The Help (Kings of Linwood Academy, #1)(23)

Fuck.

The game starts breaking up, everyone gathering their chips and talking amongst themselves. I don’t have anything left to cash out though, so I stand abruptly and make a beeline for the door. I’m shaking with frustration and fury—at myself, at River, at whatever idiotic demon whispered in my ear that I should make that bet.

I burst out into the dark, quiet night and am halfway to my car when the door opens again, casting light across the dim pavement.

“Something wrong, Pool Girl?”

It’s Lincoln, and I can hear the smile in his voice. He knew. They all must’ve known. They fucking planned this.

I whirl on them and hiss, “Of course something’s wrong. You cheated!”

“Yeah.” River shrugs. He either cashed out already, or he came out here first, which is more likely. “So? You did too. You think I don’t know you were counting cards? I just cheated better this time.”

“Well, I’m not doing you a fucking favor if you didn’t win it fair and square.”

“Really? You want me to go back in there and tell Carson you’re going back on a bet? You seem to love the game—it’d suck if you couldn’t find a single person willing to play with you.”

“You’re a cock,” I spit, my anger and annoyance making me forget the whole “your friend could get me fired” thing.

He doesn’t seem to mind the insult though. He actually grins wider. Maybe it’s because he knows I wouldn’t be this pissed if I wasn’t about to give in.

“Fine.” I drag the word out, my body resisting saying it. “One favor.”

“Anytime. Anywhere. No questions asked.”

“Fine. What do you want from me?” I blurt.

A brief flash of heat flares in his eyes, and against my will, an answering warmth blooms in my lower belly. He grins at me, and for the first time, it occurs to me what exactly I just did. How truly stupid my bet was.

There are so many things he could ask for.

And if I say no, I’ll be blacklisted from every poker game I could possibly get into. I can’t let that happen. Especially not when I need to make back what I lost tonight.

“I don’t know yet,” he says softly. “But I’ll think of something.”

I lick my suddenly dry lips. “Great. Well, when you do, you know where to find me.”

Before they can say anything else or notice the breathy catch in my voice, I turn and walk quickly to my car.

There’s no music on the way home. No dancing behind the wheel. Just silence, and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as the adrenaline wears off.

This is probably the kind of reckless behavior that shrink would’ve helped me stay away from.

Too bad it’s way too late for that now.

I sneak in the service door of the Black mansion and creep up the dark stairs to my bedroom. After slipping on a tank and shorts, I glance at my bed. I’m not exactly wired, but I know I won’t be able to sleep yet.

So I pad down the hall to Mom’s little apartment and head for her small bedroom. She makes a low noise when I crawl up beside her, then blinks her eyes open.

“Low? You okay?”

“Yeah. Just couldn’t sleep.” It’s not a lie, but I don’t tell her the reason.

“Everything okay?” She reaches up to brush my hair out of my face, her brown eyes shining in the dim light from the window.

“Yeah.” I nod reassuringly. It will be. I hope. “How ’bout you? You made it through your first month as Executive Housekeeper. How do you like it so far?”

“I like it.” She smiles wistfully, her eyes going soft. “It’s honestly not as hard as I thought it would be. And Samuel’s nice. Audrey is… a little strange. But she’s nice enough too, I guess.”

Strange is one word for it. Doped up might be another.

We’ve been here just over four weeks, and I feel like I know as much about Audrey Black now as I did the day we were introduced. Not that I know any of the Black family members all that well, but at least I’ve gotten some kind of read on Lincoln and his dad.

My mom’s rose-colored glasses won’t let her see all the weirdness around here, and I don’t want to ruin it for her if she’s happy. But I resolve to be extra paranoid, extra vigilant on her behalf. There are some shady things in this house, in this town, and I don’t want any of it to get on us.

In a year, I want to be able to graduate and go to college without worrying about Mom. And in a few years, I want her to be able to quit this job and find a career she really loves because she doesn’t have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck anymore.

“Good. I’m glad you’re happy here. Love you, Mom.” I nestle closer, resting my head on her shoulder.

“Love you too, Low. More than anything.”

Her voice is already fading as she speaks, and a few minutes later, she’s asleep again.

I roll onto my back, in no hurry to go back to my room.

Instead, I lay awake for another hour, wondering what favor River is going to demand from me.

And when.





10





For the next few days, I feel like I have something hanging over my head. An anvil or a guillotine, maybe. Something that will almost certainly ruin me when it finally falls.