Fisher (Prince of Tigers, #3) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,44

twice about coming here to take my castle. It’s important for all creatures, in this land and yours, to be able to come here as a safe haven. Today you took on a troll that has been giving me trouble for a very long time. I think, as I said before, this will make people think twice before they think to take what does not belong to them.” Fisher told her he was glad for that. “As am I. You have done me a great service, Fisher and Piper. You will be rewarded nicely.”

Before he could tell her that it wasn’t necessary, he found himself in his room in bed. Sitting up, he looked around. So it had been a dream, he told himself. Then he looked at his hand. The horse there, the beautiful white Avalanche, winked back at him.

~*~

Louis sat in the chair that had been provided to him and waited. Like he had a choice in the matter. He’d been looking for Mary when a cruiser stopped him from crossing the street and asked him who he was. Lying to them didn’t get him anything but cuffed up the side of the head. When he was tossed in the backseat of the cruiser, he was glad the air had been turned all the way up. He’d been sweating like a pig.

Now he was in a building he didn’t know, sitting in an office of someone he also didn’t know, waiting for someone to tell him what the hell was going on. Louis stood up to pound on the door again when it was opened, and his wife stood there.

“What are you doing here?” She didn’t speak but entered the room and sat down. Rachel came in a few seconds later and sat as well. “Are you going to speak to me, Bonny? Or you, Rachel? Are you the reason I was picked up like a common criminal?”

“You’re never common anything, Louis. Sit down and shut up.” He was surprised by Bonny’s tone. She never said a word to him that had any kind of heat to it. But he did sit down when she told him to the second time. “No, I’m not the reason you were brought here. I’m glad they found you, but I didn’t do it. Some very wealthy and strong armed people did it.”

“So you just hopped in the car and came here because they told you to? I can’t even get you to make my favorite dinner. How did they do that?” He was going for a joke, but she glared at him. “Tell me what you know, and perhaps we can get this over with instead of sitting here snipping at each other.”

“I was asked, politely, I might add, to come here to finish this with you. A private plane picked me and Rachel up and flew us here yesterday. We were given a nice room at a lovely hotel and then taken to dinner. You’ve not done that for me in a very long time. Now, I understand why.” He asked her why she’d not called him to have him come and stay with her and his daughter. “Because, Louis, you weren’t even a thought in my head when they told us you were here with Mary. These people were as kind to us as anyone has ever been, and when they told us what you’d done, divorcing you was a no brainer.”

“Divorcing me? No. Why would you want to do that?” She told him what she’d found out. “I have it all figured out. As soon as I get the insurance money from Mom, it’ll pay it all off, and we’ll be on easy street. You know I’m like a cat. That I’m always landing on my feet.”

“This time, you landed yourself into jail. How could you do this to our daughter, Louis? Steal her money? She worked hard in winning that money, and you pissed it away because of one scheme after another. And there is no money from your mother’s estate. She was broke. Dead broke, and might well have lived longer had you and that nutball of a sister of yours helped poor Piper out when she asked for it. Your own mother, Louis. You left her to die like she was nothing to you.” He started telling her there was money. “No. I’ve seen what Piper spent of her own money to keep your mother in medications. The list of things they had to do