by Alina Jacobs
“You want to ride together to the Svensson Investment meeting?” Weston asked me after lunch.
“Absolutely not,” I replied, grabbing my keys.
“How is Meg’s financial resolution coming?” I asked Blade when I walked into the Svensson Investment office.
My brothers were seated around the large conference table on the eighty-fifth floor of the Svensson Investment tower in Manhattan. If it hadn’t been for my father dumping my little brothers off at Harrogate for me to clean up and civilize, I would have had an office at the top of the Svensson Investment tower. I would be the top dog billionaire in Manhattan. Instead, I was fielding insane email messages from small-town kooks and telling my younger brothers for the thousandth time that no, they could not eat that slug they found in the yard, or pile their mattresses out of the window and jump on them, or skip showering for weeks on end.
It was never-ending. My father was never going to stop. This was the rest of my life. It would be bearable if Meg were in it, but she wouldn’t even fucking talk to me.
“You better get on it,” Weston said to Blade. “Hunter is in a state.”
“Hunter’s always in a state,” Beck said.
“No one asked your opinion,” I snarled at my half brother.
Beck raised an eyebrow.
“So, how is Meg’s financial situation?” he asked Blade. “Quantum Cyber hasn’t received any alerts of new loans being taken out in her name.”
“Let me check,” Blade said, typing something into his computer. “The banks have all received the police report, but they are still conducting their investigation. They’re all slow right now. I wouldn’t expect the debt to start clearing until later next month.”
“I can’t wait that long.” I paced in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass window.
“Do you have plans?” Greg asked acerbically. “You need to be concerned about winning that election. I have money riding on development in Harrogate.”
“Not in the greenbelt,” Garrett warned him. “Meg will dump Hunter if that happens.”
“It would be after she signs for our sisters,” Greg said. “After that, it doesn’t matter.”
We were silent for a moment.
“No word from Crawford?”
“Hopefully, he fell into a vortex, and we’ll never hear from him again,” Greg said in a clipped tone. “I have other things to do. Blade, can you pull up the presentation? Blade?”
My brother was staring at his screen, concern etched on his face.
“What is it?” Garrett asked.
“Er, uh, nothing,” Blade said, hastily shut his computer, realized he was supposed to be giving a presentation, then opened it again.
Greg and I went around the table to his computer.
“Stop trying to hide things from me,” Greg warned. “I am in no mood.”
“It’s nothing,” Blade insisted. His eyes flicked to Garrett.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Garrett added. “Blade, the presentation.”
“What is going on?” Greg demanded.
“Now you need to calm down, Greg,” Garrett said.
“It’s Belle, isn’t it?” Greg’s fists were clenched at his side. My half brother had our father’s temper. I started to grow concerned for Blade. Greg didn’t often lose it, but when he did, the fallout was nuclear.
“Belle is currently working on developing that property that she stole from you,” Garrett said. “Blade, the presentation?”
“What did you do?”
“She’ll be fine,” Blade said nervously.
Greg was going to go berserk. “Blade.”
He blew out a breath. “I have Dad’s email account monitored,” he explained. “He sent an email a few hours ago to one of his lackeys with information about Belle and how she had tricked her way into the compound. He told his lackey to pull the trigger while he cleans everything else up.”
“I need to find her. And I swear to God, you two,” Greg said to Garrett and Blade, “if anything happens to her, I will skin you.”
The door to the conference room slammed after he left.
“Surely Dad isn’t going after Belle,” Mace said.
“The Frost brothers are going to flip their shit if anything happens to their sister,” Beck said, shaking his head.
“I’m not worried about them,” I said brusquely, running through scenarios of what Dad could possibly be up to.
“You should be worried about Owen,” Beck said seriously.
“Then I guess you better not tell him.” He and I stared at each other.
“Is there any word of him coming to Manhattan?” I asked Blade.
“Where was the message sent from?” Weston added.
“It was sent from New Mexico.”
“So not anywhere near here.”
“But that means he’s on the move,” Garrett said. “He could be visiting another cult down there.”
“We can’t do anything but monitor the situation,” I said finally. “We’ll keep an eye out for him.”
“He’d be crazy to turn up in Manhattan,” Mace said in concern. “Surely.”
“Our father has randomly appeared in New York before,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but that was Parker’s fault,” Archer reminded us. “Leif is not just going to show up for no reason.”
“He’s not stupid,” Beck said. “He can’t think he’s going to somehow, what, kidnap Belle Frost? She’s like six feet tall and solid muscle.”
“I bet he knows that Blade is onto him, and he’s trying to throw us off the scent,” Archer declared. “He’s distracting us. He wants us to concentrate on Manhattan and not whatever he’s doing in New Mexico.”
“Well, there are tons of us,” Mace declared. “So we’re watching both.”
“Except for Hunter,” Garrett said. “He has a debate to win.”
67
Meghan
I hadn’t been able to concentrate on the debate prep because Hunter kept texting me.
