Bobbie was barely able to curb the snappish words that hovered on the tip of her tongue. If she’d seemed like an easy mark before, her siblings were in for a big surprise this time around. Their expectations of compliance from her would bite them in their respective asses. She only needed to bide her time for a short while until they’d be implicated for an as yet unsubstantiated crime, then she’d cut them completely loose from her life.
Once the OPD conducted a thorough investigation of everything her brothers had their fingers in, past and present, Bobbie had no doubt they’d be going down.
“Don’t worry,” Bobbie managed, telling herself that eventually she’d have the upper hand. “He won’t be a problem.”
“Make sure of it,” Drew responded with a warning tone in his voice.
She wanted to ask, “or what”, but once again, she judiciously curbed her impulses.
Bobbie was done here; beyond ready to wrap things up. “Listen. I really need to get to work. Is there anything elseimportant you need to talk about?” She couldn’t help but pose the question, even if it did sound sarcastic as hell.
Drew reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so she looked right up into his eyes.
Fuck, that hurt.
“Yes. Remember how miserable we can make your life if we want to,” he warned. “A few ‘mistakes’ at your new apartment, and you’ll be evicted and back living with us where we can keep an eye on you. And we’re not having a dog in our house, so…”
That threat was left hanging, thank God, but Bobbie could read between the lines. Reyghan’s life would be at risk for a second time if her brothers got a hold of her. That was unacceptable.
Her scalp was on fire where he gripped her, but screw it.
She snarled up at him. “You touch my dog, and I swear that’ll be the final straw.” She went for the mother of all threats, which should make them think. “I’ll close up my business and leave. Do you hear me? No more catering company, no more easy money for you. I’ll pack up and go someplace so far away you’ll never find me. And who’ll subsidize your lazy-ass lives then? Huh?”
The words felt good, leaving her mouth.
Drew tightened his hold to the point where Bobbie couldn’t help but cry out, and his face turned even more ugly than usual as spittle flew from between his lips. “Don’t test me, cunt. You don’t know anything. I’ll win if you try to pull any of that shit, andyouwon’t like the consequences.”
He let go and she stumbled back, pins and needles stabbing into her head where he’d been holding her.
Bobbie would have liked getting in the last word, but she somehow managed to keep her mouth shut, spinning on her heel to head into her shop.
Boldly, as she approached the door, she flipped them off over her shoulder before ducking inside. She could only count onthe fact that once things unraveled, the pair wouldn’t be able to terrorize her any longer.
Closing the door behind her, she left out a long breath.Safe.
“Hey, Bobbie,” Melo’s cheerful voice greeted her from across the room “You’ve been gone a lon—” Mel stopped talking abruptly as Bobbie walked closer, her mouth falling open. “What the fuck happened to you?” she gasped.
Bobbie groaned. Her normally neat hair must be sticking up on one side. Perhaps there was even a mark on her face or arm where Drew had manhandled her. And of course, there were a few dried tears on her cheeks that Melo wouldn’t miss.
“My brothers,” she said quietly but succinctly, looking around to make sure everyone else was busy and not listening in. “They had a few things to say to me outside.”
Melo growled. “I wish I’d known. I would have gone out and given them a piece of my mind.” She whacked the big wooden spoon she was holding, against her leg, angrily.
Yeah.There was no love lost between Melo and her siblings.
“What did they want this time? More money?” she asked. “An advance again on their monthly extortion fee?” Melo snapped.
Bobbie sighed. The demand for dollars was constant, and there was no need to hide it from Melo. Her top employee and best friend was highly aware of all Bobbie’s financial circumstances.
“No. Not this time,” Bobbie was able to tell her. “This time they wanted to warn me off from seeing any more of Buck.”
“What?” Mel almost screeched. “Why?”
Right.Not keeping anything from Melo.
Bobbie partially filled her in. A heavier discussion, no doubt, needed to happen sooner rather than later.
“Well, first of all, they’ve never liked him. And I just found out that they actually…drove him off, fifteen years ago with some really bogus shit.” She lowered her voice to a whisper as a few ofher employees came out of the walk-in and set up at an adjoining work station.
