Chapter Thirty-Three
Dristan
A few hours later, I sat with Rudgar in the front seat of the tiny SUV all we’d been able to get within short notice, as we drove to the bank. I’d asked my lawyer to meet us there, and while Penelope had insisted that she wanted to join me, I didn’t want her to see what I was about to do. I’d asked her to sit this visit out, assuring her that it was more reconnaissance than anything else—which was a lie.
I planned to pay off the mortgage and ensure that every debt in my mate’s family’s name was settled before I left the bank. I’d already had my accountant settle the medical bills that had piled up at the local hospital for my mate’s mother.
Rudgar’s job would be to find anything I’d missed and handle it. I’d already transferred money to my mate’s account—which had shocked me. My perfect female had been living on almost nothing before she took the job with me and after paying off the missed payments—with interest—on the mortgage, she’d been wiped out once more.
That was never going to happen again. She’d never have to do without as long as I lived—and after, if I had anything to say about it.
“You realize that you haven’t done anything but mutter angry things since you got in the car,” Rudgar told me, giving me a mean side-eye. “What happened with our new in-laws?”
I felt a small, satisfied smile curl my lips. “They love me, of course,” I chuffed. “What else did you expect?”
“Ever the charmer,” he muttered, pulling into a parking space in front of the bank. I ignored his sarcasm, eyeing the tiny building.
“How the hell is this a real financial institution?” I grumbled, exiting the SUV and glancing over at my lawyer as he joined us. This wasn’t one that I kept on retainer. This male was an old friend who’d gone to school with me. “Kor,” I sent the male orc a nod of acknowledgement and he grinned in return.
Always such a cheerful motherfucker.
The male was my opposite in disposition, which tended to set his clients at ease, but he was also a shark in the courtroom. That was the energy I needed now. He didn’t have much experience with the financial side of things, but what I needed was what he’d specialized in. Criminal law.
The developers were up to something and I needed the best to represent me. That was Kor. He slapped his hand across my back and I grunted at the enthusiasm.
“Great to see you, Dris. It’s been too long. Did you get my invitation?” he asked, and I nodded. The male had met his mate a few months ago and he’d already proposed. It grated on me that he was further ahead in his mating than I was. My competitiveness scratched to the surface. “V’s the boss and she’s brutal about RSVPs. I squeezed you both in and included dates, though.” He sent a wink my way.
“I’ll be there, but I’ll be attending alone,” Rudgar told him.
“I can set you up with someone,” Kor said, with a shrug. “And when I say I , I really mean V.” He grinned at my brother, who just shook his head and waved him off.
“I’ll be sending along an invitation of my own soon,” I told him, baring my fangs in a semblance of a smile. His eyebrows swung up and he swatted me across my back again, earning another grunt as he almost shoved me forward.
“That’s great, Dris! I didn’t think you had it in you!” he chuckled, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance while Rudgar laughed behind me.
“Is that what we’re here about? Something with your mate?” He cocked his head to the side, his expression growing serious. “Is someone harassing her?”
I nodded, turning to face the bank with narrowed eyes. “We’re going to figure this mortgage business out and then I want you to file a harassment suit against the fucking developers who’re doing all of this.”
“No problem,” he said, a smile on his face but a gleam in his eyes that told me my trust was in good hands. The bastard was tenacious when he decided on something and it looked like he’d taken this on as a challenge.
That was how we’d become friends. I’d ignored him for the first few months of knowing him, but he’d stuck to me like glue, forcing his friendship on me until I’d given up and accepted him. Now that he’d moved into the suburbs, we saw each other less often, but he was someone I could always count on in a pinch.
“Let’s get this done so I can go home to my mate,” he said, slapping me across the back again and I was propelled forward an inch. My scowl would have sent anyone else scurrying, but it didn’t even faze him.
He was already headed toward the bank before I could stop him. With a heavy sigh, I followed.
When we entered, everyone inside the bank turned to gape at us. I was sure it wasn’t every day that three orcs in suits turned up in their establishment and, from the wary look I was getting from the two tellers, I was pretty sure they were about to sound some kind of silent alarm. My scowl grew.
“Well, I hope everyone’s having a wonderful day,” Kor called, a friendly smile on his face. “Can anyone point us in the direction of the manager?”
The tension eased in the room and one of the tellers pointed at a closed door near the back of the building.
“Thank you,” Kor told her, and I watched with disgust as she all but swooned for him. I never got that kind of response from anyone. They were all more likely to run screaming than assist me.
As the same female widened her eyes in fear at my scowl, I huffed out a breath, moving with my friend and brother toward the door. Kor knocked, and a few moments later, a voice called for us to enter.
When the door opened, the male human inside gave us the same look we’d received outside. He was older, his thinning hair combed in a way that I was sure he assumed gave it more volume. It didn’t.
His glasses were perched on his nose, dropping a bit when he jerked back in his seat in shock. His expression said that he thought we were bank robbers. I didn’t bother to correct him, striding inside and leaning my palms down on his tiny desk.
“Are you Trevor?” I demanded, and I saw his head start to shake before he froze.
“W-Who are you?” he asked, looking behind me at the two other males who’d crowded the tiny office.
“I asked you a question,” I growled, and he swallowed hard before nodding.