“You are supposed to be keeping him off-balance, not the other way around,” Kate reminded me. “This is the final debate before the election. It’s the most important one. This could make or break you.”
“I know,” I groaned.
“Let’s try this again. What’s your plan for the housing crisis?”
“Well, I mean, it’s not that dire…”
“Wrong answer!” Kate yelled, blaring an air horn at me “You need to make it sound like there are people sleeping in the train station, and they have nowhere to live.”
My phone went off; it was another message from Hunter.
“Is he sending you nudie photos to try and throw you off?” Kate demanded, trying to grab for the phone.
“Lemme see!” Susie said around the doughnut she was eating.
“You’re a police officer!”
She shrugged. “I like naked men.”
I peeked at the message. “It’s not a sext. It’s worse.”
“Is it like a full-frontal dick pic?”
“No, he’s sending me houses he wants us to move into.”
Susie grabbed the phone. “That is a nice house!”
“This is all happening so fast,” I said. My stomach churned. “It feels like he’s railroading me or something.”
“It’s not that weird,” Kate assured me. “You’re being paranoid and crazy.”
“It’s the election,” Susie said. “After you win, you’re going to be glad Hunter wants to build a life with you.”
“Also,” Kate added, “you two have known each other for years and years. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry met each other at a bar, and then, like, three months later, they were engaged. You look rational and conservative by comparison.”
“Besides,” Susie said, “you’ve seen what Hunter is like; you’ve interacted with him in multiple scenarios. It’s not like he’s really going to pop up with any big reveals, like he has a secret family or something somewhere. I mean, yeah, you
have nitpicky things you don’t like about him, but you have to accept people as they are.”
“Right.” Kate nodded. “You can’t have a laundry list of things that are deal breakers. You can have one or two items.”
I stuffed two of Susie’s doughnut holes in my mouth. The whole situation had me stress eating like crazy.
“Hunter’s issues don’t fall under the important deal breakers like abusive or crazy or chews with his mouth open or doesn’t shower,” Kate added. “Also, he’s good with money. Your entire life you’ve been fucked over by men who are bad with money—your great uncle and your dad screwed you over too. If you’re with Hunter, you won’t be homeless.”
“Seems like a very low bar,” I said, making a face.
“If you wait any longer to get married,” Susie reminded me, stealing her cup of doughnut holes back, “you’re going to be past the point where it’s cute to have a big wedding. You’re going to have to go down to the courthouse then out for brunch after.”
“There’s nothing wrong with brunch!” I protested.
“No, brunch is amazing, but don’t you want a big wedding?” Kate pleaded. “Do it for your friends! You know I love weddings!”
“He hasn’t even proposed.”
“He will,” Susie said. “He’s been waiting for this moment forever.”
“Don’t burn your bridges until after the election,” Kate coached.
It was late when my friends left. The doughnut holes had done little to help my stress levels. What was worse was that I had no food in my apartment. I contemplated the almost empty refrigerator.
Are you sure you are qualified to be a wife? Hunter would surely expect dinner at the end of the day. You only have half a bottle of cheap wine in your fridge.
My stomach rumbled, either because I was hungry or stressed. Same thing. I could not sleep hungry, and I needed my sleep.
“Kate’s right,” I told myself as I drank the rest of the wine and scrolled through the delivery app for something tasty. “You’re worried about the election. You’re not sleeping well. You obviously aren’t eating healthy. Once you win the election, all your anxieties will go away.”
But that didn’t help me now. What would, though? Corn dogs and onion rings.
“Fifteen dollars for the delivery fee?” I huffed as the app gave me the cost estimate. “I’m not spending that much; this place is right down the street.”
I was slightly too tipsy to walk, but I was not paying fifteen dollars, and now that I had decided I wanted a corn dog, I wasn’t going to be able to sleep without it.
“If you walk to pick up takeout,” I told myself as I put on my shoes, “you cancel out all the calories.”
The streets were fairly quiet as I slipped out of the front door of the apartment building. That was another thing I was stressed about—I only had a little over a week left until I had to move back out. Where was I going to live? My sister’s? Hazel had a small apartment over her bistro, but with Minnie and Rose already living there, it was packed.
Meg: Hazel, can I come move in with you next week???
Hazel: *Sigh* I mean, I guess. You’ll have to sleep on the floor.
Meg: Just until I detangle our finances.
Hazel: Archer said Hunter was doing that.
Meg: I’m not relying on men anymore when it comes to money.
Hazel: Then I guess we’re all going to Little House on the Prairie it. Maybe I’ll buy a bigger mattress, and we can all sleep together like pioneers.
Meg: You’re so dramatic.
Hazel: It’s not like I’ve been getting cockblocked or anything the past month *eyeroll.*
Meg: Doesn’t Archer own a whole chain of super-duper fancy hotels? I’m sure you’re fine.
Hazel: It’s not the same. I have to get dressed and put on a bra.
“Meg!” a man called from across the street, I peered in the dark, recognizing the bushy beard and broad shoulders.
