The Dark Prince's Prize

Chapter 18-1

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“What’s put that stupid grin on your face?”

Rob’s deep voice drew a low groan from Samara and she wiped the pleased, dreamy smile from her lips. Leave it to one of her brothers to ruin a perfectly fine day. Stiffening her shoulders, she turned and faced him.

“Obviously not seeing you,” she retorted.

Rob’s pursed his lips in annoyance, and his eyes flashed with a silent warning. She was beyond being intimidated. Now that she was on her own, she didn’t know why she had waited as long as she did to leave.

She turned her back to him again and carefully selected the last of the ripe tomatoes that she would need to make homemade spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight. Her hope was that if she ignored her brother, he would magically disappear. That hope died when he stepped closer and stood in her way.

“Excuse me. I need an onion,” she said.

“The jerk from Vegas is coming down tonight for the money Gary owes. He’ll be at the Cattleman’s at nine to collect,” Rob said, not moving.

She gritted her teeth, reached around him, and grabbed a large onion before she responded. “It’s not my problem.”

She tensed when Rob wrapped his hand around her arm. “We don’t have the money,” he said in a low voice.

Do you need me?

Adalard’s soothing voice filtered through her mind. She breathed slowly and focused on keeping her thoughts under control. The last thing she needed was for Adalard to pop up unexpectedly in the middle of the grocery store.

I’m fine. I’m grocery shopping. I think I can handle this all by myself, she responded.

Adalard’s soft chuckle echoed through her mind, and she felt him withdraw. She sighed and returned her attention to her brother. He had released her arm and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“It’s different this time. This guy isn’t one of the local guys that we owe a hundred bucks to and can blow off. This guy is—“ Rob shook his head, pulled one of his hands out of his pocket, and ran it through his disheveled hair before he continued. “This is out of our league, Samara. He won’t stop at broken bones.”

Regret filled her. This was the first time in her life that she had ever seen Rob at a loss—and vulnerable. The problem was this situation was beyond her help. Even if she gave every penny she had, it would only be a band-aid trying to staunch a wound to a major artery.

“I have nothing to give you, Rob,” she said, lifting her chin and staring back at him with a look of sad resignation. "Gary will have to get himself out of this one. If he is worried about being physically harmed, then maybe he should contact the police. Annalisa can give him some advice. Or maybe—just maybe—he needs to disappear for a while.”

Rob’s expression hardened and he dropped his hand down to his side. “When did you become such a cold-hearted b***h? If that bastard kills Gary, it is on your head. Remember, it wasn’t just the money that Gary lost. You were part of the pot as well. He’ll come looking for you next.”

Samara winced when Rob poked a stiff finger against her shoulder before he turned and strode away. It wasn’t until he disappeared down an aisle that she realized she was shaking. She looked down at the large onion she was gripping like it was a lifeline.

Samara—

Adalard’s questioning voice flashed through her mind again. She looked around the produce section, noticing for the first time that the produce manager was watching her with a look of concern. She gave the older man a strained smile before she placed the onion in her cart, and began pushing it along the rows of fresh produce.

I’m okay. Rob caught up with me, she reluctantly responded.

What did he want? Adalard asked suspiciously.

A shiver ran through her at the dangerous edge in his voice. A wry amusement pierced her cloud of anxiety at dealing with her oldest brother. It honestly didn’t take long for her brothers to draw this kind of reaction from people—including aliens!

The same thing he always wants—to drive me crazy and take my money—not necessarily in that order, she sighed.

What did you tell him? I should have come to you, Adalard said in a disgruntled voice.

No, you should not have, and I told him that he and the others were on their own. I can’t save them from themselves anymore, she answered with a slightly sharper tone than she intended. I need to focus on what I’m doing. We can talk later.

She pulled up the wall in her mind and imagined putting a huge padlock on it for extra measure. Her mind swirled with what Rob had said about the man hurting Gary. She wasn’t concerned about the other part of Gary’s bargain. It wouldn’t be hard to dissuade the man from thinking she was any kind of prize. Besides, if she couldn’t convince the man to leave her out of the deal, she was sure Adalard could if push came to shove.

“Damn it all to hell,” she muttered as she finished picking up the items she would need for dinner tonight. “This is the last time. I swear this is the absolutely, positively last time I ever help those morons ever again.”