Wars and Wealth - Bargains with Exiled Fae

Chapter 12

*Steven Harlow POV*

About the same time, Steven Harlow:

Steven Harlow drove his new company car up the mountain towards the trail head. When that David fellow had said he didn’t have a current house, Steven hadn’t truly believed that he would be living out here in the woods.

Jake, the local outdoor guide had been able to give him a general idea of where David could be found. He had no intention however, of traipsing through the woods to find this man. Hopefully he would get the text he sent before driving out here.

Steven had to admit, this was a beautiful and scenic drive. He just hoped David wouldn’t be too filthy if he had to give the man a ride. Tonight’s banquet could finally provide a chance to get Sarah out of the company limelight.

As he drove around the mountain, a helicopter lifted off and flew towards Perdony, the provincial capital city of Estopia Province. He spotted David, speckled in red blood and grim.

Jake had said David was likely out here with two women. Had he killed them? While Steven didn’t relish the idea of riding on a car with such a man, it might make his plans that much easier!

He hoped out of his car and hurried to David, “Are you ok?”

“I’ll live. Who are you?” David asked, clearly unsure of his name.

“Tonight’s banquet? I have been texting all morning.”

“Banquet? Oh, right the dinner thing. Harlow, right? Look I don’t think its going to be a good time for me to be out. Maybe next time.”

“Look at you! You need a shower, some good food, and maybe a hospital.” Steven said, eying his bloody and torn clothes. “Let me help you! I can take you to a hospital and I can even get you some new clothes. The banquet is in just a couple of hours but there is still time.”

David frowned down at himself and seemed to come to some decision. “Fine. A shower and some food sounds good. I don’t need a hospital. They will just wrap it and charge a fortune for a bandage.”

Steven grabbed David’s pack and put it in the truck while David sent a rapid series of texts.

“You said something about a shower and a meal?” David asked.

Steven nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, of course. I can drop you off at a hotel and my aid will take you to get clothes. Umm, I will have to return to the banquet hall to prepare things, but he can make sure you get there for the meal. You sure you don’t need a doctor?”

“Fine. Lets go. I have things I need to do in town as well.” David said, climbing into the passenger seat.

Things? What could this mountain rapist possibly have to do? Scope out his next victim? Steven shrugged and got in. Things would be so much easier to pin on David now.

David was quiet during the trip and Steven was almost afraid to break the silence. Finally he had to know.

“Jake mentioned two women went out with you… I am guessing you are not married, right?”

David snorted, finally breaking from his stare out the window. “No, not married.”

“And the women? They still alive?”

David was quiet for a long moment before saying, “They were alive when the helicopter lifted off. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

“You don’t look much worst for wear,” steven remarked, unsure why he was poking the emotional wounds of this possibly homicidal soldier.

“Some injuries are not easily seen,” David said simply.

True enough, Steven mused. He had heard PTSD and similar issues in soldiers tended to leave lasting mental scars. Who knows what horrors this man had seen and inflicted.

Steven pulled into a small motel on the edge of town. “I have room 12 for you. Here is the key. My assistant, Greg, will be by in about forty five minutes to pick you up and get you a suit. The banquet is at seven.”

With that, Steven drove off, heading back to the banquet hall where his father was preparing for the evening festivities.

When Steven arrived, there were several well dressed men already meandering through the hall.

“Steven, good you are back,” His father, Marcus Harlow, called.

“Father, it’s set. That David fellow is worse than I thought but he is at the hotel now. Greg will get him cleaned up enough to be presentable.”

Marcus looked around the room, “Good, good. While I wouldn’t mind a marriage alliance with several of these families, I refuse to see Harlow group handed to an outsider just because my brother’s little goblin has a set of tits. If he couldn’t produce a male heir, then it is only natural for the business to fall to me.”

Steven smiled at the thought. He didn’t hate his cousin by any means, but if his father was named the heir, it meant that one day, things would fall to him in turn. Sarah had to vanish for that to become a reality.

“Is everything else set?”

“Yes, father. I have the winning card already set up. They will go to dinner tomorrow at Giordano's. Then the men will do it on her way home. It will not be hard to pin this on David. He is already tangled up in the near death of two others that were medically evacuated from the forest after being in his company.”

Marcus frowned, “Is the man really so unstable?”

“He will present well enough. We just need him to keep his mental faculties long enough to get through the meal and then once he is with Sarah, it really doesn’t matter. The more he acts out, the better.”

“Giordano’s is not cheap, Steven.”

“I know, I know, but we need everything to look legit. Its one meal. Its not like we are buying the place. Dinner for two is 1000 dret. The men want 5000 each to take them out. so all in all, not bad for 11,000 dret.”

“Fine, but no mistakes, Steven. If this goes south, its not just the family that will have our heads. The Robertson Heir has been staring at Sarah for over a year. If he or any of the others find out, they could cut all ties with Harlow group and we wouldn’t have anything to take over but empty factories.”

“I understand.”