Page 39 of But For You

“I know. If we end up keeping it, as I said, we’ll give him the insurance money and make up the difference. We don’t take charity.”

“I told him that’s what you’d do. What I would do too.”

“It’s better not to argue with him, just go along. When he gets a cashier’s check, he won’t have a choice but to cash it.”

“He’ll just overpay me for the job we’re doing for him,” I sighed.

“Whatever. That’s between his company and yours. That has nothing to do with me or my kids. So, I’m good.”

“He’s gonna be pissed,” I said, chuckling.

“He’s lucky I’m not,” he said, smoothing a hand down my back, pressing me close. “Because he doesn’t provide for you or my kids, only I do.”

“I know.”

“He can’t ever cross the line again, J. You understand?”

I did.

“I already told him.” Sam coughed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And what did he say?” I was interested.

“He said okay. We’ll see if he can do it.”

I bit my bottom lip.

“What?”

“I, um, cheated.”

Sam let out a breath. “He showed you whatever he had about me and Kevin Dwyer.”

I was stunned. “How did you know?”

“I know you, and I know what he wants, and whatever he can do to help you helps him.”

“Sam, he⁠—”

“Oh, I’m not saying that Aaron Sutter has been anything but civil to me and not a complete gentleman with you for the past four years, but one of these days, he’s gonna slip up.”

“He’s not in love with me anymore, Sam. Not really.”

“If I died tomorrow, J, he’d be the first guy there to offer condolences.”

“Well then, you’d better stay alive so the kids and I don’t fall into his clutches.”

“That’s my plan,” he said, dipping his head so he could gently bite down on my earlobe. “It’s always been my plan.”

He was very pleased with the goose bumps that covered my skin.

FOUR

Hannah did not want to walk into the security scanner alone the following morning. It was the new one where you stood and lifted your arms, and she was having nothing to do with it. She had even watched Sam do it first, after the exhausting checking in of his gun in his gun case and the examination of all his credentials, and then Kola, but still, it looked weird to her.