Rule
She was looking at me differently.
Like she didn’t know me.
I wouldn’t deny that I wished we could go back in time to the point before she found that DNA test. Before she realized I truly did have an ulterior motive. I would shred that test and just let it be. I would take Laikyn on a job and give her the life she deserved. At least as much as I was capable of giving.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t played out that way, and now it was too late to change anything. I had to play all my cards and hope like hell in the end, my shitty hand would be enough to win her back.
I dropped the key card onto the table near the door and turned to look at Laikyn.
“Your father … Jeremiah Montgomery … he left you a trust fund.”
She looked surprised, but no more than she did when I told her that her family legacy was one of the world’s most profitable supermarket chain stores.
“A trust fund?”
I nodded and tucked my hands in my pockets. “It’s the reason I married you.”
When she stepped back as though I’d slapped her, I realized how horrible that sounded.
Laikyn clutched her throat. “You married me for money? Oh, my God.”
“No.” I reached for her, but she backed away. “That’s not…”
“Not what?” Her eyes were bright with tears, but she was glaring daggers at me. “You thought you’d make the most of it? Marry the pathetic little traumatized girl and finagle it so you could get a payday? You really are an asshole, you know that?”
She spun toward Jinx.
“Did you know this?”
He stood like a deer caught in headlights.
“Did you know he married me to get my trust fund?”
“That’s not what I meant!” I snapped. Fuck.
Laikyn spun back around, slowly this time. Or maybe time had slowed down because I could hear the roar of my heart in my ears, and it wasn’t a sound I was fond of.
“Let me explain.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but she shut me up by putting a hand up.
“Get out.”
“Laikyn.”
“No!” She huffed. “And to think I loved you, Rule. God.” She thrust her hand through her hair. “I’m the world’s biggest idiot because I fell in love with you.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, unable to speak.
Her eyes were wild when she met my gaze. “I’m an idiot. You make it impossible. You don’t want anyone to give a shit, so you beat them to the punch by being a fucking asshole. You used me.”
“No.” I could see why she would think that, but it wasn’t true. I just needed a chance to explain. “That’s not … it came out wrong.”
“Did it? Or maybe it just didn’t come out soon enough. I mean, you did suffer these past couple of months, forced to fuck me. Oh my God. I’m such an idiot.” She stood taller, and her shoulders straightened. “I hate you, Rule. I hate you with every ounce of my being right now.”
Cold washed over me from the words. It suffocated every ounce of warmth I’d started to feel because of her. I welcomed it because it was the protection I’d sought all my life. As long as I was cold, no one could hurt me.
Laikyn pointed at the door. “I don’t want you here. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
I was no longer in the mood to justify my actions. She’d made it clear that I was expendable. Irrelevant.
She stepped forward, getting right up in my face. Her voice became softer, more lethal. “I never want to see you again, Rule. Go back to the rock you crawled out from and leave me the hell alone.”
I glanced at Jinx. He still looked out of it. As though he was having a difficult time processing what I’d said. Not a good thing since he knew the reason I’d married her. He knew I’d done it so she could meet the stipulations to get the money. I didn’t want it for myself, but she refused to let me explain.
“Out!” Laikyn screamed at the top of her lungs.
I left.
Not only the room but also the hotel and then the state.
I didn’t look back.
Not once.
I couldn’t.
I didn’t want to see the remnants of my heart now that she’d ripped it clean from my chest.
* * *
Laikyn
After Rule left, I started to tear into Jinx but couldn’t come up with the words I wanted to say, so I locked myself in the bedroom and passed out. Between the adrenaline dump and the alcohol, I’d drifted into a state of nothingness.
When I woke up, it was dark out, the curtains drawn back to reveal the glittering lights of the strip. I glanced at my phone screen to check the time. It was after eight, which meant I’d missed dinner with Knox. I would apologize to him at some point, but for now, I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone.
I was no longer drunk, but now I had another problem. Without the alcohol dulling my senses, I felt a void in my chest. One that had taken up residence after Rule admitted he’d only married me for money.
How was I so blind? I mean, I knew he had a motive. He hadn’t denied it from the beginning. He also hadn’t told me what it was, but never once had it crossed my mind that money might be involved. And that was saying something since this all came about because of money—a three million dollar supposed debt, right? I’d played right into his hands. Everything had worked out like it was a movie he’d written the script for.
My mother needing his services, convincing me to call him. Monica not being able to pay.
