by Parker, Ali
Turning her back on me so she could face the house, she motioned to the front yard. “As you can see, you have a very well-established garden out here.”
“Lovely.” Having a “well-established garden” was the least of my worries, but the house did look good from the outside.
The lawn spanned the entire front of the house, except for a stone pathway leading to the front door. It ended at a double-wide driveway, which led into a garage with an automated door.
Some kind of hedge grew along the side of the path to the door, curling in both directions where it reached the porch to create a perimeter around the top of the yard. It was almost … colonial looking.
Big picture windows sat on either side of the front door, and two more on the second story above those on the first. It was the kind of place that fit right in with the neighbors, while not being too ostentatious. Almost homey between the mansions in the area.
I had liked that about it as soon as I’d seen the listing. It wasn’t pretentious, but it was pretty and respectable. The kind of place you could bring a girl home to.
“There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms,” Justine was saying as I tuned in to her again, “a backyard kids will love and a swimming pool.”
Fuck yeah, a fucking swimming pool? I hadn’t even noticed that feature on the listing. When I had been growing up, there were only two kids who lived near the foster home who had swimming pools. One of them had become a friend of mine. I remembered vowing that I’d have a pool of my own someday, maybe that day had finally come.
“It’s not on the beach, though.” Despite what Justine seemed to think, I had done my homework on the place. I might not have noticed the swimming pool, but I knew everything else about the house.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “No, but the beach is right across the street. The owner isn’t going to give you a discount because of that either.”
“I haven’t asked for discount, have I?” Irritation flared in my gut. I had the money to buy the damn place, and I really liked the look of it, but I was tempted to walk away just because she was such a prissy bitch and I didn’t want her to earn any money off me.
It’s not about her, I reminded myself. Get this done and you’ll never have to see her again.
“I’m simply doing my job,” she said. “I have to prepare my clients to be realistic about the investments they can make.”
“Can we go inside?” I would show her how fucking realistic I was being soon enough if I decided the take the house. “I don’t have all day.”
She sighed, then motioned for me to go ahead. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was her client or if she wanted to walk behind me to make sure I didn’t steal anything. Whatever.
Instead of insisting she go first, being a gentleman and all, I made my way to the door. The house inside smelled like vanilla and chocolate. I’d read somewhere that sellers often baked in their homes before a showing to make the place more attractive to potential buyers.
Whether it was a sales technique or not, it smelled damn good. I took a deep inhale, wondering what it would be like to come home to a house like this every day.
It was as impressive inside as it was from the outside. In keeping with the impression I’d already gotten from it, it wasn’t a lifeless, cavernous mausoleum in here.
A well-appointed, yet comfortable living area was to my left, leading to an open living modern farmhouse kitchen and dining area. To my right was a hallway, which presumably led to the bedrooms, as well as one of the bathrooms.
The back wall of the house was almost entirely made of stackable glass doors, except for a couple of places here and there. As promised, there was a large sparkling pool in one corner of the expansive yard and a patio with built-in speakers and a bar. This is what I’m talking about.
Once we were done with the tour, Justine glanced at her watch. “I’m afraid I must get to my next appointment, Mr. Campton. You have yourself a nice day now.”
Annoyance made my jaw tick. I watched as she spun around, dismissing me without another thought as she headed to her little car. When she put her hand on the door handle, I called out.
“One more thing, Justine. If I’d like to make an offer, am I supposed to contact you?”
She gave me a tight smile, her eyes closing for too long to be a blink. Evidently, she was as frustrated with me as I was with her. “Yes, Mr. Campton. That is how it works. Will that be all?”
“No, actually.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my key fob and unlocked my truck. On the passenger side of my cab, there were several black bags that were filled with cash. I hauled one out, dropping it at my feet as Justine watched with a mildly curious expression. “Just one last thing, Justine. I’d like to make an offer.”
“What?” Her gaze followed what I was doing when I tossed another bag on top of the first. “Even if you qualify for the loan, Mr. Campton, you can’t move in until registration happens. There’s a whole process that—”
“I don’t need a loan.” I gave a pointed look at the bags, swinging around to look at the rest of them. “Inside these bags you’ll find the cash for the total purchase price, not my stuff.”
Watching Justine’s facial expressions when I told her that was priceless. She cycled through shock, disbelief, guilt, and something else before landing on contrite. “I’ll admit, I didn’t really think you had the money. I apologize, Mr. Campton. I’ll let the seller know right away.”
“You do that.” I smirked. “Tell them I’ll leave the money in the house. Also, find out if we can do something about all those processes to be followed before I move in, okay? Considering I’m a cash buyer, I’m going to expect them to give me occupation sooner rather than later.”
“I’m sure we can make an arrangement. I’ll be back.” Justine hurried off with her phone pressed to her ear, disappearing into the house I’d just bought.
I’d wanted to play it cool until she was gone, but I just couldn’t. My face split into a wide-ass grin that I couldn’t hold back if I tried. I’m a fucking homeowner. Me.
