“Christ.” Alan laughed and told him that he was also the owner, as well as a multibillionaire. “I don’t think I like you overly much right now.”
“Yes, you do. And do you want to know why? I’m here for you at any time you get overwhelmed, overheated, or need advice. She saved my life, and I want to help you along this path so that you can be as successful as she is. And you will be. You just have to get used to saying you can instead of you can’t. All right?” Lucian thanked him. “You might not want to do that just yet. You’re going to have to help me put money in the accounts of your family members, and then you’re going to tell them.”
No, Lucian thought, he did not like this guy. But he realized when they hacked into the accounts that his family members were much worse off than he thought they were.
His parents were getting a check each month and his dad worked a fulltime job, but they only had twenty-three cents in their account, and Lucian knew for a fact that Dad didn’t get paid for a few more days.
The other accounts weren’t much better. Josiah was the only one that had more than twenty dollars in his account, and it wasn’t much more than fifty dollars. Lucian’s account had been closed and his information added to Demi’s account. He was also given credit cards with his name on them, as well as a list of all the stores that he would have an account at. When they were finished, Lucian felt drained. It was hard for him to know that his family was far more in the hole than he’d ever imagined.
“You did well.” Lucian told Alan that he had to tell his family yet. “It’ll be hard on them. I’ve noticed that you have a very proud family. But think of it this way, Lucian— you’ve opened the door for them to have better lives too. You could have told me no and I would have abided by your wishes. But you didn’t, not even balking when you saw how much we were to put into each account.”
“My mother is going to have a brick. And my dad will try and make me take it all back. I have to think of something to tell them so that they’ll be able to live with this and still be able to show their faces to Demi. They’ll think that she’ll think less of them.”
Alan said Demi would never do that. “You know that, and I do as well. But they’re going to have a hard time with it. I do have a favor to ask of you. You can tell me no or have me ask Demi if you need to. But I’d like to find a home for my parents that isn’t quite as run down.”
“That’s an excellent idea. And as a matter of fact, there is a home just down the road from yours and Demi’s home. It’s very nice, one floor, though I don’t think they’d have a problem with stairs for a long while yet. It has four or five bedrooms for the grandkids when they start coming along, as well as a pool that’s heated.” Lucian asked if he had to talk to Demi first. “You can if you wish, but she’ll just tell you that it’s your money as well. She has told me that you speaking or requesting anything is the same as it coming from her. And she has mentioned that they need something that will not need pans to keep the water out of.”
“I hadn’t noticed that until recently. They’ve been making do for a while now, I think.” Alan nodded. “You’ve done your homework on my family. Is there anything else that I should know about them? Something that I can upgrade, fix, or improve for them, to make their lives better?”
Instead of answering him, Alan handed him a file. He was almost afraid to open it, fearful that he’d find that his family was on the verge of going to jail or something. But the list, in order of names, wasn’t that bad. The money that they’d put in their accounts would take care of most of it. There were also a few things that he could take care of easily by just having them buy a home.
Pierce didn’t have a furnace at the moment and hadn’t had one in about two years.
Keeping his house warm by heaters was sucking him dry with electric bills being high.
He’d also been walking to work as a cashier at the local grocery store, winter or summer, because his car would sometimes start, but mostly didn’t.
Ian had a job, but he was overqualified for it. While none of them had gone to an
Ivy League college, they had gone to the local college when they could afford it. Ian had a degree in computer science.
Madden had a job as well—he worked the lines at a distribution center that, like the one Lucian had worked for, was probably going to close up. There weren’t a lot of people around that could get back and forth to the place. It was nearly sixty miles away, too far for most people to travel.
Gannon worked at the mall, and lately it had taken a hit from all the unemployment going on. Gannon was just saying the other night that his job as a photographer was probably going to end soon, as no one could afford to have pictures taken by a professional. It looked as if all his family would be hurting sooner than he thought.
After Alan left him, showing him how to find the information that he wanted on the computer, Lucian sat there for another two hours. It wasn’t until his dad came in the room with him, clearing his throat, that he realized how much he had to learn about being a wealthy man.
“You did something today that I’m none too happy with you about.” He asked him if it was the money. “You know good and well that it is. What right do you have to go about snooping around in mine and your mom’s account like that? You think you need to save us because you’ve gotten a little pocket change? I don’t want it. You take it back.”
“When I became Demi’s mate, she put me on all her accounts. And when I say all, I mean all. She saved me, with her multibillion-dollar enterprises.” His dad leaned back in the chair, his face pale with shock. “Yes, that’s the way I felt too. And since she has helped me, I wanted—no, that’s not right. I needed to save you all as well. Dad, we will never miss the money. And from what Alan told me, she makes more than I put into your account every day in investments, interest, and rent from her other homes.”
“She’s that wealthy?” Lucian told him that they both were. She had given him access to all that she had. “That’s a good girl you have there, Lucian. But I still don’t like that you’ve done this. You should— I was going to say save for a rainy day, but I have to tell you, it’s been pouring buckets at our home.”
