Page 111 of Wingwoman
I observed as Josh and the man mumbled back and forth, Owen looking around and nodding, Josh’s hands in his pockets, but he stood just as tall as I'd ever seen him.
"Yeah?" I asked. "But what doyoucall him?"
Rob looked at me, his eyes sharp and observant. "I'd say he's a bookie. And when he comes 'round? It ain't ever good."
Thirty-One
JOSH
I staredat Owen’s beady black eyes. The eyes of a vulture, picking meat off dead carcasses to survive.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I paid my dad’s debts off to Owen two years ago and pretty much disowned him after that…. if one evencoulddisown their father.
“You did,” he nodded slowly, his eyes trailing over my shoulder to where Hope was taking Cash in the house. “Haven’t seen you bring a girl around here in a long time.”
“What do you want, Owen?” I snarled.
There was a time I’d have called this man my friend.
But that was before he placed bets for my dad. Took him for all he was worth. Then came to me to settle the debt, threatening to take my father’s fingers one by one until every penny was paid back.
I hated my dad…
But I couldn’t let that shit happen, not even to my worst enemy.
Owen leveled me with a look. “You know what I’m here for, Josh.”
“Fuck,” I hissed and thrusted my hands into my damp hair. “What’s he owe this time?”
Owen and I went to high school together… and even back then, a bunch of us had called him The Bank of Owen in jest for years. He was a trust fund kid. Always had been. And even in high school if you needed a quick loan, he was your guy.
It wasn’t until my old man got in too deep that I realized just how ruthless he was.
“Half a million.” His voice dropped, low and rumbling, and harsh, all traces of friendliness gone.
My body went cold despite the sun beating down on us.
Half a million? My fucking father. I should leave him to dig himself out this time. Let Owen rip his goddamn fingernails out one by one. Maybe then he’d stop joining these high stakes poker games.
“I thought you weren’t going to work with him anymore, Owen? You promised me.”
Owen shrugged, zero remorse in his expression. “You know that old saying about the scorpion and the frog. But look, I’m not here to bust your balls, Josh. You and I go way back. I don’t want to lose your friendship.”
More like he didn’t want to lose the golden goose. “I think that ship has sailed.”
Owen sighed. “Your old man joined a game in Fort Worth that my partner was running. He showed up with over two hundred grand… cash. If I had been there, I woulda kicked him to the curb, I swear it.”
Which begged the question, where the fuck did Dad even get two hundred grand?
“Fine,” I snapped. “If you’re not here to bust my balls, then why are you here?”
“To renegotiate.”
I glanced around the stables, happy that Rob and the other ranch hands knew well enough to keep my horses away from this man. My eyes flicked to the gun holstered at his hip and a shiver rocked down my spine.
“I know you’ve got quite a bit of money squirreled away. Maybe paying off half a million is nothing to you. And if that’s how you want to do it, then fine. But trust me, I’m fucking sweeter than Strawberry Shortcake compared to my partner. He’ll turn this whole place into a glue factory if he doesn’t get his money. And soon.”
When I returned my gaze to him, Owen’s eyes had narrowed and his lips were pressed together. “Is this your idea of renegotiating?”
