“What do you think about you being my mate for all time?”She told him that she had to think about that.It seemed like a big deal.“It is for us both.You’ll get some magic too.I don’t know whatkind.You should be able to dress yourself with just a thought.I can do that now as well.”
“When you shift, are you naked?”He said that he used to be before she came along.“Well, good for you.And me.I’m not ready to see you naked just yet.Where do you live?”
“I have a condo that’s not far from here.I used to live in the same complex as Ayden did.They’ve all found themselves houses now and have left me there.The only one left is Devlin.But we don’t live on the same end as each other.”She said that he knew where she lived, and it was just temporary.“Yes, you live in your new home starting tomorrow.Have you been in it since they passed away?”
“I’ve not been in it since Christmas, when we were all there for the holiday.Well me and some of their friends.My mother decided that she had better things to do than to hang out with her brother and his wife.They never got along all that well.I’m sure nothing much has changed with it in the last couple of months.I have to clean it up, I suppose, but that’ll be easy.I think they had someone come in and clean for them once or twice a week when they were still alive.”He asked her if she was going to keep the staff.“I’ve not decided.I’ve only ever been in the living room and kitchen of the place, but I don’t think it’s all that big.I know that it had two bedrooms in it at the time when I was a child.But as they were always having it tinkered with, I have no idea what I’m getting from them.I know that I’ll appreciate it for all time.I miss them.”
“I bet you do.”They talked about her aunt and uncle while Devlin took a phone call.As he walked away, the two of them seemed to be getting along nicely, and he wanted his brother to go away.He’d not tell him that; he didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but he wanted to get to know his new mate.“How about your mother?I’m to understand that you’re expecting trouble from her.Is that right?”
“Yes.I don’t know what sort of trouble, but I know that if she finds out about how much money I got from the estate, she’ll hurt me.She might try something more with me, but I just don’t know.”He asked if she’d been violent before.“Not physically, not since I left home the first time.”
“So she’d hit you before.That’s not good.I mean, as the years have gone by, has she threatened you in any way that you should take her seriously about?”She said she just didn’t know; there had never been this money between them before.“And you’re sure she’s going to find out about it.Even though you won’t tell her.”
“Yes, simply because I don’t want her to know.And she’ll make a big deal about it and be pissed off with me.I’ve never been afraid of her before, but now all I can think about is what lengths she’ll go to in order to harm me.And she will too when she finds out.”He said that he’d keep her safe.“You can’t be around me all the time, Ivan.You have a business to run, just as I do with my job.I can’t allow you to be hurt because of her.”
“I promise you I’ll be there when you need me.”She told him that was a big promise.“It is, and one that I plan on keeping too.”
Devlin came back and said that he had an emergency to attend to.When he left them there, he realized that he didn’t have a ride back home.Shaking his head at his brother, he told Sen that he’d figure something out for them, but they could start walking.
“It’s not all that far, and we can talk while we walk.It’s supposed to be in the upper seventies tomorrow, so it might be warm enough for us tonight.”As soon as they left the restaurant, they realized two things.It was too cold to walk home, and her place was a lot closer than his was.“We can walk to your place, and I can call someone to come and get me.If that’s all right with you.”
“That’s fine.I have a car.I can take you home.It won’t be any trouble at all.”She bundled up tighter and laughed.“I thought that we’d be having warmer nights by now.I never dreamed it would be this cold when we left my apartment.”
“I should have driven myself.”His brother reached out to him just as he was putting his gloves on.“You left us stranded, dumbass.”They both laughed, and he said he was coming back to get them now.“Don’t do that.I’m headed to her place now, and she’s going to take me home.It’s cold, but we should be all right.”
“I’m so sorry.As soon as I got the call, I should have thought about how I’d driven.I don’t know where my head was.”He said that he was a good attorney and that’s all he had thought of.“I guess so.If you promiseyou’ll both be all right, I’m going to head to Lica’s place.They have a meeting in the morning about some guy who wants to merge his business with one of Brandy’s.I don’t think they’re going to go for it, but I don’t know.”
“We’ll be fine.Also, I wanted to tell you thanks for setting me up.I couldn’t be happier.”His brother said he was glad that he really liked Sen.“She’s something else, but I think she’s more worried about her mom than she wants to let on.I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I get back home and warm up.”