Rule must’ve jumped at the opportunity because it couldn’t have been more perfect, could it? My mother would’ve gone to jail if I hadn’t agreed to marry him. Or, at the very least, I would’ve been stuck living with a woman who’d staged my kidnapping for financial gain.
I’d opted for the lesser of two evils. At least, that was what I’d thought at the time.
And for the past two and a half months, I’d fallen little by little until I could barely breathe for how much I loved him. Both of them. I’d gone headfirst in love with two men, and now I wasn’t sure I could look at either of them.
I never intended to fall in love. I wasn’t looking for love. Never had been. Not with one man, much less two. I’d intended to keep it about sex, but somewhere along the way, I’d given in to their pull.
Damn, they really did have a pull, too. Even now, as I stared at the glittering lights, I could see their faces in my mind, those crooked grins, and the gleam in their eyes. How could they do this to me?
A tear dripped down my cheek, and I rushed to wipe it away. I would not cry for Rule. I wouldn’t give him so much as a second thought. How fucking selfish was he that he married me to get his hands on a trust fund? God, it was probably three million dollars, the exact amount he had charged my mother. Another perfectly-timed coincidence?
Jesus.
A knock sounded in the other room, and I stilled, listening for Jinx to open it. Another knock came a minute later. I peeked out the door and found the sitting room empty. The only thing in there was the one suitcase I’d brought. All the others were gone.
I swallowed past the painful lump that clogged my throat and fought the burn of tears in my sinuses.
When the knock sounded again, I jumped.
“I don’t need room service,” I said to whoever was on the other side, but my voice came out whisper-soft.
“Open the door, Laikyn.”
I frowned. The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Definitely not Rule or Jinx. When I peered through the security hole, I saw it was covered.
Because it seemed silly to insist on getting their ID first, I opened the door. Yes, another stupid-girl horror flick response, but I didn’t give a shit at the moment.
Creed stood on the other side, a giant of a man looming over me.
He really was enormous. At least six and a half feet tall with steel-gray eyes and inky black hair, he was a bit intimidating.
“May I come in?”
I stepped back out of the way because I couldn’t think of a reason to say no.
I was tempted to look in the hall and see if Knox was lingering, but I decided against it. I didn’t care if some guy who claimed to be my long-lost brother didn’t want to talk to me.
Then again, I was the one who’d stood him up for dinner.
“Rule and Jinx left,” I informed him, in case that was his reason for stopping by.
“I know.”
The squeeze in my chest came from confirmation that they really had. I was just guessing.
“They went back to LA,” he said as though his previous words weren’t shredding me enough.
“For the best,” I told him, though it came out higher pitched because of the tightness of my throat.
“Why’s that?” He took a seat in the living area without waiting for an invitation.
I hadn’t intended to give him one.
“Why’s what?” I asked, staring past him as it sank in that Rule and Jinx had left me in Vegas.
“Why’s it for the best?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Rule married me for my trust fund. I don’t see any reason to drag it out any longer.”
Creed’s gaze tipped down, and I swore I saw the hint of a smile. “Sit down. Please.”
If he hadn’t tacked on the please at the last second, I would’ve told him to get the hell out, too.
Instead, I sat.
“If I know Rule, and I like to think I do, there’s probably not much he’s shared about himself.”
“Not really, no.” Most of what I’d learned about Rule, I’d gotten from Jinx. Save for the few glimpses I didn’t think Rule meant for me to see.
Creed looked at me, canting his head to the side. “He seems like a relatively simple man. He sets goals and achieves them. That’s all he knows how to do. He doesn’t ask for anything from anyone because he doesn’t think he has anyone.”
Based on the Rule I knew, that assessment was pretty accurate.
“But he’s got Jinx,” Creed noted. “And as of earlier this week, when he came to my house, I think he was under the impression he had you.”
“He did,” I snapped. “Right up until he told me he married me to get the money he claims I’ve got.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah.” I glared at him. “He said he married me for my trust fund. Which I didn’t even know I had until he said it. Hell, I still don’t know what all that’s about, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Okay, look.” I leaned forward. “I don’t need some cryptic psychobabble from you. The only reason I’m still here is because I’m curious about Knox. That and I fell asleep, and Rule and Jinx left me here.”
“You told Rule to leave,” he corrected.
“Yes. Fine. I did that. But I didn’t tell Jinx to go.”
