Page 18 of Property of Madman

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but make no mistake, gentleman, I will never forget it,” I promise and mean every word. Let me find out they need something I can give and I’ll see to it immediately, without their knowledge because I suspect they’d never accept it if they did know it was from me.

Gavin directs, “Death, you come with me. We’ll be faster if we hop on a flight and hunt him down versus riding all the way north.”

“Recon on the plane?” Death asks, and Gavin agrees.

“I’ll sort out the details and let everyone know. I want to be in the air by tonight.”

“You can take my plane,” I immediately offer. “I’ll text my pilot and see when a good time is, but he should be able to have you in the air tonight.”

Shadow lets out a quiet whistle, “Damn, she’s not just rich, she’s richy-rich, huh?”

Gavin shoots him a lethal glare, making the man quiet and take a step back. I can see why. He has an essence about him screaming he can be dangerous when necessary. It’s not all, though. He does so much around here, from what I’m learning firsthand, he also possesses everyone’s utmost respect.

His stare meets mine next, and I hope he can see the gratitude reflecting in my own. Not only for Hazel, but also for changing my life for the better over the past eighteen years. He’s one manwho deserves to be a father, to be in his children’s lives, and I plan to make that happen.

Chapter 11

MADMAN

Flying in a private jet was something I never thought would happen in my lifetime, and Audrey’s plane didn’t disappoint.We left that same night, around ten, when the pilot was able to get back to us. He’d had another flight earlier that day, so we had to wait our turn.

The stewardess was an older woman, reminding me of someone’s sweet grandmother, and she made Death and me feel welcome, regardless of our intimidating nature. When she asked us if we wanted some cookies and milk as our in-flight snack, I thought she was a crazy old bat with a few screws loose, but then she showed up with milk laced with cinnamon and whiskey and bypassed the cookies for some bourbon pecan pie. She’d said she had the notion being southern boys, we’d appreciate it more, and she was not wrong. That woman is welcome on the ranch any damn time she’s in Texas, and I made sure she knew it.

Audrey had a vehicle waiting for us when we touched down with the keys in the ignition. Death was adamant we were going to catch a case from the law for jacking someone’s vehicle in the middle of the night, but in the end, the pilot reassured us it was there for us. We rented a room outside the boujee little town John’s vacationing in, to regroup and wait for tonight.

We flew through the first part of last night, and after the warm milk and pie, my ass passed out for the four hours we were in the air. Death did the same, knowing we’d be busy tonight. We were able to get some more sleep once we were checked in to our room, but it was restless. I had too much on my mind at that point to be able to truly relax. I wanted to find John then and there to skin his ass for giving Auds so much damn grief. My animosity has been building for him over the years, and I finally have reason enough to take my wrath out on him.

The weather’s milder here, I notice as we exit the vehicle and head for the house. It’s hard to just roll up on a property here as they’re all mansions with ridiculous gated driveways along the water. We park a little way down, off the side of the road, attempting to blend the SUV into the hedges a bit. Hopefully, this won’t take long, so no one notices the out-of-place vehicle.

“Damn, brother, this is your baby momma’s place?”I nod, “One of them. She has houses in several spots.”

“Kind of makes me think we should be charging them more if this is the life they’re living.”

I agree. The place is ridiculous, and it floors me that people truly live this way. Not only having one home of such substance, but multiple. It instantly makes me think the majority of them must be so fucking out of touch with reality, I mean, how can you be when you’re surrounded by so much wealth? Their reality is not in the same stratosphere as mine is.

“Explains why her ex is such a goddamn pansy ass,” I mutter. My fists clench with each step that brings us closer to the sprawling mansion. Lights kick on as we pass them, leading to the glowing home. We scour the property, as Audrey promised she’d cancel all of the remote security features so we wouldn’t be bothered. It’s a relief not having to worry about the local cops or a security company rolling up on us mid-task.

I pull my phone free and send her a quick text.

Me:Made it to the house. Checking it out now.

Audrey:I got a few motion sensor alerts, but I cleared them and made sure the locks are disengaged. The house is not armed, so you will have no problem getting inside. I turned the cameras off. No one will know anything.

Her text is all the confirmation I need to continue. “She says we’re in the clear.”

“Bet,” Death rumbles in response, and we move to the deck. We walk quietly around the entire thing, peeking in whatever windows we can to get a feel for who is inside and where. “One thing’s obvious,” he says after a while. “The asshole’s not here.”

I nod. We’ve only seen one young chick, and I’m guessing she’s a babysitter or something.

“What are we going to do? I’m not offing a teeny-bopper; I refuse to have that on my conscious.”

“Same, brother,” I agree, wondering what the best way to handle this is. “I’m thinking we act like we’re supposed to be here. You distract her. I’ll find my kid, and then when John returns, I’ll figure out a way to deal with him.”

He nods, “Let’s do it.” We take a step in the direction of the front door when headlights wash over the property. The vehicle’s nearly silent, since it’s one of those pieces of shit electric vehicles. If it weren’t for the headlights, he might’ve seen us before we saw him.

“Shit, new plan!” I huff, and we duck around the side of the house. We keep watch from the shadows until he pulls his car to stop in front of the garage. Then he and a giggling woman are making their way up the deck steps. They’re both drunk, to the point I’m surprised John was able to drive at all. Then again, maybe his car is one of those extra fancy types I read about in Tech Weekly about being able to drive itself. I’m just glad he didn’t have Hazel in there with him, or this would’ve gotten bloody much quicker.

Death and I keep quiet, watching the couple make their way to the hot tub. Their clothes come off, and I don’t relish in seeing John’s wrinkly, pasty ass one bit. The chick climbs on his lap, and once she starts bouncing, I tell my brother, “Go tell the babysitter she can go home. Audrey will send her payment over if John hasn’t paid already.”

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