Diamond (Rare Gems Series) (16 page)

“
She was the kindest person in the world and loved her sons. Thad was a good boy and has become a better man. Ward was rotten even as a baby, and that father of his could see nothing wrong with him. Gave him the world even if it meant that Thad did without.” He handed her a glass of tea and a plate of cookies. They sat at the table.

“
They were always rich then?” He shook his head. “I thought…I assumed that Thad inherited his money from his family.”

“
Oh no, missus, he is a self-made man. When I first came to work for him after he started making money, the first thing he said to me was to not lend or give anything that I valued to his father or brother. I never did, but I saw how they treated him. Mr. Thad worked a great deal, and the more he made the more they wanted. His mother passed when Mr. Thad had been in high school, and his father…his family moved in with him right after, sucking him as dry as he’d let them. Then when the mister died, Mr. Thad set some rules up for the brother, but by then it was too late. He already had a taste for having things his way.”

Diamond got up and poured the
m both refills of tea and sat down again before she spoke. “Ward was rude to Jade. She said if she ever saw him again she’d murder him. Did you know that he killed that man in Texas?”

“
I did, missus. I did. Shame that someone had to die for him to get what he deserved, but the boy has always been bad. I don’t know what would have happened if Mr. Thad had not tossed him out that day. He’d taken so much from him. I think it…I believe Mr. Thad was more hurt by it than he’d ever say.”

Diamond was sure he was right.
“Thad said I could take things from the house in Texas that I thought I’d want. Other than his mother’s things, can you think of anything that I should have sent to me?”

When he flushed slightly
, she wondered if he knew about Thad’s playroom and decided that if he did he wouldn’t tell her. Instead, he pulled out his phone and showed her several pictures.

“
It’s his crib, missus. I had…I unearthed it one day when I was cleaning. I had it put into the attic and made sure that no one but me knew it was there. The last Mrs. Galloway’s brother had given it to his sister as a baby gift. She said that he carved it for her.”

The crib was beautiful and
lovingly put together. She enlarged the picture and looked up at Benson, startled. He nodded once and went to the sink to wash up their glasses.

There were animals carved into the headboard as well as the footboard.
And when she looked harder, she noticed that they were wolves at play. Most of them were a little hard to see, but she could see clearly what they were. Someone, a long time ago, had carved wolves into the bed. That’s when she remembered that before she’d changed him, Thad had the ability to seal wounds.

“
I think his great-grandfather was mated to a wolf. No one ever said, but as a supe I can see things like you can.” Benson never turned as he continued at the sink. “I’ve a feeling that Mr. Thad is more wolf than human. What do you think?”

“
I think so too.” And she knew that they were talking more about before he’d been converted. Diamond started to remember a few other things that had startled her about Thad and wondered if what Benson said was true. He really was part wolf.

After they cleaned up the kitchen a little
, she went back up to bed. Thad was still sleeping, so she crawled into bed with him, not bothering with finding something to pull on. She was almost asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Chapter 16

Ward was slowly running out of options.
His money was all but gone, and he was still staying at the mall after three days. He was sure that soon he’d be caught, and no matter how much he begged them to call Thad to bail him out, he had a feeling that he’d let him rot. He was quickly becoming disappointed in his older brother.

Thad had never been very nice to him.
And he only gave in to him when Ward had gone to their dad. Now there was a man who loved him. Dad gave him everything, and never once in all his life did his dad ever tell him no. Thad had been mean to do what he’d done about throwing him out of the house, and it was worse yet that he’d waited until Dad was dead before he’d done it. Ward wandered around the food court, trying to decide if he could get anyone to give him something to eat. It hadn’t worked so far.

But his plan was coming together.
Slowly, but it was coming. He sat at one of the tables in the food court and thought about what he’d discovered just last night. There were guns here. He’d been in the shower that was some sort of break room for the guards when he heard someone come in. Luckily, he’d been drying off or the man might have caught him at his bath. As it was, he’d had to jump in a toilet stall and wait for the man to start singing before he moved out.

The man
’s clothes had been lying across the bench, and in his open locker was a wallet with only about seventy bucks, as well as a key. Ward took both the cash and the key, wondering if he could figure out where it went. By the time the man had come out and was dressing, Ward had not only discovered what it unlocked but had also found the lost and found, where there was even more cash.

But that hadn
’t lasted long. After he’d bought himself a new shirt and nice watch that told the time in five countries, he was broke again. He felt as if he was never going to get anything the way money seemed to just disappear on him. But he’d taken a knife, as well as put the gun where he could find it. And now he was thinking it was time to take care of things.

His plan was to borrow some money from one of the drawers in the busiest restaurant here. He
’d already discovered that none of the stores, especially the bigger ones, had any cash around. But he figured that someone would have cash at the register. It was only until he could get Thad to pay up.