Dad wiped his face. The tears were there, sliding down his weathered cheeks.
Lucian got up and went to his father and hugged him. He could feel Dad’s body shaking with his emotions as he sobbed on his chest. Lucian felt his own eyes fill with tears.
“Your mom, she’s fit to be tied, I tell you. But she sure is loving that new car. I have to admit, it is nice having one that turns over every time you turn the key.” They both laughed, and Dad looked up at him as he continued. “Lucian, you helping your brothers out too?”
“I am—I have. They’ve been given enough to do whatever they wish. But I do have one more thing to talk over with you. A new house.” Dad started to speak, but Lucian asked him to wait. “The house you’re in is older than you are. It’s not fit to even be fixed. And the house that I’m thinking about, it’s within walking distance from here.
You could just pop over whenever you want, and you’d be close enough to babysit for us.”
“You’re going to have babies for me?” He smiled. “That didn’t come out right, but you understand me. To have a grandchild sure would make it nice. And that old house that we live in…. I have to tell you, son. The thought of having a little one in that house would scare me, the amount of things wrong with it. The other day your mom nearly broke her leg falling through the floor in the kitchen. I wish I could have done something then.”
“Like I said, Dad, it’s not worth fixing anymore. So, all right. You go with me to look the house over, and we’ll see if Mom will like it better than where she is.” Dad told him she’d live in a dog house if the floors were secure. “I think we can do a little better than that. And having you close is about all a son can ask for, I think.”
“Yes, that and the love of a good woman. You tell her that you love her yet?” He said that he’d not t
hought of it. “Well, I know you’ve not mated or anything. You giving me and your mom grandchildren will be easier if you do. I think you should get on that right away. Don’t push her—I think she’d hurt you if you did—but sooner would be good.”
They got into Dad’s car and drove to the address where the house was. Even from the driveway, he knew that Mom would flip out over it. It was a one story, yes, but it was a huge flipping home. And Dad loved it so much, he danced in the driveway even before they saw the inside of it. Yes, Lucian thought, having funds sure made him feel better than he had in a while.
~*~
Demi looked over the report that she had from the restaurant. All the cameras were installed, as well as the rooftop ones that not only looked over the parking lot, but the receiving door as well. Just as she was trying to figure out the angle of the camera in the kitchen, Gannon walked in. She could tell immediately he was pissed.
“What do you know about cameras, other than they can take pictures?” He paused in his anger long enough to look at her, confused. “You know what I mean. Like, I have several cameras in this restaurant that I own, and all I can see right now is the kitchen stove. That’s not what I want to look at.”
“Do you have a remote camera? I guess you do. What I meant was, do you have one that will allow you to change the view?” She knew that she did but told him that she didn’t know. “Would you mind if I had a look to see?”
“No, please do.” She got up from her desk and let him sit at it. She had several monitors on the wall next to her desk, each of them to a different place that she owned.
And they would change to different places at a touch of a button. “I have a lot of things going out the door there, and I want to keep an eye on the storage locker. It’s not a freezer, but it gets pretty cold. That’s why I was told that they couldn’t put a camera in there. It would frost up or steam up if the door was open too often.”
“Not necessarily. There are cameras that you can have put in that are made for just that.” He glanced at her as he played with the cameras. “I was going to ask if you could afford it, but I’m willing to bet you could afford the company that makes them. This does not lessen the fact that I’m pissed off about the money you put in my account.”
“Get over it, jackass. We put money in all the accounts, including your mom and dad’s. The camera needs to show me who is taking what out of the storage unit. And I already have one at the back loading door. I need to make sure who is doing it, and how much each person is taking before I can have the police go in.” He asked her what they were taking just as he lined the camera up to where she wanted. In less time too.
Demi told him. “Profitable. Nothing that can be traced because of no numbers on it. No fingerprints, and the best part of stealing something like that is, you could have one hell of a party and eat up all the theft.”
“What did you just say?” Gannon turned and looked at her. His face looking like he was in trouble. “My chef is having this grand summer party. He even invited me. I was told that he’d had a big windfall at the races and that he was paying for it from that.
Christ, you think he was inviting me to rub it in my face that he was getting away with it?”
“I wouldn’t know for sure, but if that’s the first thought that comes to your mind, then yes, I’d say that was what he was doing.” She swayed on her feet, and he turned from the computer to help her to a chair. “If you pass out on me, Lucian is going to come here with his great big bear and I’m going to be toast. Are you all right?”
“You McCray men, you’re all charmers, aren’t you? Yes, I’m fine.” She looked at the computer and then back at him. “What can I do to make sure that these stay on this area all the time? I’m sure there is some sort of locking app for it, correct?”
“Yes.” He locked it in place. “I’m assuming that you put these in at some time so no one knows about them. And that you have one on the front door as well.”
“Why the front door?” He told her that they could just as easily take it out that way.
