Chapter 5
Chapter Five
An hour. Pack to go live with a stranger and be a fake girlfriend in an hour. I almost laugh. It’s that hysterical.
“Hayley, I’m sorry.” Riley is standing at my bedroom door. I haven’t spoken to him since we left Pulse. I’m devastated that he had to go and ruin my trip.
I know it’s not fair. He didn’t purposely ruin it for me. But he still ruined it. Which is why I haven’t said a single word to him. I don’t want to say something I can’t take back. He is my only living family. It’s just me and him. We have to stick together, no matter what.
“Hayley, just yell at me,” Riley says.
“What the hell were you thinking? What am I thinking?” I set the lacey black bra back in my drawer and pull out some sports bras. I’m not going to try to look good for him.
“Why are you packing?” Riley asks.
“Because I have to go and live with that asshole for two weeks. I have to be his fake girlfriend to get you out of the trouble you got yourself into.”
My brother’s face pales. “No.” He shakes his head. “You don’t have to do that. I’d rather he just take two of my fingers like he said he would.”
“What?” I drop everything I have in my hands onto the bed.
“He said I had to pay him ten grand or he’d remove two of my fingers,” Riley clarifies.
“Yeah, well, I guess he doesn’t want your fingers or the ten grand now. He wants me.” I stab at my chest.
“Hayley, stop. We can run. We can go to the cops. I’m not letting you sleep with him to get me out of trouble,” Riley says.
My face scrunches up. “I am not sleeping with him. He just wants a fake girlfriend to attend some events on his arm or something.”
“Oh, well, that’s not that bad. Just go to some parties for two weeks.” Riley nods, like it’s not a big deal.
“Argh! Riley Bell, you’re going to go and stay with Jade. You are going to do everything she tells you to do. And I mean everything. If she wants you to rub her swollen feet, you better well rub them.” I point at my brother. “You got it.”
“Yes.” He nods again.
Once I finish packing what I think I’ll need for the two weeks, I call Jade.
“Hello? You have cell service on a plane?” she asks me.
“I didn’t get on the flight,” I say, plopping onto my bed.
“Why?”
“Riley.” I sigh. “He got caught selling aspirin at a nightclub. I had to go and bail him out.”
“Selling aspirin?” She laughs.
“He was passing it off as drugs,” I explain. “Have you heard of August Wade? The guy who owns Pulse?”
“You mean the guy who owns Miami? Who hasn’t heard of him?”
“He caught Riley. He wants me to go and live with him for two weeks and pretend to be his girlfriend,” I groan, and Jade gasps.
“And you agreed to that?”
“What am I supposed to do? I can’t just leave my baby brother with that monster,” I tell her.
“I’m going to murder the little shit,” she hisses into the phone. “Hayles, you don’t need to do this. We can think of another way.”
“There is no other way.” I sigh.
“So, you’re just going to swap a season of joy for a season of sin?” she asks me.
“I’m not sinning.” I lift a shoulder, even though she can’t see me.
“Oh, honey, getting into bed with a man like August Wade is the most delicious sin there is,” she says.
“How would you know? Have you fucked him?” I’m almost jealous at the thought. Almost.
“No, but I’ve seen pictures of him, and a man who looks like that knows how to sin in all the right ways.” She laughs.
“Okay, gross. I’ve told him under no circumstances am I sleeping with him.
And he agreed to it,” I tell her. “I need you to take Riley in for two weeks, please and thank you. I’ll owe you big time and he’s already agreed to rub your feet.
” I cut the call before she can argue with me.
Not that she would. Jade is my ride or die. She will do anything for me.
When I walk out to the living room, Andre is standing stiffly by the door. “Are you ready, Miss Bell?” he asks.
“No,” I say, and he gives me a sympathetic look before he schools his features.
“Want me to take that for you?” He nods towards my bag, and I hand it over to him.
“Sure, thanks. I like you more than Colton. He’s an ass,” I grumble as I follow Andre out. “Riley, go to Jade’s!” I yell into the house before closing the door. I’ll text Jade later to make sure he shows up.
Andre opens the back of the car, and I slide in.
He then walks around to the driver’s seat.
My hands are shaky as I buckle up. I can’t believe I’m really doing this.
Sure, August said he doesn’t want sex, but once I’m in his apartment, he could do anything to me.
He’s twice my size, so I would have no chance of fighting him off. And now I feel like I want to puke.
“Miss Bell?” Andre looks at me in the rearview mirror.
“Hm?”
“The boss, he’s not a bad man. You will be safe with him.”
I laugh. “Have you read the tabloids?”
The boss is Miami’s very own bogeyman, and I’m about to move into his dungeon. Okay, he did say it was a penthouse, but that’s not the point.
“You should judge someone based on your own experiences with them. Not what others want you to believe about them,” Andre says.
I don’t reply, because what do I say to that? He’s right. I shouldn’t judge the guy based on gossip.