Hawkins_McCullough’s Jamboree_Erotic Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 17

  The men around the table nodded, each of them telling her that they were glad someone had stood up to them. She let Chad speak, and Jamie laughed as she stood and removed the chair to let him up.

  She was fully prepared for him to come at her. What she hadn’t counted on was him having a knife. And when he slashed out with it, nicking her arm, the gun went off and no one moved when Chad fell to the floor, holding his knife hand.

  True to what he had threatened, Hawkins had shot him. He didn’t kill him, though he might yet as the anger in his face seemed to reach out and touch her. She put her hand on Hawkins’s shoulder and had him look at her.

  “I’m all right, I promise you. And I think you made your point quite well.” He winked at her, then kissed her on the mouth. She looked around the room and then at Marshall. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt in this?”

  “Hurt? Hell no, I’m not hurt. But I think I made the right decision yesterday.” Marshall stood up and cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Jamie McCullough. I’d stay on her good side if I were you. She’s going to be taking over my job when I retire. In the meantime, I’m going to be training her on how to run this place.”

  Marshall was laughing as he left the room. The security team came in then and escorted his four sons out of the room. Jamie sat down then and looked at Hawkins, who was grinning from ear to ear about something. When she glanced at Gordon, who told her that he needed her signature, she signed it without reading it. This was just too bizarre to get straight in her head right now. As the others left, telling her their names and that they were glad she was taking over, she looked at Hawkins when it was just the two of them in the room.

  “What just happened? I thought I was here just to put his sons in their place. What did they mean when they congratulated me on being here? I’m not staying.” Hawkins told her that he thought for sure that she was. “No, I don’t want to run a company. I can barely run my own life, much less this.... What the hell does this business do, anyway?”

  Hawkins was laughing harder than she’d ever seen him when he left her sitting at the long table. The longer that she sat there, going over each thing that had happened, she realized that she’d signed something and not read it. Jamie got up to find Gordon and tell him that she wanted the paperwork back that she’d signed, that she’d changed her mind.

  “I’m afraid that you can’t do that, Miss Jamie. I’ve already filed the paperwork that states that you’re taking over the company, and will be staying on after Marshall is gone. Which won’t be long, I’m afraid. He has an advanced form of cancer.” She had just found him, damn it. “I’m sorry. But he was so happy to find out that you might be out there and that you were his daughter. I have to tell you, neither of us knew what to expect from you. But I should tell you that neither of us thought you’d be so good at keeping them in line.”

  “But he’s more their father than mine.” He asked her if she’d been in the room when all that shit was going on. “Yes. Well, I was showing off a little.”

  “Be that as it may, you made an impression on both of us, Marshall and I, as well as the board. All of them were ready to bail if any of the boys had been made president and CEO of the company.” She asked him what the company did. “They go into areas that have been stripped of all that made it a forest or town and rebuild. Housing, as well as other things that a family might need. There are trees planted, as well as gardens are put in. That’s not all we do—we also help with the design of equipment for people that might need something. Like a new leg because the one that they have has been broken or stolen. The moneymaker, however, the one that allows us to make these incredible donations, are the products that we make and distribute all over the world. We make Marshall Chocolates. Named after Marshall’s dad, who made the confections right here on this property before it was built up. We’re very famous for that and a line of wines that we grow the grapes for, as well as cheeses from the dairy farms that we have that are run by good people who take care of—”

  Jamie cut him off by simply raising her hand. Gordon gave her a file and a copy of today’s newspaper. He left her when she picked it up. On the front page was an article stating how Marshall Pennington had found his long-lost daughter, and that she was going to take over the running of his businesses. She was deep in reading it when Lauren joined her.

  “You’ll do a great job.” Jamie told her that she didn’t think so. “Yes. Well, you tamed the beast inside of Hawkins—you can do about anything you set your mind to, I think. Running this size of a business will be a piece of cake for you. I have the go ahead with Jackson. Are you ready to help us end this shit?”

  “Yes. I can help you. Whatever you need for me to do.” Lauren said that she didn’t know what just yet, but she wanted her there in the event it all went to shit. “You never have things go to shit that you don’t fix before anyone knows about it.”

  “That is true. I’m very good at thinking on my feet. And so are you. That is why you and I are going to be an awesome duo, or perhaps the biggest dumb asses on the plant.” Jamie told her that she didn’t think that was going to be possible; she thought that her brothers had that all sewn up. “Yes, you might have a point there. Let’s go and take in Jackson and have a nice dinner in town before going home. You have a busy week in front of you.”

  Jamie wasn’t sure, but she thought that Lauren was enjoying this too much. But she went with her. This really did have to end with this man. He needed to be taken care of so that others could sleep at night.

  ~*~

  Jackson was sick and tired of not being able to take his plan to the next level. There were road blocks all the way around every little thing that he tried to get going. Like his money and the fact that he couldn’t get to it. The woman on the phone had been less than helpful, and he’d wanted to go and strangle her when she told him that the money was gone. But she didn’t have any idea why. Mother fuck, there was a lot of money in that account, and someone was fucking with him.