Creed huffed a laugh. “At what point did Jinx ever give you the impression he wasn’t a package deal with Rule?”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Creed exhaled and relaxed in the chair. “Rule spent six years in prison after nearly beating two kids to death. One of those kids nearly killed Jinx, and Rule intervened to stop it from happening. While he was pummeling that fuck he was jumped by the guy’s friend. Took a steel pipe to the face. Do you know what a steel pipe does when it strikes the jaw with tremendous force?”
Hoping that was rhetorical, I didn’t respond.
“It breaks it. Even with a shattered face, Rule still managed to beat the shit out of them both. When the police showed up, he got a punch or two in there, too.”
Prison? Seriously? Six years?
“And because Jinx couldn’t speak to clarify what happened, Rule was pinned for all of it. The attack on Jinx and those fuckers. He served his time without complaint. Pled guilty without blinking an eye because he’s the sort of guy who takes responsibility for his actions.”
My throat was suddenly tighter.
“The day Rule was released, Jinx was there. Just waiting for him in the parking lot. Geared up to pay Rule back for saving his life.”
“Pay him back how?”
“However Rule wanted him, too. They’ve been inseparable since then. Rule will tell you he has no one. That’s not true. He has Jinx. He will always have him. Jinx is loyal to a fault, so that’ll never change. They might love you, but they’ve spent two decades together, so if you tell one of them to leave, you’re telling them both.”
I heard the words, but the only part that stuck with me was the love you part.
“They don’t love me. He used me. For fucking money.”
Creed snorted. “Rule’s got a safe in his closet.”
“I’ve seen it,” I admitted.
“You know what’s in that safe?”
I shook my head. I figured there were guns or whatever.
“Money,” he stated firmly. “And that’s only one of his hiding places.”
“Why does he keep it in his closet? It should be in a bank.”
His eyebrows rose, and I could tell he thought that was a stupid question. I waited for an answer anyway.
Creed exhaled, and I sensed his frustration with me. “The people who use Rule’s services can’t exactly pay him with a credit card, now can they?”
Since I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, I blurted, “What’s your point?”
“Rule doesn’t need your money. He’s got more than he knows what to do with. In that regard, he really is a simple man.”
“Then why did he say that?”
Creed got to his feet and stared down at me. “My guess is you weren’t really listening. That or you didn’t give him a chance to explain.”
“What’s there to explain? He said he married me because of the trust fund.”
“And he did.”
I huffed and stood up. “Why did you come here? Just to talk me in circles?”
Creed laughed, then leaned in and held my stare. “He married you so you could get that trust fund. The stipulation is you had to be twenty-two and married for ninety days before it becomes yours.”
I tried for a rebuttal but couldn’t think of anything to say. That made far too much sense.
“But let me tell you something, girl. I’ve known that man since we were kids. We were out of touch while he was in prison, but when he moved here, we settled into our old friendship. I know him better than anyone except for Jinx. And I know that man has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you.”
I swallowed, still unable to form words.
“He’ll pretend he doesn’t care that you kicked him out of your life, but it’s tearing him up.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, the words ripped from my chest.
“If I were you, I’d catch a ride to LA and find a way to convince him that you love him.”
I didn’t bother telling him that wasn’t possible. I recalled exactly what I’d said to Rule before he left. And those words … well, there was a damn good chance he would never forgive me for them.
“Try, Laikyn. Only a few people have tried with Rule, and those of us who did are still around. He pretends he’s a loner, which was probably true at one point. It’s not anymore. He just needs someone brave enough to show him he’s wrong.”
Creed walked to the door.
“If you want to catch a ride with us, the flight leaves first thing in the morning.”
I nodded.
“In the meantime, maybe you can chat with Knox. He’s another one of my friends who pretends he doesn’t need people. His reaction to you … I honestly didn’t expect it. For whatever reason, he seems thrilled to have family.”
He didn’t have family either?
I didn’t get a chance to ask anything else before Creed slipped out of the room.
I stood there for the longest time, not sure how I’d gone from feeling like the victim to the bad guy.
And as for whether I liked Creed Granger … well, the jury was still out on that.
* * *
Jinx
If I ever wondered what it was like to spend a considerable amount of time with me, I learned during the trip back from Vegas.
Rule didn’t say a word. Not a single fucking word the entire time. We even flew commercial, and somehow, he managed not to speak to anyone when he was buying the ticket, boarding the plane, during the flight, or when we landed.
To be honest, it was a little frightening.
And since I could tell he didn’t want to talk to me, either, I didn’t bother texting him, telling him how I felt about all the shit that went down. In one day, we’d managed to blow up our entire lives.
Your father … Jeremiah Montgomery … he left you a trust fund.
A trust fund?
