Melonee Bracs Mistletoe Madness 30

Brac Pack 30
Melonee Brac’s Mistletoe Madness
MELONEE BRAC’S MISTLETOE MADNESS
Brac Pack 30
Lynn Hagen
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
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MELONEE BRAC’S MISTLETOE MADNESS Copyright © 2013 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-337-8

First E-book Publication: January 2013

 

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MELONEE BRAC’S MISTLETOE MADNESS
Brac Pack 30
LYNN HAGEN
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One

Adam Nyte shoved his hands in his front pockets, fighting off the winter cold as he walked down the almost deserted street, hunching his shoulders in an attempt to cut down on the whipping winds. His ears were frozen and he couldn’t feel his nose any longer.

It was damn cold out.
He balled his fingers into fists, trying to keep the circulation going as he headed toward the coffee shop. Adam wasn’t sure why he stopped. He had been in a warm truck with the heat blasting when he spotted The Café. Adam was going to be in town for the next few weeks, yet he really hadn’t had a chance to explore what Brac Village had to offer. But the warmth of the place had made Adam pull over and brave the winds.
He was only crossing the street from his parking spot on the other side, but it felt like he had walked a mile—the heat from the truck already being pulled from him by the winds. Reluctantly, he pulled one hand from his pocket when he neared the door. As he entered the small café, Adam smiled. They were playing Christmas music. It had been too long since he had heard the familiar tunes. He had been overseas last year at Christmas with a construction firm and so busy overseeing the project that was on a stringent time schedule that he had missed celebrating.
Adam missed the holiday tunes and the merriment this occasion brought out in everyone.
There was something about hearing the festive tunes that made him think of warm hearths and hot cider. He blew into his hands as he walked over to the counter and waited in line.
“Adam Nyte?”
Adam turned to see Lewis Keating walking into the coffee shop. Wow, of all places to run into someone from his past. Adam was a little stunned. He smiled, extending his hand as he shook Lewis’s. “Long time no see.”
“No shit,” Lewis said with a genuine smile on his face. “I haven’t seen you since high school. How the hell are you?”
Adam shrugged as he looked up at the menu overhead. “I’ve been good. You?”
Lewis nodded as he tucked his hands under his arms, staring at Adam as if he wanted to rehash old times. As nice as it was seeing the man, Adam wasn’t in town to reminisce.
“I’m good. I’m a detective now. I can’t believe you’re here in Brac Village. Where are you staying?”
Adam smiled as he continued to glance up at the menu, unsure of what he wanted to drink. “I rented an apartment next to the precinct. Small world.”
“That it is. What are you doing now?”
Adam moved forward as the person in front of him gathered his order and moved away from him. “Can I have a hot chocolate with whipped cream?” He turned back to Lewis. “I’m here checking out a few places.”
“For?” Lewis asked as he ordered a hot chocolate as well. Adam grabbed the cup from the counter, taking a step back so Lewis could grab his order.
“Just looking into a few pieces of real estate.” He wasn’t allowed to discuss his real reason for coming to Brac Village. Adam knew he wouldn’t be welcome if he told anyone he was here to buy up the properties and level the town for some conglomerate’s idea of a shopping mall. People usually didn’t take too well to that kind of news, especially the town’s residents.
“You’ll have to come by and have dinner at my place,” Lewis said as he grabbed his insulated cup from the counter. “It’ll be good to catch up on old times.”
Adam raised his hot chocolate. “I’ll do that.” He took a sip, feeling a bit awkward. He hadn’t thought anyone he knew, let alone went to school with, would be in this town. From what Mr. Kenyon had told him, the place was dying and the residents would gladly sell.
But from what Adam had seen since coming to this quaint little town, he wasn’t so sure. The place looked as if it was not only thriving, but new buildings were going up. That wasn’t a dying town in his opinion. Nonetheless, Adam wasn’t here to make judgments. He had a job to do. Kenyon Corporation had hired the best, namely Adam Nyte, to do a job, and nothing was going to stand in his way.
Not even an old high school pal.
“Let me give you my address.” Lewis set his cup down and scribbled on a napkin. He handed the address to Adam. “Come by tonight. I’d love to shoot the shit with you.”
“I will.” The offer surprised Adam. He knew Lewis had grown up with an alcoholic mother and deadbeat dad. The man had busted his ass to finish high school, but Adam had lost track of the guy once he left for college. They weren’t what others would consider
good
friends, but he knew that sometimes a familiar face from the past was welcome.
“See you tonight.” Lewis smiled once more and then walked out of the shop. Adam wasn’t sure why, but the idea of a home-cooked meal appealed to him. It had been too long since he made it home and he wasn’t the best of cooks. He managed, though. He curled his fingers around the napkin before pushing it into his front pocket, wondering if he should go.
He wasn’t going to allow personal feelings to get in the way of business. He liked Lewis and had even admired his perseverance way back when. But this deal was worth millions. Adam’s reputation was riding on his skills at negotiating to clench the deal and get everything tied up by Christmas.
Besides, Adam loved what he did. There was a natural high he got every time he closed a deal. Power and wealth were great, even wanted, but what he lived for the most was closing the deal. It was a rush like nothing else. Adam had yet to find anything that equated the heady thrill.
Walking to the back of the coffee shop, Adam pulled his cell phone out. The place wasn’t too crowded, so his conversation wouldn’t be overheard. Les picked up on the second ring.
“Are you sure about your research?” Adam asked and then took a sip of the chocolate. After traveling all over the world, he was surprised to find the chocolate so rich, so flavorful. That wasn’t something he expected in such a small town. Taking a seat on a red sofa, Adam glanced around at the coziness of the shop.
“Our research is extensive, Mr. Nyte. Brac Village has roughly nine hundred residents, and eighty percent of the populace is out of work. The town hasn’t had a new development in years. The average income is so low that I’m shocked the town still exists. The residents should sell to you with no qualms.”
