Page 67 of Necessary Cruelty

He has the nerve to laugh. “If it comes to that, then you got yourself suspended. Nobody told you to give her a lesson in proper form for a basic uppercut. You’ll have to tell me where you learned that someday.”

The Gulch isn’t exactly a safe place for a girl who spends all of her time alone. You learn what you need to learn.

“I’m not telling you shit.”

“Except the reason you were stomping around the cafeteria like Godzilla and threw my lunch away. An explanation would be welcome anytime now, by the way.”

That move in the cafeteria was supposed to make him angry, but he seems more amused than anything. Changing moods more frequently than underwear is just another way he likes to mess with me so I never know what to expect.

But the fight has drained me, and I suddenly don’t have the energy to go back and forth with him.

“Did you have my brother arrested?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Why would I do that?”

“To blackmail me into marrying you,” I snap, glaring at his profile. Even when I’m furious, it’s hard not to notice that he looks like a Greek statue. “Because you’re the kind of asshole who doesn’t feel guilty about fucking with people’s lives, and you know my brother is one of the few ways you can get to me.”

“I’m flattered that you think I have that much control over police resources.” Vin glances at me, his smile mocking. “Of course, if I did have something to do with it, coming at me like that might not be the best way to ask for help.”

I glare at his profile, starkly illuminated by the midday sun. He looks like a fallen angel, come down to earth to wreak havoc on susceptible mortals.

“That isn’t a no.”

“Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Maybe.”

“That isn’t a yes.”

I just shake my head, because I don’t ever believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. “Are you going to help me get him out of trouble?”

“Is this the part where I ask what’s in it for me?”

“Stop playing with me.” My hand slams down on the dashboard, and I ignore the aching stab of pain in my palm. “Everything isn’t a game.”

“Oh, it is a game.” He turns in the seat to look at me, ignoring the road as he stares me down. “And both of us are going to play. It’s your move, by the way.”

I look nervously out the windshield at the empty road ahead of us as he continues to watch me. “Will you help me?”

“Will you marry me?”

A romantic proposal if I ever heard one.

“You seemed pretty happy with Sophia.” The words don’t sound jealous in my head. But judging from the smirk on his face, they come out more strident than I intended. “Not that I care what you do with your dirty dick.”

Vin opens his mouth to say something, probably along the lines of reminding me what I’ve let him do with the dick in question, but he shuts it again. He seems to consider his words for the barest moment.

“I wouldn’t marry Sophia if she were the last woman on earth.”

I know there are any number things he isn’t telling me, but that at least sounds like the truth. “But you want to marry me?”

“Out of the currently available options, sure.” He hesitates, but then shrugs. “But this is Deception, so that isn’t really saying much.”

“How romantic.”

“This isn’t about romance. It’s a business transaction.”

A pang of hurt accompanies his words, even though it shouldn’t. I know who he is. “If this is all about business, then you shouldn’t have any problem negotiating.”

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