Page 82 of Coach

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But it had to come back to the club.

To being… afraid of him?

“Are you afraid of Saul?”

To that, they shared a look.

“The peace in this town is… delicate,” Konstantin told me. “No one wants war.”

“So you want me to lie to Saul about this?”

“Lie is a strong word. Omit.”

I mean, there was already a lot I wasomittingwhen it came to Saul. Since we weren’t actually dating. Not in any serious kind of way.

That said, if claiming so was going to save my life—and get me home to Trix—I guess I could alsoomitthe lack of commitment between Saul and me.

“Everything has a price,” Konstantin said, watching me.

“I guess that’s true,” I agreed.

“Two hundred?” Mikhail piped in.

Two hundred? They wanted to buy my silence for a measly two hundred bucks?

“Two hundred?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

“Three,” Konstantin countered.

In what world was three hundred even enough?

At my silence, Konstantin exhaled.

“Four hundred thousand. Cash. Untraceable.”

Wait.

What?

Fourhundredthousand?

That was… life-changing money.

That was the safety net my life had been missing for the past decade, ever since…

I shook that thought away.

It wasn’t the time.

One terrifying situation at a time.

“Four hundred thousand dollars to not talk about this.”

“Yes,” Konstantin said.

I pressed my lips together. “Four hundred thousand. And health insurance,” I added. I hadn’t been able to get regular healthcare in years. “And dental. I think that ball gag gave me TMJ.” My jaw was still throbbing.

“Done,” Konstantin said.

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