Page 7 of Drowning Her

“If you don’t want to marry me, then you tell your father ‘no.’” I forced a grin. “You still have a choice.”

The corners of his lips twitched. I had called him out, and he knew it. He shoved the money back into his pocket.

“I agreed to a legal arrangement,” he said. “But I want nothing to do with you.”

I stepped closer, letting my hips sway, searching for theflicker in his gaze to see where his eyes fell. But he met me on an even playing field, never losing our eye contact. Like he was hunting for his kill. I slid my hand into his pocket, stroking a long finger across the fabric, his cock twitching against my touch. He wanted nothing to do with me? I brought my lips to his ear.

“You’re lying.”

I stepped away quickly, walking toward the parking lot. I waved down a taxi and had the driver drop me off near the woods beside Pierce Park. After walking a few hundred yards into the brush and trees, I stopped in front of the Pierce Park Tunnel. A two-mile-long tunnel through Pierce Mountain, the only mountain for miles. Every step echoed between the walls. I took off my stilettos, carrying them by the straps, the wooden planks rough underneath my feet.

Pierce Park Tunnel used to be a popular spot for teenagers, but had lost its appeal more than a decade ago. A quarter-mile in, I pressed my hands to the brick wall. I found the edge of the safety alcove, a recessed cutout that had been built into the tunnel for maintenance workers when trains passed. My older sister never went here. She liked following the rules, even if it made everyone else, including me, look bad. I always did the opposite. She didn’t want to go in here, so I ran in, ready to take whatever came at me.

What would my older sister think about an arranged marriage or this asshole fiancé? She believed in love and fate, but me? I knew better. Marrying some rich farm boy might have been one of the best opportunities I could come across, and I intended to take advantage of it.

“You in here?” a woman’s voice called. Bambi. I switched on the light on my phone and waved from the inside.

“Stay out there,” I said. “I’ll come to you.”

I carried my shoes and met her at the tunnel’s entrance. She pulled out a small packet of baby wipes from her purse. I grabbed them and started cleaning my feet.

“Can’t walk in these heels,” I said. I stuffed the dirtied wipe in my purse.

“Perfect,” she said, satisfied with my clean feet. “Green will be pissed if he finds out we came down here again.”

“You mean, he’ll be pissed atme.” I wasn’t going to let Bambi take the blame for something I had done. She gave me a sad smile, her posture sinking. “You were only trying to find me. How’d the date go?”

She lifted her shoulders. “It was fine. He made me work for it though. Should have charged him overtime.” I stole a glimpse of her; she didn’t have any new bruises or redness. That was good. After she called Green, we headed toward the street to wait for him.

“Did you find anyone?” she asked.

I handed her the thousand I had pickpocketed from my future husband. After the way he had acted, stealing the money from him was so much more satisfying than accepting his ‘gift.’ Besides, he had offered it to me,andhis father owed me anyway.

“Damn,” Bambi said. “Your all-star blowie?”

“This guy wants me to marry his son.”

“Seriously?” Bambi asked. Her jaw dropped. “Are you going to do it?”

“I think so. Why not, right?” At least I could pretend like it was my choice.

Green texted us both:Be there in five.

I wrinkled my nose at the text, but Bambi still had that lust in her eyes. She sighed, eager to see him. When I hadfirst joined them, I had understood why she had fallen for Green. But now? I didn’t see it.

“How much are they offering?” Bambi asked.

“A million.”

Bambi laughed. “Come on. Stop messing with me.”

“Green took the other two grand his dad gave to me. And supposedly, they worked out their own arrangement. I mean, it seems legit.”

“Wow.” A car passed by, honking at us. Both of us automatically waved, batting our eyelashes. Once it passed, our shoulders drooped. It was hard to pretend all the time.

“Don’t let him get the upper hand,” she said. I tilted my head, and she added, “You need to find some sort of power over him. Before it’s too late.”

I furrowed my brows. “You mean like, find something to blackmail him with?”

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