This time, she didn’t have time to protest.
I grabbed her hair again, pulling her half out of the bath. Her body bent limply over the edge as I pulled the belt high in the air, lashing through the air and down on her wet back and ass. The slap sounded against her skin with a sharp sting and she cried out as I hit her over and over and over. Bright red welts popped up on her wet skin, and I paused, pulling her out of the bath all the way by her hair and pulling her squirming, screaming body back into the bedroom and throwing her onto the bed.
“Fuck you,” she cried, spitting at me, as I held onto her hair so she couldn’t scoot away. With one hand, I unzipped my pants and pulled out my cock.
“My pleasure, bitch,” I muttered, as I pushed her thighs open and stepped inside.
CHAPTER 36
FURY
After another blissful night with Jackie, I walked back into Green’s office the next day ready to take the bull by the horns. I was determined to speed up the process, and if I could manage to push Green just a little, I was sure I could find a way to entrap him or at least get closer to whatever secrets he was hiding.
Luckily, he walked right into my trap like a hungry deer.
“I need a favor,” he said, sitting behind his desk on this Monday morning like he owned the world. The airs this man put on would make Queen Elizabeth blush with humility.
“You change your mind about sending me to New York?”
“No, it’s something closer to home.”
“I see,” I nodded. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s a lot to ask. I know we’re just getting to know each other and I hope, even if you don’t want the job, that you’ll keep my confidence? It’s a touchy subject,” he said, shrugging.
“Of course,” I assured him. “It won’t leave this room.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said, leaning forward to peer into my eyes, his hands folded calmly on his desk. “I’m afraid my accountant, Will, is getting a little out of hand. It’s possible that soon I’ll need to take some drastic measures to control him.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” he continued. “I hate that it’s come this far. And I’m not quite at the point of committing to this decision, mind you, but I wanted to put out some feelers, so that when the time comes, I’ll have all my ducks in a row, so to speak.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“If things continue on the path they’re on, it’s very possible I may need to have him eliminated.”
“Eliminated?” I asked, lifting a brow. Was this asshole asking me to kill Will for him? The fucking balls on this guy.
“Exactly.”
“Do you mean relocated?” I asked, for clarity. “Fired?”
“No, that won’t solve my problem. I need you to kill him for me and dispose of the body.”
“Wow, Bodhi,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s a heavy request.”
“I know it is. And like I said, I’m not there yet, but every day he gets more and more dangerous. I can’t explain, but trust me, this is the only way.”
“I understand,” I nodded.
“I’ll pay you handsomely, of course. I know it’s a big job. Especially the disposal…,” he said, his voice trailing off.
“How much?” I asked. He didn’t hear, lost in his own thoughts.
“Bodhi?” I asked.
“What?” he said, shaking his head.
“How much will you pay me?”
“Whatever you want,” he shrugged. “Is two million enough?”
I almost fell out of my chair. Whatever Will had on him must be huge for him to shell out that much money to get rid of him.
I paused, appearing to think it over for a moment, before answering.
“I’d need at least four.”
“That’s fine, fine,” he said, with a dismissive wave.
“Okay, then,” I said. “How do you want me to do it?”
“I’ll leave the messy details to you. I don’t even want to know.”
I nodded, gazing over at him curiously.
“When do you want me to do it?”
“Just wait for my call. Have everything prepared and ready to go so you can act on a moment’s notice. I’ll let you know when.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said. “I trust you’ll keep this to yourself?”
“Of course. I promise.”
“You’re a god-send,” he said.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
“No, not at all. Did you find anything on the tapes, by the way?”
“Nothing at all except a passing raccoon,” I said. “But I’ll keep checking every day.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said. “You can go now. I have a lunch meeting with Ross and Conner soon.”
“Have a good day, Bodhi,” I said, standing up and leaving his office. It was almost lunch time, so I lingered around Pearl’s desk for a few minutes chatting with her until Bodhi left.
“I’ll be back in two hours, Pearl,” he said, walking out the door. As soon as the front door closed she turned to me with a smile.
“Well, that means I’m off for lunch, too,” she said. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Have a nice lunch, Pearl,” I said, as she gathered her purse and followed Bodhi out the door. I looked around, wondering how many times Bodhi had ordered someone killed, or if this was the first time. Seizing the opportunity, I walked back into his empty office and began looking around. I opened the drawers of his desk, riffling through various notebooks and letters.
Then, I turned around, looking through the credenza behind his desk, opening the doors and pulling out bank ledgers. I opened the most recent one, skimming down the entries searching for anything unusual, but I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at. Just a bunch of names and numbers that didn’t mean anything to me.
I took out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures to send to Riot. He was the numbers and tech expert. Maybe he could make some sense of them. I was placing the ledger back in the cabinet when I heard Pearl clear her throat behind me.
I jumped up and looked at her.
“Mr. Green would not appreciate you going through his things,” she said, sternly gazing at me over the top of her bifocals.
