Page 7 of Hell or High Water

That wasn’t exactly something that was overlookable, but I didn’t say it. I’d get thedon’t fuck herlecture. I’d pictured an older version of the governor’s younger daughter, who was round with large front teeth and bright orange hair. Montana Carrigan was none of those things.

When the door had opened, I’d almost swallowed my fucking tongue. Thankfully, I’d gotten my composure and funneled the instant lust to anger. She wasn’t to be trusted, and I was saddled with making sure she kept her mouth shut and did as she’d promised.

“She doesn’t look like his other kid,” I muttered.

Linc let out a short chuckle. “Well, her momma was a stripper at the only elite club in North Louisiana. She doesn’t have all Baskin DNA.”

No shit. “Are we sure that paternity test is legit?”

Linc nodded. “Baskin had it done himself. He wanted to be certain.”

“Damn.”

“I’d hoped the last bullshit we had to handle because of his infidelity would be it. He swore he’d stop it before he was caught. Didn’t see a past offense coming back to haunt him.”

I let out a heavy sigh. This was going to be a long three months.

“So, what happens on Monday morning?” I asked him.

“She goes to school, gets registered,” he replied.

“Without a parent?”

“She’s nineteen, remember?”

Oh yeah. For someone who was supposed to be dumb, she had been sharp with the manipulation. I’d have admired it if it wasn’t us she was manipulating.

“I’m taking her to Madison High?”

He nodded.

“I’m going to call Doskins tomorrow and tell him she’s a friend of the family, staying here until graduation, because her mother just passed away,” he explained.

Barney Doskins was the principal at the high school and had been since Ransom, my older brother by three years, started his freshman year.

“And what do I do until then? Just stand around outside the cabin?”Bored out of my fucking mind.

Linc shrugged. “I didn’t have much time to think about that. I got the call from Baskin, then took the situation to Blaise. He said to do whatever we had to in order to shut her up. The only thing I could think was to give her what she was asking—three months with somewhere to live and help financially.”

“I don’t see why she didn’t just drop out and go work where her mother did.”

Linc nodded. He’d probably thought the same thing. It would have saved us the headache, and she’d make a fortune.

“Who knows? I’d say she’s worried about her education, but seeing as she’s a nineteen-year-old senior, I’m going to assume that’s not high on her priority list,” he said. “We have to watch her. Can’t trust her. It could be that she’s out for revenge. Baskin’s help might not be what she came for; she might be here to ruin his life. Her mother is dead. She probably blames him for never being around. Abandoning them. She’s young and hurting; she probably heard shit about him from her mother that made her hate him even more.”

If she was here for revenge, then this job was going to be harder than it already was.

“We need to get her phone tapped with a tracker on it,” he told me. “I’ll leave that to you. Get it done while she’s asleep tonight. We need to start recording all her calls and text messages. Go through what is already on there, too, and send me anything concerning.”

I nodded.

“As for what to do now, read a book,” he replied.

I frowned at him. “Read a book?”

He smirked. “Maybe you can convince her to let you have the remote to the television.”

“That’s inside.”

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