“Never mind my grandfather, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Sebastian hissed, then jumped when his phone began to ring in his pocket. “Crap, it’s him, we’d better go outside so I can take this.”
“Hey, Grandpa,” Sebastian answered when he connected the call. “How are you this morning?”
“Never mind about that,” the old man growled. “How wasbreakfast? Did you talk to Taylor? When is he coming to see me?”
“I’m afraid it didn’t go too well, Taylor doesn’t want anything to do with us,” Sebastian lied. “I offered him everything you told me to, but he just laughed in my face and called me a bunch of names. I know how important this is to you, but…”
“This isn’t just important, this is critical,” his grandfather interrupted. “You and Taylor are all that’s left. The Marbury line will end with the two of you, and I can’t have that happen. This family has always been the heart and soul of the clan. We’ve ruled for generations, and I won’t let our legacy die away. I want you to convince Taylor to come home, he belongs here with us, not with the Barrington’s, I’m counting on you, Sebastian, do this for me.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll try again,” Sebastian said, then disconnected the call.
He looked over at Mack, who was staring at him open-mouthed. “Stop looking at me like that, he’s just a stupid old man,” he growled. “Does he really think I’m going to share everything with that bastard? Where has he been all these years while I’ve been putting up with all of those old man’s demands? The clan is mine and mine alone. Someday I’ll be the alpha and I’m not sharing my power with anyone.”
“But your grandfather…” Mack started to protest, but let the words trail away. “Are you sure…”
“Are you questioning me? Are you challenging me?” Sebastian growled. “I wouldn’t do that if I was you.”
“No, no, not at all,” Mack whined. “You’re in charge, Sebastian, and you always will be.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Sebastian said, then slapped Mack on the back of the head. “Come on, let’s go, we have some planning to do, Taylor is going down, and I’m going to enjoy watching it happen.”
***Emily***
Emily rehearsed her story one more time in her mind as she ran across the parking lot toward Taylor. “Are you okay?” she asked when she got to him. “I can’t believe they did this to you.”
“Emily, what are you doing here?” he asked, clearly surprised to see her.
“I stopped by the house to drop off some notes you left behind last night, they’d just taken you away and everyone was freaking out,” she said. “I volunteered to come down. I still have a few contacts in the department, I thought I might be able to help, but your lawyer beat me down here.”
“They think I committed those robberies,” he said with a sigh. “I’m completely innocent, but they won’t listen to me. Mr. Anderson finally got through to them, but I think they’re going to keep pushing.”
“They think you took all that stuff,” she said, trying to act confused. “Why?”
“The thief was wearing my jacket,” he said. “It disappeared from my room a few days ago.”
She was silent for a second. “Why would someone do that?” she finally asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I think it’s Sebastian, I think he’s trying to mess with me,” Taylor said. “I don’t know why, but it’s the only thing I can think of to explain why someone wearing my jacket is intentionally ending up on the security cameras.”
“Can’t you see his face?” she asked. “That would clear everything up.”
Taylor shook his head. “He was very careful not to look at the cameras,” he said. “You can see just about everything but his face.”
“It shouldn’t matter anyway, you were at work thosenights, weren’t you?” she asked. “That should be enough of an alibi.”
Taylor got a funny look on his face. “Yeah, I’m sure someone will vouch for me,” he said, his voice a little strange. “I mean it shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll just have to ask around or something.”
There was something off about his answer, but before she could figure out what it was, Taylor’s lawyer interrupted them. “Taylor, I need to get going. You shouldn’t have any more trouble for now, but I want you to call me if they try to contact you again,” he said. “This is bordering on harassment, and I won’t stand for it.”
“Thank you for everything you did,” Taylor said, shaking the man’s hand. I don’t think this is over yet; I may call you sooner than you think.”
When they were alone, she looked up at Taylor, saw the anger in his eyes, and realized that he was thinking about doing something stupid. “Taylor, what are you planning to do?” she asked, putting her hand on his arm. “You need to let the police handle this. Did you tell them about Sebastian?”
“What was I going to tell them?” he asked. “We’ve only talked to each other twice, neither was a pleasant experience, but he didn’t do or say anything threatening either time. There was nothing to tell them, but I do think it’s time my cousin and I had a little talk.”
She still didn’t like the look in his eyes. “Maybe you should cool down just a little before you do that. You have every right to be furious, but going over there angry might be a mistake,” she said. “Let me drive you home. Everyone is probably worrying about you. Sebastian can wait for a few hours; he’s not going anywhere.”
Taylor looked like he was going to argue at first, then he let out a long sigh. “You’re probably right, but that doesn’tmean I have to like it,” he said. “I was looking forward to punching that jerk in the face.”
