Houston: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Why? Why not leave them alone? They’re having a good time out there.” She said people could hear them. “So? So what if someone hears them? They’re kids having a good time. Leave them alone for once.”

  “Dad, you don’t understand. People will talk about us. I don’t need that right now.” He told her it was a little too late to worry about people talking about them. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you blaming this on me too? I didn’t lose your stupid company. Mike did.”

  “That stupid company, Shasta, put food on the table when you were growing up. Clothing on your back, as well as boots on your feet. It might not have been the shit you wear now, but it was good enough for you then, and it will be again while you’re under my roof.”

  He got up and went to the sink. She didn’t know why he’d done that since he didn’t get anything to drink or something out of the cabinet. Shasta wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but he spoke again.

  “You talked me into giving the reins of the company over to Mike. Said it would be just fine that he needed me to support him. What I should have done was told him to fuck off when he asked for your hand in marriage. We’d all be a lot better off if I’d have done that.”

  “He’s a good man.” Dad said he was a thief, as well as a shyster. “How can you say that about the father of your grandchildren? He just made a mistake, that’s all. There is no reason for him to be in jail either. I need some money to bail him out in the morning when they tell me what it’s going to be. I don’t know how much it’ll be right now, but I’m sure you can use a credit card or something.”

  “I don’t believe this. You’re actually going to stand there and tell me you want me to give you money to bail out the monster who was having numerous affairs and lost everything I worked my entire life for? Not to mention, left you and those boys out there with nothing to fall back on? You want me to give you money to let him do more damage to this family?”

  She just lifted her chin to him, knowing that would make him cave to her. When he sat back down, she thought he was ready to hand over whatever she needed.

  “No. I’m not doing it. I’m not going to give you another dime to get him out of there until he can make restitution for what he’s lost already.”

  “Oh Dad, don’t do this right now. I don’t have time for it. There’s money in the house. He told me about it when I went to see him this morning. Can you get that for me? He said to buy him and me a ticket to Europe, then we could come back for the kids when he gets things straightened out. You don’t mind, do you, Dad? To keep the boys for us while we try and sort this shit out?” Dad just stared at her. “Dad, are you listening to me? I need money for us to get away so Mike can fix this. Don’t let them sell my house either. I want to be able to come back to it when this is done. All right?”

  Dad sat there for several minutes, not saying a word. When he wiped at a tear falling down his weathered cheek, she reached over and took his hand into hers. Shasta was shocked to the core when he jerked his hand back from her.

  “You have thirty minutes to get out of my house. You’re not taking the boys. Think of it as if you’ve left them here when you went on your trip with your felon of a husband.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her a fifty dollar bill and a hundred. “Don’t ask me for anything ever again, Shasta. Nor your mother. We’re both finished with you.”

  “Dad, you can’t mean this. I’m not going to be able to buy anything with this, much less get my hair done.” He stood up, and she did as well. “I’ll need more than this. I swear, it will be the last time I ask you for money once I get Mike out.”

  “Get out of here. Don’t you dare come back either.”

  Dad walked her to the door and out of it. As he stood there on the porch, he called the boys over and told them to tell her goodbye. Once that was done, Dad took the boys into the house and closed the door behind him. The clicking of the lock engaging pissed her off.

  “Dad? I need more money than this. I need to be able to show my face around town. Dad? Did you hear me?” She pounded on the door for a bit longer. When the police arrived, she thought they had news that she could go to her home. “Dad gave me a little money. Are you going to let me into my house now? I can’t live on the streets.”

  “Mrs. Arnold, I’m going to have to ask you to get off this property. You’ve been told to leave. Mr. Justice said you’re to leave and not come back. If you don’t, I’m going to arrest you.” Shasta told them Dad needed to give her more money. “Get going now. I don’t think he’s going to give you anything more than you have. Otherwise, I will arrest you for trespassing.”

  Of all the things her father had done to her, this was the limit. Walking away, she thought of the things she was going to tell him when he allowed her back in the house. How could he do this to his child? Shasta didn’t know what to do or where to go. The beauty salon was closed, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t even have enough for a cut and set.

  Walking to the small bed and breakfast, she was turned away from there too. Dad had called ahead to tell them he was no longer footing her bills. What a crappy thing to do was all she could think about. Her dad had let her down in her moment of need. Shaking her head, she wondered what Mike was going to say to her. At least she didn’t have to be embarrassed by how her sons were dressed anymore.

  Chapter 4

  Rogen handed another paper over to Tru to translate. She had no idea what was written on the sheets when she gave them to her, but Rogen was told to have her read over each piece she had. Tru tossed it back on the desk.

  “It’s the same shit. A grocery list. Why am I reading grocery lists to you when I know fucking well you won’t eat any of this shit?” Rogen didn’t say anything but handed her the list again. Tru looked at it, then looked at her. “Christ. Oh my God. You might be right on this one. It has salad dressing on it. Holy shit, Rogen, you’ve solved the meaning of life with this. Blue cheese salad dressing is the fucking key.”

