“I knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t think you were stupid, too.”
“Watch yourself, Maverick,” Aidan growled. I stood a little taller, waiting for whatever the backlash was.I could take it.“The answer you’re looking for is: I’ll get you whatever the fuck you need, Aidan.”
“No, I said what I said,” I retorted. “And I meant it.”
At that, he slowly pushed away from the trunk until he was towering over me. I lifted my chin and waited. Either he’d hit me first and then we’d fight, or we’d fight first and then he’d hit me. There was no way I could tell him no without it blowing up in my face.
Not without a good reason.
“You don’t get to tell me no,” he said, his voice laced with a quiet anger.The worst kind.“I’ve tolerated this arrangement of ours because you’ve pulled your weight, but you don’t get to tell me no. In case you forgot, you owe me.”
I rolled my eyes.I fucking owed him.God, I hated him. I hated that he actually thought keeping me alive as a kid was something I had to repay him for.
“And what are you going to do?” I shot back. “Go back in time andnotgive me your scraps? You never took care of me. That’s just some lie you told yourself to justify all your bullshit and games. We shared a goddamn house, and sometimes you let me eat the food you bought. I raised myself! I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
His nostrils flared, something dark passing over his expression. My chest tightened viciously as I held my breath, and I braced for the backlash.Braced for the hit.He stepped closer, and I rooted myself in place, ready to take whatever he gave me.
“Get me the information, Maverick, or I’ll make sure you regret it,” Aidan threatened, his voice so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him.
And then he walked away.
He didn’t hit me. Didn’t yell. Didn’t push the matter. He just threatened me and walked away. That didn’t ease the tension in my chest. If anything, it increased. Aidan’s anger was explosive, but Aidan’s rage was quiet and catastrophic.
I had no intention of giving him the information he wanted. I wanted out.Harley made me want out.Maybe it was a stupid thing to do or a stupid thing to want, but I did. Defying Aidan had been a spur-of-the-moment impulse, but some of my best decisions were made in the spur of the moment.
I stood by the trunk of my car and watched him leave. Only when he was gone did I pop the trunk. I flipped up the bottom rug to reveal a storage compartment. The discrete location was the perfect place to hide a portable safe. I kept the key with my car keys and made fast work of unlocking it. An audible sighescaped me when I saw the divided bundles of cash I kept hidden were still there.
I had just over six grand in small, easy-to-manage bundles. Maybe it was dumb, but the last thing I needed was for Aidan to find a bank statement. I’d never hear the end of it until I gave it to him.
The long-term plan was to put away ten grand—a large enough sum to start over somewhere new. Somewhere Aidan wasn’t. Somewhere I didn’t have to use people to survive. Theoretically, I wasn’t ready. I wanted to save more to make the transition easier.
But Harley was here. This thing we had was real enough for me to hope for more—for me to want more. I could make six grand work for me.For us.
CHAPTER 33
harley
MAV: how’s the boring people?
What makes you think they’re boring?
MAV: the look on your face
My what?
My head snapped up from the phone I was hiding in my lap, and I glanced at the two doorways leading into our dining room. I caught a glimpse of him before he disappeared back into the kitchen, and my heart surged into my throat.
The hell my mother would raise if she knew he’d snuck into our house, especially while she had guests over.
What are you doing here??
MAV: I wanted to see you
I said I’d come by later.
MAV: not soon enough, princess
I pressed my lips together tightly as I tried not to smile at that notion. My gaze flicked to my mother, making sure she couldn’t see me texting, but she was too immersed in her conversation with Mr. Fielding from the board to give a shit about me.