“Yes, I’m Trevor,” he said, his voice low and worried. “And what is this about?” He glanced at the phone and I knew he was wondering how fast security could arrive to help him.
Not fast enough.
That was when Kor cut in. All professional charm. “We’re here to talk to you about the mortgage on Penelope Fieldman’s home. They received a letter stating that they were being evicted. Is this true?” he asked. I leaned a little closer, knowing exactly what my gleaming fangs would look like when my lip curled. I wouldn’t say that I practiced the intimidation tactic per se , but it was nice knowing that it was something I could call on if I needed it.
“P-Penelope’s house?” The male was shaking in his chair. It was pathetic. “Yes, there was a bit of an issue with the payments—”
“And they’ve all been made,” Kor told him with that grin that he used to win over juries in the city, putting a page in front of him that listed all of the payments Penelope had made. “So there shouldn’t be any more issues.”
“That’s right,” I growled, low and mean.
His lips parted and closed a few times before he nodded. “R-Right. No more problems. As long as they continue to pay on time.”
“Even so, Trevor,” Kor said, leaning closer as well until Trevor had the force of two fully grown male orcs in their prime staring down at him. “I hope you understand that your signature on that letter holds enough ground for a lawsuit.”
The male swallowed hard, shaking his head. “T-there’s no need for that. If she continues to pay—”
“That’s the thing, Trevor,” I told him, pressing a little closer. The male moved so far back that his chair almost toppled over. “I’m here to pay the balance of their loan in full.”
His eyes were huge in his face. “You are?” The words were incredulous and I wondered if he thought I was just a hired thug.
It didn’t matter. Within hours, I’d have the dirt on this male. If he was in shady dealings with the developer—and I was almost certain he was, he’d be out on his ass so fast, he wouldn’t be able to cushion his fall.
“Yes,” I told him, straightening away from him. “Give me the balance that needs to be paid.” I watched him blink at me for a moment before I grated the word, “Now.”
He scrambled to do as he was told and I turned to face an amused Kor and Rudgar.
“Always a pleasure watching you scare the piss out of someone,” Kor said in a low voice, his smile wide.
I rolled my eyes, glancing over my shoulder at the male who was working furiously on his computer. “And I also want to know how they could receive a letter of eviction if they were up to date with their payments, Trevor,” I said, putting emphasis on his name, letting him know exactly who would be held liable.
If I’d had any doubt whether he’d been involved or not, the way his face went white as a sheet told me everything I needed to know.
Fucking scum.
“T-that letter couldn’t have been from us,” he said, licking his parched lips.
“Then why was it on your stationary?” I demanded, slamming a copy of the letter onto his desk before pointing a filed claw to the name at the bottom. “And why is your name on there?”
“It had to have come from this bank,” Kor’s smile belied the threat in his words. “And we’ll be taking it to the authorities to have it traced if you’re saying that it’s forged.”
Trevor shook his head, mumbling about scams while he continued working at his computer as if his life depended on it. And it did. I wouldn’t let anyone bully my mate and her family.
“This is the total that’s still owed after all the payments,” he said in a low voice, turning the screen my way. “But I had to add on the prepayment penalty since you want to pay it early–”
I cut him off with a slash of my hand, stretching a palm behind me. Rudgar had my checkbook in my grasp in seconds. I reached over and snatched the male’s pen from in front of him and he squeaked, his arms pinwheeling as he tried to get away from me—assuming that I was trying to kill him, of course—before his chair fell backward with a crash.
No one in the room moved to help the red-faced male as he jumped to his feet, profuse apologies leaving his mouth. I ignored him, filling out the check and handing it over to him.
“I want this dealt with now ,” I said. “I want the final paperwork saying that they don’t owe you a penny.”
His head bobbed in a nod and he turned his computer back to himself, taking the check from me with hesitant fingers. When he saw my name on the check, his eyes went huge in his face and he looked up at me with awe.
“Mr. Everlock, sir—”
“Did I say you were allowed to speak to me?” I snapped, pointing a finger at his puny chest. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
He swallowed hard, trembling as he went back to working on his computer. He made a couple calls, but it wasn’t more than half of an hour before I was on my way out of the bank with the mortgage release in my hand.
We’d be able to get the rest sorted out later, but I needed something to give to my female so she would be able to rest easy. Kor was right behind me, whistling a happy tune that was going to drive me insane. Rudgar was tapping away on his phone and I knew he was looking into the asshole Trevor’s background. There would be legal ramifications for him as well, and we needed to gather the evidence to provide Kor with before he took the necessary steps.
“It’s always a pleasure doing business with you gentlemales,” Kor said with a grin. “And I’ll be taking this letter and a copy of the release papers along to the police to start filing harassment charges against the developer.” He waved a folder in front of me before slapping me across my shoulder, waving to Rudgar and strutting to his rented car.
“If he wasn’t good at his job,” I growled, getting into the SUV. “I’d hate that bastard.”
Rudgar scoffed. “He’s your best friend,” he said, rolling his eyes and I wondered if he’d been spending too much time with Penelope.
I grunted in disgust, but when I looked down at the papers in my hand, I couldn’t help the swirling of heat filling my body.
Now that this is settled, I wonder how my rega is going to reward me.