Bradford's Orders Book Two The Legacy Series

Chapter 22

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Chapter 22
Bradford

I trailed Zane from a safe distance, my dads truck crawling behind the beat-up sedan as it cut across town.

The whole time, a part of me kept circling back to Georgia. This was her idea. To keep eyes on Zane, for us to wait for the right moment to set a trap. It was reckless, and exactly the kind of trouble she hunted out of sheer principle. She was so much like her namesake it was almost eerie. And just like our great grandmother. She had never backed down from a fight, either.

But this? This felt like a bad idea. Like poking a snake that would rather slither away if you let it. I had no illusions about Zane's motives. He wasn't here for nostalgia or second chances. He was here to bleed Holly dry. For money, security, whatever he could take from her and Tempy was leverage he'd have no qualms about using.

I wasn't ready to show myself so I kept my sunglasses on, the ballcap pulled low, but I'm not hiding. I want Zane to know he is being watched. To feel it the way Holly and I have felt the threat hovering over us.

Zane stopped at a gas station, then a strip mall where he spent nearly an hour in a dingy café, hunched over a table with a man whose leathery face and prison tattoos broadcasted exactly the kind of company he kept.

I stayed across the lot, my phone camera zoomed in just enough to snap a few photos I might need later. I sent the photos to Dad and Grandpa for insurance. Just in case something happens to me or my phone.

When Zane finally moved again, I followed him through side streets into a neighborhood where every other window was boarded up. I watched the sedan roll to a stop in front of a sagging duplex. Zane went inside and didn't come out for nearly twenty minutes.

By the time Zane checked into the hotel on the outskirts of town, I had no patience left for games. I was hot, tired and hungry. I was sick of driving around following the idiot and watching what was obviously his desperate attempts at getting help. I parked right up front and made sure Zane spotted me through the glass doors.

Let the moron see exactly who he was dealing with now.

I waited just long enough for Zane to take the elevator. Then I ducked into the stairwell, jogging up three flights and planting myself in the hall outside Room 318. When the elevator dinged, Zane stepped out, keys in hand, and froze. His eyes narrowed in on me.

"You following me?" Zane sneered, his voice oily with false bravado.

I didn't move, but a slow smile slipped onto my lips. "If you have to ask, you already know the answer."

Zane's gaze flicked to the door, then back to me. "You think you're scaring me? You think you can just..."

"I don't care if you're scared." I cut him off, his voice low and steady. "But you will stay the hell away from Holly. And you will never come near Tempy again. If you so much as look at them, I swear to God you'll regret ever setting foot near my family."

Zane's jaw flexed, his knuckles whitening around the keycard. "You can't threaten..."

"I can." I stepped closer, close enough that Zane had to tilt his head back to meet my eyes.

"You think you're the first parasite who's tried to crawl out of the gutter and latch onto something good? You're not. And you won't be the last. But you're done here."

For a moment, the only sound was Zane's ragged breathing. Then I turned, slow and deliberate, and walked back toward the stairwell without looking back. I didn't need to.
By the time I reached the truck, I was already dialing Georgia. She picked up on the second ring.