Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (39 page)

“
Easy,
”
Chris said and placed a hand on Barrett
’
s shoulder.
“
Remember the plan.
”

“
Fuck the plan. That man has taken everything from us.
”

“
And we are about to get it back, and then some. Trust Sarah. She
’
d never lead us astray.
”

Barrett hoped Chris was right.

Before they could knock, Barrett swung the door open and rested his glare on Strickler.

“Hello, Barrett.”

“Fuck you, Strickler.”

Strickler laughed. The son of a bitch actually laughed right in Barrett’s face, and now he was about to die because of it.

But then Sarah stepped toward him with that mesmerizing glimmer in her pretty brown eyes as she held her sunglasses down on her nose. She caught him in the power of her gaze, and he simmered
down
enough to not attack Strickler. Barely.

“Let’s do this.” Norris pushed Strickler inside and then stepped in behind him, using his body as a barrier between Barrett and the enemy. His eyes conveyed the same message Chris had been saying all along.

Easy does it. Trust me.

“It will take all four of them,” Strickler stated and made sure he kept Norris between him and Barrett. “They all have to sign the deed over. That’s how the old man set it up.”

Barrett slowed. Even though Amber and Norris
went
through the plan at least a dozen times, knowing he’d be signing the deed to the ranch over to anyone clamped at his insides. If something went wrong, if Strickler somehow slipped away, they’d lose everything with no chance to recover.

“It’s about time,” Amber sang as she appeared behind Norris. “Let’s get this over with and get these Neanderthals off my ranch.”

Barrett audibly growled. “These
Neanderthals
are right here.”

Amber looked at him and shrugged, a look of disinterest resting on her expression. “Your point?”

“How can you do this?” Barrett didn’t even have to play his part. This ripped at his gut. He felt like he was about to have a stroke.

“Easy. You have something I want.” She then looked at Norris with a come-and-get-me grin. “When I see something I want, I take it.”

Sarah and Barrett exchanged glances.

“Okay, Gideons. Let’s do this. Sign on the dotted line and get the hell off my land.”

Strickler followed Amber into the business office. “You are a heartless woman.”

“No, I’m just impatient.” She sat down at Michael’s desk and slowly ran her hands along the expensive cherry oak, a slow grin curling her lips. “This is nice.”

“Don’t get too used to it,” Chris rasped. “As soon as we come up with the money—”

She stopped him with a wave of her hand. “Oh, yes. As soon as you can find your way out of that hole you’re in and break even, then you’ll suddenly come up with four million dollars.”

Barrett stilled and looked at his brothers. That wasn’t the deal. Was this part of the scam? Or were Norris and Amber—and Sarah—pulling a scam of their own?

Should he break character and say something?

Chris spoke up. “We agreed on six million.”

“
Things change,
”
Amber sang.

“
The agreement was six million, damn it.
”
Barrett crossed his arms.

“Six?” Strickler laughed. “Come on, Barrett. In this market you’d be lucky to get five.”

“That’s still more than four,” Chris pointed out.

Amber let out a bored sigh. “I’ve changed my mind. It’s four million, cash up front, or the deal is off. You can deal with your debt on your own. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of opportunity to make money living out of a minivan. Good luck with all those payroll checks bouncing.”

God
damn
it. Barrett didn’t know if they played this as part of the scam or not. If he signed the deed, he knew his brothers would sign as well. Damn, he wished he could know whether this was all part of the plan or if Norris and Amber did this as a way to really get their hands on the ranch.

Sarah pushed her sunglasses up and moved away from Norris to put herself between Barrett and everyone else, her back to him. She turned to look over her shoulder and muttered, “Keep it together.”

Like hell.

“No deal.”

Strickler rolled his eyes. “I told you he wouldn’t go for it.”

Amber rose to her feet and swayed over to Barrett, her gaze never leaving him. The other brothers audibly groaned as she leaned up and crushed her breasts against Barrett’s chest and held her lips just out of reach of his.

“I need your deed,
daddy
.”

He was definitely going to have a stroke.

Without warning, Amber backed up, the paper from his inside pocket now in her hot little hands. Barrett slapped at his chest and cursed. How did she do that?

With a triumphant grin, she took her seat at Michael’s desk once again. “Once the transfer is complete, you will sign this little piece of paper, and the ranch will be mine.”

“Ours,” Norris cut in. Barrett shot him a lethal glare.

“Exactly.” Strickler nodded in agreement.

Amber smiled sweetly and opened her laptop. “You’re on, Lucky. Give me your numbers.”

Strickler crossed his arms in front of him. “Not until I see yours in there first.”

“Show me yours and I’ll show you mine?”

“Something like that.”

