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“I’m sorry. It’s just that I spent a lot of time in prison for a crime I wasn’t guilty of. That family let me be the fall guy.”
She didn’t believe him. “I don’t care what happened. I want no part of any of this,” she told him.
His shoulders slumped as if he was disappointed in her. “That family knows they did me wrong. It’s why Nana Bee did her will the way she did. Don’t you see that?” he pleaded.
“I think she did it that way to motivate all of us so youwouldn’tget the money,” she countered.
He shook his head. “You’ll see. Just give it some time. I’ll leave you be for now, but I want you to know I’m here.” She didn’t answer.
He finally walked out of her apartment. She slammed the door then locked it. She double checked the lock and checked all of her windows. When she was sure she was safely locked inside, she moved to the couch and flopped onto it.
What in the world was she going to do? Should she tell Rafe and Bass about this? Her head hung as she realized she had to tell them what was happening. Even if it was difficult for them to work on the house with her, they had no choice but to do it. The only other alternative was her father getting his hands on Nana Bee’s money, and they couldn’t allow that to happen.
With a heavy heart, Ella picked up her phone and started a group text.
Ella:My father just stopped by. I haven’t seen him in 20 years. He knows about the money and the will. We might not like working together but that man can’t get his hands on the money. Please be at the house tomorrow at eight. I’ll be there every day until we get this project done.
Bass:We were supposed to get instructions. Have those come in yet?
Ella:I haven’t seen anything.
Bass:I’ll call the attorney.
There was nothing for the next thirty minutes and Ella wondered if Rafe was truly going to be so stubborn he wouldn’t help them. Did he care that little for Nana Bee? Was his pride hurt so badly about Bass sleeping with a woman he couldn’t stand, that he’d let Nana Bee’s last wishes go undone? She hoped not.
She got up and began her nightly routine to get ready for bed. She was putting on her audio book and setting the timer when a message popped in.
Rafe:I have the plans. I’ll be there.
Nothing else was added. Ella let out a sigh of relief. It might be miserable, but she’d suffer through anything in order to keep her father’s hands off the money. She’d only be able to work on the house on her days off, and they’d have to have a calendar, but they had an entire year to get it done. They’d make that deadline even if she had to take a leave of absence.
Rafe and Bass made a hell of a lot more money than she did, and she was very aware they’d expect her to work around their schedules. She could complain about that, but considering it was her father who had caused the entire mess, she wasn’t going to put up a fuss.
It took her a while to fall asleep, but her thriller plot and the great narrator finally lulled her to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow she’d get started on Nana Bee’s last wishes. When it was over maybe she’d even find some lasting peace. She hoped so at least. Maybe when she really had nothing left to give, her father would crawl out of her life again and go back into the sewers where he belonged.
She could dream . . . and she did. She’d never give up on her dreams. She was made of stronger material than anyone believed. Her last sleepy thought was of Nana Bee. That woman had known exactly who she was. Nana Bee had believed in her. She needed to love Nana Bee enough to believe in herself as well.
Chapter Seven
Bass
A week passed since the reading of the will. Bass, Rafe, and Ella came to a somewhat civilized truce in order to come together and grant Nana Bee’s last wishes. The plans she had for the house were a little overwhelming. Sure, it would be easy if they could hire a contractor and have it done. The project would be done within a month. They were allowed to bring in people, but they had to all three be present the entire time and just because they had contractors, they still had to work together. They had a freaking babysitter to make sure they didn’t cheat.
Rafe had ranted and raged that Nana had been so thorough in her planning. The woman had known they’d do everything in their power to get out of this situation. She’d made sure there was no way they could. She’d known none of them would want Brett Jones to get his hands on another dime of the Palazzo fortune. She was a brilliant woman . . . even in death.
Bass hadn’t realized he’d missed San Francisco as much as he had until he was back. It had certainly changed, and it broke his heart a little, but he had faith in his hometown that the charm would soon be restored. It was too beautiful to give up to crime and drugs. They’d turn her around. Maybe the city just needed him.
This thought made him smile. He was arrogant, that was sure. He’d faked that arrogance for many years in order to survive. There’d been a time Bass had been no better than a street rat, struggling for every meal and every dime in his pocket. He wasn’t that broken kid anymore. He’d never be him again. He worked seven days a week even if he wasn’t at the office.
His phone rang as he reached Fisherman’s Wharf. He hadn’t been to the touristy spot in many, many years, but nostalgia had him doing a lot of things he hadn’t done in a while this past week. It was almost like being thrust back in time to be back in his city.
When he looked at his caller ID and saw the nameViper, he cringed. The only reason he had Sharron’s number stored in his phone as Viper was so he knew if she was calling him. She’d tried a few times since the funeral. He wasn’t sure what her game was now, but he wanted no part of it.
“Stop calling me,” he said as soon as he clicked answer.
“Now, Bassy, you don’t want to be mean, do you?” she purred in that voice that he’d once thought was sexy. There had been a time he’d been jealous of Rafe for having a perfect wife. That jealousy had ended quickly when he’d seen the woman’s true colors. She was a viper and she’d attack anyone within striking distance. She didn’t care how much destruction she left in her path as long as she got what she wanted in the end.
“I want nothing to do with you, Sharron. You need to lose my number.”
