Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 236

*Shelby*

I sat on the living room floor singing to Thomas and Amelia. It was getting close to nap time, but both babies seemed to be in a good mood, so I wasn’t going to rush them to bed before Michael and Bruce got up here.

I grabbed Amelia’s chunky thighs and tickled her softly. I was rewarded with the tinkling giggling of my best girl. Thomas screeched loudly, never one to be left out of the fun. I reached over and gave him a tickle of his own, and he rolled to his side and kicked his legs gleefully. Motherhood was the greatest gift of my life, and I was still seething because of the danger my sweet babies were in.

I was still playing with the babies and stewing when I heard the front door open. Michael walked in first, and Bruce followed after him. I stood and rushed over to him with an excited hug and exclaimed, “Oh Bruce, it’s been too long. How are you?”

He returned the hug and chuckled into my hair, “Well, better than the two of you, I’m afraid. How are you holding up?”

I leaned back out of the hug and walked back to where the babies were playing on the floor. I stood next to them and smiled down at their laughter then looked up and made eye contact with Bruce.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worn down and tired. But at the same time, I’m hungry for justice for my family and my clients. I didn’t know what kind of mess I’d be walking into with this case, but I guess I’m ready for whatever comes next,” I answered honestly.

Michael moved and sat on the couch while Bruce knelt to talk to the babies. Their eyes lit up as he spoke excitedly about how they’d grown since the last time he saw them.

“Amelia, your eyes are so blue, I swear it’s like looking in the ocean. And Thomas, when did your hair grow out so long?”

The anger in my heart softened while I watched Bruce make my babies smile. We were so lucky to have so many friends that loved our kids as much as we did. Lin, Aubrey, Jerrick, Gianni, Reggie, Lauren, Bruce, Miss Constance. They were all in our lives because they chose to be, and they enriched the babies’ lives every time they saw them.

While we were all enjoying each other’s company, Michael’s phone went off, and he grunted when he checked it.

“The stills from our security system just came through. Bruce, Shelby, do either of you recognize this man?” Michael asked as he held his phone up so we could see the picture of the man.

He was a white man, probably in his early forties. He had sandy blond hair, and he was wearing all black. There was a tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve of his black T-shirt. I couldn’t make out what it was, but it wrapped around his wrist and trailed up his forearm.

In unison, Bruce and I said, “No,” and then looked at each other, our eyes wide with concern. We both looked back at Michael as he studied the photos up close, anger etched into his forehead in deep lines between his eyebrows.

“Michael, I want to remind you that we have an entire team of drivers and security people that you can use to get around while you’re staying out of the public eye. They’ve all been vetted and have worked for the team for years. I’d trust them with my life, and I’d trust them with yours too,” Bruce said while giving Michael a look that said he knew Michael was going to protest. In moments like this, it was hard for him to trust anyone.

“I appreciate it, Bruce. But you know that’s not necessary. We can have our normal driver get us where we need to go. He’s been with me since you took early retirement, and we aren’t leaving much until we know the people responsible are caught,” Michael replied.

I wasn’t shocked to hear him ignore the reminder. Neither was Bruce.

He stood and paced back and forth in front of the couch, looking agitated and worried. “I’m going to do my best to help you guys. I’m going to keep my ear to the ground and ask around about Henderson to see if I can find connections to any other cases of arson or assault. This is ridiculous, and I won’t let someone attack you guys like this.”

“Bruce, you don’t need to get involved in our mess,” Michael said. “You have a family you need to worry about. I don’t want you endangering your loved ones for us. Not ever again. You already got shot once for me.”

Bruce walked over to Michael and clapped him on the back.

“I’m sorry, Michael. You have a family, too. I’m sure if the roles were reversed, you’d be doing everything you could to help me get justice. I’m not saying I’m going to put a target on my back by going to Henderson’s house and confronting him. I’m just going to reach out to trusted people and see if they have any information.”

“Fine,” Michael said reluctantly. “But please, don’t do anything too suspicious. I’m serious, I don’t want anyone getting hurt because they’re trying to help us.”

“Deal,” Bruce chuckled then checked the time. “Hey, if we’re going to be on time for your meeting with the FBI, we should probably pack up and head to the office. Go ahead and get your stuff ready. I’ll head over with you guys.”

I stood and walked to the nursery to pack the diaper bag and grab the car seats while Michael and Bruce each picked up a baby and brought them to me. I changed Amelia’s diaper, put her in a new pink dress with frilly white socks, and strapped her in. Then, I grabbed Thomas and got him changed and strapped in as well.

“Michael! The babies are ready. Will you come to get them so I can get dressed?” I yelled.

