Balance of Forces

by Ali Vali

  “You might get upset with me if I’m totally honest,” Kendal said, stopping to take a sip of her coffee. “Would you like me to be?”

  “If you say you do it for the hell of it, then no, not today.” She shook her head for emphasis, and Kendal’s smile helped lift her mood. As contentious a start as they’d had, Kendal hadn’t taken too many shots at her.

  “The strategy required to be successful at this challenges me. No two projects are ever the same, so they all teach me something. I’d never do anything just for the hell of it, unless you’re interested in an afternoon of skinny-dipping. For that I might utter those words.”

  She laughed and couldn’t look Kendal in the eye. “I’d admire you at any other time, but being on this end of things paints you in a different light, as they say.”

  “Actually da Vinci coined the phrase.”

  “He did? I’ve never read that,” Piper said, lapsing into silence as the food arrived.

  “You’ll have to take my word for it, then,” Kendal said as she covered her waffles in maple syrup, using almost the entire carafe.

  Piper figured the stress was getting to her when she laughed at Kendal’s answer hard enough to make her eyes water. Also, Kendal made her feel awkward and nervous. “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Miss Marmande,” Kendal said, locking eyes with her, “you may ask whatever you like. Believe me, I won’t answer if I can’t.”

  “Why did you come this morning?” Kendal’s face was open enough for her to realize the question had confused her. “What I mean is, what is this?”

  “A bacon omelet is my best guess,” Kendal said, cutting a small corner off Piper’s meal and eating it. “I was right.”

  “Now you’re reminding me what I don’t like about you.”

  Kendal laughed as if she enjoyed aggravating her. “It’s my burden in life to be correct in most cases.”

  “I’m glad you qualified that with ‘in most cases.’”

  “So when I believed the report that you have a brilliant business mind, I was wrong?”

  She had to laugh at that. “I can see why you’re so successful.”

  “I’m successful because I’m motivated.”

  “You are that,” Piper said, taking a bite of her omelet. “Eager beavers could learn something from you.”

  “It’s something I believe we have in common.” Kendal reciprocated by placing a piece of waffle on her plate without her asking. “It’s also why I thought I’d like you.”

  “So much for first impressions, huh?”

  “If more people fought as nobly and passionately for what they believe in, the world would have less turmoil. Marmande is yours, and I know in my gut you’ll find a way to keep it.”

  Piper pushed her plate away after eating the piece of waffle Kendal had given her, her appetite gone. “Friday isn’t enough time. I’m not that brilliant, and this is only breakfast.”

  “Don’t lose faith now.”

  “I’m not a stranger to loss, so this won’t kill me,” she said, pausing to thank the waitress for clearing the table. “I’ve fought so hard for my grandparents and our employees. He’ll never admit it, but Marmande means the world to Mac.”

  “Then you have to know that fate always rewards intentions like that.”

  “That’s a pretty fantasy, but sadly reality has rewarded me more often than fate or destiny has, and that’s going to happen again at the end of the week.”

  “When you do things for the right reasons, the universe has a way of paying you back tenfold.”

  “So I should buy a lottery ticket?” Piper asked, smiling.

  Kendal put her fingers on the bill and slid it toward her before Piper had a chance to grab it. “Maybe you already have.”

  “You’re an interesting person.” After she said it, Kendal smiled at her, and Piper studied her face. Her eyes didn’t seem to fit with the olive complexion, but Piper found the mix attractive. She wouldn’t describe Kendal as beautiful, but her looks were hard to turn away from. That surprised her since she never got wrapped up in frivolous stuff.

  “As are you, Miss Marmande,” Kendal said, peeling two twenties from the clip she’d taken from her front pocket. “After all this, maybe you’ll agree to have dinner with me.” When the waitress came over, Kendal told her to keep the change, which was more than double the bill.

  “Do you ask so you’ll have another opportunity to impress me with your largess?” Piper asked, pointing to the server, who appeared smitten.

