Page 55 of Shallow
But why does it have to leave us anywhere? We are who we are and not a damn thing is going to change that. Both of us have done some fucked-up shit that’s caused pain and suffering. I still want to make her pay, but maybe for one day we can block out the world and pretend we don’t hate eachother.
“Even sinners and fallen angels take a break from anarchy, Shiloh. All work and no play makes us very dullcriminals.”
I skate a step, or maybe it’s four or five. Hell, I don’t know. I’m too enthralled with the fiery look on her face to notice that she’s pressed right up against me, chest to chest, and stomach to stomach. The frigid air in the arena heats, and the minute I tip her head back, I know I should stop this, but I won’t. Ican’t.
“Ask me again,” I whisper, the cold air clouding around mybreath.
Her chin trembles in my hand. “Why did you go to all this trouble forme?”
“I went through seven years of detox, Shiloh. But one goddamn hit of you in a bathroom and I’m a junkie again. You make me crave more. It’s neverenough.”
Eighteen
Shiloh
His choiceof wording couldn’t have been more perfect. I get it. I understand craving. The desperation that makes you do anything for the next hit. It’s why I don’t stop him when he lowers his mouth to mine, our lips connecting in a warm and wet kiss that leaves me shaking. He deepens the kiss, teasing my lower lip with stinging bites as I stroke my tongue over the steel of his lip ring. God, that thing is sosexy.
The more I taste, the hungrier I get. I’m a greedy bitch, taking everything he gives and wanting more. I don’t care that I mean nothing to him. I don’t care that all he wants is my body. Right now, it’s not my brain that’s screaming at me to straddle him right here on theice.
What the hell am Idoing?
Pressing my freezing hands against his chest, I pull away, almost groaning at how swollen his lips look. “It’s getting late and we have a long drive back. We should get going.” I don’t give him a chance to respond before hobbling off the ice like a newborn baby deer, immediately plopping down on a bench and unlacing my skates. Cary does the same, mercifully not speaking another word as we both walk to the car insilence.
Reaching for the door handle, Cary pauses, holds my eye for a moment, then shakes his head, abandoning whatever he’d considered saying. I almost ask what he’s thinking as he opens the door, instead keeping my mouth shut and climbing inside. No matter how many times I rub my palms on my thighs they remain sweaty, and my heart slams against my chest. Nagging regret gnaws at me as Cary turns the ignition and pulls into traffic, turning the radio up full blast to fill the awkwardsilence.
I’m not stupid. As amazing as his gesture was, I know Cary is baiting me. However, something shifted inside that arena, and after all the shit that’s happened between us, I have no idea if it’s a good or bad thing. Either he’s about to call a truce, or plan a surprise attack I’ll never seecoming.
Twenty minutes later, I glance over at the speedometer again, but decide to keep my mouth shut. Eighty in a sixty could technically cost him his license, but I’m not exactly in a position to be throwing stones. Instead, I tighten my seatbelt and do what comes naturally when I’m forced into uncomfortablesituations.
Applieddistraction.
“So, you started the Kincaid Center after, you know…you werereleased?”
“You mean after I was paroled from prison?” I wince at the harshness of his words, but nod as he continues. “Yes. I tried to get loans on my own, but after five banks turned me down, I had to look elsewhere. That’s when I ran into Taryn again. We went out a few times, and her family offered to put up the capital for all the usual business expenses. You know, rent the building, pay all the fees, and purchase theequipment.”
I force a smile, remembering her threats outside the center. “I’m glad she came through foryou.”
“Yeah, right. Nothing in life comes free, sweetheart. I’m paying for that loan inblood.”
“What do youmean?”
He turns away from me, shaking his head. “Nothing. Forget I saidanything.”
I grab his arm because I need to know. “Tellme.”
“Look, the money ran out a long time ago, okay? My mom and dad owe them too. Bills are due and our pockets are empty. If I don’t come up with almost four hundred thousand soon, they’re going to take the center and the motel fromus.”
It takes me half a second to lose my shit. “Four hundred thousanddollars?”
Cary grins, despite the bleak situation. “No, pesos. Yes, Shiloh, dollars. My start-up loan, with twenty-five percent interest accrued over five years, is a little over seventy-nine thousand. Equipment isn’tcheap.”
“And the rest ofit?”
He’s quiet for a moment, and I think he’s shut down on me until he hunches his shoulders and sighs. “My parents were drowning in debt between Ellie’s medical bills and my arrest costs, so they took out a business equity line of credit. They had to put up the house for collateral, and bills were coming in when money wasn’t. They were about to lose everything, so at the time, Taryn’s idea to have Daddy bail them out sounded like the perfectsolution.”
The last thing I want to do is upset him more, but I have a sadistic need to know the rest. “Let me guess, it came with a heftyprice.”
He swallows hard and nods once. “More than you could ever imagine. They had to sign a contract stating that if they couldn’t pay it back, ownership of the motel immediately reverted to the McDaniels. As I said, bloodmoney.”
