Page 79 of Tame Me

I really don’t want to believe him, but I do it. And there it is. I break into a sweat. My account has never seen so many zeros. There’s a quarter of a million dollars—plus the meagre few hundred I had saved in there. I drag in a breath but still feel as if I’m suffocating. The sweat trickles down my spine as I tap the screen to forward the payment to Ava right away. I’ll call her and explain it all later. I just want that money out of my account now. Because I feel bad about this. So bad. I’m barely aware that Dain’s now standing beside me, silently observing over my shoulder.

But the payment doesn’t go through. I frown at the ‘transaction denied’ message.

‘I put money into that account all the time,’ I mutter. ‘Why won’t they let me do it today?’ I tap the app and try again. A big bright red alert message appears at the top. ‘It’s been “blocked for unusual activity”.’ I read it aloud in frustration. ‘I have to phone them. Or go into a branch and take photo ID with me.’

‘Your bank is right to query such a large transfer,’ Dain says, way too calmly for me to handle.

‘Because I’m usually so destitute an amount like this has to be some kind of fraud?’ My eyes fill. I was so close and I’m frustrated. And I’m kind of blown away that he’s just done that with no questions asked and I’m horrified with myself for asking him to in the first place. I feel as though I’m about to vomit.

Dain pushes me into the seat and hunches down before me.

‘Breathe,’ he instructs calmly. ‘Just breathe.’ Reaching up, he wipes a rogue tear from my cheek.

‘How about you just tell me what it’s for?’ he says after a few moments. ‘Are you in trouble—is it debt collectors?’ He growls. ‘I can help, Talia. I have a whole team of people who can help. It’s not hard for me. I have an appalling amount of privilege. Let me help you with whatever the problem is.’

I stare at him and simply feel worse.

‘Because there’s obviously a problem,’ he adds. ‘Talia?’ he prompts.

‘It’s for my sister,’ I blurt.

His eyes widen. ‘Sister?’

‘Yes.’

‘I didn’t know you had a sister.’

I shoot him a look. ‘Swapping life stories isn’t a favourite pastime for either of us.’

‘Right.’ He almost smiles again. ‘So she’s in debt?’

‘No. That’s the point. I don’t want her to be.’ I breathe in slowly, frustrated because I’m explaining this backwards. ‘She’s a student. This is for her fees, her flat, her food for the next few years. She’s in her second year of med school and she wants to specialise and—’

‘That’s a long expensive road ahead.’

‘Exactly. She can’t work while studying. She needs to concentrate fully. I don’t want her to worry—’

‘You’ve been supporting her for years,’ he interrupts. ‘Because neither of your parents help.’ He suddenly rises and grabs his phone from the table. ‘Give me her bank details.’

‘What?’

He flips my phone around and copies the account number for Ava. I just stare at him, too sluggish and sickened to believe what I’m seeing.

A few minutes later he flips the phone back towards me. ‘There’s quarter of a million in her account now.’

Aswellas the quarter million in mine.

‘Your bank lets you do that no problem?’ I stammer.‘Twice?’

The man had access to half a million dollars just like that?

I feel even more nauseous. ‘Now I have to transfer all that back to you. But I have to go to the bank to—’

‘Leave it,’ he says shortly. ‘Doesn’t matter.’

‘You’re notbuyingme, Dain.’ Even though I’ve basically just asked him to.

‘Never dreamed that would be possible.’ He suddenly chuckles. ‘You’re the one who demanded payment before leaving.’

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