“Oh, hey, Remy,” I called. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”
The tall blond man looked at me oddly and crossed the street. But when he stepped into the streetlamp light, I realized that he was not actually Remy.
“Aren’t you…” I took a step back. “Aren’t you Hunter’s dad?”
Leif Svensson chuckled from under his beard. “I’m flattered a beautiful woman like you remembers me.”
I still had my phone in my hand. Did I need to call the police?
“Let’s not make any rash decisions,” he said softly. I took another step back, preparing to turn and run.
“Don’t leave yet, not until you’ve had a chance to hear me out.” His voice had a sharp edge.
“I don’t think I can help you,” I said, trying to figure out how to make a swift exit. Hunter rarely talked about his father, and when he did, his whole demeanor changed, and he turned angry and hateful.
“But I came all this way to see you,” he replied.
“Why?” I need to get out of here.
“Because—” He smirked. “I heard that you need help beating my son in the election.”
I froze. “The election?”
Leif nodded, eyes glittering. “Hunter’s going to beat you unless you pull one over on him first. He has you outspent, outmanned. And you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I know my son. He is exactly like me. Hunter will surely have a stack of dirty information on you he could release at the last minute to sink you or outright blackmail you.”
I chewed on my lip. That was exactly what I had been worried about. But could I trust Hunter’s father? “I don’t know…”
“It’s good information,” Leif cajoled. “It will sink him immediately. You will be mayor. You’re not going to win without my help. You know that.”
“I-I…” I needed to win. But I didn’t trust Leif, though part of me also didn’t trust Hunter. However, there was no way I was going to work with his father.
“Don’t say no just yet,” Leif crooned. “I’ll be around. Think about it.” He smiled at me. It was chilling. Then he slipped back into the shadows.
I rubbed my arms. I needed to tell Hunter. But then… Hunter hadn’t been telling me things that were vitally important to my life. Why should I tell him about Leif? You shouldn’t tell him, because what if you do end up needing that information?
But that was against the rules of a fair election fight. And where has following the rules gotten you? You’re broke, homeless, and almost jobless. You have to fight fire with fire.
No! Hunter had said he loved me. He wouldn’t blackmail me, right?
But if he does? the rational part of my brain whispered. You need to have a way to fight back.
68
Hunter
I dodged a man walking a ferret who yelled at me when I almost tripped over the leash.
“Fuck this place.”
Ever since leaving Manhattan for Harrogate, I had always longed to move back to the city. But lately, when I returned for meetings, the allure of the city had faded. It was nothing but looming skyscrapers that darkened the streets, narrow, cracked sidewalks, noisy traffic, and hardly a lick of greenery.
All I wanted was to go back to Harrogate and back to Meg. She hadn’t said if she had liked any of the houses I had sent her. I wasn’t even sure how that would work. Who would take care of my brothers if she and I moved in together? Who would take care of her sisters? It was obvious that they could not all live in the same house.
I opened the door to Cicely’s Sandwich Shop and pushed my way into the lunch crowd. I had first met Meg here years ago. I grinned at the memory. She had been so incensed when I had found a way to skip the line.
The cashier waved me up to the counter.
“I’d like a prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella sandwich with pesto aioli. Two of them, please.” I swiped my card and moved to the side of the shop to wait.
“Funny. We ordered the same sandwich!”
I looked down. “I didn’t know yo
u were going to the city today, Karen,” I said to my campaign manager.
“I had some business to take care of,” she replied. “There’s a park nearby if you want to—”
“I told you…” I was not in the mood to deal with Karen.
Her eyes narrowed, then her face relaxed. “I know. I just wanted to talk to you about the campaign. The debate is coming up.”
“I can’t,” I said. “I have to go back to Harrogate.”
She regarded me, lips slightly curled. “To see Meg,” she stated.
“Of course.”
Meg wasn’t in her campaign office, and she wasn’t in her deputy mayor office at the city. I had specifically bought the sandwich for her because I knew she liked it. I paced around in front of her locked office door at city hall. I was hoping to use the sandwich as an excuse to finally see her. She had been acting cagey lately, and I wasn’t sure why. Was it the house? The election? Was she hiding something? Was she mad at me? Was it Walter? I had to know. It was eating me up.
Weston and Blade might be able to dig up something.
I took a little used back stairway because it would take me to an alley where I could cut across to the ThinkX offices.
Meg was coming up the stairs right as I reached the third-floor landing. She was slightly red-faced, and her hair was in little wisps around her face.
“Hunter!” she said in surprise then promptly tripped up the stairs. I immediately dropped my briefcase, and I caught her before she fell.
“You can’t sneak up on people like that!” she scolded.
“I didn’t.” I released her. “You’re the one sneaking up the stairs. You didn’t answer my text, and you weren’t in either of your offices.”
“I’m working.” She fiddled with her purse strap.
“Did something happen?” I asked. She glanced away from me.
“What is it? Tell me.” I grabbed her chin. “You’re hiding something from me.”
She looked up at the ceiling.
