Chapter Four
Elle
I carried two bottles of bourbon up the front steps of the house with peeling white paint. Knocking on the door, a smile crossed my face. Gus had been like an uncle to me growing up. He and my daddy had been best friends for years, and maybe he could help me in more ways than one.
The door creaked when Gus threw it back. “Girl, I’ve been wondering when you’d slink over here.”
Almost as round as he was tall, Gus held a chubby hand wide, inviting me inside. I followed down the narrow entry hall and into his worn-out living room. Nothing had changed in years, everything exactly where Mamie, his deceased wife, had liked it.
I sat on the couch while Gus settled his girth in the brown suede recliner he practically lived in. His eyes lighted on the bourbon and his smile widened. “That’s the good stuff. Hand that over here.”
I chuckled and complied, settling back onto the brown and yellow floral-patterned couch. There’d be no talking to Gus until he’d had a couple of swigs of the bourbon. I scanned the room taking in the photos of his children and wife hanging above the television, the only upgrade he’d made in the ten years Mamie had been gone.
“Ahhh.” He sighed and set the bottle on a tray next to him. “That hit the spot. Now tell me, girl, what kind of trouble are you in?”
I gulped and nervous flutters moved down my spine like dominoes falling. “Why do you say that?” My voice squeaked. Damn, so much for playing it cool.
He shook his head. “Everyone knows you’re in some shit, no one knows what kind.” His small brown eyes bore into me.
I didn’t want to admit to anyone what my father was doing. It’d been so hard to even tell Jessica, but if I wanted Gus’s help, I’d have to pay the price
So I told him about Daddy and how he’d changed, ending with the stupid deal I’d agreed to.
“You should get married, then divorce the deadbeat after Jack signs over the company.” Gus leaned back in his chair hiking up the foot recliner.
“Why does everybody say that?”
“Jack ain’t going to let you win any other way.” He shook his head.
“I got DeRulo, and I’ve signed at least another 150K in bonds in the past two weeks, I’m halfway there.” It surprised me how successful I’d been.
“And how you plan to get the other half?” He squinted his eyes at me.
He knew what I wanted but the old man was going to make me ask, maybe even beg. “I want you to convince Jerry to let me go after Stone Larson alone—that’s a $200,000 score right there.”
Gus sputtered, coughing up his last drink of bourbon. The bottle still held inches from his lips. “Girl—”
“I need the cash and I can do it,” I pleaded. Pride had no place in my life right now.
“That man’s a dangerous killer who has a whole gang supporting him. No way any one man or woman—” he nodded in my direction, “—will take him down alone.”
“Have Jerry give me 72 hours on my own, then send in the clowns.” I leaned forward, meeting Gus’s eyes.
He grimaced and set down the bottle. “Forty-eight hours, and then there will be three others on his case.” He eyed me. “I need you to understand how dangerous this is and be careful.” He drank more of the bourbon before turning my way again. “You won’t get him alone, no one will, but I know this kid, Rebel, biker and bounty hunter. He’d make a helluva partner on this one.”
“Why wouldn’t I use one of the bounty hunters we have?” She frowned at him.
“Because your daddy will give the credit to whoever in the company helps you.” Gus’s face drooped. “He’s not going to play fair.”
“I’m his damn daughter. He has to abide by the terms.” I didn’t want to think about what it meant if Daddy was working against me.
“And you wrote those all out?”
“No, but...but that’s ridiculous, we’re family,” I stuttered. Fear flashed through me and took root deep inside me. He wouldn’t go that far, play dirty, just to keep me out of Jackson Bonds.
* * *
The next morning I stalked Daddy’s office, waiting for him to get inside. Gus’s words had haunted me and kept me from sleeping last night. Five minutes after nine I stormed through the reception area. Doris raised her eyebrows and went back to her coffee. I threw open the door and stomped inside.
Agitation eroded my confidence and I felt like, and probably looked like, a little girl on the verge of a tantrum. Why did parents have the magic power to reduce you to your worst childish behavior?
“Sugar dumpling, I’ve missed you. Sit down and tell me about you.” He grinned wide and gestured to his table.
Those words pricked my heart, it was what he’d always said when I came to see him. Once upon a time the words had warmed me, even made me feel safe. Now they stirred the sickening stew of emotions curdling my stomach.
“So this deal we made—”
“It was a mistake, I know.” His condescending tone matched the way he patted my hand. “You ready to be reasonable?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I kept my tone even. “I think we need to define the conditions of our deal.”
His eyebrows bunched together like two wooly caterpillars on the move. “Now what’s this about?”
“The terms, I want to be clear on them. I’m already halfway to the goal so—”
“How do you figure?” He blustered.
“I raised the first hundred with DeRulo.”
He nodded.
“Another 150 on bonds and—”
“Whoa there, you don’t count bonds signed, only bonds delivered.” He tapped his pipe in the ashtray.
“Why?” Heat melted the calm I’d been able to maintain.
“Way it is on the books and you know that—what do we count as revenue?” He lit his loaded pipe and the comforting scent of his tobacco filled the room.
Shit. Shit. Shit. We didn’t count bonds as revenue until the bonded appeared in court and the money was ours, free and clear.
“Exactly.” He must’ve read the look on my face. “And I’m not cutting corners on this.” He leaned back in his chair. “You got 15 days—”
“Seventeen days,” I corrected him.
“Seventeen days to raise 400K, it’s not going to happen.” He puffed his pipe with his eyes lit with satisfaction.
Damn him.
“What choice do I have if I want to keep this company?” I gritted out the words.
“Get married, I said that.”
I surveyed his face looking for humor or a sign he bluffed, but my father was dead serious.
“Have Doris type this shit up.” I stood, shoving my rage deep down. “So I’m clear what I can do to earn the company I deserve—the one you got with no strings attached.” I turned sharply and marched out of his office before I said something I regretted.
A couple of people started to move toward me as I walked to my office but I waved them away. I would scream if I opened my mouth. My phone pinged, and I opened an email from Gus. It was to the point. You have 48 hours starting now. The contract was attached. I grabbed my purse and stopped by the front to let our receptionist know I’d be out on a case the next two days.
He tried to ask me questions, but I knew better than to tell him. It’d take exactly ten seconds before my father knew and that wasn’t going to happen. He’d flip a gasket if he knew I planned to bring in Stone alone. While not a suicide mission, it was going to be dangerous, especially since I couldn’t use anyone at the company to back me up.