Page 70 of Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires 2)
I nod.
He taps his chin. “I’ve got friends who have a ranch in Argentina. Rand has a lovely place in Seattle, and his mom got the chalet in the French Alps as part of the divorce. Ford’s grandmother is Thai, and his family owns a few different properties there.”
“Wait, Ford is Thai?” I ask, remembering the man’s unique features, including his bright-green eyes.
“Kinda? His grandmother is Thai, but his grandfather was from Spain, and his father is Irish, so he’s a little bit of everything.”
“No wonder he’s so pretty,” I observe, biting back a smile when Mads scowls.
I’m so goddamn crazy about this man.
Refocusing on the issue at hand, I mentally put together a few scenarios.
“Luca wants me to check in on an operation in Jakarta sometime soon.” Tapping my fingertips against his knee, I bob my head. “We could get to Thailand pretty easily from there.”
Mads nods. “Sure, let’s do it,” he says, fidgeting with his thumbs again, his chin trembling.
“Mads?”
He looks up at me, then looks down just as quickly, shaking his head.
I take his hands in mine. “Mads? Tell me what’s going on in your mind right now. What’s this look?”
“I thought I was doing a good thing with these trackers. And I'm not. I got the US government straight up taking my patent for the damn polymer, though I suppose that's a net neutral since it saves and kills people. And now the Russians. All I wanted was something cool to track my numbers because I'm a fucking geek, and I didn't like how other trackers had inconsistent results depending on stride, weight, etc. I wanted something everybody could use. Soccer moms, for the love of God. But now the worst people in the world want my shit.”
The set of his jaw and the way his eyes have gone shiny…fuck, it guts me.
I squeeze his hands, kissing them. “Mads, everything gets made into a weapon. You innovate because you are an innovator. You had no idea this is how it would go.”
He huffs out a dry laugh, hunching down as though the weight on his shoulders has become too much. “If I'm so fucking smart, why couldn’t I figure that out? Why did it have to be a proprietary polymer? Why couldn’t I use what was already out there?”
“The polymer you made works better, right?”
“Well, sure—but at what cost? I'm beginning to think Oppenheimer did have it right.”
“Mads,” I say, shifting forward. “You are a good man. This is completely out of your hands.”
One tear follows another, tracking down his cheek. “There is no such thing as an ethical billionaire,” he says, his expression heartbreaking. “That’s what Joe said to Rand. That’s what he meant. Nothing good comes from this amount of money.”
“That doesn’t mean it can’t, Mads. I want you to come with me to Jakarta and see what Rand is bankrolling and Luca is managing.”
“Okay,” he sniffs. “I will. I want to see that. And…you don’t have to tell me how ridiculous I am for crying over my lot in life.”
“You’re allowed to have the full range of human emotions, Mads. It's like you told me. You can go on any subway at any time of night or day, and you would be celebrated because people love you.”
He snorts, his face crumpling as he pulls away. “Please don’t be nice to me right now.”
“I can’t help it, Mads.”
I can’t help how I feel about you.
“I need you to try, Anthony. Because even with everything we’re discussing, with everything that’s happened, all I can think about is how you apologized for fucking me.”
Oh, baby.
“Mads.”
He holds up his hand. “I could deal with all this world-ending shit if I knew you felt a fraction of what I’m feeling. If I weren’t this idiot who is so fucking crazy about you—”