I walked around the desk, closing the distance between us.
“He asked me to take a look around, Pearl, you know that,” I said, flashing her my most charming smile.
“In his books?”
“Yes, I used to do a little accounting back in the day,” I lied. “He asked for some help with streamlining his expenses.”
“Will’s his accountant.”
“Yes, and we both know he hasn’t been too happy with Will’s performance as of late, right? With all that shouting, even the crows out back have heard his displeasure.”
“That’s true,” she said, smiling and nodding. “Well, I’m sorry to interrupt. I left my lunch at my desk.”
“No worries,” I replied. “I was just leaving myself. Will you lock up?”
“Certainly,” she said, walking back to her desk.
“See you in a few hours,” I replied, walking out to my bike, mentally kicking myself the entire way for not locking the door before rifling through Green’s things. It was such a simple, rookie mistake.
I was slipping, I should have known better.
My anger was tripping me up, clouding my judgement.
Furious with myself, I drove through town and back to the B&B to find Grace. I needed to regroup and refocus.
I couldn’t fuck this up.
I’d never forgive myself if I fucked this up.
CHAPTER 37
BODHI
Pearl was in my office when I returned from lunch with Ross and Conner. I’d intentionally not invited Will as usual, because I needed to assess the situation with the two of them.
We were all in this shit together, and while I was the one in charge, I still valued their in
put, even if I didn’t agree with it today. They urged me to change my mind, of course. In my opinion, Will didn’t deserve their loyalty.
If he couldn’t be loyal to me, then why should we all be loyal to him?
And yet, they were protecting him, insisting he would never do what he’d threatened to do. I wasn’t so sure, but I agreed to give it a little more time before I acted.
I had to do something, though. I knew if I let this kind of behavior continue, it would only get worse. His insubordinance alone was enough to make me want to fire him. Perhaps I’d just withhold his monthly bonus, hit him where it hurt the most.
“What’s up, Pearl?” I asked, as I rounded my desk and sat down.
“I need to tell you something,” she said.
“So spill it,” I said, angrily distracted.
“It’s Fury. I don’t know what’s going on but after you left for your meeting, I found him in here looking around.”
“In my office? Maybe he was checking the locks.”
“No, Bodhi. He was looking at your ledgers. The ones in the credenza. I think he was taking pictures.”
“Is that so?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat. Fury had no business in my bank records.
“Yes,” she said. “I shoo’d him away but I thought you should know.”
“Yes, thank you, Pearl,” I said. “I appreciate you telling me. I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you going to fire him, sir?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But don’t worry about it.”
“Okay, sir,” she said, standing up and walking out. I leaned back in my chair completely perplexed. I’d just asked Fury for a very sensitive favor and then he looks through my desk?
Something here wasn’t right and I was going to have to get to the bottom of it before I did anything about Will.
I picked up the phone and called Ross.
“Hey, buddy,” I said. “I need you to run a background check on someone for me.”
“No problem, just email me their info.”
“I’ll have Pearl send it over right away, thanks,” I said, hanging up.
Who did Fury think he was fucking with?
I’m Bodhi fucking Green, and everyone in this town knows you don’t cross one of the Green clan. It was common fucking knowledge and if Fury hadn’t learned that lesson yet, then he soon would.
CHAPTER 38
FURY
Before dinner, Ryder, Grace and I gathered on the front porch of Dottie’s, going over everything that had happened today.
“You sure it was her?” Ryder asked. “There’s a lot of hunched over old ladies in this town.”
“Take a look for yourself," I said, pulling up a picture I’d saved on my phone. They looked at it and nodded slowly.
“Okay,” Grace said. “I’m going to bring it up at dinner, see where the conversation goes.”
“There’s something else. Something big.”
“What?”
“Green asked me to get rid of Will today.”
“Get rid of?”
“Yep,” I nodded. “Told me to be on stand-by and ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
“Shit,” Grace said. “Did you agree?”
“He offered me a shit load of money. I said yes, but I’ll only do what you guys tell me to do.”
“Well, you’re not killing Benji’s father!” Grace said. “Keep us posted. Stall as much as you can.”
“Of course,” I agreed. Dottie called us into dinner, her voice cracking with age.
“Be right there,” Grace called back, before turning back to me. “Looks like things are moving. Let’s just stay the course and see where it leads us.”
“Fine with me,” I said.
“You’re doing great, by the way,” Ryder said, patting me on the back.
“Thanks, brother,” I said, as we made our way back into the house.
As usual, another one of Dottie’s feasts was splayed out on the long dining table, amongst perfectly constructed crimson colored place settings, with a centerpiece made of white roses.
Everything about Dottie and her house was one hundred percent old lady charm. From the antique wardrobes and handmade quilts in the bedrooms, to the lace tablecloth with matching curtains in the formal dining room, every detail screamed old-fashioned.
She was what everyone dreamed their grandmother would be like.
