Billionaire's Pursuit of Love: Destiny Romance by Jennifer St George Page A

Nothing. He held every ace, king, queen and jack. She had no choice. She’d have to play along. For now.
    ‘All right, we’ll stay for the moment. On one condition.’
    ‘What’s that?’ His tone informed her she had limited terms of negotiation.
    ‘That we don’t say anything to Daniel until we resolve how things will work.’
    Blake didn’t say anything, but his expression displayed dissent.
    ‘Blake, we can’t just announce to Daniel that he has a father and that his whole life is about to be turned upside down. He’s a sensitive kid. He’s lived his entire life in the jungle. We have to ease him into this. Please.’
    ‘Mum.’ Daniel crept into the room. ‘I’m hungry.’
    Blake stood.
    ‘Okay, we’ll do it your way for now,’ he said in a low voice, then turned towards his son. He beckoned Daniel over. ‘Come on. Let’s check out the kitchen.’
    And father led son from the room. Seeing them walk away together so naturally spilled every emotion she possessed into a mess of confusion. It had taken her years to recover from Blake’s disappearance and Daniel’s fatherless status. She’d experienced every level of grief but anger had won in the end. That driving force had seen her through the tough years of bringing up a child as a single parent, her mother’s death and running a critically under-funded wildlife sanctuary. But now here he was, demanding all sorts of . . . rights. Staking his claim.
    Sarah slumped back on the luxurious chair. Exhaustion suffused through her body. Daniel’s laughter drifted in from the adjacent room. Rock-hard determination took up residence in her heart. She stood and walked towards the kitchen. Of course Blake should play a role in his son’s life, but no way would some foreign court make a judgement about Daniel. She had to plan their escape.

Chapter Three
    Sarah’s breathing sounded louder than a steam train. She listened at the door of her ridiculously large, deluxe bedroom. She heard Blake moving around the apartment. She opened the door a crack and peeped out. She couldn’t see anything. She glanced at the bedside clock again. Ten past five – almost dawn. Holding herself still, she listened and waited. Ten minutes later, the unmistakeable sound of the front door opening and clicking shut echoed through the quiet apartment.
    She stepped into the hall and held still. Not a sound. She checked Blake’s room, the living room, the media room, the office, the kitchen. Blake had left. Running back to her room, she grabbed her handbag and suitcase. She’d slept in her clothes, not wanting to touch the new set of pyjamas that had been laid out for her. She wanted to be ready to move when the time was right.
    Leaving her bag in the hall, she ran to Daniel’s room and shook her son awake.
    ‘Come on, darling, time to go.’
    ‘Five more minutes,’ he said, rolling away from her.
    ‘No, darling, we have a plane to catch.’ She lifted him into a sitting position and helped him swing his legs over the side of the bed. She didn’t know what she was going to do when they reached the airport. Their tickets had expired. But she knew one thing: she must get back to Brunei. She had no bargaining power in Britain, but she was sure Bruneian law afforded them some protection. If necessary, they could flee to Australia for a short time as they both held Australian citizenship. She’d find out the best course of action once they’d escaped.
    ‘It’s still dark,’ Daniel said, his voice groggy.
    ‘Makes it more exciting,’ she said. ‘Get dressed. I’ll take our bags to the door.’
    Sarah pulled his small bag from the cupboard, not touching any of the shiny bribes Blake had bought to procure his son’s affection. She paused then quickly shoved the Lego in the bag. Daniel had loved that stuff.
    She hauled the bags to the front door of the dimly lit apartment. She didn’t know how to work the security system, but she’d call the doorman to help her with