Page 44 of Waiting Game

“He’s the cheater. Not her,” is my fierce retort.

My elder brother claps me on the shoulder. “You’re preaching to the choir, Cole. Whatever game he’s playing, I need your help in protecting Callan. I won’t have him cut out of his birthright.”

“Youreallythink that’s what this is about?”

“I do.”

“You could always give him his cut after the old bastard croaks it.”

“Sure, I can. If push comes to shove, that’s what I’ll do. But if we’re not careful, he could fuck with everything. Make it so that I can’t. I know he’s been talking with lawyers in Ottawa. Expensive ones. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You saw the bills?”

He nods. “It’s been weird around here.”

We start down the hallway again.

“What do you mean?”

“Water’s low.”

“Water’s always low,” I dismiss.

It’s his turn to drag me to a halt. “Never been as low as this, Cole. It’s looking bad. We have the money of ten kings, but we can’t do dick if we don’t have any water.”

My brow puckers. “What’s the solution?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But you always know what to do.” I can’t help that my voice sounds panicked. Colt is our problem-solver.

Our fixer.

If he doesn’t know what to do, then we’re fucked.

He scrapes a hand over his jaw. “You seen Susanne McAllister recently?”

My brow furrows at the change of topic—the McAllisters are our family’s arch-nemeses and have been for centuries. “No. Jersey’s a big place, Colt. It’s not as if we hang out with the same crowd. She’s a lawyer, isn’t she?”

There’s a strange gleam in his eye as he corrects, “Paralegal.”

“Is the old bitch still alive and kicking?”

“Yup. About as friendly as poison ivy.”

That about sums up Juliette McAllister, the Bar 9 matriarch and Susanne’s grandmother.

Still confused and somewhat annoyed, I challenge, “Why do you care about Susanne McAllister anyway? She’s the one who set fire to our goddamn stables.”

I haven’t thought about the fire in years, but I’ve mentioned it twice now in as many days.

He rubs the back of his neck. “I told you she didn’t do it.”

“I know what I saw!”

“You were a kid. Hopped up on adrenaline and fear.” He releases a long sigh. “Never mind, Cole. Let’s get this over with.”

CHAPTER 10

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