The Renegade Billionaire: A Small Town Romance (Happiness Ever After Book 1)

“Braxton, get out here,” Grey shouts up the stairs, and I know instantly that something is very, very wrong.

Jumping out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my waist and run down the stairs. Water drips everywhere I step, but I don’t care.

“In here,” he shouts again. I follow his voice to the theater room, and my entire world falls out below me.

There, on the screen, is Madison’s beautiful face, frozen in fear on her own front porch, holding the very same toy shotgun Pops used on me.

“What the hell is this?”

Grey rewinds the segment and then presses play. Alistair Montgomery stands at the foot of the inn’s porch giving a press conference.

“I’m heartbroken to find out my son isn’t mine biologically. It’s even more devastating to me that after raising him as my own, protecting him from the life of celebrity, he’s chosen to completely wipe me from his life. Sadly, he’s even gone so far as to remove me from my own company. I’m not even allowed in the building.”

Grey pauses the television on Alistair’s fake sad expression.

“Is he fucking kidding me? He saved me? He ridiculed me. He left me for Ace to raise.” The anger rising inside me happens so fast, my fists vibrate at my sides.

“He’s the master of manipulation, Brax. He thinks this will force your hand. You better sit down. It gets worse.”

“Worse?” Then I remember he’d paused on Madison holding the shotgun.

I drop like dead weight into the sofa, and he starts the broadcast again. Within seconds, Madison stands on her porch, glaring at the cameras.

“Ah, here’s my son’s fiancée now.”

“You’re a liar,” she hisses. The camera visibly backs away from her, then zooms in for a close-up of her face.

She’s beautiful in her determination.

Pops walks down the stairs, removes the microphone from the podium, a fucking podium, and throws it in the bushes.

“You didn’t raise Braxton,” Madison spits. “You took a bribe from Darren Wells to raise Braxton as your own because you were both too worried about perception to care about an innocent child.”

Oh, shit.

“Is that what he told you?” Alistair chuckles, but for once, he appears uncomfortable.

“This is who you’re going to listen to?” She’s speaking directly to the cameras now. I have no idea how many are there, but I’m guessing a lot. “A man who created a phony documentary on student-athletes he thought would make it to the pro level? Did you know he lied and fabricated every piece of that story so he could follow pretty teenage girls around and harass them?”

“I followed no one, get your facts straight, little girl.” Alistair doesn’t have the microphone anymore, but there’s no mistaking his words even if he isn’t on camera.

“No, you just hired the reporters and paid them exorbitant amounts of money to harass me and fourteen others until we lost control and lashed out. That’s the footage you used, not the truth of any single story.” Alistair stands in front of the cameras, attempting to block her from view, but they move around him, and they’re faster than he is. “And I’ll tell you a little secret, you pompous jerk, my ex was never going pro. He barely made the team. I was the athlete. I was the star player, and you turned me into some kind of pinup girl who ruined careers. I ruined nothing. You did. My ex did. And you know what happened after we sued you?”

“Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” Alistair raises his voice, apparently trying to speak over Madison, but she raises her voice too, and it’s her story they want to hear.

“She really does look good on camera,” Grey says, causing me to scowl, but I can’t tear my gaze away from the screen.

Has she ever looked stronger? Sexier? “She’s beautiful.”

“It was your father-in-law who came to look after us.” She’s no longer yelling to be heard. They must have moved a microphone closer to her. “He showed up here every other month for two years to make sure I was okay, and I’m pretty sure he did it with all of us.”

“Oh, stop complaining. You roped in an entitled billionaire because of it, didn’t you? What happened, did you trap him with a pregnancy?”

I shoot to my feet. “Oh, fuck no. No. No. No. Get the plane ready. We’re heading back to Georgia right now. I’m going to kill that fucker.”

“Shit.” Something in Grey’s tone has me looking back at the screen.

Madison has stepped closer to Alistair, aiming the toy gun at him that he obviously has no idea is fake.

“G—get her away from me. I told you something wasn’t right with her.”

“If I lose control, it’s you who pushed me to it. Braxton merely reclaimed what was his, well, now his and Greyson’s, I suppose. I don’t know why Ace didn’t toss you out sooner, but I promise you, Braxton will clean up the trash, and if you ever step foot on my property again, I will shoot you.”

“She threatened me, did you hear her? She’s threatening me on live television.” Alistair’s face is so red it shines brightly on the screen, and sweat drips down his forehead.

“Why did you do it? Why did you take the twenty million to raise Braxton as your own if you were only going to abuse and mistreat him?”

The camera spins to Alistair, but it’s as though he isn’t even aware of them anymore. He glares at Madison as if she’s the only person in the world, and he looks like he might actually attack her.

He steps into her space. The cameramen are farther away now, but they zoom in on her so only the back of Alistair’s head is visible. But the sound comes through as though they’re each holding a microphone.

“I didn’t abuse him, little girl.” His voice is low and menacing. It’s obvious he thinks his words will only reach Madison. “I let Ace take care of the mess his daughter created.”

