Chapter 7 - Luring the Wolves
With my mother gone, the house fell into a heavy, oppressive silence once again.
I checked my phone; the forty-eight-hour deadline was rapidly approaching.
I took a deep breath, dialed Kevin’s number, and placed the phone on the kitchen counter on speaker mode.
He answered almost instantly, his breathing heavy and erratic, like a man who had been running for miles.
"Rachel?" he asked, his voice cracking with a desperate, pathetic hope.
"I'll do it," I said, forcing my voice to sound defeated and utterly terrified.
"I will sign the farmland over to you, but you have to make these people leave me alone."
I could practically hear the massive wave of relief washing over him through the digital connection.
"Oh, thank God," Kevin practically sobbed. "Thank you, Rachel, I swear I will pay you back someday."
"I don't want your money, Kevin," I lied smoothly, strictly following the script Agent Miller had provided.
"I just want this nightmare to end."
"I have the transfer paperwork drawn up by my lawyer, but you need to come sign it in person tonight."
"And bring the men you owe money to, so they can see the proof and stop threatening me."
There was a moment of hesitation on his end, a brief flash of paranoia.
"Why do they have to come?" he asked nervously.
"Because I want them to look me in the eye and promise that the debt is settled once I sign," I insisted.
"Fine," Kevin agreed hastily, too desperate to question my logic any further.
"We will be there at nine o'clock."
He hung up, and I immediately looked at the small black dot on the wall where the camera was hidden.
"Did you get all of that, Agent Miller?" I asked aloud to the empty room.
My cell phone buzzed a second later with a text message from the FBI agent.
"Loud and clear. The tactical team is moving into position around your perimeter now. Stay strong."
I spent the next three hours pacing the floorboards of my grandfather's house.
I looked at the beautiful crown molding I had sanded by hand, the hardwood floors I had stained myself.
This house was supposed to be my sanctuary, a place of healing and honest work.
Tonight, it was going to be a battlefield.
At exactly 8:55 PM, a massive, black luxury SUV slowly rolled to a stop at the edge of my driveway.
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The headlights cut through the darkness, blinding me as I stood perfectly still in the front window.
The wolves had officially arrived at the door.
