Dewitt spotted Kendrick and flashed a grin.
"Kendrick, what a surprise running into you. Chasing after some premium goods again? Looks like you've already had a pretty good day."
Kendrick laughed, brushing it off. "Premium goods? Nah, I'm just here for fun."
Dewitt's attention shifted to Claire and her friends. "And who are they?" It looked odd. Kendrick, of all people, blocking a bunch of kids. What was he up to?
Kendrick was quick to explain. "Just following up on a debt, but the debtor's son went and sold the collateral to someone else."
Dewitt's eyes lit up. “Then it must be something special.”
Anything that could get snatched up so fast probably caught Kendrick's eye for a reason. Dewitt felt his own competitive streak spark to life.
Kendrick had "borrowed" from his stash in Kaston plenty of times. Dewitt had tried tripping him up now and then, but it never felt like enough. Now, back home, he'd just been goofing around, but if Kendrick wanted the same thing he did, there was no way Dewitt was letting it go without a fight.
Pandora used to say, "Don't pick fights, but don't let anyone push you around either." Dewitt had taken that to heart.
Kendrick had always loved giving him a hard time because he was younger. Now Kendrick couldn't count on his crew in Kaston anymore and had to settle back down here. Some days, Dewitt could let things go. Other days, well, he had no problem kicking someone while they were down.
He shrugged, looking a little smug. "Who knows what's inside, but I've had my eye on this piece for a long time. If the young lady decides to sell, make sure she talks to me first."
Kendrick could guess exactly what Dewitt was thinking, so he said it just to push his buttons, hoping Dewitt would give up.
Dewitt glanced back at Claire's group. Claire still had her mask on, so he didn't recognize her at first, but the longer he stared, the more he felt like he'd seen her somewhere before. He just couldn't place it.
Claire, on the other hand, definitely knew Dewitt. She gave him a polite nod. "Dewitt."
That single word made both sides freeze.
Especially Kendrick.
Who was this kid? How did she know so many people?
Dewitt still couldn't figure out who she was, but she looked so familiar.
Without a word, Claire slipped off her mask and pulled out the necklace hidden under her shirt.
Dewitt's expression changed immediately. Now he knew.
"You're the Heiress?"
The pendant on Claire's necklace displayed the James Family crest marking her as the next in line. The James Family had relatives everywhere, and the symbol made it easy to confirm identity, no mistakes.
"The Heiress?" Kendrick repeated, looking at Claire with a newfound intensity.
He didn't know much about Dewitt's family, but the way Dewitt called her "Heiress" said all he needed to know. Claire was far from ordinary.
Kendrick snuck one more look at the stone in Claire's arms. It didn't matter what kind of jade was inside-it definitely wasn't going to be his now.
Great. Just great. He thought she was just some clueless outsider, easy to deal with. But now? She knew Dane and Dewitt both.
Dewitt wasn't just anyone in
Kaston he had a serious reputation.
If someone like him treated Claire
Claire
with that kind of respect, there was
no way she'd ever be an easy target.
“If you'd just said so, you could own this whole place—forget Altair, you could pick
out whatever stone you wanted in Kaston, too."
Kendrick did a quick pivot, piling the compliments on Claire as smoothly as possible.
Claire just smiled, eyes crinkling. “It's
just a family thing. I'm nobody special. Then she turned to Dewitt, showing him the store in her hands "Since you're here, Dewitt, would you help me open this up?"