She cuts me off, her voice sharp,snapping like a whip. “He’ll kill you. Don’t you get that?” Her eyes blaze, somethingfierce and unrelentingin them. “You have no idea how we’ve had to live here. No idea what Dad’s done. What he’s always done.”
My veins turn icy.
“Just do what you came here to do,” she says, her shoulders squared, her chin lifted. “That’s the only way you get to live.”
My mouth snaps shut. I have no idea what’s really going on, do I? I stare past her, my heartpounding, my mind spinning. “So where is this game?” I ask, my voice quieter now, not because I agree, but becauseI don’t see another way out.
“It’s in a mansion,” she says excitedly. “In theRidges.”
“Do you know what happened to Damian and his brothers?”
“Who cares about them?”
“I do,” I say quietly.
Taylor narrows her eyes. “Oh my God,” she says, grinning wickedly. “You screwed one of them, didn’t you?”
Heat rises to my face, but I don’t give her an answer.
“Which one? They’re all hot, I’ll give them that. I bet it was Bridger. Is his dick big?”
“Stop.”
“Okay, not Bridger.” Her eyes widen. “Don’t tell me it was Damian. He’s the worst one! And you’re giving me shit about me picking the wrong guy?” she sneers. “Like you’re any better?”
I shake my head, pushing the brush away from my hair. “Dad stole that money from Damian’s mother,” I say, trying to get her to focus on what’s really important. “She has dementia.”
Taylor shrieks, throwing her hands up. “Oh, shut up, Marlowe. Who cares?”
I gawk at her.
“I don’t care,” she says, loudly. “It’s my turn to get ahead. I want this money. I deserve this money. Me and Joel. And you’re going to get it for us.”
Nobody is going to do the right thing and help me. Nobody is going to give Delilah her money back. Even if I win them all the money they want, they’ll never return it. Everyone is out for themselves.
I take a shaky breath, trying to find the sister I used to know somewhere in the hard-edged person standing in front of me. "What the hell happened to you?" I whisper.
Taylorlaughs, sharp and bitter. "Oh, please, Marlowe. Don’t act so fucking shocked. Life happened. You think you’re the only one who’s had it rough?"
I step forward, my pulse pounding. "We can fix this. You and me. We don’t have to do this. We can get out of here, give the money back, you can help me with The Frosted Spoon, do something right for once?—"
Sheclaps, her handscutting through the airbetween us, her face twisting in anger. "There is no getting out! This is the way things work. You either play or you get played."
I shake my head. "That’s not true."
She grits her teeth. "You’re so fucking naive. You think people like us just get to walk away? You think Dad’s going to change? You think Joel’s going to let you go?"
"He doesn’t own me," I spit back.
Taylor rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. "You really think this is about you? You think you’re some tragic little heroine caught up in a bad situation? Grow up. We all have to survive. And right now, you playing that game is howIsurvive."
"That’s all this is about for you? You and Joel? You actually think you deserve that money?"
"Yes, I do!" she screams, stepping closer, her face red with fury. "For once in my goddamn life, I want something to go myway. I want out of this fucking town. I want Joel and me to have a chance at something better."
My hands clench into fists. "At the expense of a woman who doesn’t even remember what was taken from her?"
Taylor snorts. "Why do you care? You don’t even know those brothers. They don’t give a shit about you. It’s not even their money."
