The Cowboy's Hunt by Jamie K. Schmidt

Author:Jamie K. Schmidt [Schmidt, Jamie K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781951190125
Publisher: The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2019-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

After two hours, the money wasn’t back in her account and the phone number she used to contact Jules just kept ringing. She sent an email to Bobby, asking him for his brother-in-law’s name and contact information. Hopefully they would get a lead that way. The car rental place was turning out to be a needle in a haystack, but at least she felt like she was doing something.

“Are you ready to call the police?” Donovan asked.

They were in his office. He was at his desk searching car dealerships on his computer and she was on her phone. “Not yet.”

When she brought the police into this, it would become real. And if it was real, she was out five thousand dollars that she really couldn’t afford to lose.

“Did you do this to a lot of people?”

“Yes.” Donovan sighed.

“What a shitty way to earn a living. Why did your father do it?”

“He liked it. He like feeling superior and tricking people. It was a rush for him. Like how some people gamble on the horses, he gambled on people. But just like the track, it’s never a sure thing and eventually you lose.”

“So you think tricking me gave Jules a rush?”

“If it did, my calling him out soured it for him.”

“I suppose that’s something,” Emily said. “Do you think he feels stupid now? Violated?”

“And afraid he’s going to jail. Trust me, he’s having a worse night than you.”

“Good,” she said. “Did your mother feel the same way? Was she addicted to the rush?”

“She liked stealing. She was a magpie. She saw something bright and shiny and she had to have it. It didn’t matter if it belonged to someone else or not. If she wanted it, she took it.”

“Did you like it?”

“I liked pleasing my parents. I liked their compliments. I hated their disappointments. I never thought about how the marks felt. Not until Samuel Barton became my friend. I guess I thought that when we moved to Colleyville, that was our last con. It wasn’t. It was just the longest.”

“Did you ever wonder what happened to Samuel and his father?”

“I didn’t have to wonder. His father did some time for manslaughter. Ten years and he was out on good behavior.” Donovan huffed out a humorless laugh. “He missed his son growing up for taking my mother away from me. Ten years doesn’t seem like such a long time for killing someone. My father got thirty for all his scams. Samuel hunted me down a few years ago.”

“Why?”

“He was pissed. I disappeared without a trace. He lost his father, his best friend, and his life got turned completely upside down. All because of my father.”

“What happened?”

“I let him beat the shit out of me.”

“Oh, Donovan.”

She came over to him, pushed the chair he was sitting on back from the desk, and straddled his lap. Hugging him tight, she asked, “Why would you do that?”

“Because I deserved it. Don’t worry, I had taken worse beatings.”

“Is that supposed to make it better?”

“It did for him, at least for a while.

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