  When she got up to pace, Rogen watched her. Tru had been angry since she came in here today to work with her. There wasn’t any way to tell what was wrong with her. Tru was extremely tight with her troubles and didn’t share much in the way of personal information. Rogen decided to get to the point, even if it pissed the girl off more.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you today? I mean, you’re more pissy than you normally are. But you’ve been walking around here like a bear with his foot in a trap. Tell me or go the fuck home. I don’t have time for your bullshit when I’m only following orders. Just as you’re supposed to be doing.” Tru sat down in the other office chair Rogen used when working. “Spill it, or I split your head open to get to it.”

  “Why am I translating grocery lists?” Rogen told her she’d been given them for Tru to read. “That makes no sense at all. Even you could tell they’re just lists. What is really going on? No more secrets. If you want my help, I have to know where the fuck this is going.”

  “I really don’t know. Honestly. I was told to have you translate the lists. That’s it.” Rogen turned to the computer and pressed a bunch of keys before turning back to her. “I’ve turned off all listening devices to this room. Just so I can have a conversation with you about something. Now is as good a time as any. Who do you report to? Who is the only person you hear from, and how do they contact you?”

  “I don’t have a direct person. I get a call. I verify it’s me by telling them the code I get by way of a text, then they tell me where to find my assignment. I’ve done it that way for years. Why?” Rogen said she was working up to it. “All right. I’ve never spoken to anyone but dispatch. Even those people, as far as I know, don’t have my name. Even if they had my file, they’d have nothing but bullshit I made up when I was able to get into the files.”

  “I looked too, and I want to congratulate you on it. It looks like real information to find you.” Tru asked her what she was get
ting at. “Okay. Here is what I’ve been able to find out. When you’re given an assignment, four people know, not including you. There is your boss, who I trust, as he’s mine as well. Donaldson. You know him.”

  “I do know him. I’ve seen him at the online meetings we have about policy updates too. He’s sort of what you might think of as my handler. We don’t talk to each other as much as we curse at each other. Also, I’ve never been to any of the buildings I know house other agents. I also know James—Winnie, I think her name is. Again, I’ve never seen her, nor have I spoken directly to her, but I have heard of her.” Rogen said she and Donaldson were married now. “All right. I don’t know what that has to do with anything but woohoo for them. What does this have to do with anything?”

  “Agent 1253 had to have gotten your location from someone. I’m trying my best to figure out who knew that shouldn’t have had the information. Wait. How did you know she was an agent at all, much less her number?” Tru looked at the computers, then at the list. “What are you thinking?”

  “Once, about six months ago, I was asked to do a clean-up. And this time, I was to bring the stolen files back with me. I did the clean-up, but while I was looking for the list, I found an entire file on his computer marked ‘Agents.’ I made a copy and read it. But the lists. Who is giving them to you? Did you happen to ask why they want me translating?” Rogen said they came from dispatch to her directly. “Okay. They’re just lists. As I said, even if you couldn’t read them, you know what they are. Correct?”

  “Yes. What are you getting at? Also, I’m assuming you know every agent and their call numbers. What else do you know, Tru? Could it be why you’re being targeted?” Tru got up to pace, and Rogen let her do it. Since the two of them hadn’t worked that long together, she didn’t know if this was her way of working things out. Tru asked her where the lists came from. “Email. I’ll check the address now.”

  “Don’t.” She stopped in mid search and looked at Tru. “I think someone is fishing to see if I’m around you. You can’t read any of these languages, correct? And even if you could, you would have still had me translate them. Right?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, probably, not to second guess the person sending them. You think someone is sending me these lists to translate so they can tell if you’re here with me or not?” Tru nodded. “In that, I’ve given away that you’re here. Correct?”

  “Not necessarily. Do you tell them what the lists say, or that they’re only grocery lists?” She had to think a moment. Rogen told her she’d said they were grocery lists. “Okay, so anyone could figure out they were lists. Not to say you’re stupid, but you knew what they were sending. I just realized the lists were getting sneakier.”

  “How so?” Tru told her something she’d not mentioned before. “So things are on the lists that aren’t normal things you’d pick up in the grocery store. I’m not sure whether to be pissed you didn’t tell me, or glad you didn’t. It might well have saved your ass. Okay. What sort of things would that be?”

  “This list has plutonium on it. It’s spelled wrong, so I just assumed they were talking about something else and misspelled it.” Tru started pacing again. “I want you to do something for me. I know you were involved in this at some point in the investigation, but look up on something secure, if my sister has fucked up her life more than she had before. Also, where am I in all of this? Am I dead? Has my family been notified yet? It’s been more than a couple of weeks. I should have contacted them by now.”

  “Thatcher signed your death certificate, but we’ve not made it public as yet. It didn’t seem necessary since no one ever asked who you were. Also, as you know, we told you in the hospital that the man who shot you was dead. I hadn’t any idea until recently that a female shot you and not a male.” Tru said she should have mentioned that again. “No problem. It was all on me since I had no idea the person was a different sex.”

