Chapter 10 #2
“Well, yeah.” He spoke like he was stating the obvious. “I told you we’d figure it out. I wasn’t sure of the timing, but I was always coming to Seattle. Did you really think I’d be able to stay away from you that long?”
Yes. No. Maybe. “It was a topic we both avoided too often.”
“I didn’t like talking about us being apart.” He sighed, rubbing his beard again. Was that his nervous habit now? Or just something he did while he was thinking of what to say? “Arlo didn’t want me to leave. For the obvious reason.”
“Money.”
“For every penny I made, he took a cut. That fight I threw? He didn’t make a cent that night.
Because the whole point was for him to trap me.
From that point on, every time I got paid, he’d have his hand out.
Sponsorships and endorsements, I’d give him a cut.
Whatever he wanted, he took because he had the information to tank my career. ”
“You had information on him too, though.”
“That he bet at the fights? Yeah. I could have fucked him over. But people don’t talk about those fights for a reason. That’s a good way to get beaten to death.”
I flinched. “They would have killed you?”
“Worse. They might have come after you. Arlo knew you were important. When I told him I was out, he didn’t argue. He just calmly told me to reconsider. He talked about how dangerous it could be in Seattle for a woman. How there was never any guarantee people were safe.”
“He threatened me?” That son of a bitch.
“I don’t know what he would have done but I wasn’t taking that risk. Not where you were concerned. So I stayed. I played Arlo’s game.”
“Until he died.”
“Until he died,” he repeated.
“What about the other fighters? Aren’t you worried someone will come forward? Take Arlo’s place and blackmail you for money?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Like I said, people stay tight-lipped. Most fighters are tied up with families you don’t betray.
And I didn’t use my real name. I was only a part of it for a short time.
Just a handful of fights. That fight I threw was my last. There are no pictures.
No cameras allowed. If someone was going to blackmail me besides Arlo, they would have come forward by now. ”
Foster sounded so sure. Maybe my doubts were because I’d just learned all of this, but it seemed like the type of skeleton that never left your closet.
“I’m sorry, Tally.” He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. With a regret so deep it was like staring into a black hole. “I’m so fucking sorry. I made the wrong choice. If I could go back, do it all differently, I would. Please know that.”
More brutal honesty. My heart felt like it had been turned inside out, then outside in. My head was a scrambled mess. I walked to the window, staring out into the dark night. What to feel? What to think? “You should have told me the truth.”
“I didn’t want you mixed up in it.”
“Don’t.” I whirled away from the glass. “Don’t you fucking dare.
Did you really think so little of my ability to handle the truth?
What if someone had come after me in Seattle?
I would have had no idea. You made me a part of that blackmail and left me in the dark.
You were a coward. Do not say you were protecting me. ”
Foster shot off the couch. “You really think I wanted you mixed up with that trash? Of course I was protecting you from it, Talia. I would protect you from anything that could cause you pain.”
“Except yourself.”
He recoiled, his body tensing like I’d slapped him.
“Fuck.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“You’re right. The only person who ended up hurting you was me.
But I was scared. When I say it was dangerous, I’m not downplaying that.
These aren’t men who obey society’s rules.
If you cross them, they take their revenge to the extreme.
You think I would have been able to live with myself if someone had come after you?
Hit you? Raped—” He shook his head. “I can’t even think about that. ”
I shuddered, not wanting to think about it either. “And Vivienne? Was she safe because she was Arlo’s daughter?”
Foster scoffed. “She didn’t even realize she’d been swimming with sharks her entire life.”
“Is that why you married her? Because of Arlo?”
He hung his head, giving me a barely there nod. “Yeah.”
“And Vivienne went along with it?”
Had she always loved him in secret? Had she just been waiting for us to break up before making her move? Had she even been my friend? Or had it always been about Foster?
While Foster had broken my heart, having my best friend stomp on the shattered pieces had turned it into dust. Her betrayal was something I’d never forget.
And she’d won. I hated her for winning. For being able to call herself his wife.
Foster raked a hand through his hair. “She . . . it’s complicated.”
I was really starting to hate that phrase, even though I’d been the one to use it first.
“Arlo wanted us together,” he said. “The marriage was his idea.”
“Oh, and I’m sure she put up a fight,” I deadpanned. Vivienne would have gone along with it because she’d gotten Foster. Maybe she’d been after the money too.
“She didn’t want our marriage either.”
“Right.” I scoffed. “And I’m sure she put up a hell of a fight on the way to the altar.”
“She feels awful about what happened.”
Vivienne felt so awful that she’d married him anyway. She’d slept with him anyway. She’d worn his ring anyway. She’d taken his name anyway. Yeah, she must feel awful.
Why was he defending her? Why was he so loyal to her? Didn’t most people break ties with their ex?
Did they talk about me during their phone calls? Had he told her how I’d fucked him at the gym on Saturday?
My frame tensed, my hands fisting. My feelings for Foster were a jumbled mess, but when it came to Vivienne, one emotion rang clear.
Fury.
“I’m done with this conversation.”
“There’s more to talk—”
“Good night.” With that, I walked through the living room and up the stairs to my bedroom.
And left Foster to show himself out.