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26. Claire

26

CLAIRE

"What's going on?" I asked, sitting upright to look out the windshield. Something was happening at the house, but I couldn't see yet.

"I don't know. Get down."

My heart skipped a beat as a rush of adrenaline shot through me. No one was supposed to know about our plans. I thought we would be safe for at least a little while longer.

I refused to duck down. I didn't want to get shot, but I needed to know what was going on. After such a peaceful morning in town, I hated that my mood was spoiled just by returning home.

"Claire, get down," Michael hissed.

But as I stared at the white van that came into view, I suddenly remembered something very important. "Oh no," I whispered.

"What is it?" Michael's head whipped in my direction as he slammed on the brakes.

"Go! Get to that van, now!"

"Why? Claire, tell me what's going on!"

I looked at Michael, the fear so overwhelming I thought I would choke. "I forgot they were coming."

"Who? Who was coming?"

"The carpet cleaners! I hired them a few weeks ago. They were booked solid."

"The who?"

"Some guys in town," I said in frustration. "I wanted the bedroom carpets cleaned. It's been years and I wanted to get them cleaned professionally. I forgot they were coming today!"

"Aw shit," he grumbled, hitting the gas.

I was flung back in my seat as we raced the rest of the way down the drive. I really hoped they hadn't killed the poor men. How would I even begin to explain that?

"You don't think they killed them, do you?"

Michael shrugged. "If they did, we'll take care of it."

My eyes widened in horror. "Take care of it how?"

"We'll dump the bodies."

"Dump—These are people!"

"They shouldn't have come on your property."

"But…I hired them to come!" I said incredulously.

"What do you want me to say, Claire? The guys were only protecting you."

"From men armed with…scrub brushes? Michael, this is insane."

He skidded to a stop behind the van and I jumped out, gasping when I saw one of the men tied to a fence.

"Oh my gosh!" I shouted, running over to him. I knelt down in front of him, but he flinched away from me as I approached. "What is this?"

"Kavanaugh didn't have his coffee yet," Red said without providing further explanation.

"He didn't have any coffee, so you tied this man to a fence?"

"Well, in our defense, he did come onto your property."

I heard Michael chuckle behind me. How could they all think this was funny? "Untie him now."

"I would, but…"

"But what?"

Red's eyes flicked behind me, then returned to me. "Well…we did assault them. Technically speaking."

"And?"

"If we let them go, they might run to the police. Then we'll really have a problem on our hands."

I took a deep breath, trying to follow what they were saying. "So, let me get this straight. Two men who only came to clean my carpets are tied up?—"

"One of them is knocked out by your tree," Eli said. "But don't worry. We're pretty sure he'll come around."

Pretty sure. He said it with so little concern that I was worried about who I had surrounded myself with.

"The point is, they're tied up for no reason at all. And what you're concerned with is that two innocent men will run to the police?"

The two of them looked at each other, shrugging slightly. "Well, that and the fact that they'll have incriminating evidence."

"Of what?"

"Well, us beating them up. I thought that part was obvious," Eli said.

"You have to let them go. We can't assault these men for coming onto my property when they were invited, then kill them because they might run to the police."

"Uh…Ma'am?" the one tied to the fence called out. "I would really like to not be killed today."

"You're not going to be killed today," I reassured him.

"That's still up for debate," Michael chimed in. "I don't think you're considering the ramifications of what has happened here."

"What about what's happened to them? He's tied to a fence! He has blood gushing from his head."

"It's more of a steady stream than a gush," Michael said nonchalantly.

"That doesn't matter! He needs medical attention, not a bullet to put him out of his misery!"

"Again," the man spoke up. "I'm not in that much misery. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to walk away and pretend none of this happened. You don't even have to pay us. We'll just pretend you weren't home. We'll say we were attacked by vicious dogs."

"That's no good," Red said. "You'd have to report a dog attack."

"Then animal control would come out here and find no dogs," Eli agreed.

"We'll say they were wild dogs!" the man argued. "Or a bear! It's Wisconsin, after all."

"That's true."