  He made his way to the diner, checking his costume as he went. The place was busy, as it usually was. Frank was able to snag a booth when two people got up to leave. Tonight’s special was roast beef. Not that it was that tasty or anything, but it had grown on him, the way the cook made things. The waitress brought him a cup of black water mistaken as coffee, and a little pitcher of cream.

  “You want the special tonight?” He didn’t even glace up at the woman, but told her that was fine. “We have some nice desserts too. You might want to save some room for some of it.”

  “I don’t care for sweets, if that’s what you call the things coming out of that kitchen.” Frank dropped his head and cursed himself for talking too much. When she didn’t move, he apologized to her quietly and told her that for now, he didn’t want any sweets. “I’ve had a bad day today, and I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

  When she left him, he noticed that there was a group of people at the other end of the restaurant that was loud in their talking. The two men at the counter didn’t move, nor did they seem pissed about how noisy the place was. He was nearly fed up with it when his house salad was brought to him. He looked up at the waitress and realized that he’d never seen this one.

  “I don’t suppose you could ask them to keep it down a bit, can you?” She said that she could but wasn’t going to. Then she flounced away. Frank was so shocked by what she’d said to him that he sat there with his mouth open until she came back with a refill on his coffee.

  The waitress continued to be rude to him for the rest of his meal. Every time she came near his table, she would make a comment about something to do with him. His hair was nasty. His shoes needed polished. And the entire time, he tried his best to keep his mouth shut.

  When one of the men from the other table sat down in his booth, he asked him what the hell he was doing. The man was joined by a woman, and they started arguing over the french fries that they’d eaten. Frank started to rise when a yo
ung woman sat down with him and pushed him toward the window. He’d had enough.

  “What the hell are you doing? I was just leaving after enjoying my meal.” The woman sitting next to him told him that he hadn’t enjoyed anything but the bread. “How the hell do you know that? Is someone here spying on me for you for some reason?”

  “Yes.” He felt his balls tighten up when the woman across from him smiled. “I’m Lauren, and this is my husband, Colin. The lady there is Jamie. She can read your mind.”

  “That’s not possible.” The woman, Jamie, smiled at him this time, and he was more afraid of her than Lauren. “What is it you hope to accomplish by threatening me like this?”

  “We’re not threatening you, Frank. Or should we call you Robert? You and I have had some nice conversations over the last few days. That is, until you broke your laptop when you fled the hotel room in your boxers.” He asked her what she was talking about, and she laughed. He changed his mind; Lauren was scary, but he didn’t trust Jamie more. “Now, we’re going to have a nice conversation here and you’re going to behave yourself. You will be going to jail. But how you help us now can mean the difference in you being in lock down for the rest of your days, or us killing you outright.”

  “You can’t talk to me that way.” He had to think. “I’m a good friend of the President. Once I tell him how you treated me, he’ll come down on you so hard that you won’t see the light of day.”

  The next person sat down at the booth, sitting at the end of his table. The chair had been turned around so that the man sitting on it was facing the back of it. It was none other than Jarvis himself.

  “We’re not friends, Robert. And it’s doubtful that we ever will be. I’m interested in some the answers to these questions too, so by all means, Lauren, proceed with this.” Jarvis was brought a cup of something, and Frank wondered if it was the same nasty shit he’d been forced to drink.

  “No, it’s not.” He looked at Jamie, feeling every bit as terrified as he’d ever been. “We make that coffee specifically for you since you started coming in here two weeks ago. It’s a mixture of coffee and rancid tomato juice. Isn’t that just about the worst thing to do to someone? Oh, wait—you killed Iris, didn’t you? That would be the worst in my book.”

  “Who are you people?” Lauren started to tell him their names again, and he told her he wanted to know who they thought they were to be making these accusations against him. “You will be arrested for slander as soon as I’m in charge.”

  “You really think that we’re going to allow you to go through with your little plan of killing the President? And starting a war that will end thousands of lives on both sides? No, that’s not going to happen either.” Jamie took the offered milkshake that smelled divine. Colin was eating a thick roast beef sandwich, while Jarvis had a large slice of blueberry pie. This was ridiculous. He shouldn’t have to sit here and put up with this. “You see that man over there? That is my husband, Hawkins. He’s already shot one man today, and if you try and run, he won’t just wound you, but will kill you. He wants to kill you, but he’s prepared to wait on you.”

  “What is it you people want? You have no proof of anything, even if it were something that I’d entertain.” The papers were slid across the table at him by Colin. He didn’t have to look at them to know that they were his notes, and that it was all there in black and white for them to read. “What? A man can’t have a little fantasy once in a while? Well, try and prove that to a judge, why don’t you.”

  The recording was of him at Iris’s house, the afternoon she’d been fired, and he’d killed her. It was all there, every word, each syllable that he’d spoken. Then several pictures came his way, stills from the night that he’d been in the Oval Office to steal useless paperwork. Then it occurred to him why the name Hawkins was so familiar. He’d been the one that had signed where Jarvis should have, and he and Lauren were the two who’ had messed up his plan.