After closing the connection, he told Sen what his brother had said.He left out the part of her being afraid of her mother, but he did want to know what could be done about her.They talked all the way to her apartment, and he was glad that she invited him in.He was a frozen wolf popsicle.
~*~
Debra didn’t like that her daughter was keeping secrets from her, like the will-reading thing.She knew there had to be more to it than going over some paperwork.The house alone was worth more than she’d gotten in cash.She wanted her fair share, and Sen was going to be forking it over to her or she’d have to get even with her.
The house that she was living in had been a settlement between her and Sen’s father.He said he’d keep her in a house so long as she lived for her not telling his wife that he’d had a one-night stand with her.It was working out well for her, but she wanted something more.It had been twenty-five years since Sen had been born, and it was about time that they talked again.She didn’t think that he was smart enough to go against her, and while the house was nice and she didn’t have to mess with things like paying taxes, she wanted something new.Something bigger than her daughter had.It was only fair.
She was sick of reminding people that he was her brother.By now, they should have understood that she should be the one who inherited everything and not her dumbass daughter.Sen wasn’t smart enough to do anything right, and she’d always known that.She wanted what was rightfully hers, and that should have been everything.
Going to the bank, she decided that Sen would have been opening an account with whatever she got that she’d not.Standing in line wasn’t something that she enjoyed and no matter how much she said loud enough for the person in front of her to hear, they wouldn’t switch places with her.It was just a fucking question she had, and they were making it so that she didn’t get the answers that she needed.
When she finally got up to the counter, the woman smiled at her.Trying her best not to be in a bad mood, she smiled back.After telling her that she wanted to get into her account, the woman seemed willing to help.Then she asked for identification.
“Well, it’s my daughter’s account.She lets me borrow from it on occasion.Just tell me how much is in the account, and I’ll let you know how much I want to take out.Daughters are so nice to have around, aren’t they?”The woman clicked on the keyboard and then looked at her.“Can’t you find it?She had an account in here before.I just assumed that she’d put her money back in this bank.You see, my brother died, and I was to get the money, but she put it in her account.I just want what is coming to me.”
“You want to borrow from it, or you want to take from it.That’s a big difference.But it doesn’t matter really.Without proper identification, I can’t let you into her account.”She explained that she was her mother.“And I understand that.You told me, but you’re not on the account, so I can’t allow you to take anything from the account.”
“Well, the least you can do is tell me how much is in the account.You made me wait in line all this time.I tell you that Sen is going to be upset because I couldn’t get into her banking account.”She said that without proper identification, she wasn’t getting any information.“Let me speak to your boss.I know that you have rules, but if I can speak to him, he’ll let me into the account.I’ve gotten into her accounts before, and nobody put up a fuss about it.Just tell me the amount in it, and I’ll be able to tell if she got money from my own brother’s estate or not.”
“I can’t do that.The bank manager isn’t going to allow you into her account either.There are notes on the account that tells that if anyone allows you into her account, even to know the amount, they will be sued.I don’t need that kind of trouble going on with my life right now.”She said that itwould be just between the two of them.“I don’t think so.I’m not even going to tell you that she has any accounts here.”
“You already did that.What’s one more bit of information?Come on.Just between us.”The girl was signaling to have someone come to the window, and she turned to see that the security guard was coming toward them with his hand on his gun.“Are you kidding me right now?I just want the amount of the account.I don’t know why you’re calling the security cop over right now.”
“Ma’am, is there a problem?”After explaining to the cop what she wouldn’t do for her, Debra was asked to leave.“You’re causing trouble in the bank, and that’s never good.You should see your way out before I have to call in backup.We don’t want any trouble around here.”
“It’s my brother’s estate.I just know she’s gotten more money than I did.She already got his house and all the crap he had in it.Cindy never did have a lick of decorating sense, and it shows throughout the house.Damn it, just tell me how much money she has in her account.That’s all I wanted.”She was being stared at, and she hated that.It wouldn’t have been so bad if it were just a couple, but the entire bank was filled with people, some of them even had their phones out recording her.“Damn it, stop recording me.I demand that you stop that right now.It’s my brother’s estate, and I deserve it more than my stupid daughter does.”
Debra found herself outside on the sidewalk after being dragged out of the building.She had lost her shoe.So when it was tossed out at her, she picked it up and was ready to throw it back at the man when she realized that people had come outside and were filming her still.
