Ellis: Emerson Wolves ― Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance by Kathi S. Barton

the road? I’m betting they know where she is. They had a look on them like they knew everything. Go on down there and have a talk with them.”
    “They done made it so you can’t get in the drive, remember? And I don’t have no more money for gas anyway.” He wanted to scream out his frustrations, but didn’t want to upset his Neva. “I brought in some of our cans we’d been saving. I’m planning on going by the recycle place to get me some of that. I think I got me enough to get back home with.”
    “You’re so smart, honey. I never would have thought of that. You might be able to bring them all in and get enough to pay my bail, too. Sweet talk that guy at the place so you can get him to put a little extra in the envelope like you did the last time.” She’d put her foot on the scale and had upped the weight by about fifteen pounds. “You’re such a wonderful wife. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
    After she left telling him she’d take care of him, he was brought his meal. He didn’t want to eat it, but the last time he’d refused to do that, they’d just taken it away and told him to starve. He thought he might have if he’d not been begging for a drink and was brought a cola. Goodness gracious, these men were hard and mean to him.
    As he picked up his plastic fork and knife, Basil began to cut into the hard crusty meat. He thought it was chicken, but wasn’t entirely sure. When cutting it proved to be too hard, he opened his stale bun and put it there. He was still chewing his first bite when a man pulled a chair up in front of his cell.
    “Mr. Basil Combs?” Basil nodded but couldn’t speak around the lump of food in his mouth. “I’m here from the state department of taxation. I’m here to ask you about some unpaid taxes on the property you’re living on.”
    “I don’t work, so I don’t have to pay any taxes.” The man only nodded. “No. I get me a nice refund every year, but I don’t ever have to pay any. It’s a nice big check, too. Head of household and all. You got me a refund? I sure could use it about now.”
    “No. And if you own property, you shouldn’t be getting the refunds you’ve been receiving. But property tax, which this is, has nothing to do with your federal income.” Basil had taken another bite of his sandwich as the man continued. “You owe for the past twenty-seven years. Nothing has been paid on it since it was transferred to your name. You owe a great deal with penalties.”
    “I ain’t got no money, and I’m not paying no property taxes either. I just told you, I don’t work.” The man pushed a file at him, and Basil took it without thinking. “I don’t care what this here thing says, I’m not paying ‘cause I don’t have a job.”
    The man stood up. “Then perhaps you should think about finding one, because as of right now, you have thirty days to come up with the funds to pay the taxes on the land or we’re going to take it from you.” Basil opened the file and looked at the staggering amount. “Have a good day, sir.”
    “A good day? How the heck do I have a good day when you’re taking my land? And that other person, that other woman says I have to clean it up or she’ll take it. You darned people are messing things up for me. I don’t have a job.” He was still shouting when the officer who had brought him his meal came into the long hall. “Did you see this? He wants me to come up with over two hundred thousand dollars in thirty days. I don’t even got me a job that’ll pay for my bail to get my person out of here.”
    “Sucks to be you, I guess.” The officer reached for his tray, and Basil took off the apple and the cola that were still left on it. He had to give up the pie, which he supposed was good because he was still tasting that one from yesterday. Darn, but he’d not had a good meal since that brat had left them.
    “And for what reason?” He finished his sandwich and started on the apple. It was hardly