Chapter 19 Cornered Dogs （Lena） #3
This can’t be coincidence.
I flick through the stack, faster and faster, grabbing more envelopes. So many pages.
“Holy crap, where does it end?” I whisper. “This is insane!”
She rubs her eyes tiredly. “Well, the fines don’t amount to much. Some of them are under twenty dollars for old light bulbs and such. The inspection is a bigger issue. We need to get the boarding center back in shape to pass a modern code inspection.”
My heart sinks. That’s no easy task.
“When was it last inspected?” I swallow.
“Well over ten years ago. I have the details in this mess, somewhere.”
Ouch.
She’s been lucky to keep the exterior painted and the inside squeaky clean. She doesn’t need to tell me how dire a full inspection could be. I already know.
Sure, it’s perfectly safe for our four-legged guests, but there are always little things that add up when a building’s thirty or forty years outdated.
Another issue Dr. Ezzie never had the time or money to fix, and soon it’ll be mine.
But I’m not ready for a total gut and overhaul. Not now.
There’s no way this is a coincidence.
I’m not stupid.
Someone has been digging, doing everything they can to chuck a firecracker down our pipes.
“I don’t believe it.” My fingers tighten on the letters, crinkling them. “Doc, this is bullshit.”
“The worst timing,” she agrees too calmly. “Regrettably, it means someone may have to put up additional capital before we can progress.”
There it is.
The sucker punch I was waiting for.
Normally, before a sale, an inspection might be requested by the buyer, but Dr. Ezzie and I discussed it, and I basically waived my right. I’m intimately familiar with this place and its quirks like the back of my puppy-chewed hand.
I choke back bile, my nerves knotting.
“Okay, righto,” I say. “I mean, I’ll see what I can do.”
“And the fines.”
“And the fines,” I echo through clenched teeth. The room feels like it’s shrinking down to shoebox size.
Outside, the gorgeous evening sunshine paints the trees a cheerful orange. A couple dogs bark in the enclosure with Keith, getting their last zoomies out before dinner as he throws rubber balls for them.
The phone rings, but neither of us move.
Dr. Ezzie taps the voicemail button a minute later, and a demon talks through the speaker.
“Hi, Dr. Esmerelda,” he says, smooth as honey. “I’m just calling to let you know I’m still interested in Pawsome Hearts, and I’m prepared to make a counteroffer. Let me know if you’re interested.”
Bastard.
I’m seething as the message ends and clicks off. Before Dr. Ezzie has a chance to move, I grab the phone and start redialing.
He picks up almost immediately.
“You asshole,” I snarl.
“Lena!” Dr. Ezzie hisses.
But Harry just chuckles, the oily sound sliding over my skin like marching spiders.
“Is that LeeLee?” He’s amused, like nothing I do will ever faze him.
Old, familiar horror creeps in.
I remember what it’s like, feeling trapped.
But I also remember I’m done with that. Brady might be right about Harry being relentless, but I can handle this.
I don’t need a hero to run him off.
“That’s no way to speak to an old friend,” he says.
“You’re no friend of mine.”
“I might be. I could be. We both know you’re in over your head with this old property.”
“Bullshit. The deal’s off, Harry. Go home. You’re never getting your hands on this land.”
“Well, it’s not up to you, is it?” He sighs.
“I’m trying to do this the simple way. So sad that you won’t let me be gracious.
It would be so incredibly easy for me to facilitate a smooth transfer, considering I’ve been doing this for years.
I’ve seen it all—especially those complicated properties wrapped up in all kinds of red tape. ”
Red?
Oh, I’m seeing it right now.
“I knew it was you,” I bite off. “So, what, you think you can bully me into walking away because you bribe some shady inspectors? That isn’t happening. I’m not the same girl I used to be. And you are never going to ruin this place.”
Not like you tried to ruin me.
He didn’t succeed then either.
But that soulless goblin man just laughs.
“Oh, Lena.” He’s almost singing. I never knew I could hate any human being this much.
“You really should have taken my initial offer.” He pauses, and I’m on the verge of slamming the phone down when he adds, “If it wasn’t for your dearest fiancé, you wouldn’t be in this mess.
Tragic that his money can’t buy everything. ”
My mind blanks.
This is white noise. Static. The anger washes out in a flood, chased away by a coldness that feels like biting fear.
“What are you talking about?”
“There she is. Finally listening, huh?”
“Harry, I swear—”
“Old problems have an annoying way of resurfacing. Particularly when they’re on video. They say the internet is forever, and they aren’t wrong.” He chuckles, and that chill spreads down my spine, paralyzing me.
Dr. Ezzie stares past me at the window, resigned to the disaster unfolding, but I shake my head.
This is the sort of threat you can’t explain to anyone without total humiliation.
I swallow the rock in my throat.
No, my past with Harry is something I’ll take to my grave.
Although I have the vicious suspicion I’m about to learn that’s harder than I ever dreamed.
“You won’t. You wouldn’t dare,” I whisper.
“I wouldn’t do anything, of course. It’s just like those pesky code issues, I’m afraid. They pop up when you least expect it,” he continues. I can hardly breathe. “But I wonder what would happen to Pruitt if your past came oozing up? Reputation’s everything at his level. I’m sure you’re aware.”
. . . Is he bluffing?
My mind races until I’m dizzy.
He can’t have the boat clips after all these years.
Surely, he doesn’t.
But just because he scrubbed his accounts doesn’t mean the clips aren’t saved somewhere.
And he’s right about one thing—the internet makes terrible secrets immortal.
My eyes sting. I blink hot tears back. Every breath feels like a hacksaw in my chest.
If anything can take him down, it’s calm, ice-cold rage. Not blinding threats and bluster.
Brady was right. I need to fight fire with fire and—
Oh my God, Brady.
He’s the one who’ll suffer if Harry spills my dirt. Being engaged means he’s vulnerable too.
I need to think. There must be a way out of this.
There has to be. But my mind skids around like a helpless dog on an ice rink. Zero traction.
“Still there?” Harry prods.
“Don’t try it,” I clip.
“Not me, again. But as for some brutish little hacker, well, I can’t be blamed for that.
It happens all the time now. Sometimes those data breaches reach back for years.
” He pauses. “What will you do, LeeLee? Spend your hard-earned money on lawyers, chasing ghosts? Maybe more of your fiancé’s money?
I suppose he can afford legal bills for days.
Or maybe you’ll be smart and let this go.
Walk away, save everyone a massive headache.
” He clucks his tongue softly. I can just imagine him twirling that devil’s fork of a mustache.
“Don’t fret too much, doll. If it turns out I was ever compromised by leakers, you’ll be the first to know. ”
“Shut up!” My voice hitches, exploding into the phone.
My lips are numb.
“It’s a lot to take in. I understand. Choose your next words wisely, Lena, and your next move. I certainly don’t want this to be messy and needlessly complicated—and that goes for both of us as well as your beau.”
I barely hear him drumming his fingers, too much like a ticking clock, right before the phone drops.
“Lena? Lena?” Dr. Ezzie shakes me gently by the shoulders, but I’m unresponsive.
All of Brady’s warnings sink in like arrows in my back.
It doesn’t matter if I’m older and wiser and determined not to break.
I’m still a hostage. Captive to a monster who won’t stay out of my life, and it overshadows everything I wish I could be.