AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He nods. “Who did this to her? Did you get any names?”
I’m about to say I did it, but Chelsey lifts her face from his shoulder. Bottom lip quivering, she glances at me. “I didn’t see them and I don’t want to file a report. Just please take me home.?
??
We lock eyes for a moment and it’s like she understands how her jeers had repercussions, that it wasn’t simply an unkind word from her lips on those days she spewed her venom my way. It was the on-lookers who jumped in and made it worse.
“Thank you.” Her words are shocking, soft, but firm.
Kevin takes her down the stairs, cooing kind words to her as they go. Chelsey lets him help and doesn’t say another word.
I sit there stunned for a moment and catch a chill. “Oh my God. Hell froze over.”
CHAPTER 10
I pull up in front of the lawyer’s office where I met Ferro the first time. It’s early and the parking lot is empty. I head inside and wander down the hallway until I’m standing in front of the door to the office. I swallow hard and shove my way inside.
I’ve thought about what kind of favor he might ask me for and all sorts of things crossed my mind from something illegal to sexual favors. I hope I’m not his type. My boobs aren’t plastic and I’m a brunette. As far as I can tell, Ferro likes busty blondes.
I feel weary. When I push through the doors, I put on my poker face. I have to bullshit my way through this. When I enter, I scan the room. Ferro is standing in front of the floor to ceiling wall of windows with a cigar in his hand.
He turns and those steely gray eyes meet mine, sending a chill down my spine. “Miss Hill.”
“Mr. Ferro.” I walk over to the leather chairs we sat in last time, but I don’t sit down. I stand there in my rumpled suit with my messy bun and hot face. I worked up a sweat carrying Chelsey. I couldn’t have carried her at all if she actually ate anything. I’m hot and sweaty, and it shows.
His gaze sweeps over me. “Do you always work out in your suit?”
“Yes.” I spit out the word without emotion, adding, “I sleep in it too, hence the wrinkles.”
“It’s shocking that you don’t have a criminal record. You’re young, desperate, and financially unstable.”
I don’t react to his insult. Instead, I add, “You forgot emotionally deprived.”
“Yes, thank you for reminding me.” Ferro sucks on his cigar and then slowly lets out a long slit of smoke from between his lips. It’s disgusting. Everything from the smell to the lingering smoke nauseates me.
“What do you want?” Asking the question gives him the upper hand, but he already has it. There’s no point in lingering today.
“It’s simple, Miss Hill. You have a connection that I need in order to progress my plans. I’ve been preparing for this for nearly three decades, and despite one minor transgression, I’ve managed to keep things moving forward.” The way he says ‘minor transgression’ makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oil, black gold. People said Texas was run dry, that there was no way to get at the massive amount of wealth locked beneath layers of stone, but I persisted. I purchased the land and waited. We refined and experimented with the best means to pull the oil from the earth and after decades of waiting, it’s finally time to reap the rewards.”
“What do you need me for?”
Ferro turns away and takes another long pull on his cigar. When he finally answers, he only says one word. “Nathan.”
“What about him?”
“Your little stunt got him back his house, but he can’t keep it. I thought I’d buy him out, pay him handsomely for the property, and he’d vacate. It should have been a non-issue, a minor annoyance. Every other homeowner in that neighborhood sold out, save one. I’ve offered him more than a fair amount, and he still refuses to leave.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
Ferro slowly turns, letting the sun illuminate his lean figure on one side, while hiding his face in harsh shadows. “Make him sell.”
I make a sound of protest and swat a hand at him. “Why do you think he’ll listen to me?”
Ferro steps closer, gets in my face, and hisses, “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I need this favor to move forward, Miss Hill. I do not. This is your mess, your complication. I’m simply giving you the chance to clean it up, before I do.”
