She thought that she saw her daughter walking with that man again.She went to get her gun, thinking that she’d just take care of things now, but almost as soon as she got back to the window, they were both gone.All she needed was one shot, and she’d be able to get all that she needed.Damn her daughter for going against her in everything that she had wanted.
As she stood in the window looking for where Sen might have gone, she thought of all the ways that she was going to spend the money that she had.She knew that there had to be enough to get her someplace to stay, at least for a while.Debra was just thinking about the amount there might be when her head sort of buzzed a bit.
“It’s me, the monster you call me.Ivan Frazier.”She didn’t say anything but did look around for someone in the room with her.“I’m not there but safe and sound so that you can’t shoot either of us.”
“How are you doing this?I demand to know how you’re talking to me when you’re not around.”She looked under the bed and in the bathroom for the man but couldn’t find him.“What are you doing to me?”
“I’m not doing anything to you just yet.But you’ll be happy to know that as soon as tomorrow, Sen and I will be married, and the will is already made out.If anything happens to her, I get her money and home.And if something were to happen to me, then all her money would go to charity.You’ll get nothing.”She said that she’d see about that.“You go on thinking that and see where you end up after trying to kill us.”
“I won’t try, but I will kill you both.And anyone else who gets in my way.I have a gun now, and I’m not afraid to use it on you two.”She continued to look around the room, knowing on some level that he had to be in the room with her.He’d said that they had a connection, but she still didn’t know what that meant.“I want you to stop this nonsense and give me what I have coming.”
“That would be my pleasure.”She didn’t know why he thought that was funny, but his laughter got on her nerves.“I do believe that you’ll get everything you deserve but might not want.So long as you’re out of our lives, I can live with killing you myself.I told you that I was a wolf, and that alone should scare you into leaving us alone.I’m not one to fuck with.Nor is my family.”
“There’s a whole family of you monsters?Christ, what is this world coming to when people like you can run around free like you’re regular people?”She laughed to herself.“If I were to kill the lot of you, people might give me an award or something.Just to have you monsters out of our lives.I’m supposing that you’ll want to have children with my daughter.Not that it’s going to happen.You’ll be dead before that happens.”
“Yes, we plan on having children.That’ll make you a grandma, not that they’ll ever get to know you.I’m going to rip your throat out as soon as you make a move toward Sen.She’s my world, and I plan on protecting her with my life.”She told him it would come to that, but he’d be dead as well.“I don’t think so.I’ve got a connection to you now, and I can keep you from getting too close to us.I’m under the opinion that you’re just too stupid to know when you’ve lost and end up getting arrested before too much longer.I’d like to know that you’re in jail.No more looking over our shoulders every time you’re thinking of shooting us.”
“I’m going to enjoy you being dead, too.That way, I can get whatever my brother left to her.He shouldn’t have done that.He had to know that I’d not be happy with that.”Ivan, or whatever his name was, said that he did more than likely know, and that was why he’d taken precautions.“Like what?Was there more money than the ten grand that I got?I just knew it.The dirty bastard left her more than he gave me.I should have pulled the plug on him sooner had I known that.”
“Not that it would have changed things.He still would have left her what he did.”She asked him how much he’d left her.“None of your business.Suffice it to say she’s got enough to live on for the rest of her life.”
“I’ll find out.Mark my words, I’ll find out soon, and then you won’t have your little secrets around me.”She looked out the window again and saw the two of them.When they both turned and waved at her, she knew that she was going to have to kill them soon.They were going to deserve whatever she gave them, and that was going to be it.“I loathe you and my daughter.It’s going to give me such pleasure to kill you both.Something that I should have done the first time I saw you.”
Her gun was on the bed then, and she knew that if she went to get it, they’d be gone again.She had a feeling that they could make themselves disappear, like in those books that she’d heard about.Shifters were all kinds of magical, and she wished that he’d just die so that she could get on with her life.Damn, but she hated people nowadays.They did nothing but fuck up her life when she wanted things to go her way.
She watched them disappear inside of a car.He’d even made sure that Sen was in the car first and closed the door.Debra knew that he was just showing off; no one of his kind would treat someone like he was Sen unless he’d been raised by humans.Shifters didn’t act like that; they were all monsters.
