She nodded.
“Not a chance,” Christian snarled.
Jarod’s chin lowered, his brown eyes blazing.“She’s my fiancée, asshole.”
Christian settled.He went cold.“She ain’t wearing your ring, now is she?”
Amka lifted a hand.“Daisy?Would you cover the tavern for a moment?If you need help, drag Nixi from her buddies over there.Jarod, let’s talk in the back room.”She’d gone pale, but her chin didn’t waver.
Triumph flashed in Jarod’s eyes.“Yeah.Let’s do that.”
Amka’s gaze met Christian’s.“It’s okay, C.I’m fine.”
Something ugly dropped into his gut.Something dark and churning.“If you need help, call out.I’ll be sitting right here at the bar.Teller, if you touch her, they’ll never find your body.”
Amka followedJarod into the back room, a place she usually found comfort.It had one comfy bed, a nice bathroom, and a bin filled with lost-and-found clothes that someone always needed.She shut the door behind them with more force than necessary and leaned back against it like she might hold the tension in the room at bay with her spine.
Jarod spun to face her, his face dark with fury.“What do you think you’re doing?”
She crossed her arms.“I don’t know what you mean.”
He lifted the pink manila folder in his hand.“You’ve locked up the equity in the bar and your house.All of it.With the bank.”
“I know,” she said flatly.“I’m investing in a business with Ace.”
Jarod’s nostrils flared.“The hell you are.I need that money.Unless you want that video to go live.”
Her stomach dropped, but she didn’t move.“I am so tired of you.Would you really send poor Flossy to prison?”
He sneered.“You think I won’t?Test me.”
Amka’s pulse roared in her ears.Her entire life narrowed to that tiny room, his smug face, and the fury burning through her veins.She’d felt strong earlier, felt good by signing those papers, making a plan.But Jarod always knew how to drag her back down.“You’re pathetic.”
He grabbed her arm, fingers tight.“We’re still getting married.You keep pretending like you have a choice.”
Her hand twitched, ready to slap him.The urge to call out, to scream for help, pulsed behind her tongue.But then she thought of Christian and how close he'd been to putting Jarod through a wall a minute ago.The fact that he’d offered to use his skills, whatever they were, in a way she couldn’t live with.“We are not getting married.That wasn’t the deal.”
“Deals change.”Jarod leaned in.“Don’t forget or get any ideas about your stalker out there taking me out.If anything ever happens to me, that video goes live.I’ve got it with exactly the right person on standby.”
The words hit like ice water down her back.She didn’t flinch—wouldn’t give him the satisfaction—but her spine locked up.Her molars ached from how tight she clenched her jaw.“Who has it?”
“You’ll never know.Trust me.”
Her mind spun.“What if we make a deal?”
That stopped him, just for a second.His eyebrows rose.Her voice was too steady, maybe, or maybe he didn’t expect her to push back at all.
“I’ve got everything tied up now,” she went on, heartbeat pulsing hard behind her eyes, “but once I get the buildings up, I’ll be making a profit.I could lend you money for the motel.”
His head tilted, his brown eyes beady.“I’m starting the motel next week.Already bought the land.”His mouth curled.“Wait a minute.Did you get a construction loan?”
Her stomach knotted.“Yeah.”
He exhaled and his shoulders relaxed.“Well then, we’ll just use that.”
“No,” she snapped.“We can’t.Ace and I got it together.”
“Then it looks like Ace is my partner now too,” he said.“The drunk won’t know the difference.”
