“We need to talk.”
Her stomach clenched. That didn’t sound good. “What’s wrong?”
He hesitated and she could almost see him rubbing the bridge of his nose as he always did when he was troubled. She’d met him many times during her visits to her grandmother’s home and had come to know him fairly well.
“I’d rather do it in person.”
She shook her head, and then realized he couldn’t see her. “Whatever it is, I need to know now.”
He sighed. “Your father is making a simple situation complicated. He’s claiming your grandmother’s will is invalid, that she was mentally incompetent at the time she wrote it.”
Linda swayed, catching herself against the counter. Once again, her family was doing their best to hurt her. Even though she’d half expected something like this, it still hurt.
Black spots appeared before her eyes. She took a deep breath, clutching the receiver tight in her hand. “You can’t be serious.” But she knew he was. Simon, the bastard, had known all about this when he’d arrived this morning. His veiled threats and his parting quip about seeing him again made so much more sense now.
“Linda?” She could hear Mr. Spokes’s voice as if from a distance. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she managed to gasp. But she wasn’t okay. Not in the least. Her family was trying to destroy her. And over what? Money. How did one deal with that?
“Everything will be fine, Linda,” he assured her. “Antoinette Lafayette was nobody’s fool. She never trusted your father. Her will is airtight. This is just a minor glitch, but it will take some time to sort out. It’s a delaying tactic, that’s all.”
Linda clung to the edge of her desk as she eased herself down onto her chair. “You’re certain?”
“Absolutely.”
Relief hit her. Her skin went hot and then cold. Sweat made her blouse cling to her torso. “Okay.” Her heart was racing, but she was growing calmer by the second. “I can deal with that.”
He cleared his throat. “Financially, will you be okay? I know you got a loan based on your inheritance.”
“Yeah, Past Promises is doing well, and I still have some savings.” Not much. But she could tighten her belt. She’d better enjoy that chicken tonight for supper, because she foresaw a lot of macaroni and soup in her future. She’d poured all her savings into buying stock and getting her business launched.
“Good. I’ll call you as soon as I get this mess straightened out.”
“Thank you, Mr. Spokes.” The line went dead and she slowly lowered the phone. Almost as soon as it disconnected, it rang again. “Past Promises.”
“Ms. Fletcher, this is Albert Kramer at the bank. We have a problem.”
Levi glanced at his watch as he headed toward the inside entrance of the store. It was only ten minutes past closing but his gut was telling him there was something wrong. He never ignored those feelings. Linda was probably just busy with a late customer or with paperwork. But he’d rather feel like an idiot than stay in his apartment worrying about her.
He opened the door and glanced around. The lights were still on, but there didn’t seem to be anyone here. The hair on the back of his neck stirred. He sensed there was someone here even though he couldn’t see them. Levi reached for his weapon, cursing when he realized he didn’t have it. His sniper rifle was in a locked box beneath his bed and his 9 mm was in the bedside table. Not much help to him at the moment.
He did have a knife in his boot and he wasn’t without skills. He could take on an intruder with his bare hands if he had to. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.
This was Jamesville, not some hellhole in a war-torn part of the world. The chances of there being an intruder were slim. There was little to no cash on the premises and a thief wouldn’t find the stuff she carried easy to hock. Linda was probably fine. She was more than likely in the storage room.
“Linda?” He listened intently as he prowled into the room.
A soft sound caught his attention and he moved swiftly to her desk area behind the counter. Linda was sitting in her chair, doubled over, her head buried in her lap.
His heart skipped a beat as he hurried to her side. Dropping to his knees beside her, he touched her shoulder. “Linda.” She seemed oblivious to everything around her. “Darlin’, look at me. Are you hurt? Is it your stomach?” When she still didn’t answer, he stood and started to lift her into his arms. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“No!” She shook her head, her entire body trembling. She jerked back in her chair and stared up at him. Her eyes were red, her face blotchy. Makeup streaked down her cheeks.
“What happened?” Every instinct Levi had went on full alert. Something or someone had hurt his woman. He needed to fix this. “What’s wrong?” He kept his voice gentle as he cupped her face in his hands. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“Oh, Levi.” She started to cry again, tears trickling down her cheeks. “They’re trying to take it from me.”
He tapped down his growing fury and caught her tears with his thumbs, rubbing softly. “I’m going to lock up the store, then we’re going to go upstairs and talk.”
“The store doesn’t matter,” she replied despondently. “Not anymore.”
Truly concerned now, he hurried to the door. He didn’t want to leave her for a second, but this was no place to have this conversation. Anyone walking down the street could look in the big glass display windows and see them there.
He flicked the locks and went back to Linda. He scooped her into his arms and headed to the other door. “I haven’t finished my paperwork.” Her voice hitched and he tightened his hold on her. He felt helpless in the face of her distress and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“You can do it in the morning.”
“I have to go to the bank in the morning.” Her voice was toneless as she made that proclamation.
Levi turned off the lights and carried her out of the shop, closing the door behind him. He quickly took her upstairs to his apartment. She might feel more secure in her own place, but he didn’t have a key. Not that such a minor detail would stop him. But he didn’t want her to realize how easy it was for him to break into her home, nor did he want her to have to worry about digging out her keys.
He didn’t stop, carrying her straight into the bedroom and settling on the bed with her in his lap. He leaned against the battered headboard and nudged her chin up with his thumb so he could see her face. “Tell me what happened.”
She sniffed and blinked back tears. “My family is trying to destroy Past Promises.”
Levi forced himself to appear calm and relaxed as she related the call from the lawyer and then the loan officer from the bank. He hadn’t liked her family before this, but now he felt nothing but fury toward them. How could they try and destroy her like this? Her own father.
“Because of the hard economic times, the bank has sold some of their mortgages and high-risk loans. My promissory note was bought up by a bank in Vermont that just happens to be run by a good friend and client of my father. I recognized it immediately. They’re calling for immediate repayment. I have sixty days to pay, but it doesn’t matter. With the inheritance tied up, I just don’t have the money.”
“Can they do that?”
Linda sighed and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. There’s a clause in the agreement that allows for it, but I was assured it was standard procedure and they’d never use it.” She gave a bitter laugh. “More fool me.”
Levi’s mind was working to process all the information and come up with possible solutions. “But you will have the money?”
“Eventually. Mr. Spokes guaranteed it. But when you’re dealing with that much money, it takes time.”