Every Way (Brush of Love 4)

The bell dinging over the front door caught my attention, but when I turned around and saw who it was, I froze.

“Hello, Hailey.”

He was back, the man with the ragged clothes and the dirty nails and the horrendous teeth. His eyes were hazed over with his high as his lopsided smile made me shiver. He brought a stench with him into the gallery that made me want to heave.

“I was so rude to you the last time we saw one another. I didn’t even introduce myself. My name’s Ben.”

“I don’t give a damn what your name is,” I said.

“Which is fine. To each their own,” he said.

How in the world was this man catching me while I was alone in my shop? Was he watching me? Tracking me somehow? The idea alone made me sick. I could feel my lunch teetering at the back of my throat. I clutched the broom tightly in my hand as I made my way to the cash register. I clutched the broom in one hand and grabbed my taser with the other, readying myself if he lunged at me in any way. I had no idea if he was coming to collect or just send me another warning, but if he was here to collect, then he would probably try to hurt me.

Because I didn’t have one hundred thousand dollars yet.

“Have you thought about our little chat?” Ben asked.

“I have. But I’m not sure I can trust your word,” I said.

“I don’t really think you have a choice,” he said.

“There’s always a choice. How do I know you’ll go away if I pay you the money you tell me you’re owed?”

“I guess it simply depends on how much the health of your family means to you.”

What did that even mean? The health of my family? Holy shit, was Anna in trouble? Had Bryan somehow gotten into the middle of this? He couldn’t possibly mean my parents back in Phoenix, could he?

Was he tracking me that deeply?

“All I want is what my family is owed,” Ben said. “We’ve gone through a great deal of loss and heartache over the money you owe us.”

“You mean the money she owed you,” I said.

“And now, it’s the money you owe us,” he said.

“I don’t have your money for you yet.”

“Well, at least you’ve decided to pay us. That’s a smart move. Wouldn’t want anyone else ending up hurt because of your poor choices.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

I watched his eyes glance over at a picture of John, and my stomach rolled. I bent over and vomited into the trash can at my feet, feeling my lunch choke me half to death. I panted and moaned as involuntary tears ricocheted down my cheeks. I spat out chunks into the trash can before I wiped my mouth on the back of my arm.

But when I rose up to find the man in my gallery again, he was right in my face.

“Holy shit!”

“I’ll be back on the third of July, and you better have my money. If not, someone will have to get hurt. I think you think I’m playing around, and I won’t have that kind of reputation looming over this decision,” Ben said.

My jaw was trembling as more tears crested my eyes.

“I would hate to see you become a single mother so soon in your life,” Ben said. “But I would also hate for you to be a mother that doesn’t wake up with your child.”

“If you lay a fucking finger on my child, I swear to the hea-”

“Shh,” Ben said. “No need for such strong language. One hundred thousand dollars is all it takes to clear up this little misunderstanding.”

He smiled at me with his rotting teeth, and his breath almost knocked me over. He pushed himself off my register counter and backtracked for the door, keeping his eyes trained on me. Tears were streaming down my face as my hands shook. I could feel my legs giving out from under me as I searched for my stool. My vision was blurring, and I could feel my face growing paler by the second. Ben started laughing as he finally exited my art gallery, leaving me an emotional mess as his threat loomed over my head.