20.
I won’t even try to guess what her profession will be, but I can guarantee that if she decides to have children of her own, she’ll be a mama bear like no other.
I’ve seen what happens to people who cross her or anyone in her family, and I can only imagine what would happen to the asshole that causes one of her children even an ounce of grief.
Bear Dumont
ZIGGY
“I know you’re awake, so open your eyes and stop pretending.
” I watched his eyes moving behind his still-closed lids, but he didn’t open them.
“Right now you’re trying to figure out where you are and how you can escape, or at least that’s what I’d be doing.
When you open your eyes, you’ll see there is no escape.
We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by flat land.
If you run, it will just give me live-action target practice. ”
His eyes shot open, and he stared at me in shock. “You . . . what are . . . you . . .”
“Use your big words.” I laughed before I said, “Now I’m even starting to sound like Jewel.”
I could hear Jersey and Tino chuckling from the front and back doors of the empty house as they watched to make sure no one arrived to interrupt my conversation with Jewel’s ex.
“You can’t do this!”
“Shit! You should have said something earlier!”
“What are you . . . Let me go!”
“You and I are going to have a discussion, Robert. I would say man to man, but with your actions and behavior lately, you’ve proven that you’re anything but.
” When he started stammering again, I put my hand up.
I wasn’t surprised when he flinched as if I were about to hit him.
In his position, a beating probably felt inevitable–and depending on how this conversation went, it might appear on the agenda.
“We’re going to have a civil discussion about the way you’ve been treating Jewel and your sons.
You’re gonna listen to me with your fucking mouth shut, or I’ll break your jaw so I don’t have to listen to your sniveling. ”
“I’ll call the . . .” My fist ended his threat abruptly, and when his head snapped to the side, blood splattered on the concrete floor.
“Dammit. Now I’m gonna have to clean up a mess, and since I’m already going to have to do that, it only makes sense that I won’t care how much is added to it.
Do you want me to add to it, Robert? I could easily do that.
I’d probably start with your teeth–remove them one by one with those pliers over there.
” I motioned toward a tool belt hanging from a sawhorse.
“Then I’ll take that hammer and turn it so that when I hit you, the claw end will not only break your bones but rip out hunks of your skin at the same time. ”
As he stared at me in horror, Robert’s eyes were so wide it looked painful.
“I see you understand that I’m not concerned about doing either thing to you, which means I won’t hesitate to fuck you up–mess or not.
” Robert opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and nodded.
He flinched when I reached out, then wrinkled his brow when I patted him on top of the head.
“Good boy. Now, I’m going to start this conversation with the part I find most important.
If you want to live, you won’t tell a soul about our meeting today.
If you go to the cops or talk about it to anyone, I’ll find you and I’ll kill you.
I’ll probably reiterate that a few times during our conversation, but I want you to understand my position so you don’t waste any of your precious brain function trying to concoct a revenge plan. ”
Robert nodded eagerly again.
“First, I’d like you to know that I’ve had you investigated and watched since I moved to town, only because I saw what a problem you were becoming to Jewel.
Every time you upset her sons, it upsets Jewel, and I don’t like to see that.
It’s not in my nature to sit idly by while some douchebag threatens a woman and his own sons because he’s a dumbass who got in over his head.
” Robert opened his mouth to argue, but when I narrowed my eyes in warning, he shut it with an audible snap.
“You got in too deep and thought that making more high-dollar bets would get you out. It’s the same trap so many gamblers find themselves in, but luckily, the majority of them realize they need to stop.
Obviously, you are not in the majority.”
“There are three stopped at the gate,” Jersey warned.
“Do you recognize them?”
“Can’t see their faces, but their . . .” Jersey cleared his throat and chuckled. “Mode of transportation tells me they’re probably who we’re waiting for.”
“This is your first reminder that who you see and what happens here today is our business alone, right?” Robert nodded eagerly.
“Soon after I moved here, I found out that your house is weeks away from foreclosure, the bank is looking for your vehicle, and you have maxed out every card you could get. Above and beyond that, you owed your bookie a mint! You have no idea how foolish that was. I’ve known his family my entire life, and I can tell you without hesitation that people who don’t repay their debts with money end up paying another way.
