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“Maria wants to go to an all-girls school that she read about online. I’ve looked into it. It’s a good school, and they offer more things than just your standard classes. There is horseback riding as well as lots of different art classes. But it’s so far away.” He asked her where it was. “England. I want her to go, I do, but then I don’t, too. She’ll not be right here where I can hug her when I want. I know that we can talk every day and even video chat, but what if something happens? I won’t be there.”
“Why not?” She asked him what he meant. “I mean, with Amelia around, just popping over to see her would be easy enough. In fact, you and Maria should pop over there and have a good look around the school together. I know you looked it up, that’s great, but that’s not like being there in person. I’m not trying to get rid of either of you. But she might find that it’s not what she thought it was when she’s actually there.”
“What if it’s everything that she thought it was? She’ll want to go.” Gibb, ever the diplomate, asked his mate what was really bothering her about this. “She doesn’t seem to mind that she’ll be thousands of miles away.” When she started to cry, he was happy that he’d not laughed at her concern.
“Look. She’s only ten right now. By the time she’s old enough to leave home, you’re going to be twice as bad about her leaving. And I’m betting that she’s more concerned about leaving her family behind than you think she is. Maria is the tender one. She’ll be calling you every day, and by the time she’s there for a few months, you’ll both be wondering what all the fuss was about.”
“I’ll miss her.” He told her that he would as well. “I know you will. That’s what I love about you. You’re their father, through and through. And I love you for it.”
“You couldn’t have said anything in the world that makes me feel this good.” When the front doorbell rang, he was on his way to get it when several hundred faeries beat him to it. Strawberry told him to not open the door wider than he had to. “Who is it, do you know?”
“Paige Crawford.” That was enough that he backed away from the door a bit. “You will be safe, my lord. Just don’t allow her to come in. We will kill her if she does.”
“Yes, all right.” He opened the door then when it sounded like she was lying on the buzzer. “What do you want? And how did you get out of jail?”
“Oh, nice to meet you too. Where is my baby oven? I want you to bring her to me right now, or so help me, I’ll have you arrested for harboring a fugitive.” He asked her what she was talking about. “Rusty. She’s got my child, and I want her to turn it over as soon as it’s born. Where is she? I know she’s here.”
“Because you put a tracker on her?” Paige just smiled. “Yes, well, that’s been removed from her, I’ve heard. Also, you’ll be thrilled to know that the Feds are looking it over now. You never answered me. How did you get out of jail?”
“I paid the pricey fee to be free. Since you seem to know about the tracker, you must know where she is. I demand that you bring her here so that I can talk to her.” He heard someone behind him and knew that it was Rusty when he smelled her. “There you are. Oh, and look at you. Where is my baby? I want him.”
“Two months ago, you told me that you didn’t. Now, all of a sudden, you want him. Make up your mind. Besides, he’s not anything to you. You were never a doner for him.” She said that her husband was his biological father. “Yes, he is. So, since you two are divorced, then it’s more his child than yours. And I’m not going to give him up for any amount of money.”
“Everyone says that, but if the price is high enough, you’ll take it. And you’ll be happy to get it. Where is the brat? I want you to bring him here, and I’ll pretend like you didn’t take off with my goods.” Rusty laughed. Gibb reached out to his family to let them know what was going on. All of them said they were on their way. “All you had to do was abort him when I told you to. But no, you got squeamish about it. There is no way that he would have felt a thing if you’d just allowed me to knock you down the stairs, and he’d be gone. Christ, you’re causing me all kinds of trouble here. Hand him over, now, Rusty, or I’m calling the police.”
“I’ve already done that.” Paige asked Rusty what she was talking about. “Calling the police. I’ve called them. You don’t have to worry about doing it yourself since I know that you hate to lift your finger to do any of the dirty work that seems to follow you around all the time. I’ve been busy while keeping my baby safe. It’s amazing what you can find out with a good internet connection.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Just hand the baby over.” Rusty pulled a sheet of paper out of her backside pocket. “I guess you think that whatever you have there is going to make a difference to me.”