It was a literal dream come true. I had to share this moment with someone. It had been stupid of me not to bring Rayce with me again, now that I thought about it.
Calling him up, I was cryptic about why I was asking him to meet me. Luckily, he wasn’t far away. When he got there, he was getting a bat out of the trunk of his car until he saw the smile on my face.
The tension radiating from him when he thought I’d summoned him to another fight didn’t ease away from his expression. “Please tell me you haven’t done what I think you’ve done.”
“I can’t do that.” I gestured to the house behind me. “It’s all mine now. The realtor’s inside taking care of occupation for me.”
“What have you done, man?” He scrubbed his hands over his face before shaking his head. “This was a bad idea.”
“It’s fine, bro.” I wasn’t going to let him freak me out, not now. This moment was too big. Besides, I hadn’t done this on a whim. “I did some digging last night. The FBI has fallen off on the investigation. They have no new leads. We haven’t done any more jobs for them to get anything new from, so they’re not going to. We’re in the clear.”
“We’re going to have to make at least one more run.” Rayce’s voice firmed up, got that authoritative note to it that I hated to say no to. This time, though, I was going to have to.
“Sorry, buddy, I’m out.”
“It will be the last one if we can pull it off.” Rayce glanced up and down the street, a habit he couldn’t shake. In this neighborhood, though, it wasn’t necessary. The next house was way too far away for whoever was in it to overhear a single word we were saying.
“No, Rayce. I mean it this time, I’m done. That last one was my last time. I’m not making another run.”
Justine appeared on the porch then, her gaze hardly landing on Rayce before bouncing back to mine. “I need to discuss some things with you in private, Mr. Campton.”
I he
ld up my hand, showing her that I needed a minute. She nodded, gave Rayce a last disapproving look, and went back inside.
“Look, if we do this, we won’t need to work another day in our lives unless we do something stupid with the money.” He dug around in his pocket, coming up with half a pencil and a cigarette box. Tearing off one of the flaps on the box, he shoved the rest of it back into his pocket and scribbled something on the flap.
“I’ll put your cut of this heist coming up on here. We have some time until the delivery is made to the bank to decide. Before you say no, just look at the number and then think real fucking carefully. A place like this needs a lot of money to maintain, just think about that.”
I took the flap but didn’t look at it until Rayce had walked away. As much as I wanted to chuck the flap without looking at all, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It’s just curiosity, that’s all. It doesn’t mean I’m going to agree to it.
When I glanced down and saw the number, my throat went dry. Millions? My cut would be millions.
Fuck. That was more money than I ever would have thought I’d see. Doing another job was dangerous, though. Double fuck.
Justine appeared in the doorway again. “Mr. Campton? I really do have another appointment that I need to get to. I wasn’t lying earlier. I’ve moved it back for you, but we need to get this paperwork signed.”
“I’m coming.” I took a deep breath, exhaled, and ran my hand through my hair. Then I repeated the process.
Millions. Shit. That was a shit ton of money to say no to, but it was too dangerous to do another job.
No, I couldn’t risk all this. Couldn’t swap this house for a prison cell. I wouldn’t do it. There was a garbage bin standing near the side of the driveway. Before I could change my mind, I marched over to it and threw away the tempting flap.
I’d always promised myself I’d walk away. I’d been trying to walk for a long time, but I never quite managed it. I couldn’t give in again. No way. I’m done.
All I had to do now was to convince Rayce to walk away with me.
Chapter 26
Heidi
For the rest of the week, I kept my promise to Olive. I went to work every day, even showing up early and sometimes staying late. I had meant it when I told her that from now on, I would be there every day and actually give the job a real shot.
I’d never wanted anything more than I wanted to stay in Florida. Our house was the best place I’d ever lived … and I didn’t want us to lose it. As it was, it had been Olive’s mom’s house and she was letting us stay there rent-free. The least I could do was to help her cover expenses so we could all keep living there.
She’d mentioned to me once or twice before we’d even moved to Florida that she might have to sell the house. I’d told her then that I would do whatever I could to help her hang onto it, and it was even more important now that I keep that promise to her.
Valerie had already given Olive most of the money she’d earned to cover her share, but she had also told us that she wasn’t planning on going to work for a couple of days. We’d covered for her and then simply hadn’t signed her up for any more shifts for the rest of the week. I was hoping that would be enough.
It was late afternoon and the lunch crowd had cleared out, leaving us some time to prepare everything for the dinner rush. There were usually only a few customers this time of day and hardly any movement, so I was surprised when the bell above the door jangled.
That was nothing compared to my surprise when I saw who had entered. Will walked into the restaurant, flashing me a smile before pointing to a table near the window and mouthing a question about whether it was in my section.
I nodded, a stupid little thrill making me want to do a happy dance over him coming to see me at work. Grabbing a menu from the top of the pile, I hurried over to his table.
The manager was around here somewhere, but I guessed she had to be in her office because I couldn’t see her. When I got to Will’s table, I decided to take a risk. I bent over and gave him a quick kiss.
