Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,72

but eventually stepped away from the door. He didn’t go far. He pushed a button on an intercom and spoke into it. “Mr. King? Danielle Baker and Mason Harvey are here to see you. They say they’re ready to pay off her debt.”

Frank never took his eyes off us.

“Bring them to my office.”

“You’re lucky he’s being gracious enough to see you at this hour,” Frank sniffed snootily. He let us enter and walked us to the office I’d been in before.

Danielle took my hand in hers for support. I gave it a firm squeeze as we stepped into the office. Frank left, closing the door behind us. Jim was sitting at the desk, typing at his computer, acting as if he didn’t even see us enter.

Danielle cleared her throat. “Mr. King, I got the insurance check, and I can pay—”

“It’s too late, Ms. Baker,” Jim said, swiveling in his chair to finally look at us.

“Too late? What do you mean? I have until December first to pay everything off.”

“The collateral is gone. The building where you housed the rescue was already destroyed, and now the house too. As per our agreement, if something were to happen to the collateral before the loan is paid off, I am fully within my rights to foreclose on the property, and I’ve already started the process.”

“What? No!” Danielle started toward the desk. I went with her.

“I would have reached out to you, but your friend here made it very clear that I was not to come near you, so I’m handling this through the legal channels. You should be getting the notice in the mail any day now.”

My blood pressure had already been through the roof, but that put me over the edge. I walked to the desk, closing the distance, and slammed my fists down on it.

“You can’t do this. It’s not legal.”

“Watch me,” Jim said, his lips pulling back in a smirk that I wanted to slap right off his smug face. “Unless you want to lose everything in a court battle that I will surely win, I would sign over the papers and move on with your life. Good news is, you can keep the insurance check to settle elsewhere, Ms. Baker.”

“You’re not going to get away with this.”

“Oh no? Do you think you and your brothers are any match for the people who work for me? Because I wouldn’t poke the bear if I were you.”

“You son of a—” I was on my way around the desk, hands clenched into fists when Danelle placed a hand on my arm. She centered me, pulled me back to reality.

“Mason, don’t.”

I stopped.

“This isn’t legal. No court of law will allow him to take the property,” she said, somehow remaining calm. “The last thing we need is for you to go to jail for assault. You know everything that’s at stake.”

I thought about punching Greg and how I was so worried it could impact Danielle’s custody of Skyler. If I was deemed violent, she could have to choose between me and her daughter.

I backed away and Danielle took my hand again.

“Let’s go,” I growled as we exited the office.

We had reached the end of the hallway, almost to the entrance, when the little boy from before ran by. He stopped at the stairs leading to the second floor and looked at us from behind a mask.

My blood ran cold, and I froze.

Danielle glanced at the kid, then looked at me. “What?”

“That mask…” I whispered.

Frank appeared and said, “Matthew, go to bed, now.” He ushered the boy up the stairs but stood where he could see us. “I believe you can see yourselves out,” he said coldly.

“Yes, we can,” Danielle said, tugging my arm for us to keep moving.

I looked back at the stairs, hoping to see Matthew again, but he had disappeared.

Once Danielle and I got outside, we hurried to the truck.

“What about that mask?” she asked me as soon as we were safely inside.

“It’s the same one the arsonist wore at your place.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure there are other masks like it.”

“I’ve never seen one like it before, but sure. Maybe. It was just like that though,” I said.

Danielle and I looked at each other, and she asked, “Do you think…” She didn’t even have to finish her question.

“Yes, I’m thinking Jim was responsible for the fire,” I said.

Ooo000ooo

Danielle fell asleep pretty quickly after we got home. It had been a long day, and she was feeling all kinds of emotions. I