“I should hope it does. I have a list of nineteen outstanding warrants for your arrest. Also, a great many departments across the United States where police are looking for you to answer a few questions about missing children. And a few adults. That’s what the police are coming for. To arrest you on this new information that I’ve found.” Paige started to back away from the door. Rusty laughed. “I’d not try to run if I were you. Those bears behind you look like they’re hungry. I don’t know if they like to play with their food before eating it, but I’m sure that if I asked, they’d do that for me. What do you think, Gibb?”
“I think you might be right. I think for the chance to hold onto your son, they might well do anything you asked of them.” Rusty grinned like it was the best thing ever to find out that she could command five large black bears. “Ah, look. The police are here. And just in time, too. It looks like the bears are coming closer to see what all the bruhaha is about.”
As Paige was taken away, Rusty sat in the living room talking to her son. David showed up a little while later and was glad, too, that Paige wasn’t going to be any trouble. The way she was verbally abusing the cops on the way to the car made him think she wasn’t going to have a good time this time in jail. They’d treat her as she was treating them. Time would tell how long she’d be in jail or prison for.
Chapter 8
Barron didn’t want to be at this meeting. In fact, he thought that he could go his entire life, even being immortal, without having to be in the same room as the people that he was with. He’d told them countless times that he wasn’t selling his business. And twice as many times as he’d told them, they countered with more of something.
More money. More perks. More of anything that they thought that he’d like. Which he kept telling them was to be left alone. They didn’t seem to get that either. Why would he, according to them, be happy with the small amount of money that he was currently making when he could be making so much more. He looked at the man that had been doing the most talking.
“I’m happy. I don’t want to get in over my head.” He, Mr. Denver Longshot, told him that he’d never be in over his head because they would be there with all the help that he needed. “I don’t need any help with my business right now. That’s the way that I like it.”
“Mr. Cross? Barron, can I call you that?” He told him that Mr. Cross was fine. “That’s not too terribly friendly. I was hoping that we could get this settled up and you’d think of us as your family. A good family that is going to be making a great deal of money.”
“I don’t need any more family than the one I have right now. And I don’t need to be making a great deal of money. I’m happy and content with the way things are going right now.” He stood up, and so did Mr. Longshot. “Don’t contact me again. If you do, I’m going to call my attorney and have you charged with harassment.”
“Mr. Cross, you don’t know what you’re missing. We could be making you a millionaire in less time than it takes you to make a batch of this cheese.” Barron turned to look at the man. His anger and his bear were getting the best of him. “You should just sit back down and let us start again. You’re not hearing what we can offer you by letting us take care of things for you.”
“I’m already a millionaire. I also don’t need someone to take care of things for me. I’m a grown man, not some sniffling kid who needs someone like you chasing me down like you are. Back the fuck off, or I call in the troops. And trust me when I tell you, you do not want me to have to call in the troops.” He turned to the door again, and the man grabbed him and jerked him around. “Take your hands off of me.”
“Look. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, Barron. Let’s start over as friends.” When he jerked his arm free, the man grabbed him again. “You’re not going to leave here until we come to some kind of understanding. And by that, I mean that you’re going to let us help you make the kind of sales that you should be making. Think of the profit you’ll be making if you would just get your head out of your ass and listen to what we’re telling you.”
“Frazier, I need you to come to me right fucking now.” He didn’t bother with their link but called for him to come to him now. When Fraizer showed up, he had Mark and Gibb with him. “This man has tried to detain me twice now by physically holding me from leaving. I would like to have charges pressed against him.”
“All right, little brother.” Mark looked at Longshot. “Remove your hand from my brother, or I will. I’m not fucking with you right now. You do what I tell you, or else.”
“Look, I was just telling your brother here that we got off on the wrong footing. He just needs to stay here and listen to us.” Barron noticed that the other people in the room with them had backed off. They were so pressed against the furthest wall that they looked to be a part of it. Longshot turned and looked. “What are you idiots doing? We need his business. One of you come here and explain to him how much money he’s going to be making.”
