Page 30 of Danger

The words don’t come out smooth. They come out honest, like he didn’t plan on saying them at all.

It almost knocks me off my feet.

“We can do this till she’s gone,” he says. “Ain’t gotta be fancy. Ain’t gotta be real. You just gotta act like you don’t hate bein’ near me.”

He dips his head just a fraction, voice dropping softer—rougher. “Let ’em think you’re mine.”

Mine.

One word. Simple. Possessive. A lie.

And coming from him? Feels like the word has a whole new meaning.

CHAPTER NINE

danger

I thinkshe’s lost it. In the world’s darkest storage closet, she’s pacing a war path between a mop bucket and a leaning tower of plastic crates. Did I forget to mention she’s talking to a cat?

And the cat seems more judgemental than helpful.

Winnie’s bent over the cat now, hands braced on her knees. “You can just tell me if you think this is a dumb idea,” she says. “You know that, right? Like, you could just blink twice, and I'll change my name and start over somewhere with fewer cowboys.”

I should tell her this is a bad idea. Pretending to be together, her and me.

At the moment, I wasn’t thinkin’ about how any of this was actually supposed to work. Maybe part of me just saw red watching Rylee talk to Winnie like that. Maybe part of me hopes this will hurt Rylee—and I can’t resist taking a shot.

And Winnie… she's just here. Trusting me. Looking at me like I’m not the kind of man who makes selfish calls.

Hell of a time to prove her wrong.

Winnie leans closer to the cat, a strand of hair slipping over her shoulder. “Wait… was that one blink or two?”

“I don’t think the cat blinked at all.”

She turns slowly. “What does that mean? No blinks? Is that bad? Is that, like, catastrophic bad?”

I rub my jaw, fighting a laugh. “Why are you taking advice from a cat?”

“My mom says animals tell us everything we need to know. We just have to pay attention.”

“Yeah? I think that one’s just sayin’ it’s hungry.”

“Wow. Okay. So you just hate Peach. Good to know.”

“I hate that you’re letting a creature who just licked its own backdoor guide your life decisions.”

“First of all, that flexibility is a gift. Second, you don’t know her journey.”

God help me, she sounds completely serious.

“Winnie, step away from the cat.”

Winnie sighs and pushes upright then finally turns to face me.

She clears her throat. “Okay. But—how do we even do this?”

I’m leaning back against a shelf of whiskey bottles, arms folded.