  As Rogen started doing searches on her computers, she kept an eye on Tru. She was smart, but as she’d said before, she was also street smart, something Rogen had never been. When she had some of the information Tru wanted, she told her as she continued looking for more. This was leading down a path she was sure would lead them to whoever had sent twelve fifty-three.

  “Mike is in jail and will be under guard until his pretrial. Shasta went to see him once today, and then yesterday. Today there was a huge fight between them, and Mike had to be taken back to his cell, and Shasta escorted out. I’m ordering a copy of the transcripts of those meetings now.” Tru didn’t comment, so she continued speaking. “The kids are with your parents. Ah ha. Your dad kicked Shasta to the curb and has taken steps that she can’t charge things to any of his accounts. I don’t know what happened there, but Shasta is telling people she needs a place to stay and the reason why. She’s a real dumbass, isn’t she?”

  “Yes. The transcripts—those will tell you exactly what was said, or is it a recording?” She told Tru it was both. “I’d like to read those if you can get them without raising suspicion. Not that I think either one of them is all that smart, but they might say something I can catch faster than you.”

  Ordering a copy of the transcripts for the entire day made it so she wasn’t singling out any one conversation. As she looked over some of the other information Tru had asked for, Rogen realized some of it was very revealing, even to her.

  “Your father is a smart cookie. Did you know when he turned the company over to Mike, he made it so if anything failed, which I’m betting he thought it would, all his shares would be converted to another company he had? That way, they couldn’t take his house and money when it did go under.” Tru told Rogen she’d told him to do that. “Good for you. I had no idea you were that savvy in the business world.”

  “I’m not. I’ve been dealing with people that would do just what I had my dad do in order for the government not to be able to take everything when they were getting rid of some of their cash. It’s not illegal for him to have done it since he wasn’t hiding his assets.” Rogen was more impressed with Tru every time she told her something else. “So Dad has kicked Shasta to the curb, and she hasn’t any money. Nor does she, I’m betting, have any way to get around.”

  “Nothing. When the Feds were called in on what he was doing, since everything they own is joint, they took it all from her, including the cars. I’ve been keeping tabs on your parents, so I know they’re not being hurt, and your mom took a nice long trip to Walmart to pick up some things for the boys. Mostly clothing, but there were things like jammies and jackets too. Then today, she and your father went there again, fitting them out with winter things as well as backpacks and such. What do you suppose that means?”

  “More than likely, either my sister left them there with the promise of getting them back, or when Dad threw Shasta out, he decided she wasn’t fit to keep the boys. Either way, they’re better off with my parents.” Tru grinned. “I’m betting Shasta hated them not being in high end clothing. I have seen what she spends on clothing for those two. She’ll spend more in one season for them than I have spent on myself in ten years. All of it is name brand and expensive.”

  When the transcripts came in, she printed them off rather than read them on the computer. Rogen was really good at getting what she wanted out of a computer, but she was just cautious enough to know she wasn’t perfect. Thumbing through them, she found the one she was looking for and handed it over to Tru.

  Rogen found the satellite picture of the house where Tru’s parents lived. The boys were out in the yard on a swing set, and two people sat in chairs out in the yard with them. They looked as if they were enjoying themselves. What she wouldn’t give for a recording device right there between the two adults.

  “I’m surprised I didn’t think of this before, but my parents’ house is bugged. I put it in there a few years back when I noticed Mike was getting into the house when my parents were gone. Can you—? What am I talkin
g about—of course, you can. Will you break into it and see what you can find?” Rogen showed her what she had up. “I’m glad to see the boys having fun. I don’t think they’ve been able to have much in the way of fun since they were born. Neither Mom nor Dad will fuss about them getting dirty, either. Shasta would have them picture perfect every day in the event someone came by.”

  “I think I’d like your parents. When this is all finished with them, I’d like to meet them.” Tru grunted, still looking over the paperwork Rogen had given her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—how is it you became a hitman for the Feds?”

  “Right place at the right time. Mostly it was my linguist skills they needed. Then someone got the bright idea I could blend in better than anyone else. Being able to read over a manual or textbook about a particular situation and remember it made it so I could be or do anything I wanted.” Rogen told her how Thatcher didn’t believe she had an eidetic memory. “That’s what makes it easier and safer for me. No one believes anyone can remember anything and everything they’ve read, touched, smelled, or heard. More than that, I think. It’s just being able to not freak the fuck out when things don’t go as planned. I get pissy, but I don’t have to stop and think, something else that works for me. According to this, there’s money stashed in the house. Have you had a team go over the house yet? And Mike was going to have Shasta buy them two plane tickets out of the country once my dad gave her the money to bail Mike out. I didn’t think he’d have bail set.”

  “He won’t. I’ve made sure of that.” Rogen dispatched a group to the house to search it from top to bottom for money. “Do they mention safes?”

  “Not in this, but there are four in the house.” Tru not only told her where to find them but the combinations on each of them. “They’re pretty stupid when it comes to safety. Also, there are four computers in the house, as well as a laptop in the safe in the boys’ room. I know the password to them as well. Can you look through those to see what you can find out?”