To think that this sweet old lady was breaking into people’s homes and businesses in the dead of night was absolutely mind-boggling. As she bustled around us, putting the final touches on her dinner table before insisting we sit down and dig in, I couldn’t help but look at her in a new light.
As I’d learned long ago, there was always more to someone than meets the eye. We’ve all got a story.
I couldn’t help but imagine what Dottie’s might be.
“Dottie, won’t you join us tonight?” Grace asked. “Please?”
“Oh, I don’t usually dine with the guests,” she said, shaking her head, her close-cropped, cotton white curls bobbing around her head.
“I’d love to ask you a few questions about the town,” she said. “For research?”
“Oh, why not?” She smiled. “Let me grab my coffee.”
She shuffled to the kitchen and came back with coffee and a piece of peach pie. She sat at the end of the table and smiled over at us.
“Eat! Eat!” she said. “I tend to sample when I cook. I’ve already had my dinner, you don’t have to wait for me.”
Ryder passed the mashed potatoes to me and when Grace handed me the main dish, the savory scent of roast and gravy washed over me.
“This looks so delicious,” I said, before diving in. I was starving. I’d not eaten much all day, busy with Green and my adrenaline had been through the roof a few times. My body needed replenishment and Dottie’s cooking hit the spot. I ate and listened, watching Grace gently draw Dottie out of her shell.
“So, Dottie, you’ve lived here all your life, right?”
“Yes, dear,” she said, nodding politely. “And my parents. And their parents.”
“Lots of people have deep roots in this town, don’t they?”
“Yes, many of the families go back many generations.”
“Not a lot of privacy, I’d imagine,” Ryder spoke up. “Everyone’s in everyone else’s business?”
“To a degree, maybe. We tend to give each other space. But you can bet if someone spots something newsworthy, it’ll travel fast.”
“I bet,” Grace said, smiling sweetly at her. Dottie placed a bite of pie in her mouth, moaning in ecstasy.
“It’s my Grandma Sampson’s recipe,” Dottie said. “To die for!”
“Dottie, you mentioned your dislike of Bodhi Green before. In fact, you were very vocal about it. As you heard, Fury got a job doing security for him.”
“Is that so?” she asked, tilting her head curiously.
“It is,” I said. “He’s had a string of break-ins recently.”
“That’s terrible!” she said, shaking her head. “Whatever happened to the days of folks being able to leave their doors unlocked?”
“Things have changed,” I said, nodding, looking over at Grace for guidance. If she’d wanted to accuse Dottie outright, she’d have done it already. It didn’t appear Dottie was going to be giving herself up anytime soon.
“Sure have,” she nodded, taking a dainty sip from her china coffee cup.
“The burglars haven’t taken anything of value, though, they seem to be just poking around. Do you have any idea who might want to break-in to Green’s place?” Ryder asked, after a few moments of silence.
Her eyes shot up and she frowned, as if deep in thought.
“No telling with him,” she said. “I tell you, if anyone in this town has secrets, it’s that guy. He’s been full of them since high school…since Bryce, really.”
“Bryce?” Ryder asked. My ears perked up at the mention of the guy who went missing that Jackie told me about.<
br />
“Bryce Sampson. He was my nephew. Just up and disappeared one day, right before graduation. He was Bodhi’s best friend, in fact. I’ve always thought there was more to the story than we could tell back then, but nobody seems too interested in finding out the truth anymore.”
“He was your nephew?” I asked, trying to close my mouth.
“Yep. Almost eighteen. Had a bright future ahead of him, too.”
“He was never found?” Grace asked.
“Not a trace,” she said, shaking her head. She stood up and walked to the buffet against the wall, opening a bottle of scotch and pouring some in her coffee before returning to the table with the bottle. She offered it to us and Ryder took it from her, pouring himself a glass. Dottie sat back down, a sad look on her face.
“Just about killed my sister, Touttle. She adored that boy, and he was her only kid. Broke her heart.”
“That’s terrible,” Grace said, gently.
“It was,” Dottie said. “Haunted her till the day she died.”
“What do you think happened?” Grace asked.
She looked at us long and hard and then shook her head before answering. Finally, her sad eyes turned away and she took a sip from her glass.
“Ain’t for me to say, I guess,” she said. “It was a long time ago.”
“But —.” Grace began.
“—Like I said, it was a long time ago. Old news.” She pursed her lips and shook her head, ‘case closed’ firmly written across her face.
“Of course,” Grace nodded, smiling at her politely.
We finished dinner in near silence, all of the answered questions hanging in the air over our heads until Dottie spoke up again.
“Has anyone told you guys about the ball yet?”
“The ball?” Grace asked.
“Yep. Our yearly winter ball. It’s this weekend, the town is all abuzz about it. Everyone gets all dressed up. It’s at the school, in the gym, of course. You’re all invited, of course.”
“That sounds fun,” Grace said.
“We’ll need to buy a couple of suits,” Ryder said.
“My cousin has a shop out by the market, suits, tuxes, dresses, whatever you need,” she replied.
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