“Madison,” someone shouts in the background. It sounds a lot like Cian.

“No, but you’re the one who took the money. Why?”

“Why? Why?” The camera catches the spittle flying from his lips. “Because Ace gave me a dying company and expected me to put my own money into it. He expected me to fail, and I refused to give him that satisfaction. But once I was a success, he couldn’t take it away from me. That was the deal we made.”

“Huh.” Why is she waving that damn gun around? Even if it’s not real, she must be terrifying everyone.

Cian enters the camera frame, takes one look at the shotgun, and howls with laughter, then takes a seat on the porch steps.

“It must cut so deep then.” She smiles brightly, and I can almost feel the camera crews falling in love with her.

“What does? And will you please put that damn gun away before you hurt someone, little girl.”

“He just can’t help putting people down, can he?” Grey mutters in disgust.

“Funny, that. You keep calling me a little girl, but I’m the one who owns a thriving business, three of them, actually. I’m the one who’s going to marry the man who will destroy you for everything you’ve done. To him, to me, to all the other innocent victims of your sick and twisted fake news.”

“So, you are engaged?” someone shouts.

“When’s the wedding?”

“How long have you known Braxton?”

“Fucking hell. I’ll call the pilot now,” Grey says, rushing from the room, his phone already held to his ear.

Madison ignores them all and speaks directly to Alistair. “I’m not the scared, innocent little girl you harassed all those years ago, and you’ll never intimidate me again.”

“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” Alistair shouts, crowding her against the railing with the barrel of the fake gun pressing into his chest. “You don’t have the balls to pull the trigger.”

He steps back when Cian approaches.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Madison pulls the trigger. It makes a loud popping noise, and Alistair falls to the ground, patting his chest. The instant he sees the little flag that says POP!!!, he scrambles to his feet.

“You don’t think I have anything? You think I can’t still ruin you?” He steps closer and holds up his phone, practically shoving it into her personal space, and whatever is on it drains all color from her face.

“Grey.” I don’t know if I shout it or whisper it. The blood rushing in my ears makes it impossible to gauge. I don’t even blink as I watch her face for any sign of what the hell he’s pulled now.

She takes the phone and backs up to the door. Cian glances down at the phone and quickly looks to the sky. I can tell by the way his lips are moving he’s cursing the heavens.

Then Madison holds up the phone. Her hand trembles, but she doesn’t let it stop her.

“This is who you get your information from? This is the kind of sleazeball you all work for? Someone who would encroach on a private moment between two loving, consenting adults.” She waves the phone angrily at the cameras.

“You shouldn’t have been having sex on a mountaintop in a public space,” Alistair hisses. Lights flash wildly, and it must snap him out of whatever hate-filled spiral he was in because he instantly starts smoothing out his clothing and holding a placating hand out to the cameras.

“A public space that was rented legally with permits for a private event,” Madison throws back. “You’re all okay taking orders from someone who would record such an intimate, special moment and then weaponize it? You’re all okay with revenge porn? Don’t you have daughters? Sisters? Mothers? What if this were them? What if one day he decides to do this to you?”

“God damn it,” Grey shouts from the doorway.

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for revenge porn. I thought this was a story about the renegade billionaire,” one cameraman says as another joins him. “I’m out. This is too messed up, even for me. I’m not getting sued for him.”

“That’s nonsense. I didn’t record that,” Alistair blusters, waving at the camera crews.

“No, I know you didn’t.” Madison once again raises her voice to be heard above all others. “I can tell by the shoes and the finger that keeps covering the lens that it’s a wretched excuse for a human, otherwise known as my ex. The same one you paid to tell lies when I was nineteen. Tell me, Alistair, how much did you pay him for this?” She throws the phone on the ground and smashes it with her heel.

Over and over again, she uses all her weight to destroy the phone until Cian pulls her off.

“I didn’t fight back last time, Alistair. I was young and too terrified to even leave my house, so I allowed my grandfather to be my proxy. But make no mistake. I’m not that little girl anymore. I will fight back with everything at my disposal if you come near me or my family again.” She starts to turn, then stops. “And to make myself very fucking clear, Braxton is my family. Greyson and Sage are my family, so think very carefully before you come attacking us again.”

“She cursed again.” Grey sounds shocked and a little bit proud, and he isn’t the only one.

The camera crews start shouting new questions about our relationship at her. She answers a few, then my phone rings, and I wonder how long the time-lapse was between what I just saw and real time.

“Madison?” I answer in a rush. “Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah.” She drags out both words as if they’re a complete sentence. “But I think I just made a very big mistake.”

“I saw, sweetheart. I saw, and you were magnificent. Where are you now?”

“But I told them all that we’re getting married.” Her voice trembles, and I regret ever leaving her alone.

“We are getting married.”

“But we had a plan.”

“And plans change. Where are you?”

“I’m at the inn. There’s a lot of people outside. More than the last time I went through this.”

