CHAPTER 8

Brian

Lanie was beginning her breakfast when a knock came at the door. I felt the skin prickling the back of my neck as Tanya reached for the handle, but I held my hand out to her. There was something in the air I didn’t like. A twinge of electricity that alerted me to something dangerous.

Tanya saw the look in my eye, and she quickly scooped up Lanie in her arms.

“What’s wrong?” Lanie asked.

“Let’s give your uncle some time alone,” Tanya said. “We’ll eat breakfast in a few minutes.”

I waited until Tanya shut the door to Lanie’s room before I slowly opened the front door.

Now, I was face to face with the man that was battling for custody of Lanie. The man who had not given one shit about the little girl until there was money to be made off of her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

“You’re a hard man to track down, Brian,” he said.

I had half a mind to grab him by his throat and pick him up off his feet.

“I’ll ask you again. Why the hell are you standing on my porch?”

His eyes were darting around my body, no doubt trying to get a look into my home I had been talking with lawyers. I knew how this was going to go down. He was going to try and paint me to be an unfit guardian for Lanie because I was reclusive. Hard to track down, inn an area that didn’t support the development of a child. Now, he was here trying to snoop around. Maybe paint my home as dirty or unkempt. Or possibly paint me as hostile.

I had to keep my roiling anger under control. It would cost me Lanie if I didn’t.

“I wanted to let you know in person that I have the upper hand in this court case.”

“You tracked me down to tell me that?” I asked. “Do I strike you as an idiot?”

“I have rights to her, you know. I’m her fucking father.”

He spat that last word at me before he stumbled and that was when the smell of alcohol hit my nose. He reeked of booze, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was standing in front of me with yellowing teeth and fungus-filled nails in a suit that was a size too big for him.

“Your name isn’t on that birth certificate,” I said. “Which means you have no legal rights to Lanie.”

“A paternity test’ll fix that right up,” he said, snarling.

“No, it won’t. It proves paternity, but doesn’t establish anyone to be a fit parent.”

“You’re not a fit parent!” the man roared. “You’re a reclusive bum of a man who keeps my daughter cooped up in this cabin in the woods.”

His hands were shaking, and he was beginning to fidget on my porch. I didn’t know what drugs he had coursing through his system, but I knew he wasn’t stable. I had no fucking clue what my sister had seen at some point in the past in this pathetic asshole, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to hand my beautiful niece over to him.

Not by a long fucking shot.

“Do you want me to call you a cab?” I asked. “Because I don’t think you should be driving.”

“Ah, trying the ‘nice guy’ card? Well, it won’t work. Everyone knows the shithead you really are. I’ll get my daughter back. Just you wait and see.”

My eyes locked hard on his face as he stumbled off the porch. He found his way back to his car and climbed up into it. This man couldn’t get back out onto the road.

If he didn’t plunge to his death first.

I made a mental note to write down everything that happened in detail, and possibly install a security camera on my property in case he decided to show up again. It would show that he was drunk or high, or both and not in the right mind to care for a child. I knew he just wanted my money, but my lawyer was concerned that if I gave it to him, he would just keep coming back for more. According to Luther, the only way to win custody for good and get this loser asshole out of Lanie’s life, was to go to court and prove that I was the best guardian for her.

I felt sick to my stomach as I shut the door to my home. I got on the phone with my lawyer immediately and told him what happened. I wrote down the date and time of the incident and as much as I could remember of what he said, as my lawyer instructed. He also suggested I enlist the help of a private investigator to dig up any dirt I could on the deadbeat.

“Uncle Bwian?”

I turned around at the sound of Lanie’s voice.

“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked.

“Who was that?”

I looked up into Tanya’s eyes, and I could see the anger boiling behind them. She had become as protective of Lanie as myself, and I knew she knew exactly who that was. She was clinging to Lanie as she walked her down the hallway, her eyes searching for any signs of danger.

I helped Lanie back up to the kitchen table, so she could start eating her breakfast.

“Someone who had the wrong house, sweetheart,” I said.

“Was it for Amana?” Lanie asked.

“Nope. I don’t think so,” I said.

But the mere idea of that man passing by Amanda’s cabin set me on high alert.

My phone rang again in my pocket and Tanya shooed me away. I kissed Lanie’s head as she ate her eggs, then I stepped into my room to take the call from my lawyer.

“What?” I asked.

“Called the PI I usually worked with and hired him on your behalf. I gave him all the information plus what just happened, and he wants to meet with you.”

“Meet with me?” I asked.

“This afternoon,” he said. “Did you really think you could do this and not come down off your mountain?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and sighed. “I suppose not” I said.

“The asshole showed up at your place. He knows where you live. He wants to meet with you tomorrow. He should be calling you in the next few minutes.”

And right on cue, a number I didn’t recognize beeped in on the other line.

“That must be him. Thanks.”

“Just remember to keep your cool and document anything and everything that happens,” he reminded me. I flipped over to the other line and was met with a deadpan voice. The PI sounded almost bored, but he was shrewd and to the point. I set up a meeting with him that afternoon, agreeing to meet somewhere for lunch so we could talk.

The call was short, sweet, and left me feeling good about the position I was putting myself in. I was wary of leaving Tanya here alone with Lanie now that her father had shown up, but I had no choice. I didn’t want the PI coming here because that would spark more questions from Lanie. But I couldn’t take Lanie into town because she would want to run around and play during the meeting.

So, I showed Tanya where my shotgun was before I went to go clean myself up. I had to make the best impression I could on anyone who might see me. Now that I knew that lowlife was in town, I could run into him anywhere, and I had to appear to have the upper hand at all times.