Page 32 of Snowed in with the Brutes
“Kian?”Cynthia asks.
“Yes.And Flinn and Sinclair.”
Her eyes widen but she recovers quickly.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.If you were a member of the consortium, Kian, as the eldest head, would have to marry you.Since you can’t afford to buy your way in, it doesn’t matter.”
My mind races.Nothing was ever going to happen with me and them, but I refuse to walk away with nothing, only to go back to square one.
“Why do you think I’m here?In their penthouse when they could have sent me home?They want me.They said I’m theirs.All their money is at my disposal.You saw their staff.They would buy me a place in the consortium just to have me.”
“You bitch,” Cynthia snarls.“You’ll never see your father again.You’ll—”
“I don’t want them, Cynthia,” I say, forcing out the biggest lie of my life.I fight back tears.“But I will make them want me if you don’t do as I say.”
Cynthia’s nostrils flare.Summer slams her hands onto her hips as if she can’t believe my audacity.
“I want a signed document stating that my father is free to leave the Anderson ranch and that his debt has been wiped clean.I also want ten thousand dollars deposited into my bank account.Do that, and you will never see me again.”
“You bitch.”
I’m on the verge of crying, but I can’t.I need to know where I stand, and as a nobody, I have no ground to stand on.I must play this game.
“Fine.”
“Good.Draft the letter on your phone, sign it electronically, and email it to me.Then deposit the funds into my account.”
I stand there trembling as Cynthia follows my instructions.Once she’s done, I ask to use her phone.I check my emails for the letter and my bank account for the money.
“Thank you,” I say, but my voice catches, for a moment.“I’ll go pack my things.”
“Make sure they can’t find you, or they might kill you when I tell them how you’ve deceived them.”
“Is that so?”Sinclair asks, with a lazy lilt to his voice.
I wasn’t sure but I felt their presence way before I saw them entering the lounge, as handsome, as deadly as ever.
Henry called them, this I know.But how much did they hear?
If I beg for mercy, will they spare me?
