“But we do have him on video coming to the farm multiple times these past few months,” he countered. “I’m sure we could use that to our advantage, but that’s just the start. He’s got money, lawyers, that weasel charisma. We need to make sure he can’t slither out of this one.”
Lachlan leaned against the fridge, crossing his arms. “What are you thinking?” I asked, looking at him.
He grinned. “I’m thinking . . . something morepermanent.”
Later that night, Richard was leaving his sleek office in town, that eyesore of a building with all the glass. Lachlan had wanted me to stay home with Tony, but I didn’t want to stay at the house, and besides, I thought going and getting the bad guy together would make an excellent date night. Our last hurrah, and honestly it was pretty fitting, considering how we’d met.
Lachlan snatched him right before he got to his car, knocked his head, and Richard groaned and struggled only for a minute or two before he was limp in Lachlan’s hold. Something about that had me squirming my legs with how sexy his corded arm looked wrapped around someone's neck.Oh my god . . . I’m going crazy.
Lachlan tossed him in the back of the truck, tied up with rope and duct tape.
We made it back to the farm quickly. I didn’t say much at first, just held Richard’s phone up to his face. It unlocked with a little buzz.
“Thanks, Richard,” I said sweetly. He started yelling and groaning through the duct tape, but then Lachlan hit him again and he fell to the bed in a heap.
“I’m going to dig a hole. I’ll be back in half an hour. Call me if anything happens.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, and he smiled, giving me a quick kiss on the lips before heading off toward the heavy machinery.
I started with the emails. First, I wrote to Dick’s boss, giving notice that he was quitting and slipping in a few vague clues about the fire, just enough to turn up the blame on him after all the months of stirring up trouble for Lachlan.
He’d been tracking the farm because he’d wanted the land for a strip mall, and getting Lachlan’s property would’ve paid off handsomely for him. He’d also said some nasty things about me to his boss, assuming he’d been close to securing the deal before I’d shown up. He’d seen Lachlan’s past-due bills and thought persistence would make him cave, and it seemed I’d ruined his plans by helping Lachlan. What an asshole.
Next, the bank.
Did you know you could transfer money to a crypto wallet if you knew what you were doing and had a little patience? Richard’s face worked just fine for authentication. Facial ID: nature’s dumbest security system. Once the transaction went through, it would be irreversible.
I drained him dry.
Then I requested account closure, citing a desire to embrace “minimalist living.” All the while, Richard was weeping at the amount of money he’d just lost as if it mattered. As if he thought he was going to be leaving this place. He had wanted it so badly, so he’d get it, just not in the way he’d originally thought.
Meanwhile, Lachlan was back and made sure our video evidence was time-stamped and ready, just in case the cops showed up to ask us questions. We had Richard on tape constantly nagging Lachlan to sell the farm, not only on the porch camera but on the office one and some of the event ones as well.
Harassment? Check.
Arson? Check.
Bank fraud and suspicious transactions? Technically, also his fault now.
“Congratulations,” I said, holding the phone up to Richard. “You’re officially a criminal.”
“You can’t do this,” he mumbled through the tape, sweat pouring off him.
“Oh, honey,” I said, crouching to his eye level. “We already did.”
Lachlan smirked, dark and satisfied. “Having this will ensure they won’t be sniffing around us. The cops’ll be too busy chasing after you for everything you did, trying to figure out where you went. And we’ll move on with our lives.”
Richard tried to mumble something again, but it was too hard to make out. Lachlan ripped the tape from his face.
“You fucking idiots! I’ll get you for this! I have excellent attorneys—”
“It’s funny that you think you’ll be leaving this property,” Lachlan said to him in a calm voice that even scared me a little before he grabbed his ropes and started dragging him through the back door. All the while, Richard tried to kick and succeeded at screaming.
Lachlan dragged him to the side by side and tossed him into the back, and then hopped in the driver’s seat. I joined him on the passenger side, and that same dark glint was in his eyes, theone he’d had when he’d killed Santa. Was I a shit person for not being able to remember his name? Probably.
But Lachlan’s gaze did something to my insides. I knew he was a bad man in all the best ways and it didn’t matter. Did that make me just as bad as he was? Most likely. But over the time I had spent with him, I was also starting to realize that I didn’t care.
Lachlan took off into the woods down the trail, and after about ten minutes, he pulled up to the excavator and what looked to be an eight-foot hole he had dug. Damn, he’d meant business about Dick never leaving the property.