  “I’m more known for my killer instincts, but you have nothing to worry about.”

  “That’s right,” she said, pointing her index finger in the air before aiming it at Kendal. “You aren’t interested in us anymore.”

  “You’re partially right.” Kendal pinched her finger lightly, making her concentrate on Kendal’s hand. “I peg you as a risk-taker, and having dinner with me is an opportunity to change your mind about me.”

  “What’s the risk in that?”

  “Tremendous, if you figure out what you’re missing by holding back because you see your true self only one way.” Kendal sounded incredibly honest. “It might be good to study the reflection of yourself I see.”

  “That could be a frightening proposition.”

  “You have nothing to fear from me,” Kendal said in a way that made her believe it to be true. “If that’s too deep, then saying yes means you get a free meal and nothing more before I head off to new challenges. After all, there’s no rest from the wicked.”

  “Isn’t it, there’s no rest for the wicked?”

  “That hasn’t been my experience,” Kendal said, and laughed, making Piper wonder what her game really was.

  *

  The next two nights’ hunting resembled the first. Henri sent his creations against them in packs, and Charlie and Kendal destroyed them, staying vigilant for the next group. It was the weekend, but the Clan’s directive was still in force, even though the huge crowds in the French Quarter might see the immortals fighting on the rooftops. In a week, the city, already famous for its party potential, would shift into high gear for Halloween, and if they weren’t any closer to finding Henri, he’d be in a better position to get everything he was after for Ora.

  Kendal shook her head. Halloween would fall under a full moon this year. In a city like New Orleans that didn’t believe in boundaries, if Henri planned an all-out attack for that night, he would be able to hide in plain sight. She and Charlie had already mowed through the younger of his followers, and the coming nights would become more difficult.

  “Would you like breakfast, sir?” asked one of the men Morgaine had left behind to tend to her needs.

  “Yes, thank you. Could you put these back in the sword room for me?” She handed over the weapons she’d used the night before. As she contemplated taking Ruda for a long ride, she heard a car stop at the front gate. With a wave of her hand, she motioned for the man to open it. She didn’t need the intercom to guess who it might be. What did surprise her was the hour of the visit. It was only a little after six.

  “Good morning,” she said, not getting get up from the table and resting her elbows on the arms of her chair.

  “I came—”

  “I know why you’re here. I’m more interested as to why you decided to come at all.”

  Piper stood next to her car fidgeting with her keys. “Can I talk to you?”

  She stood and walked down the steps, not wanting to do what she’d accused Kenny of. “Please forgive my rudeness, Miss Marmande. Welcome to Oakgrove. Would you join me for breakfast?”

  Piper looked up at the house before she took her arm, followed her to the table, and smiled at her when she pulled out her chair and poured Piper a cup of coffee. “If this is how you treat the enemy, I’d hate to see what happens to your friends when they come over. How do you ever get rid of them?”

  “You aren’t my enemy, Miss Marmande. You’re more like a pesky annoyance buzzing around my ear.”
She rested her hands briefly on Piper’s shoulders and laughed.

  “Today’s Friday,” Piper said, appearing tired, probably from a few sleepless nights due to the stress of what she had to face.

  “You’re right. It’s Friday, but you don’t have anything to worry about. I meant it when I said noble battles are always rewarded.”

  “This isn’t a joke.”

  “I’m not poking fun, but you have to accept that today isn’t the end of the world as you know it. You have my word.”

  “I need your help, Kendal. At ten, Kenny will take everything my family has built.” For the first time Kendal saw the frightened little girl Piper tried to hide from the world in her glassy, desperate eyes. They were so much like those from long ago when Kendal could do nothing to change what had to be done.

  She knelt next to Piper and took her hand. “Pick up your grandfather, Miss Marmande, and go to your meeting. Have faith in what you and he have built together, and that you’ll have what it takes to protect what’s yours. You don’t need anyone’s help for that.”