Strickler eased his sleazy lips into a grin, and Barrett’s entire body tensed, his need to kill this bastard overwhelming all other senses. Fuck the plan. Strickler wouldn’t be able to steal money from another family if Barrett ended his pathetic life.

“Aren’t you just the cutest thing.” Amber winked and tapped at the keys. “There. Done. See? Isn’t this fun?”

Everyone crowded around the laptop after Strickler typed in his account number. No one moved. No one spoke. No one breathed. The cursor turned to an hourglass as a message blinked across the screen.

Transfer in Progress.

The amount on the screen changed from two million to four million. Amber then typed in a new transaction, and the computer blinked again as another transfer took place, changing the amount remaining to zero.

“It’s done.” She batted her large green eyes up at Barrett. “Do you need a pen?”

Strickler laughed and shook his head. “So cold. I think I love you. A woman without a heart is a rare commodity.”

Barrett flicked his gaze to Sarah, who had shifted so that she kept him in her sights. He just made out her pretty eyes from the side where the sunglasses didn’t hide them.

She winked, and he let out a relieved sigh. He turned to Chris and gave him a single nod, which brought a slight curl to Chris’s lips.

“Okay, Barrett. Your turn. Let’s see if your signature looks as good as the owner.”

He snapped his glare back to Amber. “For four million dollars?”

“That’s my offer,” she said and sat back, folding her hands in front of her. “Take it or leave it.”

“I’m leaving it.”

Amber jerked forward, her eyes wide. “What?”

“You heard me. Until I am physically removed from this property, I say what goes. And this does not.”

Matt stepped up and took the pen from Barrett’s hand. “I’ll sign.”

“Matt, no. This is wrong.” He didn’t know whether he should be putting up this much of a fight, but, goddamn it, this was his life. Who wouldn
’
t fight for his life?

He whipped around. “No. You know what’s wrong? Always leaving the decisions up to you. It’s bullshit. I say we sign. Four million dollars, Barrett. No more debt. We can start over fresh.”

Matt signed the paper and handed the pen to Wyatt, who did the same before turning and looking at Barrett with sorrow in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Barrett. I have to go with Matt on this.”

Michael then approached and took the pen from Wyatt. He shook his head and muttered a curse as he signed his name. “There. I hope you’re happy.”

“Not until all of you sign.” Amber looked at Barrett.

He glanced at each of his brothers, saw that vulnerable kid in them he’d fought so hard to protect. They looked to him for guidance, for security. And what did he do with that trust? He let a con artist move in right under his nose and take away everything.

He didn’t deserve to be the head of the family.

“Fuck,” Barrett bit out and jerked the pen from Michael. “I’ll find a way to get the ranch back. I swear to you, this is not permanent.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Strickler rubbed his fingers against his thumbs as he fixed his gaze on the paper Amber folded up and held close to her breast. “Not in this lifetime, Barrett. Now get the hell off my property before I call the cops.”

“No need,” a sultry voice sounded from the doorframe.

There, in the doorframe, stood Carol, but that wasn’t the biggest shock. In her hand she held an FBI badge.

She wore a nice brown turtleneck with a beige blazer and matching slacks. She looked nothing like the Carol who’d been at the ranch a few weeks back. That Carol had bleach blonde hair and too much makeup, and dressed like a cheap hairdresser.

This Carol wore her blonde hair back in a sleek ponytail, very little makeup, and looked every bit the part of a federal agent. Behind her stood two more agents in dark suits, not looking much different than Norris and Sarah, sunglasses and all.

Strickler’s mouth dropped open. “Carol?”

The Gideons fell into a stunned silence. Barrett didn’t see that coming. From the looks on his kin’s faces, they didn’t, either.

Everyone except Matt. He walked over and kissed Carol’s cheek. “Thanks for taking my call.”

She replaced her badge on her belt and pulled cuffs out from behind her back as she walked into the room, her gaze intent on Strickler. “Hello, Lucky.”

“Carol?” he repeated.

“Agent Dewitt,” she corrected. “We’ve been after you for a long time. When I got Matt’s call, I knew we had you.”

Barrett squeezed his hands into fists so tight he swore the mending bones in his left hand snapped under the pressure. And he didn’t care. He wanted to know what the fuck was going on, and he wanted to know now.

“Matt, you have five seconds to explain.”

His brother widened his eyes before hiding behind the beautiful FBI agent. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“You’re right,” Carol said to Matt. “He does look ready to kill. Listen, Barrett. Don’t be too angry at him. I needed to stay close to Lucky without losing contact with someone from the ranch in case Lucky decided to go out on his own. Since I didn’t even know about this meeting, I guess it was a good thing I kept in contact with Matt. When he called me and told me what you all were up to, I figured I’d pay the ranch a visit. Imagine my surprise to find Lucky here.”