“Hey, you. This is a surprise.”
“Yeah. I thought it might be.” His voice was strangely flat, his body language off. “How have you been?”
“Better than you, apparently.” Taking another quick look around, I slid into his booth when I still didn’t see the manager lurking anywhere. Olive gave me a warning look, but I waved her off. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing I should be talking to you about. I just wanted to see you.” Something flashed in the cerulean blue of his eyes. It was gone too fast for me to see what it was, but whatever it had been made my gut churn. Something bad was going on with him.
“I wanted to see you too.” I reached across the table, and without skipping a beat he placed his hand in mine. “I’m glad you came, but if you want to talk, I’m right here, okay?”
Will let out a deep sigh, his eyes haunted when they met mine. “It’s my brother.”
“Rayce?” My brows climbed on my forehead. “What’s wrong with him?”
Rubbing the back of his head, he lifted his shoulders. “I really shouldn’t be talking to you about this. None of it is your problem.”
“It’s not,” I agreed, prompting him to flash me a quick smile before I cocked my head. “Doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me about it. Sometimes it helps to get an outsider’s perspective on things.”
“It’s not going to make a damn bit of difference in this case.” He lowered his gaze to our joined hands, stroking my thumb gently with his before lifting it back to mine. “No offense, it’s just that he’s getting involved in some pretty bad stuff, and if I can’t talk him out of it, I’m afraid of what will happen. That’s why I don’t need an outsider’s perspective. I already know what to do and what will happen if I don’t do it. No amount of advice is going to change that.”
“Maybe not, no. You can’t make up his mind for him, though. Life doesn’t work like that. It’s not fair, but it is life.”
Will laughed. It was a dry laugh that didn’t quite light up his eyes, but it was still a laugh and so I was counting it as a win. “Life’s not fair, I know. I just wish I could change the way it worked, even if just this one fucking time.”
“I know the feeling.” How many times had I made exactly that same wish? More than I could count, I was sure. “If he won’t listen to you, though, the only thing you can really do for him is to be there for him. To support him no matter what.”
“Being there for him is kind of the problem.” There was an irony in Will’s voice that I didn’t quite understand, but I wasn’t sure now was the right time to push it, so I just let him continue. “I can’t support this, not anymore anyway.”
I gave his hand a squeeze, keeping my eyes on his and softening my voice. “Just show him how to be as good a man as you are. Show him that he can be good too.”
“I’m not as good of a man as you think I am, Heidi.” He seemed almost sad when he said it, but at the same time, it was a confident statement with no room for argument in it.
“What do you mean?” There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Will, I realized that. Whatever I still had to learn about him, though, I knew he was inherently a good guy. He had a big heart, and I was pretty sure it was made of gold.
The clues about his personality were in so many little things he did, all of which pointed to a genuinely good person. I could see that he didn’t agree, and I’d heard the steel in his voice when he’d said it straight out, but he was wrong. I knew he was.
Before I could tell him that or hear what his reply would have been, my boss appeared at our table and pulled me away. “Heidi, there’s a customer in the back who needs his check. I don’t pay you to hang around with your boyfriend, sweetie. Get to work.”
Giving Will an apologetic smile, I didn’t bother to correct my boss about Will’s relationship to me. Let her assume that he was my boyfriend, he kind of was, wasn’t he?
I did what needed to be done
, impatiently waiting for my boss to go back to her office. As soon as the door closed behind her, I headed back to where Will had been sitting only to find that he wasn’t there anymore.
What the heck? We’d still been talking. I checked all over for him, even making sure he hadn’t simply moved outside. He was nowhere to be found, though. It was like he’d disappeared. I hadn’t even seen him leave.
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled through to Will’s number and tried to call him. He didn’t answer any of my calls.
An ominous feeling lodged in the pit of my stomach, weighing me down for the rest of my shift. I had no idea what was up with Will or what Rayce was getting involved with, but I didn’t have a good feeling about either.
By the time Olive and I finally got home, I was exhausted. Unfortunately, the day still wasn’t over, and the universe had one last blow left to hand out.
Valerie was pacing in the living room when Olive and I walked in, her usual smile replaced with a deep frown. There was a shiny, square piece of paper clutched between her fingers.
It took me a second to realize it was a business card. Before I could ask her whose card it was or what happened that stressed her out so much, she spun around. “What have you done, Heidi?”
“Me?” My frown matched Valerie’s as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.”
“The FBI came by the house today.” She walked up to me, handing over the official-looking business card. “They were looking for you?”
“What for?” It felt like my blood was being replaced with ice water the more Val’s words sunk in. “Why would they be looking for me?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Valerie nodded at the card, her skin pale and her teeth worrying her lip. “It’s an Agent Johnson. You’re going to have to call him, Heidi. He looked pretty serious about you doing it soon too.”
I took the card, turning it over in my hands like it had the power to bite me. It made no sense that the FBI had come looking for me, except… “Fuck, I think I need to talk to Will.”