One Weeks Later
Ellis
While Camilla is at a doctor’s appointment for her back, I’m busy catching up on work. Emma’s in the library conducting preschool with Liam, and Christopher is running errands for me.
The upstairs is quiet, and that’s needed as I develop new malware to help with the FBI’s ongoing battle against Tor-based child porn sites.
Until I square away my current contracts, I have to fit in more office hours. I was a workaholic before Camilla and Liam moved in, and time with them has shown me there’s more to life than work, but I have assignments I can’t simply walk away from.
My cell phone rings, so I groan until I see it’s Greyson.
“Hey, man,” I say.
“Did the DNA results come back yet?”
“I haven’t looked today. I’m too damn busy, and I haven’t been that concerned about it. Camilla isn’t lying.” I pull up my email account. “Let me check to shut you up…. Here it is.”
“Open the damn thing.”
Clicking on it, I scroll through the paragraphs.
“What the fuck?”
My phone beeps, signaling another call, so I pull it down and look at the screen. It’s my security detail.
“Greyson, I’ll have to call you back.”
“Wait, what did the results say?”
Not replying, I switch to the other call and hit the print button on the email in front of me.
Too much shit is going on.
“Mr. Burke, this is Mitch at the front gate. There’s a Rusty Jones here to see you. Would you like us to let him through?”
Rusty… Sasha’s boyfriend. In the event he ever contacted her again, I took the time to learn all there was to know about the piece of shit.
“Ask him why he’s here.”
“Sir, he said he wants to talk to you about Camilla Rose.” Bringing up the cameras on my laptop, I see an old pickup at the front gate.
“Tell him he can come up if he allows you to search him first.”
Mitch puts me on hold, and I wait impatiently until he tells me that Rusty’s unarmed and will be going through the gate. I march downstairs to answer the door.
Why does he wish to discuss Camilla instead of Sasha? That’s what I’m eager to hear. I walk outside, and after the door of his truck screeches shut, he strolls up the walkway.
He stops about six feet in front of me, and I see the evidence of the beating he took a week ago: a faded ring of black around his eye, a red mark over his crooked nose, and blue bruises on his forehead and sunken cheek.
“I’m Rusty, Sasha’s boyfriend.”
“You mean ex-boyfriend.”
“Maybe. It depends if you give me what I want.” After taking a long drag off his cigarette, he flicks the ashes toward my lawn.
Gradually exhaling the smoke, his dark brown eyes squint and roam over my home and estate. “Damn, Trust Fund, you got a nice pad here.”
“I actually have work to do, asshole, so what is it you’re wanting?” While he continues to size up my wealth, I examine his torn jeans, dirty white t-shirt, and bare feet in loafers, which give him a homeless appearance.
His unkept hair is pulled back in a ponytail. He’s overly thin, and his arms are decorated in tattoos, but if they weren’t, I’m sure track marks would be visible. This man looks like nothing more than a penniless criminal.
“Tell me what you want?” I close in the distance between us. He’s not stepping foot inside my home.
“Sasha’s a talker while under the influence. She hinted about some dark secret from her past. I don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle, but her sister, Camilla, is hiding something big.”
“Their affairs are none of your goddamn business.”
As a sudden rush of disdain colors his face, he points at me with the hand holding his cigarette.
“Listen here, motherfucker. I didn’t press charges against those goons who showed up at the apartment last week, so you’re gonna hear me out. If you don’t give me cash, I’ll figure out what it is those bitches are hiding and make an anonymous call to the cops.”
“You’re fucking with the wrong man. I know everything about you and your pathetic existence, including your rap sheet. I don’t see how you have the upper hand here. If you don’t want the cops knowing where you hide out, I’d leave now.”
“I’m already getting sent up. I just need cash for an attorney to help me get a lesser sentence. I have nothing to lose by telling the cops about Camilla.
“I know you’re good for it. Just give me the damn money, and I’ll never breathe near Sasha again. I was about done with her slutty ass, anyhow. If you don’t help me out, I’ll sic my friends on Camilla the way she unleashed hers on me.”
Displaying a sinister smile, he takes another drag from his cigarette. “And, I’ll find Sasha when I get out of jail. Maybe I’ll make it my life’s mission to meddle in yours. Oh, and to discover Camilla and Sasha’s dirty secret.”
I pierce him with a dead stare. “How much are you wanting?”
“Ten grand.”
Jesus christ, the heroin must’ve fried his brain cells if he thinks that’s all the cash I’m good for. Hell, I’m a little insulted he’s not asking for more.
“Fine, but if I give you this, you better never show your damn face here again, and don’t even think about blackmailing me a second time. I have connections that would put you away for the rest of your life.”
He smirks. “You got it, weasely man.”
“Stay right here,” I sneer. Leaving him alone on the walkway, I head inside and lock the door behind me. I march to my office, and after counting out some petty cash, I put it in an envelope and head back downstairs.
Along with refusing to give him the money, I could make him pay for this stunt, but my gut tells me he’ll turn up again at some point, causing us trouble.
I want Camilla to feel safe. She’s already watching her back at every turn because of her past, and I’m working on easing that burden for her. If this will help, it’s worth every cent.
With a heavy exhale, I hand over the money. “Now, get the fuck off my property.” He flips through the envelope with a smug smile on his mauled face.
“Sure thing. It was nice doin’ business with you.” He strolls away and flicks his cigarette across my manicured lawn. Reaching his truck, he turns back and rubs his goatee. “I still think that bitch of yours should have to pay for what she did to me, so for that, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“And I told you to fucking leave.” I take the few steps back to my front door and open it.
“You think you only recently met that girlfriend of yours, but that’s a lie.”
My hand freezes on the door knob before I turn back to him.
“What the hell did you say?”
To be continued…