“The fee’s been taken care of,” Rule told her.
My mother sat up, her expression instantly smoothed. “What? How?”
“Your daughter took care of it for you.”
Monica’s eyes widened. “You have money?”
I shook my head. “Not three mil, no. But it’s fine.”
My mother launched to her feet, the skin on her face tightening. “What did you do?”
I thought the question was for me, but her glare was pinned on Rule.
He didn’t answer, something I realized he was ridiculously good at.
“Go upstairs and pack a bag,” he instructed me. “You’re leaving with me.”
“I need more than a bag,” I countered. I had canvases and paints that needed to be packed up. I would rather take those than clothes.
“I’ll send someone for the rest when it’s daylight.”
“What did you do?” my mother shouted more insistently this time.
“Go,” Rule snapped, urging me toward the door.
I stumbled a few steps, but this time, I did as he said. I hurried upstairs to grab clothes, pretending I didn’t hear the raised voices that followed.
It was easier to tell myself that my mother was heartbroken that I was leaving, but I knew Monica Quinn. She didn’t do heartbreak. She didn’t have it in her.
* * *
Rule
“You don’t get to do this,” Monicahissed, glaring at me when Laikyn left the room.
“It’s not up to you.”
Monica’s blue eyes burned like a gas flame as she moved toward me, daring to get in my face. “You will get nothing.”
“Actually, I’ll get what I’m due. And remember, before you get high and mighty, you’re the one who called me. This ismesolvingyourproblem.”
“No, this is you trying to get your hands on money that doesn’t belong to you,” she seethed.
“And that’s different from what you’ve done, how?”
Monica gasped, her eyes narrowed.
“Don’t think about it,” I growled softly when she pulled her hand back as though to strike me. “It won’t end well for you.”
“It won’t end well for you!” she snapped.
“Don’t forget, I know your secrets, Mon. There’s only one thing that matters, as far as I’m concerned. Me. I protect my own ass first. Always.” I took one step closer. “And if you even think about telling her, I’ll take what I have directly to the FBI. What will your creditors think then? I know. They’ll think you’re spilling your guts to save your ass. And they, too, are into self-preservation.”
That got through to her because Monica took a step back.
I could tell she was trying to devise a way out of this, but there wasn’t one. I was much better at playing this game than she was. It was the reason I’d been biding my time, looking the other way when I’d wanted to drop that little bomb on Laikyn for a long time. Ever since I learned of Monica’s scam to rip off the insurance company, I’d wanted nothing more than to fuck up Monica’s life. Not because I gave two shits about the money.
No, this was about betrayal. Monica Quinn had betrayed her daughter in the worst possible way. She had used Laikyn as a fucking pawn to get what she wanted. It wasn’t my fault she hadn’t read the fine print before she took out the policy on her daughter. The insurance only covered the ransomafterit was paid, ensuring the policyholder wasn’t out the money. Monica hadn’t known that when she purposely put her daughter in danger to save herself. It had backfired in a big way.
