Back Page Bomb
Maisie
I stared down at the paper. And yes, I meant an actual newspaper – a thin, daily publication calling itself the Mackinaw Bugle . Most of the space was crammed with ads, but there was still a decent amount of news – all local, from the looks of it.
But it was the story on the back page that had me staring like I'd just seen a ghost. Silently, I read the headline for the second time in thirty seconds. Billionaire Bike Mogul to Buy Bridge and Bay Finance.
Which billionaire?
Yup, you guessed it. Griff.
If I weren't so sad, I might have laughed.
The way the headline was broken, I'd first read it as Billionaire Bike Mogul to Buy Bridge. But I knew better – not because billionaires don't buy bridges, but because Bridge and Bay Finance was a name I'd seen before.
Repeatedly.
I kept staring, dazed. "So…the company's being sold?" It wasn't really a question – just my brain trying to catch up.
Standing next to me on the sidewalk, Trevor said, "Yeah, that's what it says."
I kept my eyes trained on the paper. There were two photos accompanying the story. The first showed two middle-aged men in rumpled business suits – Marcus and Benny Wexler, according to the caption.
I hadn't met either of them face-to-face, but I had spoken to Benny by phone.
I'd even been to the company's place of business – a shabby little office in Mackinaw City. I'd been meeting with a woman named Gail, who until recently had given me nothing but bad news.
But forget her . The way it looked, she was just a low-level lackey doing her job.
Apparently, Marcus and Benny were the sole owners of Bridge and Bay Finance – the same organization that had done my consolidation loan.
My pulse quickened as I considered recent events. Just yesterday, that same company had agreed to refinance everything – my shop, my home, and even my credit cards – under terms that had exceeded my wildest dreams.
But under whose direction?
Griff's?
It sure looked that way – even if it didn't make sense. A sale like that would take weeks to finalize, possibly months.
Right?
Of course, just because the sale hadn't gone through, that didn't mean the new owner wouldn't have some clout.
Either way, it couldn't be a coincidence.
At everything this implied, my fingers loosened around the paper, and it fluttered downward, landing on my shoes. With a muttered curse, I snatched it up and pulled it closer to my eyes so I wouldn't miss a thing.
I scanned the article from top to bottom. The second photo was a generic headshot of Griff wearing a suit and tie.
Except he wasn't called Griff at all.
He was called Montgomery – Montgomery Griffin, to be exact.
No surprise there.
Well…at least not anymore.
Even so, the name landed like a punch to the ribs, reminding me how little I knew.
I was still trying to make sense of it when a finger – Trevor's – tapped the photo of the two men. In a hushed voice, he said, "That's them."
I looked up. "Them who?"
He grimaced. "The two guys who tried to scare me off."
I blinked. "Wait, what?" And then it hit me. Trevor's sudden departure. The fallen bikes. Griff's paranoia – which, the way it looked, wasn't paranoia at all.
My voice shook as I asked, "Are you serious? Why didn't you say something?"
Trevor looked away. "I should've." And then, in a lower voice, he mumbled, "Sorry."
My heart hammered as I asked, "What exactly did they do?"
He shrugged. "They came in, acted all tough, told me it would be bad for my health to stick around – and besides, you were selling the place, anyway."
What the heck? "But I wasn't . I wouldn't."
"Yeah, well…they said it was a big secret."
Yeah, so secret that I didn't even know. My mouth tightened. "And you never thought to warn me?"
"Yeah, but…" He blew out a long breath and never did finish the thought.
"But what?" I persisted.
"They said you'd be fine. It was just your employees that had to go."
"My employees ?" I sputtered. "I only had one. You."
"Yeah, but…they said it would go better for you if I left."
Now that was an eye-roller. "What are you saying? You did it for me?"
"Not just for you." He looked down at his feet. "They really freaked me out, okay?" His voice caught. "They even threatened my mom."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "What? They said they'd hurt her?"
"No, not like that," he said. "They said they'd get her fired…you know from her job at the hospital."
Stupidly, I said, "The hospital?"
"Yeah, she works in billing."
By now, nearly all of my anger was gone. Trevor was just a college kid working for not much above minimum wage. Still, a warning would have been nice.
At the thought, I felt my body go utterly still.
I had been warned.
Just not by Trevor.
By Griff.
I gave Trevor a sharp look. "Wait a minute…how did you know the other guy quit?"
He glanced away. "What other guy?"
"Oh, come on. Griff . Don't tell me you don't know." Trevor had to know. As of yesterday, Griff was still working at the shop. And news didn't travel that fast, especially from here to the mainland.
Or did it?
Finally, Trevor said, "Yeah, well…Griff was the one who told me."
Holy crap. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. And he promised me a bonus to come back."
I swallowed, hard. "A bonus?" I considered my bank account. Sure, I had that money from the sale of Shark Bike, but I'd already spent a bunch of it by writing a single check, made out to Montgomery Griffin for all of the hours he'd worked.
I couldn’t regret it. It was only right, which was the reason I'd left it on his rickety table on my way out the door. At the thought of everything that had happened, it made me want to cry – and not because of the money.
At something in my expression, Trevor quickly added, "Don't worry. It's not a bonus from you."
I wasn't following. "Sorry, what?"
"It's a bonus from him." He brightened. "A thousand bucks, cash. He already paid, so…" Trevor shifted uneasily. "If you say no, I guess I owe the money back."
My pulse gave a crazy little jump. "Wait. So you saw him? Like…in person?"
"Yeah. Early this morning. He showed up at my mom's place."
"You mean…in Mackinaw City?"
"Yeah, I'm staying there for the summer, remember?"
Of course I remembered. But the rest of it was knocking me sideways.
I was still struggling for something to say when Trevor dug into the pocket of his jeans. "Oh. And I'm supposed to give you this." And then, he handed it over – the same check I'd left for Griff. Across it, one word was scrawled in bold black ink: VOID.
I stared. He hadn’t just refused the money. He’d sent it back.
Fool that I was, I hadn't seen any of this coming. And now, I had no idea what to do.