Reveal (Wicked Ways #2)(89)

“I didn’t care if you noticed,” I say with a partial laugh to hide my nerves. “Isn’t a girl allowed to see her boyfriend for some much-needed sex?”

I hope my truth will shock them some. Will make them realize I’m not playing the games they seem to think I am. And the surprised expressions my statement causes tells me I might just have succeeded.

“Sex?” Abel asks.

“Yes. A booty call,” I say and hate that it cheapens everything about what Ryker and I shared, but I also refuse to tell them that. “I wasn’t aware I couldn’t see him.”

“The tough-girl act doesn’t fool us, Vaughn,” Noah says.

“Or shock us,” Abel interjects. “You’d be surprised the things people lie about to try to throw us off track.”

“Why would I do that? Throw you off track.”

“Ah, is that your precursor to get out of explaining your big buyout? Let me guess—you’re going to refuse to cooperate with us now?” Abel accuses. “You can handle us all on your own, you can afford some big hotshot attorney who can explain it all away and—”

His words make no sense. I admitted to seeing Ryker. I’m not lying. So what is the big deal here?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Abel crosses his arms over his chest and assumes his pose of intimidation against the wall. “So what, you were just stringing us along until you could see who the highest bidder was?”

“You.” I point a finger at Abel. “You need to stop with the cryptic bullshit and just come out and say it. I haven’t slept well in the past few days, so I’m having a helluva time following whatever else it is you’re accusing me of.”

“You want me to spell it out? How about this: you ask for immunity, and while you wait for us to get the paperwork drawn up, you try to get the best of both worlds. How much did you let Ryker buy you with, huh? Did you think we’d sign the paperwork with you before we noticed?”

“Paperwork? Buy me out?” I feel like I’m not an active participant in this conversation, because I have no idea what in the hell is going on. “I don’t—”

“This.” Abel slaps down a stack of papers onto my table. “Your immunity deal.”

“Oh.” I startle at the sound but then narrow my eyes in confusion when another stack lands with a thud beside it.

“And this.”

I look between the two stacks, too far away to read any writing, too close to ignore that whatever they say determines my fate.

“What are those?” I point to the second stack, my voice cautious, my hope on edge.

“You tell me.” Abel points for me to approach and pushes the stack closer.

I look at the top one. The company is familiar, the printed form akin to a type of statement I see every month. My name is at the top, but the balance at the bottom shows a big fat zero.

I glance up at both of them in utter shock and then absolute fear before rifling through the rest of them. “This can’t be.” My eyes jockey between them as I see that each of my monthly statements show a zero balance due.

Every single one of them.

Almost $300,000 worth of expenses I incurred for my uninsured sister has been wiped clean.

“I don’t understand.” My voice is hollow, my eyes disbelieving.

“Looks to me like you just wished it all away, and poof, the magic money fairy paid every last cent of it. And let me guess . . . he wanted something in return for doing it that cost a lot more than a midnight booty call.”

Goddamn it, Ryker.

Tears threaten, and I shake my head as if I can reject what I’m seeing with my own eyes. The mix of emotions is so strong and powerful that I’m not sure which one to focus on.

Anger at him for thinking I needed him to do this.

Fear because even though I know they are wrong in thinking Ryker bought me off, I can see how this all looks in their eyes, and it doesn’t play in my favor.

Why would he do this?

Maybe I want to take care of you instead.

Every part of me riles against this, against his generosity, with an unrivaled fierceness.

I can take care of myself. I got myself into this mess. I can get myself out of it. I don’t need some knight to come in and save the day.

The other part of me has tears in her eyes from a relief I never thought I’d get the chance to know.

But he can’t do this. I won’t let him.

It’s just money to him. Play money.

Powerful men like to play God.

Abel’s words come back to me as I lift my eyes to his and shake my head.

I run to my computer and frantically punch in websites of my big creditors. Are the agents tricking me? Are they going to tell me there is no immunity, make me sign their stupid papers, and bind me to them by telling me lies?

But the lies are true. Each website. Each balance. All zeros.

Every single one of them.

How do I protect Ryker right now from their assumptions? How do I protect myself? How do neither of us become collateral damage in the agents’ pursuit of Carter Preston?

“That two-million-dollar retainer sure is going a long way,” Abel says.

“I had nothing to do with this. I didn’t know. I didn’t want this. I . . .”

And then the tears come because Ryker might have just risked everything for me. His good deed—a deed I am so angry at him over because I don’t need a savior, I just need him—paints a different picture depending on what angle you’re observing it from.