“You know where they are?” He nodded. “Is it close enough that we need to worry? Or do we have time?”
“Time. Not a great deal. From what we’ve been able to figure out, they’re running out of money.” He watched her face and decided that as soon as she’d let him, he was going to kiss her socks off. “Clare, do you want to see what I’ve found? It’s going to go a long way in helping you and your brother.”
“Let me tell you something first. All right?” He nodded. “You’ve probably been able to find out a lot of the stuff I’m going to tell you, but there are things that you might not have. My parents, as I said, were mules for some very big people. Randolph Boone was the man they worked with the most. And in doing so, they were watched all the time by the Feds. It wasn’t drugs or cash either, but diamonds. A great many of them. Then when I was seventeen and out of the house, they were caught by the police. I’m not entirely sure how they got out of it, but they were freed a few days later. And just recently they were arrested again, then a few days later, they were dead. Or claimed that they were.”
“They were arrested, yes, but no charges were ever brought against them.” She nodded and paced again as he continued. “But there’s more, isn’t there? More than just them being mules and taking some of the diamonds?”
“Yes. They used Conrad for a time. He would be taken to a place, told that he was having his teeth worked on or something, and they’d put him to sleep. After he was loaded up, they’d take him on one of their trips. Their thinking was, I suppose, that no one would suspect them using their handicapped son.” Christ, these people were worse than he’d thought them to be. “But the home where he was staying, they got wind of this. I have no idea how. Maybe they were watching the way he never seemed to have his teeth cleaned, or they were tagging him. I have no idea, but they started to blackmail them. For a great deal of money.”
“You think they knew what it was he was carrying?” Owen thought, like she had at first, that it had been drugs. She explained what she’d figured out. “Why diamonds? I mean, why were they carrying those into the United States?”
“To trade for drugs. Diamonds have no serial numbers. They can’t be tagged with any kind of mark on them. They’re easy to trade on the market because few people can get their hands on them readily. So, my parents would take a few here and there, just enough to finance their lifestyle. I’m assuming, however, that they didn’t think just taking a few was enough and started to take more. Then they were caught. Not just by the police, but also by the men that they worked for.”
“You must have been looked at too.” She nodded, and he reached for her, just needing to hold her for a moment. “When they came to question you, do you remember their names? I mean, any of them?”
“Yes. Why? Do you have an in at the FBI?” He said that Rayne did. “Of course she does. I’ve never seen a scarier or more well-connected person than her.”
“You should talk to my mom. She’s got contacts everywhere. And if she doesn’t know someone that knows someone, she’ll make it her business to know them soon.” He lifted her chin up so that he could look at her. “I would like nothing more than to kiss you right now. I don’t want to rush you or anything, but the thought of tasting you makes me reckless.”
“If I let you kiss me, will we make it to the basement of this place?” He thought about it, hard, and when she laughed and pulled away, he pouted. “You show me what’s down there and I’ll think about letting you kiss me. It’s fair, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I suppose.” Taking her hand in his, he kissed the back of it. If that’s all he got for now, he’d take it. “But believe me when I tell you, you’re going to want to do more than kiss me. This is one of those epic moments when you’ll have to say you love me.”
He was nearly all the way down the stairs when he realized two things. She was laughing and not upset with his declaration, and he was in love with her already. When she stopped just inside the room, Owen remembered how he’d left the room.
“I was stacking it up by dollar amount, then I was going to count it all.” She didn’t move, so he gave her a little push. “Most of what I have out here now was in the first trunk. The rest of it is from the second one, the ones that I pulled from the shed. I’ve done some research on it. There isn’t any bank robberies that are attached to it. And it’s all real. Most of it dates to before either of us were born, even before my father was born. There are no marks on the cash that I can find. I’ve even gone over the contract I got when I bought the house to see if there was any kind of stipulations about finding money. There isn’t any.”
“How much is here? I mean, how much do you think is here?” He told her how much was in the first trunk. “Eight million dollars? Are you fucking with me right now? And this is all real?”
“Oh yes, it’s all real. And part of it is yours and Conrad’s. Unless you want to marry me, then you can have my part too.” She glared at him. “You might think that I’m kidding you about that, but I’m not. I just figured out that I’m in love with you. I don’t need the money. I mean, it would go a long way in helping someone out. But since you’ve come into my life, I think that I’d like for you two to have it all.”
“You can’t be serious.” She went to the closest stack and took one of the hundred dollar bundles off the top. “This is real. And if I took it out in the yard and tore it apart or set fire to it, you’d not let me.”
“It your money, as far as I’m concerned. And if you want to burn it all, I’d say that was fine too. I wouldn’t want you to—I’m not that stupid—but you’d only be burning something that belongs to you.” She sat down on the floor and he went to sit beside her. “There are watches too that are worth a great deal of money. And some of her paintings, the ones that are in one of the spare bedrooms, are worth a fortune as well.”
She put her hand over his mouth and he kissed it. When she lowered her hand slowly, while looking around the room, he kept quiet. It was too much for her, he realized. All this, it was just too much. When she looked at him, he saw the tears on her cheeks and held her face to his while speaking to her.
