Chapter Six

“Once again, what happened here?” The officer on duty patrolman Jeffries was taking her statement for what seemed like the millionth time.

“I came out here to show Mekhi my office and the land I owned. We parked further back and walked in. I showed him the shed with the equipment, and we were just walking to my trailer, which serves as my office when it blew up.”

“Do you live in the trailer?”

“No, it was just my office.”

“It seems strange they would blow up your office and not your equipment. Maybe someone blew it up for the insurance money.”

“There is not enough money to replace what I lost in there. I lost mementos from my dad who started this business in that trailer and all my work. No, I wasn’t interested in the money. You do whatever you have to do, but find the people who did this.”

“We will stay in touch Ms. Connor don’t leave town and your friend Mr.?”

“Mekhi Broken, you can reach me here.” He gave the officer his number and address before he took Quinn’s hand and led her away from the wreckage.

Once she was sitting inside the truck, she looked at Mekhi. “Who wants to kill me?”

“I was wondering the same about myself. I don’t think they wanted to kill you. No one would have known we would be at the site tonight. I suspect they thought someone would notice the explosion and call it in. Then the officers would come to your door, giving their theory that you rigged it to blow more credence.”

“You’re probably right.”

“What made you smile earlier?”

“You did. Your question triggered my OCD tendencies. I make a copy of everything, then scan it. It’s backed up on the cloud. I have at least five jump disks in different places. I guess you could say I’m paranoid.”

“It will serve you well.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a bar. You’re shaking I think you need something to help you calm down.”

She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. There was no way she would try to fight that bit of logic. She rarely drank understanding that in the cut-throat world of construction that to be caught without her wits in working condition could be disastrous.

“Why do you think someone blew your trailer up?”

“All I can do is speculate. There have been people after my land since the day my dad purchased it. It’s a prime piece of real estate. Someone tried to get me to run off to Vegas with him once. We could marry there, and then he would be entitled to half of what I owned when he divorced me. I must have looked like a fool to him, but I wasn’t.”

“Have you had the land surveyed?”

She sat up and looked at him. “No, I just assumed my dad had done it. I figured it was in his papers and when I was ready to build on it. I would look for it then. What made you think of that?”

“We had our land surveyed.” They did the survey themselves. Slade was paranoid about Dante, the male who gave them the land. He was right their land sat over some interesting geological finds, and if they were right everything they were seeing wasn’t all human.

“If they put me out of business, they assume I’ll have to sell the land.”

“Will you?”

“No. I have begged and borrowed but stopped at stealing. I’ve never touched the land or used it as collateral. All I have to do is pay the taxes on it every year, and I’d work at McDonald’s if that’s what it took.”

Mekhi pulled up in front of what looked like a dive bar.

“You come here?”

“Phoenix does. He seems to like it.” He got out and opened the door for her. They walked into the bar together.

Immediately she kicked herself for judging the inside based on the outside. It was nice, even a little classy. There was a section with tables, a dance floor as well as the bar and stools. They took a seat at a table, and a waitress came over.

“I can tell by the look on your face that you weren’t expecting this.”

Quinn flushed ashamed at being caught acting superficially. “No, the outside made me think it was a dive.” She murmured.

“The owner keeps it looking like that on purpose.”

“He does?”

“Yeah, she doesn't want to attract high society trash. Especially the boys who just turned twenty-one and think they have the right to break things that don’t belong to them. What would you like to drink?”

“Umm… Do you have anything kind of mellow? I just need to sip something and relax.”

“I think you’ll enjoy a merlot. It’s perfect for someone who doesn’t drink a lot. What will you have?”

“Peach ice tea?”

The waitress laughed. “We now carry tea for you and your brothers. Tell Phoenix I missed him tonight.”

“You don’t drink?”

“I metabolize it too fast for it to touch my bloodstream.”

“I bet your friends are jealous.”

“Tell me what’s going on Quinn.”

“A little over two years ago my father died on a construction site. They said it was faulty equipment. He fell eighteen stories. He checked his gear religiously every morning before he put it on and every night after he took it off. His belt looked frayed, but I knew better. No matter what I told the police, they ruled it as an accident.

“After his funeral, several people came to me offering to help. They told me I could cry on their shoulders, and they would show me the ropes as if I hadn’t been working in this business for years with my dad. They offered to buy my business and land, so I could live like a lady of leisure. I turned them all down. That’s where it got competitive. We were all going after the same contracts. They talked about me. Told potential clients that a woman couldn’t get the job done. A few I ended up dating until I found out they were looking to steal my plans.”

“Here are your drinks.” The waitress set them down before she walked away.

Quinn picked hers up and took a sip. “This is good. Enough about me, tell me something about you.”

“My brothers and I came here a couple of months ago.”

“To this city?”

“Yes.”

“The first house we saw was the one we are in now.”

“You realize that it’s a mansion also known as a miniature palace.”

“We need something big enough for all of us to have our own space since it seemed we would be living together.”

“Why did you choose to do that?”

“Each of us lost people in our lives that were important. We banded together for survival. None of us can afford to lose the other.”

“I’m sorry.” She reached out and placed her hand on his. The lightness of her skin against his darker slightly different colored skin looked strange but the longer she stared, the more she liked it.

“Your tan is a little different. I don’t know why I noticed it. I bet most people never look close enough to question it.”

He turned his palm over, and she ran the pads of her fingers over it.

“You're different. You will always see me for what I am and not what I project to the world.”

“Maybe I should run.”

“It’s too late for that. I would follow.” His beast was content to have her tracing patterns on his hand, and so was the male. When her trailer blew up, he wanted to tear someone apart. He still did. He had the scent of the last person to approach. Now all he had to do was wait until he caught it again. Patience, he told himself.

“I will understand if you want to do business with someone else.”

“You don’t know me well Quinn, but I know you're about to run. You made a deal with us. I’m not letting you out of it.”

She hadn’t really made a deal, but she had taken their money, and they deserved the plans she drew for them. After that, they could discuss whether she would be the construction company to get the job. They really should get several bids.

“I’ll show you the plans tomorrow, and after that, we can decide what to do.”

He motioned for the waiter. After paying the check, he rose and escorted her to his truck.