Page 18 of Grit & Glamour

“Five years. Five fucking miserable years,” he repeats through clenched teeth. “I hated every second of it.”

“Then why are you giving him special treatment?”

“BM is used to being the top dog in our dynamic, if I don’t go with the flow, he feels unseated from his position of ‘power’ and lashes out. He’s an unreasonable man, and he would take it as a personal affront. And honestly, if he didn’t spend all his money buying from me, throwing parties, and gambling, he could afford to live somewhere damn better than this dive.”

“How does he make his money?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Scams and stolen goods,” Theo answers, shrugging his shoulders and giving me a half-hearted smile.

“It’s a shame he wastes all of that hard-earned cash,” I comment, returning Theo’s smile with one of my own despite the insanity of our current situation.

“I’m glad he wastes it, he’s crazy. I don’t want to think what terrible, insane things he’d do if he had better money management skills,” Theo jokes, just as the door next to me is abruptly yanked open.

“Come on, we haven’t got all day. Don’t forget your merchandise,” One orders us around again.

“Scarlett waits in the car,” Theo demands. “I’m not taking her in there. No way.”

“Fine, but I go in with you, and Three waits with her,” One agrees, shutting the door in my face just as I’m about to get out of the car. I gape at him in indignation.

“You can’t just leave me in here!” I object, reaching for the handle. Three slides into the passenger side, taking the seat next to me. He leans over and snags the car keys, pocketing them for himself.

“We have your brother, remember?” Three reminds me, and I freeze, before turning around to face him with a stunned expression. He looks at me intensely and adds, “Just stay in here with me, okay?”

“Whatever,” I mutter, turning away from him. Whatever kindness I thought I’d seen in his eyes earlier, I disregard it. Nobody threatens my fucking brother.

We sit in silence as One and Theo cross the road, heading into the building. Three tries to strike up a conversation once they’re inside, but I just ignore him and tap my fingers on the wheel. At least I’m stuck waiting in this beautiful car. There are worse places to be trapped with an assassin. At least if he kills me, I’ll die in luxury and comfort.

After what feels like forever, I hear a phone vibrate. I turn towards Three, considering the fact I haven’t seen my phone since before being captured, I know it’s not mine. He pulls a phone from his pocket, identical to One’s out of date model, and unlocks it. He frowns at the screen, before shoving it back in the pocket from where it came.

“Wait here,” he instructs, before getting out of the car. Not even two seconds later, he returns, opens the door, and throws the phone at me. I fumble with it, barely managing to catch it. “I changed my mind. If it rings, answer it. Otherwise, don’t mess around with it. The last thing I need is you locking me out of it because you tried the wrong password ten times.”

“But what—” I begin to argue, not that it’s any use, because he shuts his car door again and cuts me off. Great. This is just fantastic. I sigh deeply and rest my head back against the seat as I give up trying to reason with him for now. I can’t do anything that might risk my brother, and as I’ve been told to do nothing and wait, that’s what I’ll do. I glance at the time displayed on the phone, surprised to see it’s already half past two.

I shut my eyes for a moment but keep the phone in my hand so it’ll still get my attention if it goes off. I try and tell myself that whatever’s happening inside the building isn’t my problem, hoping that if I repeat it in my head enough, I’ll believe it.

“It’s not my problem,” I try muttering aloud, needing the message to sink in for my brother’s sake. And for my own. “Not my problem at all,” I continue, keeping my eyes squeezed shut.

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