“I’m so sorry. I only wanted you to know that it was here. I never meant to fall in love with you. To take your brother into my heart. Well, that’s not true. I did want to fall in love with you, but I guess that I’m sorry that I told you so soon. I just wanted to make sure that if there was someone out there that needed some extra money, that they’d have it. I never, in my wildest dream, ever thought that I was looking for my mate, and she would be as special and wonderful as you are.”
“You are just trying to butter me up for that kiss. Or some of this. Which, I have to tell you, I haven’t the slightest idea how to feel about.” He told her that he felt the same way. “Who did this belong to? My great great grandmother?”
“Yes. She didn’t trust people. Birdie was her name. She would set up her own shows, deal with the public, and take her checks to the bank when she had them just to get cash. I think that she might have had an issue with them, bankers, because of her being a successful woman. I don’t know for sure on that, but that sounds about right.” She asked him if there was more and he nodded. “She belonged to this cup of the month thing. I looked into it, and the place is still in business; they’ve been holding her order for her since before she died.”
“How many are we talking? There are a great deal of them, correct? And who paid for it so that they’d hold them for her?” He grinned at her. “I told you this before, you’re not charming.”
“I am, and you love me. The tea cup company, called simply that, Tea Cup Company needed investors to keep their doors open after the fall in the thirties. She bought stock, enough to own more than half the company. And in the contract, she was to get her repayment in the form of monthly cups. And she was savvy too. Her cups would cost the same price as at the time she made the investment. And when that money was paid back, then she’d invest more if they needed it. The company has n
ever paid off the first loan as yet, from what I’m to understand. And the man that owns the place is thrilled to death to have someone take the cups. Not that they’re in the way, he said, but he would love to know that someone is enjoying them.” He watched her, making sure that she wasn’t overwhelmed again. “Are you okay? I mean, you’re very quiet.”
“I’m processing.” He nodded and kept an eye on her when she got up to pace. “If my parents knew anything about this, they’d be here to claim this right away. You know that, right?”
“Yes, but when we were looking in to this, they were presumed dead, and we had no reason to believe otherwise.” She nodded and kept walking. He wondered if that was why she was in such wonderful shape, from pacing a lot. “They won’t know about any of this unless someone else tells them. It won’t be my family. And one of the reasons that I haven’t brought Conrad out here. I know that he can keep a secret, but this is huge, even for us.”
“They’d make him tell them. If they thought that he knew anything, they’d beat it out of him.” Owen had already figured as much. “Okay, this is going to sound nuts, but I think we should go ahead and get married. That way if anything were to happen to me, then you could keep the money and take care of Conrad for me.”
“Wait. Just wait. You think they’re going to get close enough to touch you?” She said that they’d take Conrad, and she’d go to them willingly for him. “Okay, that I can understand, but it’s not going to come to that. I promise you. What we’ll do is get with my family, make a good solid plan, and then we’ll get them. There isn’t any way I’m going to lose you now that I’ve found you.”
“You just don’t want to marry me, that’s it.” She was joking, he knew that, but he crawled to her on his knees, pulling out the ring that had been in with the jewelry when he’d found it. “I don’t want that. Just put it away.”
“No. This was your idea and I love it. And you.” She was shaking her head when he took her hand into his. “Clare, when I was a child, I told everyone that would listen that I wasn’t going to marry. I think I was about eight at the time. I had all these other things I was never going to do as well, like have artwork on my walls. That my house was going to be all white, including the carpet. That lasted about ten minutes after buying my first dorm rug and it got stepped on once. That’s all it took, one step. And now look. My mate is an artist, my home has colors, and I’ve never been happier in my life.”
“There is my brother to consider.” He slipped the ring on her finger and let her look at it. “Oh, Owen. It’s beautiful.”
“I thought so too when I saw it. There is a necklace that goes with the set, as well as a watch/bracelet. I’ll give them to you when we go back to the house. Will you marry me?” He thought about Conrad. “I love your brother as much as I do my own. And he’ll be a brother to the rest of my family as well. My mom will soon adopt him, and he’ll have so many relatives that he won’t know what to do with them all. And they’ll love him as much as they do you. This I can promise you. So, will you marry me, Clare? Make me a happy man and take all my money?”
“You’re so stupid.” He nodded and smiled when she looked at the ring again. “You’re making it very hard to say no. I think this is a mistake, to be honest with you. But yes, I’ll marry you, Owen.”
Owen stood up and kissed her. It was their first real kiss, and he was going to take as much as he could, while he could. Owen looked down at her when he heard the chime upstairs. It was the bell to tell him that dinner was ready. After kissing her again, he took her hand in his and led the way up and out of the building, making sure it was locked up tightly. He was getting married to the love of his life. And even though he thought that life was never going to be the same again, he was as happy as he’d ever been.
