Surprising, really, I know how much he loves drama, but it appears his concern for me overrules that in this moment. He gives us brief glimmers of the real Franklin at rare times, and it makes the rest of the bullshit worth it. He might be a reckless pain in the ass, but he’s loyal and caring.
He leaves the room, Bob trailing him, and I continue. “I’ll give you one chance to beat me. If you succeed, you’re free to go.”
Her face drops, unimpressed. “Beat you? What the hell can I beat you with? We gonna play a game of Scrabble, fucking chess?”
I purse my lips, ignoring the insinuation that she thinks she’s smarter than me. I’d beat her ass at chess.
I go over to the armchair and plonk down. “Running. In eleven days. If you can run away from me, you can leave.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “What makes you think I’m dumb enough to believe it’ll be that easy? You obviously know I can’t outrun you, there’s no way you’ll just let me go.”
“I’m giving you a fair shot. Running’s actually my weak point.” It’s really not. Neither Fiz nor Alfie have ever beaten me in a race.
She rolls her eyes. “And what are you getting out of this? What if I lose?”
“You must stay and behave. That’s genuinely all I want.”
She turns to look at Alfie, who says, “It’s that simple, El.”
She doesn’t believe it, turning back to look at me again, she says, “Why? Why are you giving me a chance?”
I shrug. “Because this was forced upon both of us, I may have more respect for our parents’ wishes than you do, but your aggro hasn’t been worth it at all so far. I’ll be happy to give you a good home, be a good husband, but you’re hellbent on giving me grief. So, if you win, I let you go. I’ll figure out what to say to my dad later. But if I win, I want you to let me be a good husband to you. This really is a win-win situation for you, but you’re too stubborn to see it. To see I can benice.”
For the first time since I met her, apart from that moment I played with her pussy, her little blue eyes soften from that irritating glower that’s plastered permanently over them every time I talk to her.
Quieter, she says, “No bullshit?”
“No bullshit.”
Alf jumps in. “Cade will even give you a plane ticket, or something to get going with. Won’t you, Cade?”
I flash him a sarky grin. “Of course. To part in good faith, no bad blood.”
She shakes her head. “You’re really willing to risk this? What about your dad?”
I clench my jaw. “I’m everything I am because of him. Have everything I do because of him. He wants me to be your husband, bring our families together, I want to fulfil that. But I also don’t want to keep you prisoner for the rest of your life. That won’t be a marriage. If you win, I’ll figure it out.”
I’m kind of hoping my coaxing and gentle words will make her want to stay anyway, just so we don’t have to go through this, so I don’t have to humiliate her any more, but she doesn’t swing that way.
“Why eleven days? Eleven days is the…”
“The Hunt. Yes,” I say, “I’m putting you in The Hunt.” Her eyes pop open. “It’s not like that with you, don’t worry. You’llstill be alive by the end of it if you are caught. And no one will be going after you, just me.”
“There’ll be others there? How many?”
“About twenty.”
Her eyes pop with dread.
“You didn’t think it was just us three?” I chuckle. “That’d be no fun. But don’t worry, Elodie, they’ll all know not to touch you. Not to even pursue you. They’ll be focused on the other subjects.” She chews on the inside of her lip, still unsure, so I continue. “There are five people to hunt, usually, so it makes the stakes higher to catch someone. If you’re skilled enough, you get the glory, but I won’t be participating with everyone else. My objective is you.”
The divots between her eyebrows deepen. “But doesn’t that just not count then, if you’re not really participating? You’re doing The Cleanse all this time just to throw it out the window and come chase me?”
I wave it off. “I’ve caught someone every year for the past decade. I’m undisputed. I think it’s safe to assume it’d be the same this year. I thought it’d be nice of me to give the other guys a fighting chance.”
Elodie shakes her head. “You just outed yourself. You’ve always caught someone. What fucking chance do I have?”
I sigh. “This is the only way you get a slither of a chance of freedom. Take it or leave it, Elodie. I didn’t think you’d doubt your abilities this much.”