“I’m so sorry. Grey and I are heading home. We’ll figure out how to handle everything from the air.”

“No.” Her tone makes my stomach lurch. “I mean, yes, I want you home, but I’m okay. Don’t come home for me. I can handle this, I promise. Please, just take care of whatever you have to do to shut down Montgomery Media for good. When you come home, I want it to be forever.”

“Baby.”

“I mean it, Braxton. I’ve already faced my monster, now it’s time for you to do it as well. I have a support system here. They won’t allow anything to happen to me, and I can take care of myself.”

That reminds me about her security. “Where the hell was your security team?”

“Don’t get mad,” she says.

“Madison, I’m way beyond mad.”

“Okay, well don’t blame them then. I told them to go help Blissy at the park because I wasn’t going to leave the inn.”

“Madison,” I groan. “They’re not carpenters, they’re very highly trained personal security.”

“And they made Blissy very happy today. Cian and Pops have everyone on the way over here to make a plan, and Savvy is picking up Sage to bring him home too. We’ll be fine here. You do what you have to do there, then come home. Okay?”

No, that’s not okay. I don’t want to be away from her for even one more second, but I also know she’s right.

“If one more thing happens, I’m coming home.”

“Fair.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” My heart is still heavy from seeing the fear on her face only moments ago.

“No.”

I suck in a painful gasp of air that burns my lungs.

“But I will be. I’m shaken up, but I’m not down. I meant it when I said I’m ready to fight, Braxton. I’ve allowed my past to determine my present for too long now.”

“You’re incredible, sunshine. I love you so damn much.”

“I love you too. So hurry up and shut down that gossip factory and get home.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice. I’ll see you soon.”

“Braxton?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I love you.”

My pulse evens out and the knot in my stomach unties. “I love you too.”

She hangs up, and I get to work.

“It’s going to cost us a shit ton of money,” Grey says.

“But it will feel so good doing it.” I smirk at him, and he chuckles.

“This is going to put a lot of people out of work,” Carla, the head of HR at Omni-Reyes says. The mumbling in the background is probably Montgomery Media’s HR and legal teams.

They’re not happy about Carla taking over since Montgomery Media reverted to the Omni-Reyes umbrella, but I couldn’t care less.

We’ve been on this conference call with them for over an hour.

“They’re welcome to apply for other positions within Omni-Reyes,” I say. “After a thorough vetting to ensure they’re not tied to Alistair, they’ll be given a fair shot.”

“You want everything shut down. Effective immediately.” I don’t blame her for being shocked, but at least she’s finally getting on board.

“Yes. Shut and lock the doors. Take down all websites and stop all publications with an order to be destroyed.”

“You’re going to do severance packages, but you’ll also have to deal with all the subscription cancellations.” I can hear Carla frantically typing and almost feel bad.

“Yes, legal, finance, and PR can handle that.” I’m beginning to get a headache.

“I don’t know how long it will take to shut down the networks,” Grey says. He’s also on his computer. I’ve always preferred to take my notes on paper.

“I heard that Thane Wilder once literally pulled the plug on his servers himself when others wouldn’t do it. If the greatest technological mind of our time can do that, then so can we.”

Grey chuckles but doesn’t argue.

“What’s your deadline for this?” Carla asks.

I really don’t see the issue. Effective immediately means now. “By midnight tomorrow, at the latest.” She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. “Carla?”

“Yes, sir. I—heard you. But we have to go through the legal teams for both Omni-Reyes and Montgomery Media. That can’t be done overnight.”

I look to Grey who nods. Fuck, he agrees with her.

“Fine. Just do it as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” She sounds slightly relieved, and it pisses me off.

“Thank you,” Grey adds. “We’ll be available if you need anything.”

With that, he ends the call.

“You’re so much better at this shit than I am,” I say. It’s the truth too.

“Funny you should say that because I’ve been thinking about our future,” he says, reclining in his desk chair.

“Is that so?”

A Cheshire-like smile slides across his face.

“How do you feel about an expansion—a new business venture that includes some people in Happiness, Georgia?”

I know exactly where he’s going with this, so I hold up my pad of paper to show him my notes. “We’ll be following the Reyes men before us—giving the amazing ladies in our lives the platform they need to show the world just how great they really are.”

“In your life. Not mine.”

I wonder how true his words are though. He may claim Savvy’s the enemy, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and those two are more combustible that propane.

Studying him, I nod in agreement to keep the peace. “I like the way you think, brother.”

We both stare at each other. I’d meant it in a yo-bro kind of way, but the deeper meaning hits us both now.

“Yeah, that’s going to take some getting used to,” he mutters.

“But it feels so right, Greyson Reyes. Brother to brother, we’re going to shake up this entire industry, aren’t we?”

“Feels that way.” His tone is bored, but he can’t contain his smile.

Laughing, I rub my hands together. “Let’s get started then.”

He chuckles, but it does feel right. We’re on our way to happiness, which is exactly what Ace always wanted.