Read Online The King by Rick Soper - Free Book Online

along with additional details. On another was the information on the handyman who had rented the room. On the third was all they had about the congressional testimony – when it had been scheduled, who had called for it, what questions would have been asked, and who would have been affected. Information on the hotel itself, the security tapes, the access routes in and out, and all forensic evidence – the little they had – was included. Pictures of possible cars taken from traffic cameras from the surrounding area were taped against the white board by the hotel information, and next to that, everything they knew about Black Hawk Security, including their threat assessment. Finally, they had collected information on the two houses that they’d raided earlier in the day, as well as personal information about Billy’s phone, his credit cards, his internet accounts, and his bank information, updated continuously in case any of it changed.
    Stevens slammed a hand down on the conference room table and a small crowd of agents turned to look at him. “Stop everything!” he said. “And listen.”
    Emory nodded his agreement, as Stevens held up the stack of printouts in his hands.
    “I’ve got thirteen profiles of women who’ve had problems with Billy Stone that were handled by Tom Francis at The Agency. I think that once you read through how they were ‘handled’ you’ll agree that any one of them could be behind this.”
    Stevens handed the copied sheets to Emily Sarah, who started passing them around the room. Finally, she took a copy for herself and started reading. He watched her try unsuccessfully to hide her disgust as she realized what Stone and Francis had been doing. 

Chapter 25
     
    Mercedes and the models that followed had been all about having sex. Yes, there was a certain amount of pleasure in using his newfound power and confidence to achieve something that he’d never thought possible. But ultimately, it had been about the physical act of sex, without thought or connection, all of which had left Billy physically satisfied, but still alone.
    And then London had come into his life, and everything changed.
    London was so different from all of the other women, he sometimes felt as if she was the first woman he’d ever really known. She was gorgeous, but seemed completely uninterested in her looks, let alone being complimented about them. She was smart – she actually understood when Billy started geeking out on the details of what he was working on. She cracked jokes that made Billy laugh until his sides hurt. She’d led him to the idea of mobilizing PushThrough’s architecture, and that idea had pushed the stock price up fifteen percent, which was making Josh and everyone else at the corporation much happier.
    Everything London did made him smile, and the more time he spent with her, the more he was starting to think about his life – what had happened over the last few years, and what he really wanted. 

 
    Chapter 26
     
    From the first time London Scott went out with Billy Stone she felt at home. There was just something so familiar about the way Billy took care of her. His world was one that she’d only imagined, fueled by amazing amounts of money: the best restaurants, the best cars, the nicest clothes, everything you could possibly buy, Billy could get. Yet Billy seemed indifferent – almost oblivious to the money. To him, it was just a byproduct of his business. If she didn’t have the right dress to go out, he would buy it for her without even thinking about it. Shoes? Jewelry? There wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t get for her. She wasn’t even sure if he noticed the way she tried to be modest, the way that she never asked for anything. He paid attention to her, he watched her, he listened to what she had to say. He laughed at her bad jokes, and made her feel like she was the center of the world. She felt as if she were home. The fact that he was rich and famous but was still