Page 21 of Stalker's Pet

I pull up to the entrance of her parents’ house and go to the front door. What I feel like doing is kicking it in and throwing her over my shoulder like the caveman she claims I am. Instead, I try to keep my cool as I ring the bell and wait. There’s no need to use a chainsaw when a butter knife will do.

The door opens, and Tinsley’s stepmother Anne is standing there with a confused expression. “May I help you?”

When I did my prior research on this family, I discovered that Anne’s first husband was almost forty years older than her and she was his fifth wife. Lucky for Anne, she got pregnant right away with their daughter Willow. Although she was still married to him when he died, he left the bulk of his money to his first wives and their children. Willow was left a small sum, but they burned through that almost immediately. Once the money was gone, Anne didn’t waste any time convincing Ruben Moore, a former business partner of her late husband, to walk down the aisle. She’s nothing if not pragmatic.

“I’d like to speak with your husband,” I say, and I watch her eyes narrow suspiciously. I’m guessing Anne learned from her mistakes the first time, and she’s got her hands deep in Ruben’s business.

“He’s in the lounge. Follow me.”

She leads me through a lavish entrance and toward the back of the house. When she opens the double wooden doors, I see Ruben Moore on the far side of the room with a glass of wine in his hand. He’s staring out the window and not looking in our direction as he speaks.

“Maybe I shouldn’t force her to?—”

“There’s someone here to see you.” Anne cuts off whatever he was about to say.

Ruben turns around, and when he looks at me there’s no recognition. If I’m good at my job, the people I’m hired to kill never see me coming. And as it turns out, I’m very, very good at what I do.

“My name is Callum Moore. You don’t know me, but I’m here about Tinsley.”

Anne doesn’t leave the room but instead goes over to the bar and pours herself a glass of wine without offering me one. I’m not bothered by it because I don’t plan on staying long.

“What’s she done now?” Ruben huffs in irritation.

“It’s not what she’s done, it’s what I’m going to do.” I tuck my hands in my pockets to appear casual, but I’m far from it. “I’m here as a courtesy so we don’t have to get the authorities involved.”

Ruben blinks and then looks at Anne, who shrugs. “And what is it you think you can do?” He almost laughs like this is a joke.

“I’m taking your daughter.” I look him dead in the eyes as I say it, and the laughter dies on his lips. “She’s going to walk out the front door, and you’re not going to stand in her way.”

“Good riddance,” Anne snips, but Ruben cuts his eyes at her.

“Be quiet,” he hisses at her before turning his glare on me. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you have no right to come into my home and threaten me and my family.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You see, I’ve fallen in love with Tinsley, which means it’s my job to protect her. I have every right to keep her from harm, which coincidentally includes you.”

Ruben can’t seem to keep up as he makes sounds but doesn’t form actual words.

“I know about your deals with Anne’s late husband.”

They look at each other, and Ruben shakes his head in denial. “I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

“Then allow me to remind you. You and your partner were planning a hostile takeover of Global Investments. The sale would have made your stockholders rich beyond their wildest dreams. What they weren’t aware of was that Global was laundering your dirty money. The company was a front to hide the money you and your partner made from selling illegal arms to foreign governments.”

Ruben pales. “What?”

“The CIA were the ones that provided me with this information.” I decide to leave off the part where I was hired to kill him. “Fortunately for you, your partner died and the deal collapsed.”

“Is he telling the truth?” Anne asks her husband, but I’m not convinced she wasn’t aware of at least some of it.

“No,” Ruben denies, and I roll my eyes. “It’s all a lie.”

I’m sick of playing nice, and I’m not doing it anymore. “This conversation was a courtesy I will not extend a second time. Tinsley is no longer under your control, and that includes trying to set her up with Carl Ray.” Before either of them can respond, I hold up a finger. “Who, incidentally, is upstairs right now fucking your other daughter, Willow.”

“What?” Ruben shouts.

Anne doesn’t look the least bit shocked as she takes a sip of wine. If I had to guess, she’s the one that pointed him to her bedroom. Ruben seems genuinely dumbstruck at what is going on right under his nose.

“Oh, then I guess you don't know that it was Anne who engineered Carl running out of the restaurant the other night.” I smile at Anne, who scowls, and that’s all the confirmation I need. “Your wife sent an email from your computer saying you needed Carl to go to the office immediately. Anne then told Willow to go to the office and make up an excuse about it being a mistake.”

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