Race With a Heart
Chapter 232: Greed

Chapter 232: Greed

Looking at the photo, Paxton felt a surge of fury.

Damn it all to hell! How could they get caught? Damn! How could they have been so stupid and inconsiderate? How could HE be so booty and inconsiderate! After all, Martin asked them to hold back, that after all, anyone could come in and cover them. No, after all, he, the great Steve Paxton must have just taken Martin in the workplace in broad daylight like some rabbit unable to restrain his chutzpah. He wished he had listened to Martin for once and kept his dick in his pants!

In his imagination, Steve sent such a bundle of curses at his own address that no drunken soldier on leave would be ashamed of it. He knew he was worth every word.

He quickly glanced at Martin. The boy was still sleeping soundly. On the cabinet next to the bed lay his phone. So far he had remained silent, but that could change at any moment.

Steve and Martin had been caught in the act and someone had proof of their erotic involvement. That someone even sent him a photo saying he had that proof. For what purpose?

The answer was simple - blackmail. Money or favor, it was all the same. Someone wanted to use his stupidity and his greed against him. Who and why? For money? So that he would not enter the race or lose the race? But who...?

"Alston..." growled Paxton under his breath. The end of the season was approaching and the stables were hiring drivers for the new season. Alston had not shown off his best this season and after what he had done to Steve, his chances of staying with Fergus were almost none. But if he blackmails Paxton into demanding that he lose, Karl and the entire stable will be in trouble. Alston could also blackmail Martin that if he became a driver at Fergus, nude photos of him and Steve in a very indecent situation would be in the media.

Steve quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed. Alston, the asshole, would regret daring to start up with him again. Paxton could forgive him, but only once. What he did now, he won’t forgive him again.

But wait a minute, the photo was taken at the auto repair shop where Martin worked. How would Alston know they would be there? After all, he wasn’t following any of them, I guess. He certainly didn’t follow Martin, because Steve left some time after him, and Alston still had some business at the stable. Could he have been following Steve? No, that was unlikely, unless he had installed some kind of transmitter in his car. Just why would he mess around with something like that? He could have hired some detective or whoever to follow Martin or him, but to what end? To catch them in the act? He could have done it anytime in the stable, because he knew they liked stealthy sweet alone time. Didn’t he do it because he was worried about the stable’s reputation? In that case, he wouldn’t have risked a customs scandal at all. So... it might not be him?

The photo was taken in an auto repair shop, where almost anyone could enter. But not everyone could get Paxton’s number.

Steve recalled a previous incident in which someone tried to blackmail him. It was a hooker who pulled his number from a drunk Alston’s cell phone. Now it could have been similar. Maybe not a hooker, maybe some guy had pulled the number from his drunken friend, who, it just so happened, had been an acquaintance of Steve’s for a while. Maybe someone left his phone unsecured for a while and someone searched his memory and contacts. The possibilities were many. Yes, Alston still suspected his prime suspect, but he didn’t have to be the only one.

Steve, already dressed, stood still wondering.

If the photo had been taken at the auto repair shop and sent by someone who had the ability to get his number through Martin’s phone, for example, who could it be? Were the people at the workshop sympathetic to both of them, or maybe not? Steve recalled that one of the boys working there was rather opposed to him... What could his intentions be?

His phone rang. It was a restricted number. Steve ran out of the apartment. He didn’t want Martin to hear the call. In a moment he would find out who had sent him the photo and what he wanted for his silence....

***

Jack rushed to the hospital at break neck speed.

It wasn’t Kevin, he knew, but it was someone important nonetheless.

When he called Michael Moore, his secretary answered and informed him that his superior had fainted and was currently in the hospital.

Jack was shocked. What the hell is going on today? Has the world stood on its head? Kevin gone missing and his gushingly healthy father suddenly ended up in the hospital?

Lambert had the worst possible feeling.

Paul instructed him to wait at home, but Jack couldn’t do it. He and Kevin were not married and Michael was kind enough to Jack to somehow tolerate him, but for God’s sake, this was Kevin’s father! This was the man who gave life and raised Kevin to be the man he was now. Jack could not ignore him. His heart wouldn’t let him. Because maybe, yes, Michael would have preferred his son to provide the family with an offspring, but despite their disagreement over Kevin’s intimate affairs, Michael growled, whined, even threatened, but did nothing to put his son in the difficult position of choosing. Jack knew that Michael wanted a daughter-in-law, but despite all his power, he did nothing to remove Lambert from Kevin’s life. So maybe Michael Moore was not like a father to him, but at least like a decent father-in-law. And now he was lying in the hospital, alone, because Kevin was God knows where....

A heavy lump stood in Jack’s throat and for a moment he ran out of breath. Kevin... You must be all right. You must be ok, you must, otherwise....

The fear and pain were so great that Jack forced himself to play them off. He couldn’t panic. He had to keep his mind clear. He had to. Everything is definitely fine with Kevin. Kevin is strong, even though he’s kind of a nerd with glasses, but he’s strong because he’s seen more than one crime and met more than one degenerate, and he persisted. And he will persist. He must.

Michael Moore was in a room in cardiology. Jack saw Paul emerge from the room.

"Paul? What are you doing here?"

His brother was grim, but determined. He looked seriously at Jack.

"I was just about to call you."

One short sentence, and Lambert’s eyes darkened. Oh, Kevin.

"What do you know?" he asked surprised that he could get his voice out.

Paul led him to a more secluded spot.

"It’s a kidnapping with a ransom demand," he explained. "Michael Moore received a video showing Kevin as evidence and a ransom demand. It’s a huge sum, but he agreed to pay."

Jack was so relieved that he settled into the plastic chair. So this was no psychopathic murderer, no act of revenge to destroy him or Moore, just greed.

"Thank God..." he groaned. "I know it’s a dangerous situation, but it’s probably better than the alternative, eh?" with his eyes he traced Paul’s eyes to receive confirmation in them.

"Better," his brother admitted, sitting down next to him. "It seems, or at least Michael suspects so, that someone wants to finish his business. Such a ransom is a real blow to his business. Once his corporation is weakened, there will be no reason to hurt Kevin."

"So Michael will pay?" Jack wanted to make sure.

"Yes. It surprised me a little, because usually millionaires are not so eager to get rid of money even under similar circumstances. He must really care about Kevin."

"Yes, that’s true," Lambert admitted, and suddenly something occurred to him. He trembled. "And this recording, proof of life? Is Kevin...?"

"He’s a bit beaten up. The kidnappers wanted to show Michael that they are not joking and that Kevin is in a serious situation. That’s why Michael ended up in the hospital."

Beaten up! His Kevin! Oh, goodness! This gentle intellectual, who never hurt anyone, was beaten up just because someone wanted to cash in on the fact that he is his father’s son! What a ...

Jack suddenly felt his brother’s warm hand on his shoulder.

"It’s just a few bruises," he heard. "They will heal. Jack, we’ll do everything we can to get Kevin back to you whole. You can believe me, right?"

Paul hadn’t known Kevin as long as Jack had, but he had worked with him and seen him probably more often than Jack had. Paul also wanted him back.

"I trust you. Bring him back safely."

"I will."

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