AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you for bringing my daughter home,” Laura says, putting a lock of hair behind her ear.
I roll my eyes as she tries to impress Mr. Mercer. His eyebrows rise high as he stares down at her.
“She’s such a troublemaker!” Laura shouts, glaring at me. “Get inside now, Winter. We’ll talk about how irresponsible you’ve been after I’m done thanking them! How could you disappear like that for weeks?”
“Were you worried about me?” I ask, stepping forward.
“Of course, I was worried!” she rants. “The neighbors have been up my ass every day. They arranged search parties every evening, forcing me and Pete to go out in this cold weather to search for you. Where the hell have you been all this time?”
Ignoring her, I walk inside the living room.
My nose crinkles at the stench of stale whiskey, rotting banana peels, and cigarette smoke. Empty chip packets, crushed beer cans, and takeaway containers litter the floor. Did no one bother to clean the place while I was away?
Pete was stretched on the couch but he quickly sits up at the sight of me and the strange men who enter the room behind me.
“Why don’t we turn down the TV?” Mercer says, walking into the room and grabbing the remote.
“Who the hell are you?” Pete asks with a grumpy look on his unshaven face.
“Hello, Mr. Monay,” Mercer replies with a curt nod. “I’m Miss Brown’s attorney. We’re here to give you a week’s notice to vacate this property or be prepared to get sued by us.”
“What?” Laura hisses, her eyes landing on me. “What’s the meaning of this? Who are these people? What lies did you tell them?”
“You clearly don’t want to live here,” I say, meeting her glare. “You want to sell the house but I’m not going to let you do that. It’s my dad’s home and you’re not taking it away from me. You should take your stuff and move to someplace that makes you happy.”
“Wait just a minute,” Pete says, lurching to his feet. “How did you get these people to come in here and threaten us? Did you have to suck on their cocks to waste their time on you?” He grins, displaying rows of browning teeth. “Is she that good, fellas?”
Identical expressions of rage cloud Jacob, Cole, and Kai’s faces.
Before I can do anything, Cole marches forward and pulls Pete by the front of his t-shirt. “That’s no way to talk about a lady,” he growls.
Pete’s gaze takes in the lines of scars that stretch across his face. Fear clouds his eyes but he still has too much ego to back down. “That kid ain’t no lady. She’s an orphan that we’ve sheltered in our home for all these years. She’s a fucking liar too. Whatever she’s told you about us, is all lies!”
“That’s not true,” Mercer says in a quiet, calm voice. Walking toward Cole, he touches his shoulder. “Let’s not resort to violence just yet,” he whispers.
Clearing his throat, he looks toward Pete. “We’ve done our investigation. The Knightswood PD has also gathered enough evidence to side with Miss Brown. She’s been doing chores at home and bringing in money by working at the bakery. She considered you as her family but you’ve gone too far by forcing her to sign over her properties to you. My client intends to stop allowing you to live in her home any longer. Please clear the premises within the week or we’ll sue.”
Mercer’s curt words impress me to no end. I could’ve never managed to tell someone to fuck off in such polite words!
“Sue?” Laura demands, marching toward me. “How dare you play this kind of game with me? This is my husband’s house. You have no right to throw me out. I’m going to sue your asses for threatening me instead.”
“We’ve gathered all the evidence, Miss Hill,” says Mercer. “You wanted to sell this house and didn’t plan on giving a dime of that money to Winter. Both you and your partner physically abused her to sign the papers. To make matters worse, you even plotted to sell her.”
Laura scoffs. “Winter can tell such lies! Sure, I wanted to sell the house but it’s my right to do so. It belonged to my late husband!”
A cold laughter rings out in the room. Jacob looks calm but there’s a storm brewing in those gray eyes of his. He steps closer to Laura so that she’s forced to look up to meet his gaze.
“You wanted to sell her to Luciano, didn’t you?” he continues in the same soft voice. “Did you know I play golf with Luciano Sr. on the weekends?”
“What?” Laura’s face pales.
“You see, my brothers and I run a security company,” Jacob says, circling her with a predatorial look in his eyes. “We’re not good guys, Laura, but we’re willing to go to any length to protect what’s ours. Winter is ours.”
Laura casts a fearful glance at me. For the first time, I see her hesitating before cursing me.
Cole steps up beside Jacob. “Do you see this?” he says, pointing at his face. “Do we look like we’re here to be heroes? We don’t have time to play your stupid games, so you better give up before you get seriously hurt.”
Laura’s eyes trail over the thick scars that mar his face. She’s sensible enough to know not to cross the man before her.