Adam opened his mouth to tell Les—Mr. Kenyon’s assistant— that the town had quite a few new developments from what he had seen, including a new movie house. But something inside of Adam made him keep that bit of information to himself. He had no reason to, but Adam wanted to investigate a little more before reporting in.
“The town is dirt poor. Buying up their properties should be a godsend. They’ll think they hit the lottery.” Les paused and then spoke in a worried tone. “Why, have you run into problems already?”
“No, none. I just wanted to make sure your data was correct before I proceeded.”
“Oh, well. I’ve researched the town thoroughly. It seems Mayor Maverick Brac doesn’t care about the citizens. He’s let the town fall down around them. I’m willing to bet he can be bought off just as easily as everyone else. I’d hit him first. If the mayor sells, the residents will all see that hanging on to the town they grew up in isn’t worth it. If they don’t sell…”
Yeah, Adam knew what would happen then.
“I have the files in my apartment.”
“Very good,” Les said. “I look forward to your call telling me the deal is complete.”
Adam hung up. He hated dealing with Les. The man was a sniveling kiss-ass and a dilettante. The guy may work for a very powerful man, but how Les kept his job was questionable. The guy did
not
have his research in order. This town wasn’t dying but thriving. How Les missed that vital piece of information was anyone’s guess.
Adam decided to forgo the dinner invitation. There was too much research he had to conduct on his own. This was the first time he was pretty much blind to his job. Les was a fucking idiot and needed to be fired.
Dropping the cup into the trash can, Adam made his way back to his truck. It seemed to have gotten colder out, so he jogged across the street and slid inside the now-cold interior. He pushed aside the friendly smile on Lewis’s face. There was no use giving in to nostalgic feelings when he was about to shut this town down.
Because thriving or not, he had a job to complete.
And Adam had never fallen short of his goal before.
Once back at his apartment, Adam pulled the files Les had supplied and compared them to what he had seen around town. Not only had Les missed the brand-new theater, but Santiago Cycles as well. Adam shook his head at the incompetency. A child could have put together a better research report than this.
If Mr. Kenyon kept Les on as an assistant, Kenyon Corporation was going to fail.
Grabbing a cup of coffee from the small kitchen, Adam took a seat on the couch and began to flip through Maverick Brac’s file. There really wasn’t much there to read, but what he did notice right away was that there was no start date for when Mr. Brac had become mayor. The man hadn’t even had a running contender since…Adam glanced over the file…never. There were no records of anyone running against the man, no champions or elections, not even a hint of any kind of candidacy race.
It was as if the man had been around since the town was built over two hundred years ago.
But that was impossible. Adam read through the file twice, but knew after the first read through that he hadn’t missed anything.
How odd.
Setting the file aside, Adam grabbed another, marked as the Lakeland file. He gave the dossier a thorough read, noting that the family of eight hadn’t been in Brac Village as long as some of the other residents. Adam didn’t think it impossible to—“What the fuck?” He frowned as he scanned the annual report of the Lakelands’ income. It baffled Adam.
There was no way Les was this incompetent. The Lakelands made enough money to support this town ten times over. Something wasn’t adding up. Scratching the stubble on his jaw, he tossed the Lakeland file aside and picked up the folder containing the stats on Mark’s Garage, expecting to see a steady decline in income—but found the opposite.
Mark’s Garage was fiscally booming.
What in the hell was going on here? Adam was thoroughly perplexed. From what he had been told and what he was reading, he realized the two were vastly different. By the time Adam was finished reading every file in his possession, he was positive something other than buying a dying town was going on here. His instincts were telling him that there was more to this than incompetency.
He just wasn’t sure what that could be. Why would Kenyon Corporation send him to buy a town that any blind man could see was not dying, but flourishing?
There was only one way to get the facts he was missing, or that were being purposely withheld. He dialed a number he rarely used. If anyone could uncover what was going on in this sleepy little town, it was Vincent Caldwell. The man could unearth the truth behind Area 51 if he felt so inclined.
“Adam.”
The voice was deep and knowledgeable as Vincent answered the phone. It always weirded Adam out that Vincent could do that. Adam’s phone never gave up his phone number, or his location. He had it set up that way.
And so did Vincent.
“I need you for a job.”
“Explain.”
Adam told Vincent about the job he was handed and the conflicting information. His gut was telling him something more was going on, and Adam knew he wasn’t going to give up until he had all the puzzle pieces in place.
“Send me the files.”
Adam uploaded the files into an encrypted e-mail and sent them to Vincent. “Call me when you know something.”
The phone went dead.
Adam tossed his satellite phone onto the coffee table, letting out a deep breath. He had a feeling he had just stepped into a pile of shit that wasn’t going to wash from his shoes so easily.
Maybe he shouldn’t have given up smoking. He sure could use a damn cigarette right about now. Instead, he reached into his pocket for a stick of gum and found the napkin with Lewis’s address scribbled on it.
Maybe he could go to dinner at Lewis’s and see if his old acquaintance was willing to tell him about Brac Village. If anyone could tell him about this place, it would be a resident. Lewis had no idea why Adam was there, so he wouldn’t be so guarded in giving up the secrets of this small town.
Adam took a long shower and readied himself for his visit. Lewis hadn’t given him a time, so the man shouldn’t complain about the hour. It was only eight, too late for dinner, but not for information.
Not only was Adam committed to finishing what he had come to Brac Village for, but he was damned and determined to find out why Les had supplied him with a shitload of false files. Adam knew for certain that Mr. Kenyon wouldn’t have hired someone that incompetent. No, there was more going on here than met the eye.
And one way or the other, Adam was going to find out exactly what that something was.