Her Silent Revenge novel Chapter 49

If only I could decide if Nice Patton is really worse than Grumpybutt.

Patton catches my eye and smiles while Arlo continues a long lecture on the virtues of Spider-Man, who had it rough from the start because he was bitten by a spider.

Yep.

Nice Patton is definitely worse.

At least with boss Grumpybutt, I know where I stand, even if the view sucks and the service is rotten.

Nice Patton, he's infinitely scarier.

Dealing with him is a blind bet on the unknown.

Everything I've been running away from ever since the day little Arlo was born.

PATTON

It takes me a full week to get Archer and Dexter together for a meeting about Evelyn's proposal.

She sent everything over in an email so we could scope out the precise location.

Even then, Dex is easily distracted, tapping away on his phone. What the hell has marriage done to my uptight ass of a brother?

I clap my hands in his face.

"Focus," I tell him. "I brought you guys in today so we could make a big decision. Evelyn deserves an answer sooner rather than later, whatever we decide."

Dexter gives me an annoyed grin. I barely recognize this man. It's like the work-obsessed demon that once possessed him has crawled into me instead.

"Okay, fine," he says, drumming his fingers on the table. At least that hasn't changed. "So she wants us to invest in one or two properties? The lakefront places?"

"Three cabins, technically. She needs funds to refurbish them, so she's effectively asking for us to shoulder the cost up front. She also wants a one- time use fee. Future payments will be split between her as retirement income and paying us back for the renovations."

"And you're okay with this?" Archer grumbles, pulling at his grey-shot beard. "That's a damn big investment up front on our part. Even for a family friend."

"Losing is still losing. Even when it happens slowly." Archer wags a finger.

"Welcome to business, my man. Like it or not, you always have to take risks or you're not moving forward. There's also the potential for a huge reward."

I prop my chair up on its wheels triumphantly, leaning back, a dumb habit I just can't break.

"We have guaranteed rewards here in Kansas City," Archer says, but I can tell he's cracking.

The whole Haute incident scared him shitless. He never wanted to partner with anyone else, understandably, but this is Mom's oldest friend we're talking about. It's not like she'd ever crawl into bed with the mob.

This time, it's different. There's also less commitment here.

Plus, we'll be expanding our reach in a way that I know appeals to Archer once he's thought it through.

"I know our last partnership went way off track. But this is Evelyn Hibbing we're talking about. She's not going to call up a mafia hit man if she doesn't get her way. And haven't we been talking about moving north, even before Omaha came up?" I pause, letting it sink in before I continue. "We have the potential to get a foot deep into the market there, and if it works, think what else we could do."