  “If you want me to beg, I will,” Piper said, squeezing her fingers.

  “That’s the last thing I want.” She smiled at Piper. “I want you to call up that confident, take-no-prisoners, beautiful woman I first met and give Kenny hell.”

  You won’t help us?”

  “You don’t trust me enough to believe me, but everything will be fine. You have everything you need to put Kenny Delaney and his partners back in the hole they slithered out of. When you realize I’m right, you’ll have to make changes so no one will put you in this position again. You remind me so much of someone I knew, and you have her same spirit for life and ability to make the right choices no matter the consequences. Embrace that part of yourself and you’ll be able to do anything you want.”

  Piper stood and moved away from her as if she wasn’t interested in the comfort she was offering. “I’m sorry I bothered.”

  Piper walked away as if being led to the gallows, and Kendal came close to calling her back, but she’d done all she could. She needed to cut their ties so she could fully concentrate on Henri and his grandiose plans. She hadn’t lied, though. Piper and Mac had made her deviate from “Kendal Richoux’s” usual game plan, but it had been worth it. The fire in Piper had made Kendal notice her, and had it been another time she would’ve pursued her until Piper changed her mind on a slew of things.

  But for once, she thought humorously, she was in short supply of time.

  *

  Piper had controlled her tears by the time she reached Kenny’s offices. When she entered, the rest of the thieves were already seated. The men gathered for the meeting stood until she had taken her place next to her grandfather, and from the head of the conference table Kenny smiled as if he would enjoy stripping them of everything. With a little more research, she might have discovered that Kenny thought Mac had stolen his family’s business by exposing their less-than-honorable practices.

  In an act of desperation, she’d dealt with Kenny because he was experiencing his own financial crisis. He had promised that if they joined forces, they could secure financing more easily because they jointly owned so much riverfront property. Now it was too late. This deal and the prime real estate it came with would infuse his construction company with capital to replace what he’d lost on bad projects. Kenny would profit by offering her and Mac up like sacrificial sheep.

  She felt like a failure having trusted him so blindly, but when Kendal had appeared on her radar, she’d panicked. Her fear had caused her to be careless, and sitting and watching Kenny gloat was hard to swallow. In the end, Kendal was the only one who could have saved them, but Piper’s pride and misbehavior had sealed that door shut. She’d made the mistake of believing Kendal was different from anyone she’d ever counted on to help her out of a bleak situation. Like her father Mackey, Kendal had left her to face the lynch mob alone.

  Brad, the bank vice president of loans where Mac had borrowed from, sat across from them with a stack of papers before him. “We’re here to discuss calling in your loans and the assets that come with their payment,” he explained.

  “Get on with it, Brad. We all know why we’re here,” Kenny said in annoyance.

  “Mac, are you sure you want to go through with this? You have enough on your plate trying to stay competitive without taking on a new business as well.” Brad spoke directly to Mac, and Piper’s despair evaporated.

  Kenny pounded on the table. “What? Are you delusional? My partners and I are here to call in his loans and pay them in full. I know you all go way back, but the Marmandes are months in arrears, and we can make good on their debts this morning. Don’t tempt me into getting the bank board involved. You do, and I’ll make sure you lose big on this.”

  “I’m a banker, Mr. Delaney. Delusions of any kind are not part of the equation. As of the close of business yesterday, all of Marmande Enterprise’s loans were paid in full, so the loans I’m referring to today have to do with your company. You’re extremely delinquent on two of your three construction sites, and the board has already met on this matter.” Brad glared at Kenny over his glasses. “If you don’t believe me, the board president is on standby for your call.”

  “Yeah, right,” Kenny said, sounding as childish as he looked when he laughed and rolled his eyes.

  “The board has decided to give Mr. Marmande the same consideration they extended to you and your partners, especially after a large amount of cash as collateral accompanied Mr. Marmande’s business plan for expansion. If you need it simplified for you, Mac put his money where his mouth is, whereas your plan involved risk to the bank in the form of additional loans.”