“
He’s just too selfish for a man with all the money.” Ward looked around when he’d realized he’d spoken out loud, and decided to take another walk about the place. But Thad had always been this way with his things. His clothes as well as his cars, things that Thad had bought because he’d had a job. Not even his dad could make him share that shit. Not that Ward had wanted it all that much. But it was the principle of the thing.

Ward smiled when he thought of the time he
’d taken his car out for a joy ride. He figured that Thad had wanted him to do it or he wouldn’t have left the keys out where he could find them. And he’d had to look hard for them, too, if he remembered correctly.

But the crowning jewel had been when he
’d managed to take all that money. Of course, he’d had to lose all he’d bought with it, but that, too, was his brother’s fault. How he found him was anyone’s guess, unless that fucking cunt Jane had told him. She’d been a burr up his ass since he’d been a teenager. She always seemed to know just when he was up to something. And that fucking bastard Benson. That man would rather have died than to lend him any money, and Ward knew that he made enough. None of the people in the house that Thad had bought would do anything for him. It was as if they knew he wasn’t going to pay them back. Ward stopped moving, and a woman bumped into him from behind.

“
He told them not to. Fucking bastard told them all to not lend me a dime. Mother fuck.” Ward was walking around the court again when he thought of something else. “He said that that woman was his future wife. She’ll get it all if Thad dies. Probably have him milked dry before I get the chance to anyway.”

The more he
thought about it the more pissed off he got. What was her name…something like a stone or something? Ward was walking by the jewelry store when it occurred to him, Jade, her name was Jade. “Or some other bullshit.”

When he rounded to the food court again
, he used his last couple of dollars to buy him a burger and fries. Water was free, so he had a glass of it rather than a bottle and hated the fact that they’d reduced him to this. He’d be on top again, and when he was, Ward decided that everyone was going to remember his name and what he stood for or else.

By the time the mall was closing down
, he had things worked out in his head. He’d get enough money to get a cab out to his brother’s place, rob him or make him give him some money, then sit him down and have a long talk about what he expect from him. It wasn’t much…a house for starters.

Not like the one he had
, but almost. Ward also wanted a staff to run it and keep it neat. As much as he despised filth, he didn’t want to have to clean up after himself either. Then there was a car. He decided that he’d want a limo and a driver on call all the time. He didn’t want to have to wait on someone to come and pick him up. Then there were the credit cards.

Ward thought that as
Thad’s brother he should have as much to spend as he wanted. It wasn’t as if Thad spent all that much. The man did not know how to live as far as Ward could see. He’d had on a nice suit, of course, but his shirt had been a cotton one, and if Ward wasn’t mistaken, it had been a simple tee-shirt and not silk like he should be wearing. A man should wear silk all the time. And then there was the girlfriend. She’d have to go.

Yes
, she was beautiful and all, but she was from the working class. Blair seemed like a nice man, but he worked for a living, and those types of riffraff did not mingle with his kind. Ward wondered why Thad had never known about these rules of the rich and shook his head. After about a month of hanging out with him, the new Thad would be someone to reckon with.

