Chapter 4 #3
“Rachel declined to come out. Said that she didn’t have the funds, and when I offered them to her, she said she’d come out when they got to know one another better.
” He asked why he didn’t offer them to him.
“Because you’re thinking of coming here for a handout, and I’m not going to be giving you anything.
I’ve been around for a good long time and have learned that when people like you come around, the best way to deal with them is to say no from the very start.
I’m really good at repeating myself on that, too.
You’re not going to get anything from us when or if you get here. ”
“I’m coming by god, and you damned well will hand over what I want.
Or I’ll be making trouble for you.” Kendrick just laughed and said nothing.
“Laugh it up, wolf boy. When I get there, we’ll see which one of us comes out on top.
I’m a man that gets what he wants, and you have something that I want.
Money. And I’m going to have my fair share of it, or you’ll pay. ”
“I’m not afraid of you, Richard. Or should I call you Dick?
I like that better anyway. I heard that you can’t stand that shortened form of your name.
” He said his name was Richard and not Dick.
“I don’t care. Come on and try me. I’ve been around longer than you and know just how to hide bodies when they get in my way. ”
He was sputtering when he hung up the phone. Reaching out to his brothers, he let them know that Dick was calling numbers of the Valley men and looking for someone to help him get to Sharon. He also told them how much he hated his new nickname.
“Did he say what he wanted? How the hell did he get this far in only one day?” He told him how he’d been marked as trespassing at the airport and was asked to leave.
“He must have been caught at something or close to it for them to do that. I’m assuming that he wants money.
Isn’t that what Rachel said he’d be coming for? ”
“Yes, it’s money. He told me that he was going to get it, and I was going to hand it over to him.
I’d like to see him try that.” Conri asked how he’d gotten to the airport.
“I never thought to ask. No doubt he would have told me and blamed me for—he’s pissed off that I didn’t have a car sitting there waiting for him when he arrived.
I, like you, never dreamed that he’d get this far after only one day.
I wonder who he had to rob to get a ticket here?
I’m sure that’s what he did. Stole someone’s credit card to get a ticket. ”
“Maybe that’s what he did to get himself in trouble at the airport.
He either got away with it once and was counting on the second time to come through, or he got caught nearly stealing a wallet off someone, and they put up a fuss.
That’s probably more like it. They found that he didn’t have any money on him, and no one was waiting to bring him here, and he got caught.
” Kendrick had to agree. “You don’t have to worry about any of us helping him.
But I do appreciate you giving us the heads up.
But I have a feeling that he’s going to be coming here by hell or high water sooner rather than later.
He’ll have some story, no doubt, that will have someone feeling sorry for him, and they’ll bring the bastard here because they felt sorry for him.
Just our luck, some nice people will be conned out of something to help the bastard. ”
After closing the connection to his family, he called home to talk to Sharon.
Telling her that her father was at the airport didn’t surprise her as much as it did him.
She’d been talking to her mother again about her father, and she said that he had an iron will that would get him what he wanted.
Well, he was going to be shit out of luck when it came to getting money when he got to their home.
He was better at a lot of things than Dick was when it came to telling people no.
“I’m worried that he’ll hurt someone to get here.
Like steal a car or something.” He said that he’d been trespassed at the airport, so they’d be keeping an eye on him until he was gone from the area.
“From what Mother said, it would be just like him to steal from someone and mess up their vacation plans. I wonder who he stole the money from to get from his place to Columbus.”
“I never thought to ask. I’m sure by the time I hung up on him, he would have been just pissed off enough to tell me anything.
He said that it was our fault he was in trouble at the airport because we didn’t have a car waiting for him.
Also, he thinks your name is Rachel. I doubt if he cares enough to figure out your real name before he gets here.
” She asked if he thought he’d get here.
“Yes. He’s gotten to Columbus already. It’ll be nothing for him to get to you the rest of the way.
Just be careful when you go out and remember what I told you.
You’re immortal now; he can’t hurt you.”
“He can’t hurt you either, right?” He said that it was right that they were both safe from him harming them, as was his entire family. “I hate that he’s gotten this far. I was hoping he’d be too stupid to try and get to me after all this time.”
“When there’s money involved, people will go to great lengths to get what they want.
Or what they deserve. I have a feeling that he’s going to think that just because you have money, and you do, then by extension, he has it as well.
I’ve no doubt that he’s going to get himself into big trouble when he gets here.
” She asked if she’d hand over the money. “No. Not for any reason.”
“He might try to take me and hold me for ransom. What would you do then?” He told her. “Just like that? You’d kill him?”
“That’ll be the only way to deal with him, is to kill him.
Because paying him for you would take everything I have, and I’d not care, but he’ll never stop.
He’ll be coming back again and again for more until there’s nothing left, and blame that on us as well.
” Sharon said that she loved him. “And I love you so much. Nothing will happen so long as we stick together. You stick close to me, and nothing will get through me to get to you.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” He said it was the truth. “I’m glad too that we’ve got the pack at our backs. Conri said they’d die for me simply because of who you are to him. I don’t want anyone dying for me, but I’m glad to know that they’ll protect me at all costs.”
After he got off the phone with her, he told his brothers that Sharon knew what was going on.
Conri said he’d send more patrols out to keep the house safe.
He’d put nothing past the man. Thanking his brother, Conri repeated what he’d said to Sharon.
The pack would die for her, and that was the way that it should be.