very observant. For future reference if you plan on having someone followed you should choose less conspicuous vehicles. Shiny, black SUVs tend to stick out in the slums.”

Thomas struggled to hold back a laugh. He had authorized the security teams to use the company’s fleet vehicles. Naturally they chose SUVs because it allowed them to take extra equipment. No one had voiced concerns that the vehicles might be too noticeable parked on a street alongside older, broken down cars.

Silas glared at him as Thomas had been in charge organizing the team. How could such a detail be overlooked? Didn’t he insist the team keep low profiles?

“If it’s any consolation…mom hasn’t noticed yet,” Alexis added.

“…You-you haven’t told her?” Silas asked.