“I’ll get you both.And when I do, I’m going to enjoy myself in rolling in the money that should have been mine.”Damn her brother for treating her this way.Had she known what he’d been up to,she might well have killed them both herself.Both of them deserved to die, and she was glad that they were gone.“When I get your money, Sen, I’m going to spend it all at one time.Perhaps I’ll buy myself something and burn it just knowing that you can’t have it.Bitch.”
~*~
Howard was nervous.He’d been around Serenity before.A lot, as a matter of fact, but this was the first time they were together when she knew what he was to her.As her dad, he didn’t know what she might expect of him.Not that it mattered, he was going to give her anything and everything she wanted if he could get it for her.
Standing up when she came into the room, he marveled at how beautiful she was again.But she practically glowed when she looked at the man with her.Ivan Fraizer had taken her heart, and he found that he was slightly jealous of the younger man.
“Mr.Bash.I’m glad to meet you finally.”They shook hands, and he was pleased that the man had a good handshake.“We wanted to let you know that we’re getting married in the morning at the courthouse, and if you’d like to be there, we’d welcome you with open arms.”
“Thank you, Ivan.I think I’ll take you up on that.I would love to be there when my daughter gets married.”He smiled then.“I’m going to pay for dinner for all of us since I saved so much money on the wedding.”They all laughed and agreed with him that he’d saved a bit of money.
“I’m just glad to know that you’re around.I had guessed that you were my father, but since I didn’t ask anyone, I never knew.”Serenity hugged him, and he felt good about that.“I’m going to call you Dad, as I’ve never said that to anyone before.I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.It does my heart good to be called dad by you.”He felt his eyes fill with tears and let them fall.He didn’t know what he was going to do today, but having her in his life now was going to be something that he would love for the rest of his days.“I’m glad to hear that you’ve found someone to love you.There is no other feeling like that in the world.”
“Did you love your wife?”He said that he had at first, but after ten years or so, they decided that they’d made a mistake in marrying.“Then my mom came along and ruined you for other women.She has that effect on people.Causing them harm enough that they don’t trust anyone anymore.I know she did that to me.”
“Your mother was a lot of things, but nice wasn’t one of them.”She had to agree, then told him about their encounter with her on their way here.“She’s got a gun now?That’s scary.I wouldn’t trust her with anything.So you be careful out there.I can’t lose you after getting you in my life after all this time.”
“I have a feeling that you’ve been some part of my life for all of mine.Isn’t that so?”He was embarrassed a little and told her that he’d been a part of everything that she’d done.“I’m thinking, too, that you had something to do with my job, too.I got picked out to take it over about fifty people who had more experience than I did.How well did you know the judge?”
“Smart girl on top of everything else, aren’t you?”He laughed.“The judge and I have been friends since your uncle introduced us.He’s also the one who got me out of trouble with your mother, too.I owe him a great deal.”
“He’s the reason that Ivan and I got to meet.He told his brother that I would need an attorney for the reading of the will, and I got to meet Ivan because of Devlin.I’m forever grateful for him telling me I needed help, too.I wouldn’t have been so calm about learning about my sudden wealth without him there.”Howard asked if she’d gotten everything.“I did, but for ten grand that went to my mother.As you can well imagine, she’s none too happy with me for her getting nothing.She knows nothing about the amount I got, but she wants it all.I’m afraid of her if you want to know the truth.”
“As you well should be.She’s dangerous.Not only that, but she’s selfish as well.And that combination alone is deadly to anyone who crosses her.”He decided that they’d spent enough time on Debra and changed the subject.“So, how are you finding being a wealthy young woman?I’m betting that you’ve not spent a dime of it, have you?”
“We bought a house.”That was news to him; he thought that she’d been left a home in the estateand asked her about it.“They did leave me their home, but I don’t care for it.It’s the kitchen for starters, and the memories about the house are too much.I love that they left it to me, but I want something that I’ll be able to make memories of my own in.Something that will be our forever home.If you know anything about the place, you know too what a maze it is.”
“They tried to make that work for them, but they just couldn’t get it right.I tried to get them to sell it; they could have well afforded a newer home, but they said that they were going to work on it until they died.I guess they did at that.However, they didn’t want to leave the house for someone else to be upset about, and that’s why they stayed there.Even the additions to the house didn’t improve it all that much.”She asked him if they’d really disliked the house.“Oh, for sure.And when we talked about it, we said how they hoped you’d sell it and get something more for yourself.I think they’d be pleased with your decisions and getting a new home.”
