Page 4 of Rascal

“Yeah. Your golden boy… not so. Now I want the paperwork for my uncle and grandfather’s inheritances, and I expect them in my bank by this afternoon.”

“I… I…” Louis stammered.

“Don’t worry, Louis. See, being locked up for a crime I didn’t commit gave me plenty of time to watch over my inheritance. I know precisely how much money they left me and the interest earned. And no, I won’t take a cheque. I want a bank transfer, and you better have every cent.”

Louis went pale but motioned for me and King to follow him. Being a bitch certainly seemed to work! I should have learned that five years ago; then I might not have lost everything.

“Louis was on the verge of having a heart attack.” King laughed, arm slung over my shoulders as we headed to a diner.

“The sweat was pouring off him,” I agreed.

“I really believed he was going to say he didn’t have the money,” King admitted.

“He hasn’t. He’s been using Grandpa and Uncle Owen’s cash to shore up his business. Now I’ve pulled it, he’ll be bankrupt within three months.”

“Hallie, it’s damn scary how you’re aware of all this shit,” King said, and I chuckled.

“Didn’t have much to do apart from plotting revenge. I haven’t even started.”

I stopped at the diner, and King opened the door. It was obvious Louis’s receptionist had been on the phone.

People quit talking and stared. I smirked and took a table. King sat opposite me and whipped his cell out.

“How bad is this going to get?”

“Oh, on a scale of one to ten? Eleven,” I whispered, leaning forward.

“Go get them,” King urged as he tapped on his phone and held it up. He sat back as a waitress—May—approached.

“You shouldn’t be here. I’ve called the sheriff,” she snapped.

“Great, I can’t wait to see that fat, lazy, dirty cunt,” I retorted.

Gasps abounded from around me.

“That’s my husband!” a woman cried. I glanced over.

“Oh, I know. Will you be saying that, Ivy, when I sue his ass?” I demanded.

“You were found guilty!” May declared loudly.

“Yet, here I sit.”

“You broke out!” someone accused.

“Of course I did! And the first thing I thought I’d do following my prison break was return here to eat at this diner. I mean, King, the food here is worth breaking out of prison for, isn’t it?” My voice was heavily laced with sarcasm.

King began laughing. “The waffles might be, yeah.”

The door opened, and Sheriff Bentley entered. His eyes found mine, and he blanched.

“Yep. Welcome home to me, Sheriff, right?” I sneered.

“Darling, you need to arrest her immediately!” Ivy exclaimed.

“Go ahead, Sheriff, what’s one more wrongful arrest charge?”

“What are you talking about? Did being inside drive you up the wall? Shane Morris identified you himself,” May snapped.