got nothing. The one person I cared about was taken from me.” What he didn’t like was how the pain had started to lessen over the past year. He didn’t get it. Sarah was his one and only and even now, thinking about her caused him a little pain but nothing it once did. There was no need to kill himself, to end what miserable existence he had.
He wouldn’t allow his change in feelings to stop him from doing what needed to be done, and that was to deal with the bounty hunter, wherever he was, and of course, keep Jade from being taken by her family.
****
Boredom sucked big time.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Tulip wanted a bath. She wanted to strip out of her clothes and wash the last day or however long she’d been locked up off her body. Only, she couldn’t do neither. Nope, she was fucking stuck here.
After sliding down the edge, she landed on the floor. Closing her eyes, she brought her palms together and then slumped forward. She slapped her hands to the ground and took several deep breaths, hoping to control her temper, but nothing was happening. Her anger was at an all-time high, and she was pissed off.
Finally, the door lock flicked open and in walked Rick with Gabriel. No Jacob this time.
Yay.
“I need a bath. I stink.”
“You can have a bath as soon as you agree to help me.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
“A life of luxury. A man who will be completely devoted to you.”
“This is if you believe I’m the right woman for him. This guy, he could kill me.”
“That’s true. I can’t tell you it won’t be a risk.”
“Ugh, I hate you right now. You know that, right? Like, I really fucking hate you.”
“It’s a given.”
“All I need to do is get this guy to fall for me and I get a bath. When can I go home? I mean, once I’ve lured him in, I don’t have to do anything, right?”
“What part of you will have this guy completely devoted to you don’t you understand?” Gabriel asked.
“Look, a week ago, I was a waitress and the post lady. In a matter of hours, I’ve been taken against my will, brought to a foreign land, and told that I’m someone’s twin, which by the way, hurts. I was never adopted. While my better half got a good life, I had to fight to survive and believe me, it wasn’t an easy fight, and now you’re telling me I don’t even get to go fucking home!” She looked from one to the other. “On top of that, because I’ve got issues with it, I can’t even have a bath!” She slumped back and groaned. “Kill me now.”
Rick chuckled. “We both know you’re going to take this deal.”
“How do you know? I don’t want to have some weirdo obsessed with me.” She didn’t see an alternative. Not that she intended to play along completely. She’d done this game with a foster dad who wanted to fuck her. He didn’t get what he wanted, but she got a warm bed for a short time. “Fine. Fine. I’ll do it.”
“That was easy.”
“I want a bath, okay? I may be scum of the earth to you, but I like to be clean.” Even when she’d lived on the streets, she’d always tried to make it so she could have a bath. When she earned change from people passing by and wanting to do a good deed, she didn’t spend it on drink or drugs. Food, and a nice trip to the local swimming baths. She got a shower out of it, and it was relatively cheap on admittance.
Once she got her shit together to rent an apartment, there was no way she was ever going back on the streets, at least that was what she told herself daily. She had a plan and a way of executing it. She’d always been able to have a plan and to work around problems. Right now, it was a problem, a big one, but nothing she couldn’t fix. It would be easy for her handle.
“Fine. A bath it is.” Rick helped her to her feet and led her out of the room. She didn’t attack them. No, she would have to play along for the time being. It was the only way she was going to survive.
They went down a long corridor toward the end of the hall, then down a flight