AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shane should have known better than to hope that Marc and Madeline would keep to themselves. First, they decided to make an offer on the ranch that bordered his country club. Now Marc was making a play for one of the daughters of the wealthiest man in town besides himself.
This wasn’t going to end well for anyone. They needed to be stopped. He didn’t know what they had planned, but he wasn’t going to let them take advantage of a single soul who lived in this town.
Already he could tell Eloise wasn’t cut out to decipher the kind of person Marc was. She wasn’t as shrewd as her older sister, and she was too kind to believe him if he were to tell her about their sordid past. There was no point in telling her about it because she’d probably just tell him he was manipulating her.
He let out a groan as he made it to his car and yanked the door open. Madeline hadn’t listened to him when he was on the phone with her. Perhaps Marc would. The guy was the weak link between them. If he got nervous enough, he might actually listen.
Shane shoved his key into the ignition and started up truck. If Madeline and Marc thought they could infiltrate this town and bring it to its knees, they had another thing coming. If Zeke got wind of just who was taking his daughter to breakfast, he would be livid. Marc might not live to see the next day.
A small smile crept onto Shane’s face at that thought, but he immediately dismissed it. That wasn’t who he was. Would this world be a better place without people like his cousins? Yes. Would he wish harm or death on them?
Probably not. Though they could use a little wake-up call. At some point they’d end up hurting the wrong people and they would suffer consequences they never knew existed. If they’d listen to reason, they’d avoid it for the next little while.
Shane drove along the dark road that led into town. There was one motel he was certain he’d find his family at. He didn’t know what he was going to say to them, but he had to do something—anythingto ensure they kept their distance.
He pulled into the parking lot of the biggest motel Copper Creek had to offer. It boasted three levels with big windows and an outdoor pool. Madeline probably hated it. There weren’t any amenities she was used to, and the room service left much to be desired, as he’d found out when he’d moved to Copper Creek.
It was all part of the charm of living on the outskirts of anything. If they hadn’t been lucky enough to run into Eloise, they might have grown tired of this place and left on their own accord.
Now, he had to get them to back out of that real estate deal and forget all about this place—a feat that was beginning to sound harder than starting up his business here when everyone had hated him.
Shane shut off the engine and climbed out of his car. If he had to guess, his cousins were staying on the top floor in the only suite this place offered. There was little chance the host would confirm his suspicions, so he went straight to the elevator as if he knew exactly what he was doing and who he was going to see.
Once on the third floor, he made a beeline for the room he’d once stayed in for a few nights. That was back when he thought he needed the bigger and better things in his life. Turned out he didn’t need material things as much as he thought he did. What he really wanted was to make a change in people’s lives somehow. But all he really knew in this moment was that Madeline and Marc needed to leave. There was absolutely no way they were going to grow and fit in with the sort of people who resided here.
His fist hit the door with three resounding thuds. Despite it being a little after midnight, the door swung open almost immediately. Madeline stood in the doorway, donned in a silk robe that came just above her knees. She didn’t look the least bit surprised to see him, which had him wondering if Eloise had mentioned to Marc that Shane had run off.
He raked a hand through his hair, glowering at her and expecting her to make some snide comment about how he’d aged so much over the last few days.
Her eyes swept up and down his body and she smirked. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I want you out of here, Madeline.”
She rolled her eyes and moved back into the room. “I’m not going anywhere. We told you, we’re here for the long haul—at least until you give us what is rightfully ours.”
“What? You each want an additional million? Is that what this is about?” He couldn’t see her face, but with the way she snorted, he could tell she had no plans to listen to him.
“You think a million is going to make me happy? Geez, Shane. Have you gotten dumber since we were kids? How many times do you have to learn that when someone like me wants something, they get it? And if they know there is a way to keep that faucet running, they’re going to try their hardest to make sure that happens.” She peeked at him over her shoulder, then turned to face him fully as she leaned against the back of a sofa that sat in the middle of the largest room. “Why are youreallyhere, Shane? I have never seen you so set on something before in my entire life. What triggered this response?” Her voice lowered. “Because I want to see if I can replicate it.”
His hands formed fists at his sides. This town was his sanctuary from the outside world. It was the place he finally had to call his own—a place away from the drama and misdeeds of two very specific cousins.
Seeing her now, he knew he had little chance of getting rid of her, but there was one thing he couldn’t deny. She wanted to toy with him, and she knew she was doing so successfully.
“I want you and Marc to pack up and leave. You have no idea what you’re doing and how hard it will be to take care of that land.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “I don’t want the land. I could care less about that.”
His brows furrowed. “You made an offer on it.”
“So?”
“That’s a binding contract. Once it gets past a specific point, you can’t back out without financial repercussions.”
“I’m not an idiot, Shane. I know how real estate listings work.”
He stared at her, dumbfounded. What was her plan? How was she planning to come out on top? “What are you trying to do?”
She shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to find out, huh?”
