Page 18 of Breakout
No, I have zero family. This is all a mistake.
“I thought you didn’t have any family,” Beckett says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I glare at him. “I don’t.”
He cringes. “Sorry, that sounded meaner than I meant it to.”
“It’s okay. No harm, no foul. What do you think, though?”
Beckett frowns as he looks down at the paper. “My guess is it’s a scam. One that looks legit, but one nonetheless.”
I agree with him. It has to be a scam or a mistake. There’s no way this is real.
Right?
“But what if it isn’t?” I say, the words slipping out of my mouth.
“Well, I guess you could call and set up an appointment like it suggests, but I wouldn’t give them any personal details over the phone.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a complete idiot.”
Beckett’s eyes soften. “You’re not an idiot at all. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Now are you going to call or what?”
Taking a deep breath, I snatch my phone off my nightstand and grab the letter from him. Quickly, I dial the number before I chicken out. When it starts to ring, I put it on speakerphone so we can both hear what’s said. Beckett reaches out and pulls me toward the bed, forcing me to sit next to him.
“Piper & Sons Law Office, this is Mary speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Mary. My name is Peyton Anderson, and I just received a letter from you regarding someone’s will. I think I received it by mistake.”
“Oh, Peyton! We’ve been waiting to hear from you. I can assure you, dear, that it was not by mistake. We here at Piper & Sons are so sorry for your loss. Matthias was a wonderful man, and he will be missed. Now, when would you like to come in? Mr. Piper has an opening in two days at noon.”
“Sure, that will work, I guess.”
“Now, I know that you are almost an hour away, so if you run into any trouble, please let us know.”
“Okay, thank you, Mary.”
“Of course, sweetheart, I look forward to seeing you soon.” She hangs up the phone before I can say anything else.
“Well, if it’s a scam, then it’s awfully elaborate,” I say as I drop my phone onto the bed.
“Are you actually going to go?”
“Yeah, I think I am,” I tell him softly.
Beckett places his hand on my thigh and squeezes. “Then I’ll go with you.”
“What, why?”
A crease forms between his eyebrows. “Because I’m not letting you walk into this without backup. It’s sketchy as fuck, Peyton.”
I jerk back in surprise and push his hand off my leg. “You aren’t letting me?” I scoff. “Last I checked, you don’t get a say in what I do.”
I want to cringe at how I snapped at him, but I’m feeling insecure right now. My nerves are frayed with this new development. I’ve never had anyone to rely on before, and that won’t change now.
“I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it,” he groans.
“No, I think you did.” I fold my arms over my chest.