  “I’d like to call my lawyer.” A cell phone was put next to him. “It would be a private call, so I’ll make it from my hotel room.”

  “What would be the point in that? I can read your mind, so I’ll know everything you do and say anyway. Oh, and I’d get that nasty thought out of your head about knocking me to the floor and running. I will hurt you if you try.” He asked her what she thought she’d do to him when Colin had the gun. “This.”

  The fire in her palm had him staring at it in fascination. And when she made it dance on her palm, turning into shapes like elephants and flowers, he reached out to touch it. It wasn’t real anyway, and he wanted to see how they’d done it. When she told him it was hot, too hot for him to handle, Frank blew her off and touched the flame with his hand.

  There was no pain at first. Nothing to indicate that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Pulling his hand back out of the flame, he once again became mesmerized by the flame. This time it was on his hands, and it was burning through his skin.

  Screaming about the pain, he pushed Jamie out of his way. His hand was melting—he could see the way the skin dripped off the ends of his fingers and onto the floor. He was looking around for water, anything to cool his hand off, when he was thrown to the floor. It took him almost too long to realize that someone was trying to put him out. But instead of letting them help him, Frank waved his hand around, pieces of him flying about the room and onto other parts of his body. His pants were on fire, the flame of it burning through them and onto his flesh. Everywhere he looked, he was burning up.

  “Stop moving, you moron—you’re making it worse.” Jamie told him over and over to lie still, that help was coming. Frank knew that it was much too late for help now. He looked at the younger man who had joined them and reached out to touch him. But he sidestepped his hand and spoke to the woman.

  “End it.” She said that she couldn’t do that. “If you do not, he’ll suffer for the rest of his life, and that is not what you want to happen. Is it?” Jamie shook her head and the boy spoke again. “End this now, or it’ll spread to the other buildings once it reaches outside of here.”

  The woman was suddenly gone, and in her place was a white waving heat that took his breath away. The need to touch it was overwhelming, but he held back. He was hurting too much now to speak, but he could scream in his mind.

  When a sliver of her flame reached out, he saw the flames around and on him follow it back to her. The pain then increased so much that he would have begged her to kill him to end this.

  The flame came out again, and this time it wrapped around him like a warm blanket. And there wasn’t any more pain—the heat was welcoming, and he closed his eyes, or at least he tried to. Everything on him and inside of him was melting, and he looked at the woman who held him in the white flame.

  “End me. Please?”

  The pain was considerable then, and he cried out. As his face was melting away, he knew that he was going to die. And when he was let out of the flame, he let death take him.

  ~*~

  Hawkins held Jamie as the rest of them went about the business of filling out the paperwork. She hadn’t been hurt physically, but mentally she was overwhelmed. Rocking her back and forth as she sat on his lap, Hawkins thought of what he’d witnessed tonight.

  Jamie’s flame had gathered the other fires around the room, bringing them back to her body, putting out the fires one by one while it seemed to have captured Frank in its deathly grip. When he begged her to end him, Frank was coiled tighter in her snake-like rope of flame and laid on the floor. In the next moment he was gone, just a little ash left behind to show that someone had been there.

  That was when he realized that not only was Frank gone, his body burnt to ash, but the diner that they’d all witnessed this in was as pristine as it had been before, with a few improvements—new benches, as well as better, sturdier tables.

  “I’m all right now.” He looked at her face and the tear tracks that were there. “He touched the flame. I told him not to, but he didn’t liste
n. I tried to get it away from him, to put it out, but he had already touched it by then.”

  “He killed himself. That’s what the official report is going to say.” She nodded and looked around the room with him. “I’m done with working for Jarvis and Lauren. I think she’s going to quit when his term ends as well.”

  “That’s what she told me.” He knew that they’d grown closer over the last few days, and only nodded when she said that. “I apparently have a business to run. And four brothers to keep in line. They might just be missing too before this is all done.”

  “Have you talked to Marshall yet? About all that you can do?” She said that was next on her list of things to do. “I have a friend, a very old and wise vampire. I’ve asked her to go to Marshall and take the cancer away. I’ve seen people go through that kind of death, and I’d like to not ever see it happen again.”

  “Thank you. Will he know?” Hawkins said he’d not because she was that good. “I don’t think he’ll be able to handle any more surprises once he sees what I can do.”

  “Yes, I can see that too. The poor man is just adjusting to the fact that he has a daughter, and you’re going to show him just how bad assed you really are.” They both laughed, and he felt better for it. “How about, Mrs. McCullough, you and I go home and see about breaking in the new bed? We have to make sure that it’s bouncy enough for when the kids come in to jump on it.”

  Hawkins looked back as they made their way to the truck. His brothers were all there, their wives with them, and any children that had joined them. His mom and dad were each holding one of Colin’s brood, and they seemed to be the happiest he’d ever seen them. Getting in the truck, Hawkins pulled Jamie to him and kissed her. She asked him what that was for.