Page 90 of Reckoning

“Right,” he said, and headed down the hall before he said something else equally stupid.

* * *

Lilith had gone to the pharmacy to pick up prescription refills so they wouldn’t run out before they had a chance to get them transferred to a pharmacy in Sparta, leaving Tate at work in the house on his own.

He was preoccupied with a man who had messaged him multiple times through three different social media sites, pleading for help to find his wife who’d gone missing. Even as Tate was finally responding, he had a funny feeling about the man.

His name was Carl Fellows, from Moab, Utah. Tate offered a Zoom consultation, told him the flat fee for any consultation was five hundred dollars paid in advance, and if he was still interested, to let him know.

Fellows responded within minutes and paid the fee, and Tate sent him a link to the Zoom. It didn’t take long for the man’s face to appear on screen, or for Tate to realize his instincts about this man weren’t wrong. He wasn’t going to help him find his wife, but he was about to teach him a lesson he wasn’t going to forget.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Fellows. Do you have the photo of your wife?”

“Yes,” he said, and pulled out a picture and held it up so Tate could see. “I’m just so grateful you’ve offered to help. I’ve been out of my mind with worry. The police have searched but to no avail.”

Tate saw the woman’s face and her story, all at the same time, and was about to put an end to Fellows’s charade.

“You are aware of the contingencies connected to who I help and why, aren’t you?” Tate said.

“Yes, yes, I read all about you,” Fellows said.

“Clearly, you missed the fine print that says I know when people are lying to me. Your wife isn’t missing. She took out a restraining order against you, and you’ve been arrested more than once for spousal abuse. You chose to ignore the order. She left you, and you’re pissed. You expected me to tell you where she is so you could beat her back into submission, and that’s not going to happen. What I will tell you is that if you don’t back off and leave her alone, I will tell the police where to find you, because we both know there’s a warrant out for your arrest, right?”

“Damn it all to hell! I just paid you five hundred dollars for—”

Tate interrupted. “That’s what it cost you to lie to me. Now you make better choices, or your ass is grass. How’s that sound to you?”

“Where do you get off threatening me?” Fellows roared.

“I got off at the station just ahead of you, and if you raise your voice to me one more time, I promise you will regret it.”

Tate heard a muttered curse, and then a huge exhale of breath before Fellows spoke again. “Yeah, yeah…look, sorry dude. We’ll just call this even and be done, okay?”

“You end your search now, and yes, we’ll call it even. If you don’t, I will know it. The rest is up to you. You can’t lie to someone like me. Ever.” And Tate ended the call.

It was his first real confrontation with a man he knew could be dangerous, but it wouldn’t be his last, and this—exactly this—is why he had to keep Briar’s existence out of the public eye. Because, if they couldn’t get to him for payback, they would hurt someone he loved.

* * *

The next day Abel and Tate went to the tag agency, had the ownership of Lilith’s car transferred to Tate’s name, and then went straight to the insurance agency to get all that in Tate’s name as well.

Roger stifled a grimace when he saw them walk in and was all business as he wrote a new policy for Tate. Tate wrote a check out of his account, signed the papers, and was given new insurance cards.

“I will be moving to New Orleans soon, and I’ll find a new agent to work with there, but for the time being, this will suffice,” Tate said.

Roger nodded. “Yes, of course. I understand. It’s really nice for you that your parents are giving you a car.”

Tate’s eyes narrowed. He caught the passive-aggressive remark and resented it. “Yes, it is…and Briar is going to be surprised to get that brand-new Ford SUV you’re giving her, which is nice too. You and my parents think alike. Don’t worry about me messing up your big reveal. I never tell secrets.”

Roger blinked.

Tate grinned. “You are never going to believe I’m real, are you? No matter. I have long since quit expecting anything but grief from the people in this town. Is this all I need to do now?” he asked.

Roger felt the sting. His subtle dig at Tate’s parents giving him a car instead of buying it on his own just got handed back to him with a little hot sauce for good measure. “Yes, your insurance coverage is immediate and official. Have a safe move,” he said.

“Thanks,” Tate said, then glanced at his dad. “It’s done, and you and Mom are the best. I’m ready when you are.”

Abel had stayed quiet throughout the entire transaction, letting Tate handle his own affairs, and was more than satisfied that his son was going to be just fine, wherever he was. But once they walked outside and started down the street to where they’d parked, he couldn’t help but comment. “That was a dig at you, wasn’t it? The fact that you were given a car.”