Page 10 of Harder Betrayal
“Because she saved my life.”
“What? When was this?”
“Long story. The details don’t matter. But if she hadn’t stepped up, I’d be dead right now. So if she needs a place to stay until she can get back on her feet, my door is open.”
It sounded like Cauldron hadn’t been present, so in what scenario would the two of them have been together? I wanted to ask questions, but judging by the way he worded his answers, he wouldn’t talk about it. “Do you think they’ll get back together?”
“She said she wouldn’t take him back.”
“Everyone says that.”
“Cauldron has done some pretty fucked-up shit, so I think she means it.”
“So you think Cauldron will try to get her back?”
He took a long time to reflect on the question. “Unlikely.”
“Because he doesn’t love her?”
“Because he has no use for her now.”
I felt like there was a much bigger story I wasn’t privy to. “How long do you think she’ll be with you?”
“I don’t know.” He relaxed in the chair, his arm stretched over the back of the one beside him. “Is this a problem?”
“No. I just… I don’t know.”
He stared me down from across the table.
“I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me…”
Silence. Stone-cold silence.
* * *
After I parked the car on the street, I walked to my front door, but I stopped when I spotted the man leaning against the banister at the top of the stairs. A three-piece suit. An arrogant smile.
My first instinct was to walk away and get back into my car, but this was my home, the place where I raised my children, and I would not let some entitled motherfucker chase me off. I marched up to him, knowing exactly where I kept my knife in my purse. “Get the fuck off my property, or I’ll slit your throat, asshole.”
The smile only widened. “Hard day?”
“It was great until now. Is this how you try to get laid? Desperately stalk women and wait outside their homes?”
That smile disappeared. “This is how I do business. And yes, we have business together.”
“You got your money back—”
“But that doesn’t break the contract. I signed my name and waited my turn. You. Owe. Me.”
I gripped the strap of my purse before I slid my hand down, looking like I was simply changing the grip. “Are you expecting me to unlock the door so you can fuck me on the couch? Then you’ll be on your merry way?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t say no to that—”
“Get over yourself. This is so fucking desperate, it’s sad. There’s so many other—”
He rushed me, getting right in my face with a stern look. “Call me desperate again and see what happens.”
My hand slid into my purse, and my fingers wrapped around the hilt of the knife. “Go away and don’t come back. I have kids—”