Page 56 of Scarred Resolve

“What can I do for you today, Mister Everson?”

“You’re the lawyer handling the estate of Gordon and Marilyn Stainton.” Heath said it as a fact because it was. “I want to make a sizable donation to their estate to cover the costs of your work and their funerals.”

“Excuse me, but…” Frank paled.

Heath knew he had thrown off the man, but he was here to get this business done, not play games and pretend to be a potential new client any longer than he had to.

“First off, why do you know that or what happened to them? Second, why do you care?”

“I have my ways on the first question. Second, the reason why…” Heath sighed. “I heard of their unfortunate incident because I’ve been tangentially involved with catching the bear and relocating it from the area, so another incident doesn’t happen. Good friends of mine are currently working on it. Werewolves all over the country often help local, state, and federal agencies with these things because we’re able to track potentially dangerous animals faster and can safely handle them without much risk of injury. In addition to that, some of us with the means like to help the victims and their families. I want to help your late clients and their families by taking this unforeseen burden off them so they can grieve in peace.”

“Community service, huh?” Frank snorted in derision. “You werewolves will do anything for the press, won’t you?”

Heath smelled the underlying fear was tinged with hate. Frank had tried to make him feel weaker, and Heath had put him in his place. Some people didn’t appreciate learning they were not, in fact, the top of the food chain.

“I was hoping this donation could remain anonymous. I’ve come to you because it’s often easier to rely on the silence of a lawyer than anyone else, but if I need to do this another way, then I will. I would prefer not to disturb the families as they bury their loved ones, though, but I might have to. I would also probably have to tell them about why I had to disturb them when I tried talking to their lawyer first, and he couldn’t agree to simple terms of confidentiality or maintain a basic standard of professionalism.”

Heath could have slapped the man based on his expression. With a small smile, Heath sat very still, waiting to see if Frank would try to throw any other nonsense his way. The lawyer collected himself, not blowing up or losing his temper, which left Heath with a little hope they could get this done today.

“I agree that disturbing the family as a stranger would be… a less than optimal situation. I wouldn’t want that at all. We can handle this now, and I will let them know that certain things have been taken care of for them. I might have to use the donation to reimburse them for things they’ve already paid for. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course.” The family was probably already paying for certain things in advance even though the funeral, whatever it would be, wouldn’t be for a little while. The BSA held on to the bodies for some time to make sure all evidence of the supernatural was taken care of. In all cases, these situations were also forced to be closed casket funerals or cremation if that was wished by the deceased or their family. He didn’t want to get bogged down in those details. If this family could know they lost the couple by supernatural means, he would be more involved, but that wasn’t the case this time. He had to do this carefully.

“I can draw up some preliminary figures?—”

“Will one hundred thousand cover it all for both, or should I do one hundred thousand for each of the victims?” Heathasked, not wanting Frank to need to see him more than this once. He reached for his briefcase and started opening it. “I’ll do one hundred thousand for each victim. That will certainly cover everything.”

“And if there’s excess?” Frank asked, looking a touch shaken by the numbers Heath was throwing around so casually. “Or if it’s somehow not enough?”

“Excess will be placed in a trust with specific terms on what it is to be used for,” he answered, pulling out the documents he had brought. Teagan had done them all for him, having made these particular papers many times before. He placed them in the open spot on the desk in front of him, well within reach of Frank, who was realizing Heath had done this before. Every time he had to deal with a lawyer, they had one of these moments. Heath was always prepared when he was coming to a lawyer he didn’t know and couldn’t trust. He closed his briefcase quickly, not wanting anyone to see anything they shouldn’t. “If it’s not enough, well, that’s the risk of anonymous donations, but it should certainly lessen the burden significantly. One of my lawyers wrote these up. You can review them as much as you please.”

“Thank you…” Frank slid them closer and began reading and reviewing with a slow carefulness Heath could appreciate. Frank was going to miss his lunch break, though, if he continued to read that slowly.

Not my problem. I made sure to eat before coming here.

“They’re not signed by you,” Frank pointed out after some time.

“No, they aren’t. They’re signed by one of the several law firms that work with me on occasion.” It was Teagan’s firm, the side that worked with human clients. It would be a pain for a human to trace it back to a werewolf unless they had government assistance or deep pockets for a lawsuit of some sort. “They’llbe your contact from this point to handle the transferring of the money to the appropriate places. My job is done here. If you want to accept this donation on behalf of your clients and set this up for them, you can get in contact with that firm. The terms stated in those documents aren’t up for any negotiation. I’ll be staying in the area until it’s finalized or turned down.” Heath stood up. “That’s all I have. I’ll get out of your way.”

“Um… Let me?—”

“I know the way out,” Heath said, giving his most charming smile. “Please review those and, if you want, talk to your clients. Just keep my name and species out of that conversation.”

“And if I don’t?” Frank asked softly.

“Do you want to find out?” Heath asked, feeling the slight change in the air. His eyes weren’t human anymore, going from his grey-blue to the ice-blue that he had as a wolf. Which must have been terrifying since Heath hadn’t once stopped smiling. “Does it seem necessary to test me like that and potentially harm a well-meaning gesture to your clients for your own ego?”

There was a long silence. Heath was very clear. He didn’t bluff. He didn’t tolerate nonsense or bullshit. Since the start, he had made it clear he would push back on whatever Frank tried, and he did it intentionally. This lawyer could ruin himself for the sake of his own ego, and Heath would smile as he burned.

“Have a nice day, Mister Everson,” Frank said softly. “I’ll make sure this is a priority and gets finished so you can be on your way.”

“Thank you. I hope you have a nice day as well, Mister Moore,” Heath said, knowing he had won. He stepped out and closed Frank’s door behind him, then started the long walk back to the lobby alone, not looking at anyone once again, his eyes locked on his destination. He waved at the receptionist but said nothing and got nothing in return except a hard stare.

He left the office, then the building entirely, taking a deep breath once he was outside. The first thing he did was pull out his cell phone to check to see if Jabari or anyone had an update on Jacky, Davor, and Niko. When it appeared there were none, he called Landon. His son wouldn’t have an update he didn’t, but he knew Landon would want to hear from him.

“How was your meeting, Pa?” Landon asked quickly after answering.

“A hello would be nice,” Heath muttered, but his smile became more genuine at the sound of his son’s voice.

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