The better to see lying swindlers like you. She folded her arms across her belly. “Fine. But I want answers. Why are you here? And what did you mean you own this place?”
Anthony swallowed loud enough for her to hear. He turned, pivoting on his shoulder against the wall. His head leaned back, his chest swelling and falling with deep breaths as he dug into his breast pocket. He pulled out a small stack of neatly folded papers. “Ester signed the deed last night. The house, the land…it’s all mine.”
He held the papers out to Maizie and she took them. Even in the dark she could read the word “deed” perfectly. Below it, typed along the lines provided, was the address of the cottage.
“That’s not possible. Granny would never-”
“She’ll do whatever her little boy tells her to do,” Anthony said, his voice steadier, edged with a smug humor.
Maizie snapped her gaze to him. “So you were the one pretending to be my dad.”
He pushed up along the wall, got his feet under him. He tugged the hem of his suit jacket, straightened his tie and smoothed his shirt. “Nobody’s going to believe the old lady didn’t know who I was. Can’t swing a dead cat around here without hitting a magazine or newspaper with my face on it. It’s just business.”
“It’s not business.” She hated how her emotions thinned her voice. She swallowed. Calmed herself. “It’s trickery. It’s theft. It’s taking advantage of an old woman who misses her son. It’s…despicable.”
The insults seemed to put Anthony in his right mind, as though the normalcy and familiarity of it calmed his fear. He shoved off the wall and sauntered past her, snatching the papers back as he went. “It’s also a timely turn of events for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“What with your loan application rejected, I’d imagine the income from the sale will come in handy.”
She hadn’t heard from the bank yet. No one knew she’d even applied. Without the loan she wasn’t sure she could manage everything, the business, her rent, Green Acres, the taxes on the cottage…food. How could he know?
Anthony turned, catching her gaze. “I paid a fair price, Ms. Hood. More than fair. She couldn’t have gotten a better deal. And with your financial situation, you really can’t be choosy.”
“I didn’t want to sell.”
He shrugged. “Another poor business decision. Lucky for you, your grandmother has provided the means to save your business.”
“I didn’t want to sell.” How had this happened? She’d let herself get distracted, let her heart cloud her focus. Granny counted on her, Cherri and Bob counted on her. She thought she could do it all, take care of everything all by herself if she just kept focused. She’d failed.
A shrill howl pierced the night. Cadwick’s whole body flinched. He crouched as though something might swoop down and snatch him. “You hear that?”
Maizie nodded, the sharp tang of Anthony’s fear infusing the air. She couldn’t care less. He’d won. He’d beaten her.
Anthony snagged her arm again, pulling her in front of him, knife to her throat. Apparently he hadn’t realized how easily she’d escaped him before. Maizie didn’t bother to try this time. Gawd, she’d made a mess of things.
“You’re gonna show me how to get out of here the same way you got in.” He pushed her toward the door and Maizie stumbled into step.
Anthony dropped the knife level with her kidney as they passed through the bedroom doorway. His hand slid to her shoulder, keeping the distance between them at arm’s length. They crept down the stairs, Anthony’s fingers digging in at the slightest sound.
Maizie jerked her shoulder, made him lose his grip, but she didn’t try to escape before he latched on again. She knew she could if she wanted to. That was enough. She was more desperate for time than freedom.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Anthony leaned over her shoulder to look into the kitchen then the other way into the living room.
“My grandmother will be devastated once she realizes you tricked her into selling.”
“Ssshh. It’ll hear you,” he whispered. “Probably hears us thinkin’. I’ve never seen ears that big.”
The better to hear your lies, you heartless coward. Maizie jerked her shoulder and Anthony lost his grip again. She spun around, leaning out of reach of his groping hand. “Granny didn’t know what she was doing when she signed it. You had no right.”
“Ssshhh…ssshhh…” His eyes wide, Cadwick pressed a finger to his lips, then tried to cover her mouth.
Maizie flinched away. “Stop it.”
“Then keep your voice down.” He went to the door, palms flat, peering through the arched window at the top.
“What can I do to get my grandmother’s property back? How official have things gotten?”
Cadwick glanced over his shoulder, his dark brows tight. “She signed the deed.” He turned his attention back through the window. “It’s done. I’m taking it to the courthouse Monday.”
“You mean the papers in your pocket are the originals?” Could it really be that easy?
He looked at her again, eyes narrowing. “Whatever you’re thinking, Red, you can forget it. I’ve waited too long to get one over on Gray Lupo. I’m not turning back now.”
She heard something scratching and flicked her gaze toward the door. It was soft, like a padded foot in the gravel driveway. She could barely hear it. She looked back to Cadwick, still staring as though he might read her mind. He hadn’t heard anything at all.
The pack was outside. She could sense them-now that she knew to try. Maizie exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She wasn’t alone. She closed her eyes for a minute, opening her mind to them. A deep breath brought the scents of the pack into her body, the musk of their fur, the earthy smell of the forest, the wild tang of their breath.
“What’s with you?” Cadwick said, and Maizie opened her eyes.
He straightened, turning his back to the door, studying her. “You look like…like you just got hugged or something.”
She couldn’t stop her smile if she’d wanted to. “I can’t let you leave here with those papers, Tony.”
His glower deepened. “It’s Anthony and I don’t know how you’re gonna stop me, Little Red.”
The door suddenly shook with a loud boom. They both jumped and turned in time to see the wolf charge again. His huge face snapped at the window, drool splattering the glass. His eyes flashed for an instant, big and furious, before he fell out of sight below the window.
“Shit.” Cadwick grabbed Maizie’s hand, yanked her along behind him. “Back door. Let’s go.”
Maizie could’ve pulled free, could’ve broken his arm if she wanted. She didn’t. She wanted those papers, so she went with him through the living room into the sunroom to the back door.
Cadwick crouched as he passed along the wall of windows, watching the darkness as he went. He pulled Maizie in front of him when he reached the door, slipped his arm around her waist and opened the lock.
“Go,” he said.
“What if that thing’s out there?” She knew he wasn’t. Ricky was still out front with Shelly and Joy. There was only one wolf waiting in back. But Cadwick didn’t know that.
“Guess we’ll find out. Now, go.” He brandished the knife at her and Maizie stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding the sharp point. She pushed through the door and made it beyond the arbor before Cadwick followed.
Movement to her left caught both their attention, a flash of blonde-tipped fur among the moonlit flowers. Poor Lynn, her dye job didn’t transfer forms the same.
A low growl raised the hairs at the back of her neck and had Cadwick scampering up beside Maizie. “You hear that?”
Maizie nodded, allowing Cadwick to cower behind her again. He held her above the elbows, using her body to shield against whatever watched from the high flowers.