C1 Under threat of death

Lara San

"I have a lead I'm following up on," I said bitterly to the man on the other end of the phone. "I'll know more in a couple of days."

"Fine by me. You know the terms."

"I do." Also fighting the urge to tell him to fuck off as she grabbed her cell phone.

"I'll be heading into forest territory soon. The signal will be iffy. Don't expect to hear from me for a while."

"And don't forget who holds all the cards, honey. Your uncle's life depends on it."

"We negotiate the month. Either I get back to Paul Reeds in that time frame or my uncle's life is forfeit. I understand that. But I handle my hunting my way. I don't need you to micromanage me."

He laughed at that; a laugh that chilled me to the bone. "I like you, Lara . You've got balls. And nice tits. That's an amazing combination. I don't think you'll leave town and let your uncle pay the piper either, so, for that, I'll wait patiently."

"I'll deliver. I always do. But if you hurt him in any way..."

"You're in no position to threaten me, my dear, but I appreciate your biting. And you can get me what I need, so, for now, your uncle is safe. Your reputation precedes you. Don't let me down."

"I won't." Fucking asshole.

I ended the call before I vocalized those thoughts and stared at my cell phone, wiping away tears with my eyes. I didn't have time for that. I had to function, move on and try to get out of this mess.

Using the burner phone I had picked up along the way, I dialed my uncle's number. The only other number stored there was Scott's , whom I had listed as a FUCKING BASTARD in my contacts. With Scott's goons hot on my heels and my self-preservation instinct, I had left my cell phone at home.

It was safer that way.

Leaning back against the soft cafeteria seat, I waited for Spencer to answer. He did after several rings stammering, "Ullo."

"Spencer , it's me."

"Lara! It's been a long time, are you okay?"

"Where are you?"

"I don't know," she breathed, coughing a little. "Towing. I think. I went to bed late last night."

Of course you did," I laughed, humorless, just exasperated. He always did the same thing. He'd stir the pot and then walk away drunk and smiling. Anyone else with their life hanging in the balance would panic and go unnoticed, but not him.

"Are they watching you?" I asked him.

"What?"

"The deal with Scott," I spat. "His goons. Are they still watching you?"

"Oh, them. Yes, them. I can't go anywhere without them following me. But Scott gave me some work at the casino to help pay off the debt. I'm not winning anything. You'll send me a few hundred, won't you, Lara? I've got some good information for the lead."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"What?" I heard him rummage for something before lighting a match and taking a drag on a cigarette. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I don't know. You might owe Scott money . What would he hold a gun on you until I agreed to collect a bounty on him? You dying if I failed? Any of this ring a bell?"

He half laughed. "Don't worry about it, Lara . You'll find the bounty. You're good at what you do."

Closing my eyes, I prayed for patience. Spencer was always like that, so harmless after doing something so fucked up that I ended up feeling like a bitch. "You're an asshole , sometimes. A complete and total asshole."

"Hey already. Don't be like that, what do you want me to do, sit here and mope while I wait for you to come home?"

No. I want you to stop getting into this shit in the first place!". I forced myself not to scream and looked around, almost empty. The waitress behind the counter looked up briefly and resumed pouring the coffee. I lowered my voice. "This is bad, Spencer . It's bad."

"You worry too much, honey," she reassured me. "It's always been that way. You have to trust fate. I keep telling you that. The more you try to control something, the worse it gets. Things will go as planned. So go play. You can do it. There's never been anything you can't do when you put your mind to it."

Every damn time. "I've got to go. Stay out of trouble."

Spencer chuckled, coughing. "Trouble is my middle name."

"Sure it is. But listen, I doubt I'll be able to call for a while. Don't do anything stupid."

"Don't ever."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I won't. Never. You're a saint. Take care of yourself."

"I will, sweetheart. You too. You know the rules."

"Never leave a trail, trust no one, and always follow the bucks."

"See? I taught you well. I love you, Lara ."

"I love you too."

The call ended.

Fuck. He always had a way of tugging at my heartstrings.

Conflicted, I couldn't help but feel love for him. He was my only family. The one who had taken me in after my parents died a week before my fourteenth birthday. If it hadn't been for him, I would have had to be taken care of. And even though he wasn't the best of role models, living in a trailer and drinking more than he worked, he had done everything he could for a teenager he didn't know how to raise. He also taught me how to handle a gun, how to shoot and how to defend myself.

After our first few years together, I would help him with his bounty hunting jobs: paperwork and puzzle solving after school. When I turned eighteen, he took me to work with him and I quickly learned the trade.

By the time I graduated, I knew enough to benefit from Idaho state laws that allowed me to bounty hunt without a license. But I also wanted to set myself apart from the newbies, the ones who were eager to make a quick buck from the overzealous bail jumpers.

Sixty hours of mandatory training later, I had accepted the lesser jobs that crossed my uncle's desk and negotiated a larger share of his fee.

A gift horse Spencer wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and he often used me when he needed a female decoy. So I learned to dress and act seductively to attract those hard-to-trap targets. I took martial arts classes, which gave me the strength and confidence to take down those who were bigger than me. I obtained a license to carry a gun and stuffed as much of my earnings as I could into a secret account far away from Spencer.

With the rest of my earnings I moved out of the trailer and rented an apartment nearby. But as time went on Spencer continued to decline, losing himself in the bottle as old age approached and his bounty hunting job became harder for him to carry .And now he was gone and fifty thousand dollars worth of debt to one of the most dangerous men in Idaho.