You might wonder what that way is, so I’ll fill you in.
Do you know how much a healthy kidney sells for on the black market?
What about a liver? A heart? Hell, I heard they sold one guy’s skin to a plastic surgeon so he could graft it onto a burn patient.
” Robert swallowed hard. “That means he’ll take you somewhere, lock you up, keep you moderately healthy until he finds a buyer, and then transport you wherever he needs you to be so they can harvest all of your viable organs . . . even your eyes! How crazy is that?”
Robert looked green and whispered, “How did you find out?”
“At first, I thought you’d fallen into the addiction vortex that happens to so many people, so I have to say that I was surprised to find out that it was an addiction, but to something else entirely.
I own a few casinos, so I can get you the number of a few people who can help treat you for that specific vice. ”
“Um. Thanks?”
“You’re welcome,” I said pleasantly. “I’d save my thanks for a little later in this conversation because there’s more.”
“How can . . .” Robert thought better of it and shut his mouth again
“I know Jewel loved the house where she raised her sons until you fought her for it in the divorce. You and I both know you didn’t give a shit about the house; you were just trying to stick it to her any way you could because you understood you were about to lose the best thing to ever happen to you.
So, you got petty and took the home she’d worked so hard on and had a million memories of when her children were small. ”
“I did,” Robert choked out as his eyes filled with tears.
“Good news! I’ve been getting into real estate since I decided to move here, and I own your mortgage, which means that now I own the house Jewel was so fond of.”
Robert’s mouth dropped open in shock, and I grinned. “Your formal eviction is in the works, but let me just go ahead and tell you that if you don’t pack your shit and get the fuck out within the next few days, the courts won’t have a person to serve eviction papers to.”
“I was trying to get Jewel to sign the papers so I could put the house on the market to sell it and then use what was left after the payoff to give to my bookie.”
“That was a shit plan because you knew Jewel would never sign anything you asked her to, and I don’t blame her.
You’re the underbelly of scum, Robert. You’re the taint that houses bacteria next to the asshole of scum.
I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice it to say that because I know how Jewel feels about her sons having a good relationship with their father–which you’ve been fucking up right and left–I won’t kill you unless I have to.
But I am going to make sure that house becomes Jewel’s, free and clear. ”
I paused, considering it. “Do you think that would make a good wedding gift?”
“If you’ve got the house, how am I supposed to pay off my other debts?” Robert wailed.
“I bought your debt from Bergin, too, so you’re off the hook with him. That means I own your ass, Robert. I own it. You and your future belong to me, and I’m not nearly as money-hungry as the Bergin organization. If you fuck me over, I’ll just kill you for the sport of it.”
“Don’t kill me! I promise . . .”
“To shut the fuck up and let me finish? Good.”
“Yes, sir,” Robert whispered meekly.
“You’re gonna take what little money you have and move somewhere nearby. Close enough for Ricky Bobby and Max to swing by whenever they have the urge, but not so close that Jewel has a chance to run into you and get all worked up.”
“But . . . I can’t move. I work. . .”
I shook my head. “You no longer have a job in town, Robert. I like a good hostile takeover, but not nearly as much as my brother does. Turns out that the man who owns the parent company over your employer was more than ready to retire. Now we own not just the parent company, but all the subsidiaries, too, which means I’m your new boss, and I just fired your ass. ”
I sighed. “I have no fucking idea what we’re going to do with a warehouse full of farm equipment, but we’ll figure it out. Hell, maybe I’ll use some of this land I own and become a gentleman farmer. Are those still a thing in the South?”
Robert didn’t answer, so I shrugged. “Let’s get back to the ownership part, Robert.
I own your . . . no, my home. And just to dig the knife in a little farther, I’m gonna get crude here because I don’t think it’s bad sportsmanship to gloat: If Jewel wants to move into that house, I’ll fuck her on every single stationary object and against every wall in that house, and she’ll be screaming my name when I do it.
Not yours. Never again your name, because I’m your fucking master now, asshole. ”