The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) by Alex Siegel Page A

balls."
    "Mr. Seaton kept staring at my legs!" Tawni said. "He wouldn't stop even after I complained."
    "What about drugs?" Aaron said. "I know that's a big problem around here. Did Tawni ever get addicted?"
    "I don't think so." Ladona smiled at her daughter. "She was always too smart to get caught up in that shit. Did you know she won the spelling bee in seventh grade?"
    "I'm not surprised at all."
    Tawni looked at Aaron. What does he know about me? she wondered.
    Smythe closed his phone and came over. "All done, sir."
    Tawni noticed he had dropped her mail into a trash can. "What's done?" she asked.
    "Thank you," Aaron said. "Ms. Williams, if you could change one thing about Tawni, what would it be?"
    "What kind of questions are these?" Ladona said. "Are you really the police?"
    "It's just for the forms. Be honest, please. We're almost finished."
    "Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind fixing her bad temper."
    "My temper is fine, Mom," Tawni said.
    Ladona frowned at her. "What about Hakeem?"
    "Are you ever going to let that go? The old man fondled my ass right in front of you. It was disgusting!"
    "You slashed him with a broken beer bottle. He needed twenty stitches."
    "He never touched me again." Tawni stuck out her chin. "Did he?"
    "We never saw him again."
    Aaron smiled. "I already know about Tawni's temper. It's what got her into so much trouble in the National Guard. She was fired from her last two jobs because of it. Why do you think she's that way?"
    Tawni looked at Aaron again. She was getting very uncomfortable with his intense interest in her life. Was he stalking her?
    Ladona shrugged. "I don't know. She was so sweet when she was little. When she got bigger, she... changed. I'm not sure I like the big Tawni sometimes."
    Aaron nodded. "That should do it. Thanks for your time. Tawni, the front steps of the Art Institute at sunset. Don't make me look for you."
    He and Smythe left the apartment.
    After they were gone, Tawni grabbed one of the envelopes from the trash can. She found it was the bill for her student loans. She went to a phone in the kitchen and called the number on the form.
    "Golden Student Loans," a woman answered. "How may I help you?"
    "I'm checking the status of a loan." Tawni read the account number to her.
    "Sorry, ma'am, but there is no loan with that number."
    Tawni frowned. "I'm staring at the bill right now. I owe you twenty grand. I missed the last three fucking payments." She provided her full name and social security number.
    "The computer isn't showing any matches," the woman said. "Are you sure that's a valid bill?"
    "Yes! Was the loan paid off?"
    "It isn't in our system at all. Tawni Williams never received money from us. I'm sure of it."
    "This is crazy." Tawni hung up the phone.
    She pondered the bill for the loan that didn't exist. She remembered Aaron's spitting trick in the car. What the hell is going on? Who are these assholes really?

Chapter Four
    Aaron walked into his new kitchen. From a social perspective, it was the most important room in headquarters. The team congregated here at meals, and it was the preferred location for informal meetings. He had paid extra attention to the décor in the hope of making it an inviting place. Unfortunately, he had no qualifications as an interior designer, and neither did anybody else under his command.
    The long counters and two sinks were made of stainless steel. A matched pair of industrial refrigerators also had a stainless steel finish. At some point he had decided the room was getting too shiny, so the cabinets were made of lacquered redwood. He had heard it was a very durable material. Copper pots hung from ceiling hooks. A smoky glass table in the middle of the room was large enough to seat the entire team.
    Leanna and Wesley were seated close together at the table now. Aaron walked over and found Wesley working on math problems. Dozens of loose sheets of paper were littered across the table, and all of them had been used. Clearly, the boy