“Okay, I’ve decided that you’re working for me. You have a mind more devious than mine. The job you have now, you’re much too overqualified for it if you have a handle on how to work this stuff.”
“Most of the time I have nothing to do, so I utilize the computer at work. And since they were willing to pay for me to take some classes, just to keep up on the latest photo trends, I added in a few extra ones that would help me should the industry take a leap from the thirty-five millimeter that I’m currently using.”
“You do know that we’ve all gone to digital, don’t you?” He just grinned—the charming part of the McCray men. “All right. That job you have, it’s not going to be around much longer anyway, right?”
“No. I got word today that the mall has been bought and is being torn down for something else.” She smiled at him. “You didn’t.”
“I did. And I got it for a song compared to what I’m going to sell it for once the building is gone. How about you come and work for me, Gannon? I’ll put in the industry that is going to bring about seven hundred jobs to this area, and we’ll be even.” He asked her about the money in his account. “Really? You were seconds away, from what I heard, from losing your ass because you were going to bounce several checks. And not because of me. The company that you worked for, they closed up shop and skipped out on covering payroll. It’s only two people, but that still doesn’t make it right.”
“No, it— Lucian wants to talk to you. He said that he exchanged blood with you, but he didn’t want to freak you out if he spoke to you. Something about a house and the bank.” She asked if he was in trouble. “I believe so. You might want to go to your neighbor’s house—the one that my dad is trying to buy. And my mom is there too. She is fit to be tied.”
She’d never known what that meant literally, but she knew that she was pissed.
About what Demi didn’t know, but she made her way to the house next door with
Gannon. In order to calm her mind enough to think, she told him what she’d pay him, his perks, and what she’d make sure he had. Lucian spoke to her before she saw the police and house.
Don’t get mad at me. She told him she wasn’t. Okay, but I was trying to negotiate a better price on this house. It’s been on the market for about four years, I kid you not. But Mom and Dad decided that they want it for our children to be safe, and the banker is giving us a hard time. About money.
Okay, I’m nearly there. But answer me this. Do we have children? He laughed. What sort of trouble are you in with the police?
The banker called them. He has told them, and anyone that will listen, that we cannot afford this home, and that we’re taking up his time and that of the realtor. I haven’t any idea why that was warrant enough to call the police, but they’re here and as confused as I am.
She could see the house now, and the two cruisers. Gannon was laughing, and she asked him what was going on.
“Mom is ready to shift and show the banker what it means to call her a deadbeat.
And Dad is— What did I say now?” She asked him if the banker had really called
Cindy a deadbeat. “Yes, but it’s not the first time he’s done that. The fact that we were, until this morning, makes him think that it’s his right to do so.”
“That isn’t going to happen again.” She made her way over the falling down fence that separated the two properties, and decided to have a nice path put in, one that had plants and stuff along the way so a child.... Shaking her head, she smiled at the first officer that she came to. “My name is Demetrius Morgan.”
“Yes, ma’am, we know who you are. I’m glad to see you’ve come back home. Sure was a shame about your grandma.” She thanked him. “This here, I don’t know what’s going on, but that banker, Mr. Mills, has a burr up his butt about something.”
“What banking branch is it?” Mr. Mills came to her and screamed at her, demanding for her to tell him what her part was
in this. Obviously, he wasn’t so happy to see her back, if he knew her at all. As she was putting up her hand to shut him up, the officer answered her. Mills tried his bullying tactic again, and she turned to him.
“You fucking prick, get out of my face before I rearrange yours for you. Now back the fuck off and shut that mouth of yours before someone shuts it for you.”
No one said a word as she moved away, taking out her phone. She called the branch in town to ask for the corporate number. Within ten minutes of being switched around, she finally had the president of the National Savings.
“This is Demi Morgan. My grandmother was Milly Morgan.” The president, James
Stricker, laughed and said that he had known her well. “Yes, well, you can bet that I’m not much different than she was. This manager you have here, Mr. Mills, he’s a fucking prick. And he’s embarrassed me in front of my future in-laws, too, who are trying to buy a home next to where Grandma lived.”
“And what are his accusations?” She told him what he’d said to Mrs. McCray, and that it had been mentioned to her that this was an ongoing insult to the family. Then she told him how as far as she knew, all their accounts were up to date. “Yes, I can see that they are. Since early this morning. And his beef with them? Better yet, may I speak to
Mrs. McCray? I’d like to talk to her for a few moments, if you don’t mind.”
“If she’ll talk to you. She’s pretty pissed off at having the cops called on her.” He asked if they were still there. “Yes. And imagine my surprise when he got all up in my
Kool-Aid too. I’m telling you right now, I can pull all my accounts out of your bank, and find—”
“No, no. I’m sure we can resolve this. Just allow me to speak to Mrs. McCray, please.”
She called Cindy over, and Demi told her to be just as pissed with him as she’d been with Mills.
Lucian: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 5