Slipping into the bathroom
, he pulled his feet up on the seat and waited. It was annoying to have to do this nightly, but after today, he was going to be living in style. As he waited for the building to close down, he thought maybe as his last night as a guest here he’d make it worth his while. Yes sir, he was going to make sure that when the place opened up in the morning, they were going to be scratching their heads over his gift to them for months.

~~~

“I’ve packed up all the things that Mrs. Galloway wanted, as well as had the few things that Benson suggested sent along too. The women that are going to take my place are going to run the business down here for a few short days while I’m up there. Then when I return, I’ll go over everything with them to see how they did.” Thad was making notes as quickly as Jane spoke. He’d been on the phone with her for over an hour, and it didn’t look like they were making much in the way of progress. Benson entered with a tray and sat a cup of coffee in front of him as well as an envelope. He opened it as Jane went on about hiring more staff for the Texas plant.

“
Whoever you hire, make sure they are well aware that if the company moves, they will have first option of taking a job here.” The note was from Diamond. He read it before continuing with Jane.

I went to the hospital to get my office straightened out. There are some things I want to discuss with you when I get home. Do you think we can do something about a fundraiser for the hospital? Love
, your diamond in the rough.

He added that to his growing list of things to get started. Thad
also put on the list “run with Diamond” and underlined it several times.

“
The new guy I interviewed has some great ideas. I’d like for you to come down and arrange to meet him before I make a job offer.” He didn’t have time for that.

“
You like him?” Jane said she did and thought he was a good fit. “Then give him the job and tell him that in a few weeks I’ll need him to come up here and help with the layout of the new plant. Also, make sure you have him keep an eye out for his replacement. If he’s that good, I want him with my best team up here with us.”

“
Okay. There is the matter of the family that your brother murdered. I’ve sent the money, as you’ve asked, as well as paid for whatever they had in way of a funeral. They want to meet with you as well. Thank you for everything, they said. Before you ask, yeah, I’ve made sure that they keep all the information about the donations and money to themselves too.” Thad decided that Jane needed a raise and wrote that on his list at the top. “I’ve been looking at houses and was wondering if they really are that cheap up there. I mean, the place I have now is about half the size as the ones up there, but they’re nowhere near what I paid for mine. Seriously?”

“
Seriously. When you come up in a few days, we’ll take you around. You can stay here while you’re looking, and that way you can take your time. Besides, Diamond wants to get to know you. She said she’s never met a vamp before.”

After he hung up the phone with her
, he went to find Benson. He was starving. Before he could ask, Benson handed him a platter of food and told him to sit. He was about halfway finished when he sat across from him.

“
The missus said for me to call her Diamond. I was wondering how I can tell her that it isn’t done.” Thad looked at his cook of the past twelve years and smiled. “You’re going to tell me to call her Diamond and be done with it, aren’t you?”

“
I think you’ll live longer if you do.” He picked up the glass of tea that Benson handed him. “I don’t know how I lived without her before this. And while we’re on the subject, I think if you call me Mr. Thad once more I might brain you. It’s Thad…it’s always been Thad.”

Benson nodded.
“The matter of the house, sir. I’m not sure—” After a heavy sigh, Benson shook his head. “I will move in as soon as the painters are finished. Your missus is hard to reason with, is she not?”

“
No, not really. I don’t reason with her at all. She says what she wants, and I do my best to get it for her. She’s not really demanding and asks for very little, so when she asks, I know it’s something she really wants.” Thad sat back in his chair and looked around the kitchen that was in various stages of remodel. “Like this kitchen. You said it was fine. What changed your mind?”

Benson flushed and stood up.
“I’ll be picking up the missus from the hospital at two, sir. Then from there we are headed to the mall for some shopping. She said she needs my help on a dress to wear to the ground breaking on Friday.”

Thad let it go
, knowing that Diamond had convinced Benson that he needed a nicer kitchen by simply smiling at him. It worked on him as well. Thad remembered the fundraiser.

After about an hour of going over what was going to go into having a fund
raiser here at the house, Thad went out onto the deck and looked at the woods. He wanted to run again. Yesterday, after they’d made love twice before coming downstairs, she’d taken him out and helped him shift. It was the most amazing thing he’d ever done. Then they’d run through the woods for an hour before he’d needed to come in for a call. It was still amazing to him how much his body had changed, and so much for the better. He felt her touch his mind.

There have
been some problems at the mall. Turn on the news.
He moved to enter the house again as Benson was coming out. The television in the kitchen was already on. He pulled out his cell phone to call her.

“
They’re saying they have a lead on who it was. I’m talking to a friend of mine at the police station, and he’s telling me it’s a man by the name of Galloway, as if we didn’t already know that. He signed everything he did. What a moron.” He watched as the camera crew walked around all the destruction his brother had caused. “There were some break-ins in two of the restaurants as well. Apparently, when he couldn’t find whatever it was he was looking for, he turned on the fryers and had himself a meal, then set fire to the kitchen area in one of the places.”

“
Money. He’s been looking for money. Are you still at the hospital?” She said she was. “Please stay there. I don’t know if he’ll come there or not, but I’d rather you were someplace safe.”

“
I’ll stay, but you have to do that as well. If he was looking for money and didn’t find any, he might come looking for you next.” He thought she was right. “Thad, do you think he’ll kill anyone else?”

“
I don’t know, honey. I really don’t.” He watched the news for another twenty minutes before he went back to his office. Benson told him he’d keep him updated on things, and Thad started looking over the plans for the new building. Groundbreaking was in just a few days, and his brother was going to fuck it up, he just knew it. As he was sitting there trying to work out one of the issues that kept coming up in his other plant, Benson walked in. Thad started to say something when he realized he wasn’t alone. Ward had him at gunpoint.

“
Hello, brother dear. I bet you didn’t expect to see me here.” Benson sat down in the chair across from his desk, and that’s when Thad noticed the blood. He asked him what had happened.

“
I was making my way to the garage, sir, when he hit me from behind. I was out for only a few seconds, but it was enough for him to get the jump on me. I do apologize, sir.” Benson put his handkerchief to his head and winked. “I do feel the most faint when I’m unable to sit, sir. I was wondering…do you think it possible that I have a cold drink?”