Chapter 4
Clare wasn’t sure about this school that she was taking Conrad to. Last night Owen had called his family to tell them that they were getting married. And instead of making plans to have dinner in the future, they’d loaded up in their cars and trucks and come over. It was fun, she thought, but very loud. Looking over at her brother, she asked him if he was all right.
“I don’t want to mess up.” She assured him that he wouldn’t. “They’re all wolves too, huh? You think they might eat me if I mess up too badly?”
“No. Caleb said that they might want to get your scent, just as he did, but they would never harm you.” He nodded, but he wasn’t rocking, which was a sure sign that he wasn’t too nervous. “And they bought you all those supplies too, didn’t they? I mean, you don’t spend that much money on someone you’re going to eat, do you?”
“No. That’s a good thing to say to me.” He smiled at her then. “Harley is going to be in my paint class too. He’s so happy all the time. And his dad is nice. I really like Quinn too.” Clare told him she did as well. “Rayne talks to ghosts. She said that they’re really nice, and if they’re not, she’ll make sure that they don’t hurt anyone.”
She’d heard that too, and it frightened her a little that someone had that much power. The Death Watcher. There was nothing warm or fuzzy about that sort of title. When they pulled up in front of the pack house where he was going to be working, she asked if he wanted her to go in with him.
“No. I’m going to do this on my own. And when it gets warm and I’m going on the bike that is in the barn. I can ride here instead of you having to bring me.” She’d thought of that too and was worried about him being alone with their parents around. “You don’t have to worry, Clare. I’m going to be extra careful now. I have a job, and I don’t want to lose it.”
“I’m glad, Conrad. And you have your phone, right? You remember the numbers to push to get me or Owen.” He told her that Skyler had put his number in there too, so he could bring him lunch if he wanted him to. “Well, that’s good of him. You just remember what we told you. If you see Mom and Dad, you’re to tell someone in the pack so they can protect you. And then we’ll be right there.”
“Yes, I remember. I’m going to be all right.”
He got out of the car she was using that belonged to Owen and he went up the stairs and into the building. When he was inside, Margo, the woman in charge of the project, came out and told her he’d be fine.
“Thank you. I’m a little nervous for him.” She said that the pack master had warned them who to look out for, and that they were to protect Conrad like their own. “He’s my brother, and I don’t want him hurt.”
“We don’t want him hurt either. We’ll keep him safe.”
Nodding, she moved down the road to go to her interview with Caleb. It was that or she’d be sitting there all day waiting for Conrad to come out and go home again.
“You get him off all right?” She told Caleb that it was perhaps the hardest thing she’d ever done when he met her in his lobby. “I know what you mean. We adopted three little boys from the pack a few weeks ago. Good kids, but their parents were too.... Well, that’s a story for another time. When we have more of it. But anyway, the first day I sent them to school, I sobbed like a baby. I was terrified for them. They were fine, but I was a mess by the time they got home. And if you tell anyone that, I’ll deny it.”
“You and Owen are a great deal alike, I think.” He asked her why. “He’s very emotional too. Not in a sissy way, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. And like you, he can hide it too, if necessary. When he needs to show others that he’s all badassed.”
She took a dollar out of her pocket and put it in his jar on his desk. She noticed that there wasn’t all that much in there and asked him about it. He was laughing as he explained.
“Yesterday I had an issue with one of the people that wanted me to work for them. I say it like that because instead of me working with them, he actually wanted me to do things for him that were exactly as he had before. Right down to the colors they used. When I asked him if he wanted fresh, something new, he said of course he did. That’s why he came to me.” She laughed when he did. “I don’t thi
nk he understood me all that well until the end. And when I hung up, I sort of went on a cursing spree and filled the jar up. Twice.”
“I’m not sure what it is I can do working with you. I have my resume for you to look at, as well as references from some of the people— Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you want to interview me?” He shook his head. Clare, embarrassed, stood up. “I’m so sorry. I thought that was what Owen told me. I feel so stupid. I’m really—”
“Clare?” She looked at him. “You already work with me. Not for me, but with me. I have two clients lined up for you to interview. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clearer. They want you to work with them on some projects. One of them wants a pool mural. He’s seen your work on—”
“I don’t understand.” He nodded and sat on the corner of his desk. “You want me to come here and work for you as a pool designer?”
“No, I want you to work with me as a mural artist. With me, not for me. I think we can make a good team on this. You’re going to officially be a Winchester very soon, and I think we can work things out to our advantage as a team. Don’t you?” She nodded. “Good girl. As I was saying, I have two clients for you today. One, as I said, wants a pool design. He isn’t really sure what he wants, but he said epic. And so you know, he’s a huge Ohio State fan. The other man has a large company, and has just updated and remodeled his offices. He would like a mural in the front hallway. He has an idea, but is willing to let you be the judge of whether or not you think it’ll work well.”
“The OSU fan will need to have permission to use their logo. I have permission to use it myself, on a great many places and items, but they have to approve where it’s at. I don’t think there will be an issue, but I’ll need to design it first and get it approved by their committee.” She started to walk around his office and think. “The other man, the one with the mural in his office, does he want something like the beginning of his business to where he is now?”
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