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Lina
The noise of the curtains being yanked open wakes me. I sit up with a jerk, blinking at the bright light. Anne stands in front of the window with her hands on her hips.
“Chill, Lina. It’s only me.”
Grabbing the sheet, I clutch it to my chest. My body aches everywhere. My arms are sore and my leg muscles are cramping, but it’s nothing compared to the fire in my back. I must’ve rolled over in my sleep, and the sheet got stuck to my sweaty back. It hurt when I peeled myself away.
“What do you want?” I’m groggy and sore. I don’t have time for games.
“Damian messed you up pretty badly, huh?”
“Please, go. I’d like to get dressed.”
“Need help?”
“No, thanks.”
“I came to see if I should call a doctor. Social services?”
“Will calling social services make a damn difference?”
“No.” She sighs like it matters. “Damian already owns most of this town, and the system is corrupt.”
“Then why bring it up?”
She shrugs. “I was thinking out loud.”
Right. “What do you want?”
“For someone who invited me to stay, you’re not very happy to have me here.”
“Just get to the point.”
She walks to the bed and sits down. “I know why you asked me to stay.”
She waits, but I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of admitting anything.
Another sigh. “You were hoping I’d be a diversion. Admit it, Lina. You wished Damian would be interested in me, so you didn’t have to entertain his sexual appetite.”
Does she know I’m jealous? Does she know how I felt when I saw her exiting this room with her dress askew?
“Listen.” She pats my hand as if we’re old friends. “Here’s the deal. You make space for me, I distract Damian, Zane finds you the evidence, and then you leave.”
“Make space for you?”
“Give me a chance with Damian. Create opportunities for us to be alone.”
The urge to push her to the floor is so big I have to fist my hands in the sheet. “He doesn’t want to be with you.”
Her smile is faint, yet strong. The gesture is full of self-assurance and confidence. “Once you’re out of the picture, he will.”
“I won’t reject him just to drive him into your arms. That’s wrong.”
“It’s your only chance at freedom. That’s the price.”
My mouth drops open. “Are you bribing or blackmailing me?”
“Call it whatever you want. You give me Damian, and Zane gives you freedom. It’s a fair deal.”
I clutch the sheet harder, feeling the cotton stretch under my fingers. “Can Zane get the combination of the safe?”
“Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.” She winks and gets up. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
Oh, I get it, loud and clear. Zane wasn’t going to give me the evidence for nothing. They were playing me, both of them. Zane knows he doesn’t stand a chance with Damian, who’s as straight as a big, bad, mining magnate can be, so Zane brought in his sister. The scene that played out on the stairs when Zane all but assaulted me was just an opening act for the main one playing out here. It was to get me thinking, to manipulate me into asking for Zane’s help. It set the ball rolling. I took the bait. Now they’re revealing their price.
Astonished, I stare at her. “Why?”
“Why would I help you?”
She’s not helping me. She’s serving her own purpose. “Why do you want Damian so badly?”
She shakes her head, regarding me as if I’m a stupid, dirty dog that trudged mud into a clean house. “The fact that you even have to ask shows how naïve you are. He’s handsome, hot, successful, wealthy, feared, and a stud in bed.” She taps a finger to her chin. “That about sums it up.”
I can’t help but get in a jibe. “You haven’t slept with him. You can’t know how he is in bed.”
“Rumors, darling.” She wags her eyebrows. “Are you confirming them?”
“You should get out now.”
“I expect you to make the first opportunity tonight. Zane is going out. Give me time alone with Damian.”
“How am I supposed to arrange that?” I exclaim.
“You’re creative. Fake a headache. Better yet, tell him your back is sore. He’s got to believe that.” She straightens her dress. “I have some beauty sleep to catch up with. Got to look my best tonight.” Her smile is smug as she darts around the door, leaving it open.
My heartbeat is loud and sluggish. A mental image of Anne in Damian’s arms, in this bed, invades my brain, but I expel it quickly.
Maybe Anne deserves him. I look over my shoulder at my bruised back. I sure as hell deserve better.
Damian
Zane sends me a text to let me know Lina ate the lunch Jana prepared and has a sudden craving for jelly beans. Jelly beans. He’s going to the supermarket to get her some. It’s after lunchtime when I finally get the meeting at the office wrapped at. Traffic is a bitch. It’s late afternoon when I get home. I go upstairs to check on Lina but find her nowhere.