It’s the reason I married you.
One poorly worded comment and everything went to shit. Had Rule given it careful thought, perhaps he could’ve said, “I married you so you’d get the trust fund.” Instead, he’d worded it perfectly so that it sounded like he’d done it for selfish gain.
I couldn’t blame Laikyn for her reaction. I was sure she’d been taken aback and hurt by her interpretation of his words. I would’ve been. But I could blame her for everything she said after. She immediately put up a wall and shut us both out without giving us a chance to explain.
Now, as we walked into the house, I wished for the first time that we could maintain the silence. I knew before Rule opened his mouth that I was going to hate what came next.
“I think it’s time we go our separate ways, Jinx.”
Of course he did.
Because that was how Rule handled emotional shit. He pretended that he was meant to be alone. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that to me.
I shook my head.
“You don’t really have a say in the matter anymore.” Rule looked around. “I’m moving out. You can keep the house. And the business.”
That was new. Usually, he told me I needed to move on with my life, to find some semblance of happiness with someone because he was tired of carrying my weight. I always ignored him because we both knew he didn’t carry shit. I was as much invested in our business as he was. And from the day I picked him up from that fucking prison, I’d been by his side. As a friend, as a lover, as a business partner. Not taking handouts but helping him build the life we had.
Rule sighed. “I’ll be gone in the morning. You can let Rhyan know she can keep the dog if you don’t want him.”
The dog.
Not once since we got Waldo had Rule ever referred to him as the dog.
Yeah, he was coming apart at the seams. It was only a matter of time.
I waited until Rule made it to his bedroom before I followed. I found him standing inside the room, staring at the bed. The pillows and blankets were askew, a vivid reminder that the three of us had slept it in together last night. Another way we’d been pretending that everything was fine. I guess, in a sense, it had been much better than the current status of our relationship, but still.
Rule turned to face me. “What part of go away do you not fucking understand?”
I didn’t leave.
“I don’t need you, Jinx. I don’t even fucking want you!”
I still didn’t leave.
His face hardened, and for a brief moment, I saw every ounce of pain and anguish he’d dealt with in his life etched in the lines. “I’m so sick and fucking tired of—”
“Stop,” I said, the word coming out raspy, but the sound was there.
Rule’s eyes went wide.
For the first time in my life, a confrontation didn’t instill panic. There was no tightness in my chest or a roil in my gut.
In fact, I felt a calmness I’d never felt before. I forced more words, these just as raspy and soft as the first. “I’m not leaving.”
Rule gasped.
It would’ve been comical if it weren’t for the fact I had stunned myself. My voice was weak, but the sounds were coming, and my brain wasn’t having an issue relaying the information.
I stepped forward and whispered, “You’re stuck with me.”
He swallowed, and I swore I saw tears in his eyes, but they didn’t fall.
“We will fix this.”
“I don’t—”
“Stop,” I said again, a little louder this time, closing the gap between us.
“Jinx.”
“Rule.”
He huffed a laugh, and those were definitely tears in his eyes. “I always wanted to hear you say my name.”
Now that I had, I wanted to say it a million times, but first…
I gripped his jaw and leaned in, pressing my lips to his.
“I’m not leaving,” I repeated, still in a gravel-rough whisper. “Not you. Not her. We’ll figure it out.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t push me away.
I kissed him again, more urgently this time, crowding him so he was forced to back up. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it. He let me pull it over his head. I did the same with my own before sealing my mouth to his.
Through hungry kisses, we managed to shed the rest of our clothing, and only when I had Rule on the bed, naked beneath me, did I look him in the eye again.
His eyes moved over my face.
“I love you,” I said, forcing the words to be clearer than before. “I couldn’t say it. You wouldn’t’ve listened if I could, but I’ve been trying to prove that to you for years.”
Again, Rule shook his head. He was in denial. That had been his problem for so long. He couldn’t accept that anyone could love him, but I did. And despite what she said earlier, I knew Laikyn did, too. She just needed a minute to catch up to the rest of us. We’d kept her in the dark, and once she fumbled through it and realized that everything Rule had done had been for her, she would be here professing the same thing.
“Jinx, we—”
This time, I shook my head, effectively silencing him before I retrieved the lube that had been left out on the nightstand. It took minimal work to prepare us both, and then I was sliding inside him.
I took his hands and stretched them over his head, holding him in place as I rocked inside him.
“Look at me,” I whispered.
Rule’s eyes met mine.
As I made love to him, I witnessed his surrender, then proceeded to show him what words never could.