Page 101 of Born a Billionaire

THIRTY-THREE

I’m so relieved to see you with Lucky,” Adelia told Tony as she walked into the kitchen and went to the fridge. “I saw this ‘Lost Dog’ sign with a picture of a dog that looked just like yours, and I thought Lucky was lost. I tried calling you at the number, but some woman answered.”

“Oh, yeah? Must have been a different dog.”

Adelia handed him a water bottle and a bowl for water for Lucky. “That’s what I thought too, but now that I’m seeing Lucky again, I know it was the same dog because it had the exact same shape on its head. That’s weird, right?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Weird.”

Now that she was saying it out loud, it did seem like more than a coincidence, and she got a very bad feeling about it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.

“I guess so,” she answered hesitantly.

“I’ve never been much of a dog person.”

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I thought walking a dog on the beach rather than just running into you out there alone would make me owning a house up the beach from you more believable, so I borrowed him.”

“Lucky isn’t yours?” That was the least of her concerns based on what he’d just said, but it was the first thing that she thought to say.

“No, but it worked, didn’t it?”

Her heart rate picked up until it was galloping like a racehorse in her chest. “Okay, I don’t know what creepy games you’re playing here, but you need to go.” Adelia pointed toward the door, her eyes darting toward her purse, desperate for her phone.

“When I saw you at The Snack Shop that night, I knew it was you right away. And I thought you would’ve recognized me too, but you didn’t.”

“Why would I recognize you?”

“I thought you might’ve seen pictures of me and Skylar together.”

“Skylar? You know Skylar?”

“Not as well as I wanted to.”

Adelia’s thoughts raced, piecing together everything as quickly as her mind would allow. Tall, handsome, black hair, blue eyes … her stomach roiled in disgust. “No. You’re not …” It couldn’t be him, could it?

“Figure it out, did you?”

“Are you Milton Hanley?”

“Ding, ding, ding. Give the girl a prize.”

Her fist shot out as if on autopilot, but he shifted just as quickly and grabbed both of her arms, twisting them behind her back, and she cried out in pain.

The dog barked loudly and came closer.

“Shut up, mutt!” Milton yelled.

“I’m going to kill you,” Adelia said through gritted teeth.

“No, you won’t. But you’re going to help me.”

“Why would I do that?”

Adelia’s phone rang in her purse, and Milton tightened his grip.

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