The Barter System Companion: Volume One

by Shayne McClendon

  Then he struck him in the temple hard enough to knock him out and turned to see Dakota standing between their bedrooms, two duffle bags in her hands.

  He met Barbara’s eyes where she leaned against the wall, clasping her head. “You have one minute to get twenty thousand dollars from his slush fund.”

  She raced to the first floor and opened the safe in Alfred’s office. Quickly grabbing stacks of undeclared money, she handed it to them without counting.

  “Give me the keys to the condo.” She rummaged through a drawer to find them. “I’m taking the car. If either of you try anything, remember my sister is covered in evidence.”

  The woman flinched but said nothing.

  “We won’t come back to this house and you stay the fuck away from us. Go see to the monster and then drink yourself back to sleep so you can pretend you’re human.”

  They backed from the room and he took Dakota’s hand to lead her to the garage. He took the keys for Alfred’s car off the wall and unlocked the doors.

  “Get in.”

  Without a word, she did. When she was buckled up, he backed out of the driveway and made his way north. He kept driving as the sun lightened the sky.

  She didn’t speak for hours, simply stared through the windshield. He knew she was in shock.

  Finally, she asked hoarsely, “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere they won’t think to look for us.”

  Another hundred miles later, he exited the highway and pulled into the parking lot of a questionable used car dealership.

  “Grab the bags and stay with the car.”

  A heavyset man approached with pit stains under his arms and eyed the car with envy. “You steal this, kid?”

  “In a manner of speaking. Do you want it?” The guy’s eyes went big. “I need to trade it for something low-key with a good engine. I’m not kidding about that last part. It has to make it a long way.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Old enough to know we can have a mutually beneficial exchange or I can find someone willing to negotiate. The owner will take his time filing a report.”

  “Sounds like blackmail.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “How far you going?”

  Chaz lied, “All the way to California.” He gestured at the car. “Even selling it for parts will make this deal worth it for you and I know you know that.”

  “That’s true enough. I don’t see many classics around here. Especially Aston Martins in mint condition.” He nodded. “Alright. Let’s make a deal.”

  “What have you got?”

  “The best car on the lot is that Honda.” He pointed across the lot at a newer Accord. “Low miles, new tires. It was traded to me for cash to feed a crack habit. A couple fender-benders but nothing structural.”

  “Wait a while to file the papers on it.”

  “Oh yeah. Two weeks at least. I need this moved before I file something formal.” He grinned and showed a gold tooth. “I don’t want people sniffing around anymore than you, kid.”

  “Let’s get this done.”

  Half an hour later, they shook on it. Dakota moved their stuff into the Honda and Chaz drove the Aston Martin into a covered garage.

  Then they were back on the road with a title in the glove box, a temporary tag, and a full tank of gas. The car was exactly as advertised and Chaz imagined it was a first for the salesman.

  Dakota looked over at him with a shaky smile. “I didn’t know you could be so diabolical.”

  “Let me do the thinking for now. You rest.”

  “Can I shower?”

  “I need you to wait a little longer. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded and laid her head back on the seat.

  Near the border between Georgia and Florida, he pulled into a hospital. At the front desk, he approached an older woman staring at them in concern.

  “My sister was raped. Can you help us? She’s afraid.”

  “Sure, honey. Oh, sure. Come with me. It’s gonna be okay.”

  Dakota lied about her age but she gave her real name and an accurate description of her rapist. They said they were on a college trip and were separated.

  A police report was filed with a rape kit in the hands of the authorities that included their father’s semen. It was a small insurance policy but more than their father would expect.

  The experience hadn’t been easy for his sister. He held her hand the entire time, watching her face as she stared blankly at the ceiling. She never shed a tear.

  He cried enough for both of them.

  They left the hospital after dark and he settled Dakota into the passenger seat wearing sweats the hospital provided.

  Continuing north, he found a motel off the main road that would do for a few days. He paid cash and asked for two rooms side by side.

  They stayed for almost a week and ate all their meals in the diner downstairs. He wanted to give her time to heal physically before they took the next step.

  After deciding on a plan, they got back on the road.

  Two weeks later, he drove his twin to a clinic in Arlington where the dead fetus in her womb, making her sicker by the day, was aborted.

  They explained who impregnated her and Dakota again gave her real name. There was no way to tell how far along she was but they were truthful with the doctor.

  In a freak scenario, a procedure performed on thousands of women to remove dead tissue in her womb perforated her uterus. At seventeen, Dakota was told she’d never have children.

  She whispered, “Like we need to carry on such a genetic line any fucking way.” Again, she didn’t shed a tear.

  Chaz couldn’t say the same.

  Devastated and overcome with guilt, the doctor offered to have tissue samples of the fetus analyzed at a local lab. They waited in a hotel until the results were ready. Receiving two copies of conclusive findings, they mailed one to their father.

