22. Hunter #2
“I understand how ordinary, hard-working people end up being the ones who pay for the greed of corporate parasites,” Ash says.
“We do business very differently, Hugo. Which is why you’re the one with crippling debts, and I’m the only thing standing between you and your day of reckoning with your debtors. ”
“You don’t know who we’re dealing with,” Hugo persists. “I need more than a promise that you’ll keep them away.”
“I know exactly who we’re dealing with, I’ve probably dined out with a few of them.
They’re the kind of people who have short tempers and long memories, much like myself,” Ash adds.
“So, here’s what I’m proposing.” He taps his fingers on his knee and I know he’s still figuring out how to play this.
Despite my threat in the car, the bastard still thinks Hugo’s fate is up for debate.
I cock my head so he notices, then hold his gaze. Ash doesn’t do expressions, but from the flare of his nostrils and the twitch of an eyebrow, I see enough to know I’m going to have to trust him.
“I’m feeling generous,” Ash says. “I’m going to draw up a second agreement. One where you sell this nice house to me at the same time you hand over your shares in the paper mill.”
My jaw locks as I try to keep my expression neutral. When he’d arrived two days ago, he wasn’t even convinced we should be buying the mill, and now he wants the house too? What the fuck?
“When the paperwork’s ready to sign,” Ash continues, “I’d like to invite you to stay with friends of ours in Las Vegas. Hunter’s spoken to them, and they’re amenable to a meeting. They’ve agreed to act as go-betweens and will negotiate a settlement with your mutual friends.”
“How can I trust that they’ll do it?”
“Trust doesn’t come into it. They don’t know you, and you don’t know them.
It’s all going to be very transparent. You’ll be in a conference call where the terms will be agreed with your debtors.
Once it’s concluded to everyone’s satisfaction, you’ll sign the house and the mill over to me, and I’ll make a payment to settle your debts.
And when it’s all done, you can take advantage of all that Vegas has to offer to celebrate your good fortune.
Compared to waking up one night with a gun pressed to your forehead, I’d say my offer is a good one. I promise it’ll be painless.”
“But the house… It’s my family’s legacy.”
“A house that will become your very own personal crypt, one way or another, if you don’t accept the fucking offer.”
I’m not sure if Hugo is aware, but he’s rocking back and forth. “When? When can we do it?”
“This is a time-limited offer. I want everything completed by the end of the week. No more delays. When our lawyers ask a question, you answer them within the hour or the deal’s off,” Ash warns.
“Do everything right, and the next time we meet will be on Sunday in Vegas to sign the papers. I’ll send the location when all the arrangements have been made. ”
“I…” His throat bobs. “OK then. ”
And it’s that simple. An agreement has been reached and the meeting is technically over, but it’s over too soon.
We need to wait for Mace to finish snooping.
When Hugo makes a move to stand, I step forward.
The last thing I want is to make small talk with the creep, but we need to stay put a little while longer.
A door handle rattles, and to my relief, Mace appears. “Maddie couldn’t decide what shoes she wanted to take,” he says. “But we’re all done now.”
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Right here,” Maddie calls out. “I didn’t know if Hugo would want to search my purse before I left.”
“No, he fucking wouldn’t,” I answer before Hugo has a chance.
“It’s nice doing business with you,” Hugo says, extending a hand to my brother as they stand.
Ash looks at it with undisguised disdain. “Just so we’re clear. We’re not doing this for you.”
“What happened with Hugo?” Mace asks as Ash drives us away in another dust storm.
“I’m meeting him in Vegas on Sunday,” Ash says. “Everything will be resolved then.”
“Sunday?” Maddie repeats. She’s no less tense than she had been on the journey here. “But that’s four days away.”
“Is that a problem?” Ash asks, and it’s a genuine question. Slowly, he’s starting to respect Maddie’s opinion.
Maddie’s hand trembles in mine. “I just– I–” She twists in her seat to glance back at the house. “They’re my family.”
I see Ash’s grip tighten on the wheel. “Is there a problem, Maddison?” he asks again, more forcibly .
“Don’t call me that!” she snaps. “My name’s Maddie. Just like Jennifer’s called Jen, and Rebecca is our little Becks. That’s who we are. Away from– from Hugo.”
Her eyes dart to mine, and I try to keep her steady with my gaze.
I cup her face. “We know who you are. We see you,” I say softly while thinking of all the times I’ve heard Hugo correct their names.
He’d given Maddie no agency over her own life, right down to what people called her.
I don’t know how she came away from that as strong as she is. I’m in awe of her.
“Maddie,” Ash says, drawing her attention back to him. “I need to know what you’re thinking. Are you having second thoughts about our plans for your brother?”
“No, I don’t care about him.”
A sheen of sweat on her brow glistens in the sunshine as she glances back through the dust storm we’ve left in our wake. I slide my thumb to the pulse point on her wrist. Her heart rate has skyrocketed. “Maddie?”
“I convinced myself they’d be OK without me,” she says, then takes a gulp of air. “But they’re both disappearing. He’s reducing our sweet little girl to nothing.” She takes another breath, but has to fight harder for it. “Stop– Stop the car.” Her voice grows louder. “Please. Stop the fucking car!”
The SUV screeches to a halt and when Maddie flings her door open, I don’t try to stop her. I jump out and as I round the car, she’s half-running, half-stumbling back down the driveway. I catch her before she collapses to her knees. I drop down with her, my knees hitting the dirt.
“It’s going to be OK, Maddie. I promise,” I soothe, pulling her trembling body into my chest.
“Becks… She wasn’t even allowed to look at me,” she so bs. “She’s six– she’s six years old and he’s controlling her every move, just– just like he did with me. And Jen…”
As I stare back at the house, I’m overtaken by the urge to storm back in there and end her brother’s miserable existence once and for all.
It’s only Hugo’s will, and the cut and paste version of the codicil his father left, that stops me.
If I were to squeeze the last breath from Hugo’s foul mouth, Morgan would be handed control of his estate.
Instead of freedom, Maddie’s family would simply have a new master. We can wait four days.
Maddie lifts her tear-stained face to mine, and I graze a thumb over the muddy puddles under her eyes. “After Sunday, their lives change. We’re almost there.”
Her lip trembles. “Four more days.”
“And then it’s over.”
She starts to nod, but then her gaze shifts. She’s looking over my shoulder. Ash is out of the car too, and she directs her next question at him. “Was he angry?”
“No,” Ash says. “Anxious to do business, that’s all. Our deal now includes the purchase of the house, so our lawyers will be flooding Hugo with all kinds of enquiries. We’ll keep him so busy he’ll forget he even has a wife and daughter.”
Maddie takes a stuttering breath. “You’re buying the house?”
“Hugo’s proceeds from the mill will most likely be swallowed up by his debts. Selling the house gives your sister-in-law and niece funds to live a comfortable life,” Ash explains. “We don’t need the house, so if you want it, you could move back there. It can all be part of your settlement.”
He means divorce settlement. Ash has the end in sight, one where my ex-wife returns to her family home and we go our separate ways.
“We should have talked about this first, Ash,” I say, because although he made it appear like he’d been making it up as he went along, he came here prepared to make the offer.
This is Ash’s exit strategy, and he wants it to be a swift one.
My brother shrugs. “Do you have any better ideas?”
Rather than answer, I pull Maddie to her feet, and I keep hold of her. I don’t want to think about how empty my arms will feel when she’s no longer mine.