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I bite, even though I don’t want to. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s working on the Bowman place right now. Everyone in town is talking about it. Lots of pull that family has. Lots of friends high up there too. Big opportunities for a small-town company, unless, say, something happens to tarnish his reputation. I mean, come on, you’ve got a brother with a DUI charge; who knows what other dirt someone could dig up with that kind of history. Like, say, perhaps the nasty gambling problem your uncle had . . .” He shrugs and arches a brow.
I cannot believe this guy. My uncle only had that one slipup a few years back, and since then he’s been in Gamblers Anonymous. Besides, he doesn’t touch the financials because of it. But the fact that Bradley knows about it shows that he has resources. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. “Is this blackmail? Extortion? What do you want?” I’m so frustrated and, frankly, starting to panic.
He thumbs over his shoulder.
“You want my trailer?” Obviously, I’m being cheeky.
He narrows his eyes. “I want what Donovan has.”
“Regular mind-blowing sex with someone he doesn’t have to pay to pretend to like him?” I’m probably going to regret saying that, but man, it was a good one.
“Oh, sweetheart.” He tsks and shakes his head. “Do you honestly think whatever is going on between you two is going to last?” He leans down, and I try to back away, but I’m trapped between him and his SUV. “Do you know why my brother has a thing for women like you?” He fingers a curl, and I bat his hand away. “Because it makes him feel better about himself. He likes projects, and you’re his newest one. What do you have to offer him, other than the obvious? You come from nothing, and if you don’t do what I want, I’ll destroy your family, and you’ll only have yourself to blame.”
“I can’t do anything to help you with the will even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”
“But you can say that Bee wasn’t in her right mind when she wrote it.” He pulls an envelope from his pocket. “You think you know this family, but you don’t. One way or another, I’ll find a way to get her will reversed.”
“Let me ask you something. Let’s say the will is invalidated. You’d only get one-third of a share. Minus what Bee already gave you. How does that help you?”
“My brother has nothing but this cottage; he’ll need the money. I can buy him out. And my sister.” He smirks. “You’ve met her. Do you think she wants this place? So you can either be on the right side of that deal or the wrong one. It’s up to you, but the wrong side will come with consequences you don’t like.”
I tip my chin up, defiant. “I’m on whatever side you’re not.”
He smiles, and his fingertips trail down my arm. I bat his hand away and suppress a shudder. He forces the envelope into my hand. “You should think good and hard before you say no. I’m only offering the opportunity once; after that, every loss is on you.”
Real fear settles under my skin, making it pebble. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I can either help you or hurt you. Don’t take what I’m offering you, and I guess you’ll find out. I’ll be in touch soon.”
I crumple the envelope in my fist, and he backs off, finally allowing me to step out from between him and the car.
I want to knee him in the nuts, or slap the smug holier-than-thou look off his face. “I’d suggest not randomly showing up here again. Unless you’re interested in being used as target practice.”
He laughs as he rounds the hood of the SUV, opens the door, and lowers himself inside. The engine rolls over with a low purr, and he peels out, narrowly missing my foot on the way.
I wait until he’s gone before I let my shoulders sag and give in to the urge to rub my temple. I can feel the headache knocking behind my eye.
Billy appears on the deck, one crutch perched under his arm, hair a mess, sleep lines on his face despite it being the dinner hour. “Who was that? One of those hockey player guys?”
“I wish,” I mutter, not because they’re all built like Adonis and have that rough-and-tumble kind of look about them, but because they’re nicer to deal with than potential blackmailers. “Just some asshole looking to buy up some land that isn’t available.”
Billy nods solemnly. “Lot of that going on around here lately. I think the whole town is corrupt. It’s a conspiracy, you know?”
“What kind of conspiracy?”
“The north side is keeping us under their thumbs. They run the town, even though they only live here a few months out of the year. You know Bernie lives right on the edge, between the north and south side, and he fakes having our best interest in mind because he’s playing both sides.”