Seconds later, Michael and Bruce came and whisked the babies away to the living room, and I headed to our bedroom to change clothes and brush my teeth.

Ten minutes later, I walked into the living room refreshed and ready to leave for Michael’s office. Michael and Bruce were standing by the front door, and the babies were laughing happily in their car seats.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” I asked as I walked toward them.

Together, we headed down the elevator and to the private garage where our driver waited. The ride to the office was quiet and apprehensive. All of us were curious about what information Ramirez and Johnson would already be privy to.

The car pulled up outside the office, and Michael, Bruce, and I got out and carried the babies toward the entrance. The weather was mild and the sun was shining as we entered the glass door and walked to the elevator to head to the conference room. I glanced at the time on my phone and realized they were probably already waiting on us.

As we approached the closed conference room door, Bruce said, “I’ll wait out here until you guys are done. If you need me to help with the babies, just open the door and give me a yell.”

“Thanks, Bruce. You’re the best,” I thanked him, then Michael pulled the door open and we walked in.

Johnson and Ramirez sat at the long mahogany table, both wearing dark suits and badges with their name and division on their chest. I had hoped we’d never see them again after the last time, but clearly, our life had other plans.

“Mr. and Mrs. Astor, thank you so much for meeting with us today. You have extremely welcoming and kind staff,” Johnson said as he stood to shake our hands.

We quickly got the formalities out of the way and joined them seated around the table. I felt a nervous anxiety in the pit of my stomach, and I hoped that they weren’t going to give us more bad news. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle anything else.

Michael jumped straight into it. “Someone burned our house down, and an associate of mine sent you pictures. Did you get a hit?”

Ramirez pulled a manilla folder out of his bag and slid the glossy photo printouts across the table for us to look at. They were enlarged, but they were the same photos we had already looked at on Michael’s phone earlier that day.

“This man’s name is Larry Belfort. He’s got a criminal record spanning the last years ranging in everything from petty theft to grand larceny. Never arson, though,” Ramirez informed us. “We believe someone must have hired him to do the job because he’s usually willing to do anything to make a buck. Have the two of you had any run-ins lately?”

We both stared down at the photo of the man who burned our house down. The picture wasn’t the greatest. It was from a side angle, and some of his features were hidden from the view of the camera. It had been enough for the facial recognition software the FBI ran it through, though.

Michael and I answered simultaneously, “No,” and then I started telling our story.

“I recently started consulting on a civil case against Henderson Chemical. Some former employees and people were affected by their negligence which caused a lot of healthcare problems for people who lived close to one of their plants. While I was on vacation with Michael in Hawaii, I got a call from the first claimant who came forward, and his house had been burnt down after he received a threatening phone call about dropping his suit.” I stopped to take a breath.

“After that, I met with my coworkers and the initial claimant, and we’ve organized safekeeping for them temporarily until this goes to court. The two most recent instances we’ve dealt with since that arson are that my boss was assaulted on her way to a meeting with me. A man purposefully hit her car with his car, and she ended up with cuts, scrapes, a concussion, and a broken arm. Now, our house has been burned down, too,” I finished and looked at Michael to see if there was anything he wanted to add.

Michael nodded then looked at the agents and said, “Whenever we found out about the arson on the initial claimant, we decided it wasn’t safe to stay in our home. We got a safe house but kept up appearances as if we’d been home. I also had military-grade surveillance cameras installed, and that’s how we ended up with the picture you have now.”

Both Johnson and Ramirez took notes while we spoke, and once we had finished discussing all of the details about the case against Henderson Chemical, Ramirez said, “Belfort is a shithead. If we catch him and squeeze his balls, he’ll flip on whoever hired him. We’ll start looking into where he’s staying, and we’ll work on quietly bringing him in for questioning.”

“Thank you for meeting with us so quickly. This has been a whirlwind since the arson, and I’m glad it’s being taken seriously,” I thanked the two agents.

Johnson replied, “It’s our job, Mrs. Astor. Please do call if anything comes up before you hear back from us, okay?”

Michael stood and extended his hand and answered them, “We will. Thank you.”

The two agents shook his hand and then left, and Bruce entered the conference room, “How’d everything go?”

Michael picked up the car seats where both of our twins slept peacefully. “About as well as expected. They know who the guy in the photos is, and they’re bringing him in without raising suspicion with Henderson. I hate being here and feeling vulnerable, let’s go home.”

We all walked together out of the office building and got into the black SUV that was waiting for us at the curb. The ride was quiet, all three of us lost in our thoughts. When we were about five minutes away from our safe house, my phone began to ring.

I pulled it out of my purse and turned it to Michael and Bruce so they could see who was calling me.

All it said was, “BLOCKED NUMBER.”