  Weeks later, Chaz parked beside a payphone in Minneapolis and called their old house in Miami. He held the handset between them so Dakota could listen.

  Barbara answered and it was immediately obvious she was drunk.

  “Hello, mom. Your daughter aborted the deformed fetus your husband planted in her womb. The lab results prove Alfred is the father. We sent you a copy for your records.”

  “Oh god…”

  “If there was a god, he’d want nothing to do with you, Barbara. Where is he?”

  “I’m right here, you little shit…”

  “Shut your mouth. You don’t get to be an abusive, rapist bully anymore. It’s your turn to be afraid, Alfred.”

  “Stop being emotional…”

  “I’m not emotional at all when it comes to you but you’re going to pay for what you did to her.”

  “You’re a big man now, huh, boy?”

  “No, Alfred. I’m just a man. Something you’ve never been.” He quickly explained the trail they’d left without details. “You’re going to finance her life, her education. If you try to find her, I’ll let the entire world know what you’ve done and I won’t pull my strikes with the bat next time I see you.”

  He hung up and grinned at his sister. “We can get lost in New York. What do you think?” Dakota nodded. “First, food. I’m starving.”

  Over the next two years, they tormented their biological father. They lived in apartments paid for in cash and accessed their accounts from random locations all over the busiest city in the United States.

  Alfred transferred money to Dakota based on the schedule Chaz dictated. She used it to pay for their college and living costs but both of them worked.

  They finished school quickly, earning degrees in marketing. Before the ink was dry, they enlisted in the military.

  They agreed it was the best place for them to be.

  Setting up a house in Savannah, they came and went on leave and tried to move on.

  When the military informed them of Alfred’s suicide, Chaz wanted to celebrate. They didn’t atte
nd his funeral and refused contact from Barbara.

  “Finally, his guilt got the better of him.”

  Dakota refused to discuss anything to do with their parents.

  They’d forgotten about the boat in their names but took it with a shrug when the solicitor of Alfred’s estate delivered it to the marina nearest their house.

  In a bizarre turn of events, they ended up with custody of a little boy who was confirmed as their half-brother.

  A chubby toddler of almost three with bright eyes and an inquisitive mind, Erick changed everything. He signaled their first step into a normal life.

  For many years, it seemed like it would be the last.

  Read “Permission to Land” by clicking here.

  Special Delivery

  Published Book

  New York City - January 1996

  Standing in the library his grandfather used as his office, Spencer Bishop III stared out over the garden behind the brownstone.

  Hurt and more than a little angry, he needed time with the man who’d always been a source of steady guidance.

  “I can’t believe she broke up with me, Grandad.”

  Spencer Bishop I, gestured to the seating area in front of the fireplace. Uncertain how to deal with the first bruise to his ego inflicted by a woman, he sank into one of the wing chairs with a sigh. His grandfather sat and cleared his throat.

  “Bishops,” he began, “want the best. Finding the right woman isn’t a job interview and these women you’re dating are estimating their divorce settlement before they’ve been asked on a second date.”

  “I thought she loved me…”

  “You most certainly did not. You were bored and restless, susceptible to her attentions. Nothing more, nothing less.” He shook his silver head and smiled. “If you had feelings for her in the slightest, she wouldn’t have to ask if you planned to propose in the future. Am I right?”

  “How could I marry someone who hates kids and dogs? I mean, what kind of person is that, Grandad?”

  “The very idea.” They laughed and just like that, his favorite person put things in perspective. “Spencer, you won’t find the right woman until you least expect her…when you aren’t even looking for her. That’s how I found my Genny.”

  “I don’t know where someone like Grandmother would be. I wouldn’t even know where to look.”

  “That’s the magic and the thrill of it. Your soul mate will be in the last place you’d imagine and won’t be anything like women you meet before her.”

  Sitting forward, he put his hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “She’ll flip your entire world upside down and you’ll do anything, say anything, to gain her attention.”

  With a grunt, he replied, “Hopefully, she won’t be married.”

  “Don’t borrow trouble, boy.” Grinning, he stood carefully. “If she likes kids and dogs, you can work with anything else. Now! I’m going to hug up my Genny and then I’m taking you both to dinner.”

  Spending time with his grandparents always reminded Spencer about who he was and what was important.

  Love, common goals, and above all…patience.

  Read “Special Delivery” by clicking here.

  Unpretty

  New York City - October 1996

  Natalia Roman ignored the butterflies and full body chill as she sat in the exam room in nothing but a paper gown.

  I can do this.

  For weeks, her boyfriend slowly pushed her to this moment. Gently at first. More firmly over the last few days.

  “I love you just the way you are but wouldn’t you be happier if you had more going on up top? You’d push your hotness level up, babe. I bet it makes you feel like a totally different woman.”

  Growing up, she never obsessed over her body. She was naturally tall and lean, which suited her fine. Natalia enjoyed being active and breasts, she often thought, seemed like a hindrance. Never growing past an A-cup didn’t concern her because she didn’t think about it.

