Page 47 of Broken Mercy
“Nothing.”
“Think I can get a full sentence from you?”
“Probably not.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Seriously, what’s the matter? You were grumpy this morning, but right now you’re impossible.”
I stand and carry my plate to the kitchen. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Brenden, wait.” She follows as I try to escape to the bedroom. “If it’s about the bartender, you know I was only trying to win the stupid game, right?”
“It’s not about that.” I move upstairs, feeling trapped.
“But you didn’t like it. And I noticed the bottle opener is missing. Did you steal it back?”
I slip the opener from my pocket and toss it to her. She fumbles but manages to hold on. I use the distraction to put distance from us and duck into the bedroom.
But Tallie’s persistent. She stomps in after me. “Would you stop running away and talk to me?”
“You don’t want to know, alright?”
“Something happened then.” She moves in front of me as I try to slip into the bathroom. “Talk to me, Brenden. We’re supposed to be partners, right?”
Not in this. Not even fucking close.
But I can’t keep lying to her. I won’t be able to look her in the face, not until the job’s done, which means I need to pull it off quickly. I don’t want to live like this.
God, I hate this so much.
“Alexan brought me a job,” I say after a long, painful silence.
“What kind?”
“A bad one. A job I don’t want to do.”
“Then don’t do it? I mean, you don’t really work for them, do you? I can talk to him?—“
I grab her arm. Not hard, but firm. “Don’t do that.”
“Brenden, you’re freaking me out.”
“Listen to me. You don’t want to know what I’m supposed to do, okay? You have to stop asking me about it.”
“Does it have to do with your other thing? The thing we’re allegedly working on together?”
“No, not at all. This is straight from the Sarkissians, and you know what your cousins are like. I can’t turn them down.”
She’s pale and shaking her head. “That’s not right. You aren’t their slave.”
“I know, baby, but Alexan saved my life. Arsen’s giving me another chance by letting me marry you. I can’t say no.”
“This thing you’re doing, it’s going to let us escape, won’t it? So can’t you try to ignore this job for a while and see if it goes away?”
“I wish it were that simple.” I release her. On a whim, without thinking, I touch her cheek. I wish I could keep my hands off her, but fuck, when she’s this close and I can smell her, it’s like I’ve lost control of myself. “I’m going to pull it off tomorrow night. When it’s done, it’s done, and we don’t have to talk about it again.”
“But what are you doing?”
“Please don't ask me that. I’m begging you. I can’t say and I don’t want to lie.”