  Kenny looked at Brad like he was speaking a foreign language. “Stop fucking around. Unless he found a fairy godmother, he couldn’t possibly pull this off,” Kenny said, pointing at Mac.

  “Mac, I can’t tell you what to do,” the banker said, “but I suggest that you take only the one site adjacent to your property, considering it will double your capacity and still leave room for future expansion. I know you don’t need our money, but we have put some plans together to finance moving your dry docks to Mr. Delaney’s property. We’ll give you a competitive rate so you can invest the cash for upcoming projects, but we’ll get to that over lunch. I only need your decision now so I can cut my counterpart here a check, if you’re interested.”

  “That sounds reasonable. Piper and I aren’t interested in taking over Mr. Delaney’s other locations in east New Orleans, are we?” Mac asked her.

  “No, sir. The property next door will be fine.”

  Brad handed Kenny’s banker a check, since his investors had already left, and motioned for Mac and Piper to get going. Piper got to her feet, not wanting to subject her grandfather to Kenny’s vile mouth any longer.

  Once out of the office, Brad said, “Mac, Piper, I don’t know how you managed it, but I really enjoyed putting that little moron in his place.”

  “You know how it is, got to keep your cards close to your vest,” Mac said as if he knew what was going on.

  “Well, next time don’t wait so long to show them. I’m younger than you are, and I don’t think my heart could take much more.” They walked across the lobby to the front door of the building. “Are you two free? I really do want to talk to you about a line of credit, then I’ll treat y’all to lunch and a glass of champagne to celebrate.”

  “I’ll be happy to join you, but I can’t speak for Piper,” Mac said.

  “Thank you, but I have to pass this time. After I eat my share of humble pie, I don’t think I’ll have room for anything else today.” Mac smiled at her, appearing surprised. “Could I have a word with Pops before you two take off?”

  “Tell me you didn’t sell your soul to make that happen just now?” Mac asked when they were alone.

  “I asked someone for help, and they came through. Now I just have to figure out what it’s going to cost us.”

  “Who?”


  “Kendal Richoux.”

  Mac leaned against the glass of the building and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The same Richoux who you called a thief a week ago?”

  “More like the one you suggested I listen to before I jumped to conclusions. I’ll tell you all about it tonight, but right now I’ve got to go.” She led Mac back to Brad.

  “All set?” Brad asked.

  “You bet. You know something, I’m damned glad I’m retiring soon. You’re right. I’m getting old and I don’t think I can take much more of this either, but my Piper, she’s something else. Your daddy would’ve been so proud of you,” Mac said to her as she kissed his cheek. “You’re my future and it’s looking bright.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The grove of camellias planted close to the road still possessed some of the trees Kendal had planted when she’d decided to purchase the property that became Oakgrove. Over the years cold snaps or disease had destroyed some, but the new ones that filled in those spots were all hybrids of the originals Charlie had cultivated, knowing how much she loved them. These were the trees where she cut the bouquets she took Angelina when she went to call.

  New Orleans, October 1726

  On the morning of Angelina and Tomas’s second day at Oakgrove, Tomas stayed inside to enjoy Jacques’s library so Jacques could take Angelina riding. Angelina was excited about seeing the entire plantation, but appeared more excited that they were heading out alone. Dee, for all her loyalty, hated horses and everything to do with them, so Tomas trusted Jacques not to ravage his niece if given the opportunity to spend the day with her. At least that’s the warning he’d issued before they left. With a packed lunch strapped to the back of her horse, they set off so Angelina could see what farm life was like.

  “What do you want my role with you to be?” Angelina asked when they stopped for lunch and Jacques sat close to her on the blanket she’d spread out so they could enjoy their meal. Jacques had chosen the other side of the lake since Angelina had admired it the day before.