"But that guy has a bruise the size of Kansas on his face," Red pointed to the man by the tree. "How the hell are you going to explain that?"

"He hit the tree running from the bear!" the man shouted. "Or I could say I hit him with my truck! I don't care. Just tell me what to say and I'll say it. Please," he whimpered.

I spun around and glared at Michael. "Are you happy? You've scared the poor man to death."

"Happy? I wouldn't say I'm happy about anything. I guess I would be happy if we were inside and you were naked."

I flushed bright red and turned to Red and Eli, who immediately lost their smirks when they saw the look on my face. I proclaimed in the most authoritative and determined voice I could muster. "You will let these men go. Do you understand me? I can't believe I have to explain common decency to all of you."

"Yes, ma'am," they said, properly chastised.

"And you will not follow them into town and remove them from society just because I'm no longer around. Are we clear?"

They each nodded, seeming a little disappointed that I was laying down all these restrictions. Red walked over and untied the guy by the fence.

"You're free to go," he grumbled. "But I swear to God, if you tell a single soul?—"

"Red!" I snapped.

He shut his mouth, but glared at the man for good measure. "Go get your friend and get out of here."

"And give them money for the doctor," I commanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

Red's jaw dropped open. "But I didn't hurt either of them."

"I've got it," Michael stepped forward, pulling out his wallet.

I watched in shock as he handed over a whole wad of hundred-dollar bills as if it was nothing. "I assume this will help you stay silent."

"You bet," he said, taking off.

"Wait!" I called out. "Are you still going to clean the carpets?"

"Lady, you're fucking crazy," he shouted, taking off.

I turned a weighted gaze on Michael. "Would any of you care to explain why you would immediately jump to the conclusion that just because two men came onto my property, you would assume they were here to kill me?"

"Because there are literally men who are out there trying to kill you," Eli retorted.

Michael inserted himself between us, chuckling lightly. "I think what she's trying to say is that she would like us to ask questions first and then shoot."

"We did," Eli said, his face filled with confusion. "We asked questions and they're not dead. Where did we go wrong?"

Red shrugged. "I didn't even pull my gun."

"The point is, you can't go around shooting everyone," I snapped. "Those men have families!"

"You don't know that. They could be loners," Eli suggested.

"Yep, that one guy looked pretty shady to me."

I threw my hands up in the air and stomped away. These guys had an excuse for everything. There was no way for me to win with any of them.

"Hey!" Michael shouted, catching up to me.

I continued to the house, desperate to get away from these men. They were great protectors, I'd give them that. But how was it possible that none of them had been arrested yet or locked away in a padded cell?

"Claire," Michael said, following me into the house.

"They're all crazy," I snapped, marching over to the kitchen. "I didn't even pull my gun," I said mockingly.

"You have to understand, these guys deal with threats all the time."

"Then they should realize when they're talking with average, ordinary Joe's."

"They're here to protect you," he said, his lips twitching. "If someone comes on this property, they won't stop to ask questions. Well, unless it's an interrogation."

I pressed my hand to my forehead. I didn't even realize I was shaking until Michael walked over and took my hand, pressing a kiss to it.

"It's going to be okay."

"It's not that…I just wish he would call."

"Zavala?"

I nodded. "Isabelle is on the phone, but it's only because he decides she's been good. There are some weeks when she doesn't call and I worry about what he's done to her."

"It could be nothing. She obviously means something to him or he wouldn't be so territorial about her."

"I would rather he didn't like her at all."

He stiffened. "Don't ever wish for that. If he stops caring for her, she's useless to him."

I hadn't thought of it that way. This whole time, I was angry that she'd drawn the attention of this lunatic, but what if he had taken her and then decided she wasn't worth it? She might have been dead a long time ago.

Michael wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my head as he rubbed my back. "It'll be okay. He'll call."

"What if he doesn't?" I looked up at him, hoping he had the answers.

"He will. He hasn't failed to call yet. Trust me."

I wanted to with all my heart, but the truth was, neither of us could control what that man would do. The waiting was horrible, but the not knowing was worse.

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