Page 29 of Nothing to Lose: Lost Trilogy: Part 1
“That’s the only reason I am playing along,” he admits. “What do you have going on for today?”
“Uh, not much. I’ll stop by Steve’s, then I’ll go check on Colton,” I tell him my schedule while picking up my stuff to leave.
“When’s Rebecca coming back?”
“On Saturday.”
I smile at the way he always calls Becca by her full name. I know it intimidates her when he does it, which I find even more amusing.
“Thanks for everything, dad,” I raise myself on the tip of my toes to give him a hug when he stands up.
“I love you,” he murmurs into my ear, just as always.
On my way to the car, I run into Malone. He is my father’s most trusted man, and he’s been around for as long as I can remember.
“How’s it going, little girl?” he teases and pulls on my ponytail. His teeth sparkle against the darkness of his skin. He’s been a great companion to me as I was growing up.
“Great!” I give him a big hug, or at least as much as his sheer size allows me. “Guess what?” I can barely contain my excitement. I am dying to tell someone.
“What?” When he chuckles, his shoulders shake with suppressed laughter.
“Dad finally said it was okay for me to go to Texas to get all that estate stuff resolved!”
I am almost bouncing on the tips of my toes as I tell him this, but he doesn’t seem to return my enthusiasm, at least not sincerely.
“Is that so?” his face looks strained when he asks.
“Problem?” I look at him suspiciously, the happiness dying on my face.
“No problem,” he assures me, maybe a little too fast. “We’re just so busy right now, I don’t know if…”
“He said he’ll get us bodyguards,” I assure him. Malone is just as bad as my father sometimes.
“Bodyguards, huh?” he smirks at me in amusement.
“That’s what I said!” I point at him, happy that he gets me.
“When are you going?” He eyes me with apprehension when he asks.
“The papers need to be signed in six weeks or else,” I explain. “So, no later than that. I’m taking Becca with me.”
Malone crosses his arms over his chest. “Does she know?”
“Not yet,” I snort. “She is away, I’ll tell her when she gets back.”
I start moving uncontrollably from one foot to the other when he just continues staring at me without saying a word.
“Do me a favor,” he finally grumbles down at me.
“Okay,” I rush to promise even though I have no idea what I am agreeing to.
“Don’t tell anyone about any of this until me and the boss got it all squared away. Can you do that?”
Well, that’s not hard at all. “Of course. And I know Becca won’t say a word to anyone either.”
“Don’t tell Becca until we know for certain when you’re going,” Malone warns.
“But I have to tell her if she is to go with me,” I protest.
