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The man snickers, “That dog is too clever for his own good.”
That one sentence is enough to make me like the guy. And Cici may not have helped me when I told her I was a prisoner, but she has made me some damn good food.
Ginger, the only one I don’t have an opinion about, nods to my hand. “Looking for a fire while carrying around something flammable. Shall I assume...?”
Alright, I like Ginger, too.
I only hesitate for a moment before stepping all the way up to the circle of chairs. “If you’re assuming that I’m looking for a way to burn this painting, then yes, you are correct.”
“What’d it do to you?” Ginger smirks.
The question hits in a tender spot between my ribs, but I ignore it, and answer honestly. “It ruined my life.”
Three sets of eyes blink at me. And a tiny whisper in the back of my mind asks,did it though?
“I’m sorry!” Cici blurts.
I have to look around, to check that she’s talking to me.
She wrings her hands together. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t…well, do anything. Yesterday, when you came down for dinner.”
“Oh, um…” What am I supposed to say to that?No worriesseems a little weird, but I don’t want her to feel bad. “It’s okay,” I shrug. “It’s not like King would’ve let you just open the front door for me.”
“It’s just that he’s actually a really good boss. And I know...” she presses her lips together. “We know thatother stuffgoes on, but I’ve never seen him treat a woman poorly. So…” it’s her turn to shrug.
“Look,” I move between the two empty chairs. “If you help me torch this bitch,” I hold the monochromatic David up. “Then we’ll be even.”
I turn the painting toward me and look at it one last time. I’ll need to do another image in white to reclaim my love for the style. But this one. This piece…
Heaving out a breath, I reach forward and set it flat on top of the fire. Paint side up.
For a moment, the image is backlit, illuminating each stroke of my brush, but soon enough, the flames eat through the canvas.
“Pity,” the guy says. “That was cool.”
“You painted that, didn’t you?” Ginger asks, and my gaze jumps up to hers. “I’m the housekeeper, so I’ve seen the new art studio Boss set up.”
I nod. “Yeah, I painted it.” The corners of the frame reach the edges of the firepit so even as the canvas turns to ash, the frame holds its shape. “Do you guys know Aspen?” I ask, before I can stop myself.
They all nod and Jamie muttersintenseunder his breath.
I laugh, and drop into one of the chairs. “Her husband bought that from me.” I gesture to the fire. “And then he asked me out.” Ginger gives a low whistle. “So, imagine my surprise, when I brought him with me to a friend’s house, but Aspen and King were already there.”
“No!” Cici gasps.
“Yep.”
“That why the boss kidnapped and married you?” Jamie asks with a furrowed brow, proving that the whole property knows what’s happened.
Fuck it.
“No, he kidnapped me because I saw him kill Leland.”Sawis a close enough description.
“Damnnn!” Ginger sounds more impressed than shocked.
“It was after that, that King came up with a list of reasons that only make sense to him, for me to marry him.”
The edge of Ginger’s mouth pulls up. “At least he’s nice to look at.”
