The Underdog Billionaire

Chapter 7: Beast Mode

“The police cannot protect us. We need a different kind of protection,” said Rex.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“We need underworld protection, boss. The type Martin has.”

Jake was silent. He sat back in his chair and thought about what his bodyguard had said.

They were still in the hospital and Rex had just come out of surgery. Fortunately, the bullet that hit him didn’t do much damage to him and he’d be fine in a matter of weeks.

“I don’t want to get involved with the mob,” he said.

“At this point, boss, you don’t have a choice. No wealthy man in this country relies solely on the police of private security for protection.”

“How do you know these things, Rex?”

He hesitated before speaking again. “I know you don’t know much about me, but Mr Sherwood knows my background.”

“Come on, Rex. Don’t make me drag that info out of you. What do you know?”

“Truth is, I’m from a family of mercenaries based in Serbia. And when I say family, I don’t mean blood relatives per se.”

“I see.”

“We are groomed from an early age to be protectors for hire. We’re trained by the best of the best in the business.”

“Wow.”

“I was recommended to Mr Sherwood five years ago by one of his business associates.”

“So, you’re like a member of a mafia or what?”

“Not a mafia. We’re highly skilled bodyguards trained in various arts of combat.”

“Are you trained to kill too?”

“Yes.”

His instant reply startled Jake.

“Mr Sherwood?”

Jake groaned. “Why does everyone keep calling me Mr Sherwood? My name is Jake Turner!”

“I apologize,” said the orderly who’d come to call him.

“What can I do for you?”

“Your wife is awake. She wants to see you.”

His heart stopped. He wasn’t mentally ready to see Morgan just yet. How was he going to break the bad news to her? How would she react?

“Thank you. I’ll be with her shortly.”

After the orderly left, he returned his attention to Rex.

“I want you to kill Martin.”

Rex frowned. “Martin Klum?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He ordered the hit on us. It was either a warning or he truly wanted us dead.”

“Hmm…”

“Can you do it?”

“Of course, I can do it but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I don’t care. I want that bastard dead and buried. As long as he’s alive, he’ll be a stumbling block to me.”

“Listen, boss. Once you cross that line, there’s no going back.”

“Let me worry about that. We’ll talk about the details later. I have to go and see my wife.”

When he left Rex’s room, his feet felt heavy as he shuffled them towards Morgan’s room. Linda was sitting beside her bed and they were both crying softly.

“Jake!” She exclaimed when she saw him.

“Hey, Morggie,” he said fondly and hugged her.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” said Linda and she hurried out of the room.

Jake wondered if his mother-in-law had bitten the bullet or if that was his duty.

“Who were those people?”

“I hate to tell you this but it was Martin. He ordered the hit and called me a few hours ago to tell me.”

Morgan was horrified. “Martin! Why would he do that?”

“To get back at me for sending him to jail. He figured it out. He knew I was the snitch.”

“That evil bastard tried to kill us. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt too.”

“Jim wasn’t so lucky. He took a bullet to the head and died instantly. Rex got hit too but he’s ok.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yeah.”

“Have you told the police?”

“I’m not going to tell them Martin is behind it. He’s out of jail and he has friends at the top. We’ll never be able to pin this on him without strong evidence.”

“But we can’t just let him get away with it either.”

There was a knock on the door and Jake responded. A nurse entered the room and when he saw her, his jaw dropped.

“Stephanie?”

She gasped when she recognized him too. “Jake!”

“Do you work here?”

“Yes. I came to check your wife’s vitals.”

“How do you two know each other?” Morgan asked.

“She’s an old friend,” Jake answered before Stephanie could respond.

“That’s nice,” said Morgan with a smile. “It’s good to finally meet someone from your past.”

Jake nodded and prayed silently that Stephanie wouldn’t say something stupid. Thankfully, she quietly did her job and left the room without another glance in his direction.

“That was odd. You two didn’t even say anything to each other. No catching up, nothing.”

“We weren’t that close in the past,” he lied. “How are you feeling now?”

“Sore. I think the painkillers are starting to wear off. Why do I feel like I’d had surgery?”

Jake cleared his throat nervously. “Well… you did.”

“To take out the bullets, right?”

“Yes,” he said with a sigh. Linda hadn’t told her anything. Crap!

“Is something wrong?” Morgan asked. She could see the dread in his eyes and it troubled her. “Did something else happen?”

He sighed again. “Yes, Morgan. Something else happened. Something terrible.”

“Go on, Jake, tell me. The suspense is killing me!”

“The bullets ruptured your uterus. The doctors had to surgically remove it to stop you from bleeding to death. I’m so sorry, Morgan.”

She was stunned. “What did they remove?” She whispered.

He took her hands in his and squeezed them gently. He was trying so hard to fight the urge to cry but he was losing the battle woefully.

“We can’t have babies, Morgan. I’m so sorry.”

Those were the last words she heard before she passed out.

*****************************

“I want you to do it as soon as possible!”

“My boys are still trying to pin down his location, boss. Martin knows you’re probably looking for him and he has gone into ghost mode.”

“And I am going into beast mode. Find him and kill him!”

“Yes, boss. I’ll let you know what I find.”

As soon as Rex left, Jake called Linda to find out how Morgan was doing. It’s been nearly three weeks since she was discharged from the hospital for home care.

Although she was recovering well physically, she was mentally in another world entirely. She’d refused to go for therapy, insisting that she was ok.

“I think you should come back home as soon as you can,” said Linda tiredly. “She’s refusing to eat or take her medications.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” he replied.

When he arrived at the mansion, he found Morgan sitting alone in the sun room where he’d met and spoken to her father for the first time.

“Hey, Morggie,” he said softly.

“Don’t call me that,” she replied.

“Sorry. How are you?”

“What do you think?”

“Linda said you haven’t eaten all day.”

“So?”

“So, you have to. Your medications depend heavily on that.”

“Fuck the medications.”

“I agree but you need them.”

“Leave me alone.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Why? Because you’re tied to me in marriage or because you don’t want to lose your spot as the President and CEO of my inheritance?”

“I know this is not you talking, Morgan. That’s your pain talking.”

“Thanks for figuring that out, Dr Phil. Now, leave me alone.”

“Do you blame me for what happened?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe we should have given in to Martin and let him have the 1.5 billion dollars he wanted.”

“He wanted more than that, Morgan. He wanted everything.”

“Well, he’s gotten it, hasn’t he? We’ll never have children to pass down our wealth to.”

“We can adopt.”

“I don’t want to adopt. I want my own babies!”

Jake sighed. He was afraid this was going to come up eventually and he’d been dreading it.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“It is, Jake. We could get a surrogate.”

“Come on, Morgan…”

“Please, Jake. We could get donor eggs and use your sperm to make our babies. People do it all the time. We could try it too.”

“I don’t know…”

“Do you love me, Jake Turner?”

“Yes, Morgan. I love you.”

“Do you want me to be happy?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then let’s get a surrogate and have our baby. Please!”

He gave up. There was no point arguing with her. Her mind was made up and there was nothing he could say or do to change it.

“Ok. Let’s do it.”

She bolted out of her chair and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you,” she whispered tearfully.

“Anything for you, Morggie,” he replied and kissed her.

“I want us to start as soon as possible,” she said excitedly.

“Don’t we have to find a surrogate first?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I was thinking we could ask your friend.”

“My friend?”

“Yes. The one we met at the hospital. I think her name was Stephanie. I want her to be our surrogate.”