  Until she was told by her first boyfriend she looked like his little brother without clothes on. From then on, she wore padded bras. When her best friend asked about it, she told him they were pretty.

  Hudson Winters wasn’t convinced. The man seemed to know her better than she knew herself and he eventually got the real story. The boyfriend walked into class with a black eye the next day and broke up with her.

  She was secretly relieved.

  As a freshman in college, a man she dated for a while insisted on having the lights off. She asked him why and he said, “Then I can imagine you with tits.”

  Experimenting with women was a relief to her self-esteem. They liked her body, wanted her all over them, and appreciated being able to touch her with no conditions. She didn't find the edge she enjoyed with men but they were a welcome distraction now and again.

  She met Gray Dodd when she was twenty-three. Grand gestures and PDA were his style, though it was rarely her own. She wasn’t in love with him but considering her history, he seemed to be an improvement.

  Three months ago, he arrived to pick her up and she opened the door in a towel.

  He perched on the edge of her bed while she finished getting dressed and when she slipped on her padded bra and panties, he came to stand behind her in the mirror.

  “Why do you wear these?” he asked her as he cupped the lace.

  “They make me feel pretty.”

  “No, I mean the padding.”

  “They make me feel pretty.”

  “Why don’t you get a pair?” Shocked, she hadn’t replied and he added with a shrug, “I’m not saying you need them but if you want tits, why don’t you buy them?”

  He kissed her behind her ear and went to make himself a drink. She stared at herself for a long time and wondered…

  Then shook her head at her ridiculousness and she put it out of her mind.

  After sex one night, she was getting dressed to leave when he said, “So…are you going to do it?”

  Confused, she turned to him with her top in her hand. "Do what?"

  “Get a boob job.”

  “No. Why would you bring that up after all this time?”

  “I thought you were thinking about it.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Slipping the shirt over her shoulders, she hurriedly buttoned it. “Surgery is risky. I’m a bleeder.”

  “So…you’re scared.”

  With her shoulders back, she put her hands on her hips. “Hmm…I’d call it cautious. Hemophilia makes surgery especially dangerous for me.”

  “You won’t die from a boob job.”

  “You wouldn’t be the one taking the risk though, would you?”

  She stepped into her shoes and he bounded from the bed. “Wait, Talia.” She hated when he shortened her name. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. I can tell you’re insecure about it, that’s all. I want you to be happy.” There was a pause. “I love you.”

  Eyes wide, she took in the information and didn’t know how she felt about it. She didn’t even know what love was. Unlike most of the women she knew, she’d never been in love. She never said the words to anyone other than her family and Hudson.

  Saying them would feel like lying.

  There was no doubt in her own mind that she wasn’t normal. She didn’t have any interest in being a wife or mother. Could care less about a wedding or having a man underfoot. Her mother worried she would end up alone.

  Sometimes, she wondered the same thing.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  She nodded and left but this time, his words stayed with her. She was self-conscious and furious about it.

  Gray wore her down but she admitted she let him. So here she sat in a sterile room. There was no denying she was afraid.

  The door opened and an older man walked in. “Hello, little one. I’m Dr. Geldin. You can call me Abraham. What can I do for you today?”

  Carefully clearing her thro
at, she replied, “I’d like implants.”

  For a long moment, the doctor glanced over her body. “Why is this?”

  “Why…do I want implants?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “To have breasts.”

  “You have breasts, little one. They suit your narrow frame. You’re lovely. Why do this?” She couldn’t answer because the words would’ve shown how weak she was. He flipped through her chart. “You’re high risk. It makes no sense." There was a long pause. "Do you do this for a man?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “A man who does not appreciate the symmetry of your body is a fool.”

  The door behind the doctor slammed open and hit the wall. Hudson stood in the threshold and his expression was livid.

  “You’re not touching her.”

  Dr. Geldin smiled and Natalia found it odd considering her best friend looked psychotic at the moment.

  “I agree with you, young man. She’s ideal exactly as she is.” He stepped closer to Natalia and lifted her chin. A long scar snaked behind her ear to her shoulder from the branch she’d landed on when she fell from a tree at twelve. “However, I can treat this if you like without any surgery at all. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes. I’d like that.”

  “Good! We agree! My nurse needs to do a small skin patch test to make sure the solution doesn’t bother your skin. It will take three visits, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Visit with your friend and you can get dressed. Leave the gown over your bra.”

  “Thank you, doctor.”

  “Ah! You look even prettier now than when you came in. This decision sits better on you, I’m thinking.”

  He left and closed the door. Hudson wore a suit and she remembered he closed on his second commercial property today.

  “Did you get the warehouse?”

  “I did.”

  “Everything went smoothly then?”

  “You will not risk your life for a man, Natalia. Do you not remember you almost bled to death when you got that cut? It didn’t even seem that bad when it happened but I thought you would die before I could get you to the hospital.”