Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Well, I grew up here, Riggs. It’s not a far-fetched scenario.”
Suddenly his fingertips are on my face, lingering on my cheek for a moment. I don’t know how to react. Should I swat his hand away? Pretend like it’s not happening?
But he just pulls the blindfold down and when I look up, all I see are those golden-brown eyes of his. “What did you do that for?”
“The problem is… I can’t trust you, Clover.”
“Well, we’re even then. Because I can’t trust you either.”
His eyes lock on mine and we stare at each other for several long seconds. Finally, he says, “I want to trust you.”
“Well, I would like to trust you too.”
“I want you to commit to this plan so when we go up against Ike Monroe, we’re on the same side. And you just refuse to give in. My solution is not horrible.”
“Well, it’s not great, either.”
“There is no ‘great’ solution. They’re all bad. But this one we’re in the middle of, at least we both get out alive.”
I shrug and throw up my hand. “Fine. You’re right.”
“It’s not enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not enough for you to say it’s ‘fine,’ Clover. You need to say it’s perfect.” He knows I’m about to object here, so he presses a palm at me. “No. It’s not perfect, I get that. But I need that level of commitment from you. Otherwise, I might as well leave you tied to a tree to be eaten alive by fire ants because the ending will be the same. We’re in a lot of danger here. You’re failing to understand this.” He pauses and sighs. And I know that he’s sincere. Every word he just said is true. His eyes search mine for a moment before speaking again. “I need you to understand this.”
I’m about to retort with a, ‘Fine, I’ll be good. I get it.’ But I’ve already said that. And I wasn’t sincere. So instead, I nod, still meeting his gaze. “I get it. I mean, I don’t, Riggs. I don’t understand your world or the danger you seem to be in. But I’ll do my best and I’ll commit to the plan.”
“A hundred percent, Clover.”
“A hundred percent, Riggs.”
After a few second of hard staring he reaches for the scarf, slides it around my neck, then unties the knot and takes it off. “There. You can leave it off. This is me telling you I trust you now.”
I feel unexpectedly… sorry, I think. For making things harder. Which is weird and will probably require years of therapy to understand at some later time in the future, but I push the consequences of what I’m about to say away for another time. “I won’t run. I’ll do everything you say. I promise. But this is me trusting you to get me out of this alive.”
He presses his lips together and nods. “All right. Let’s go. It’s just a little bit farther.”
At first, we don’t talk. We just keep walking. But we do make better progress now that I’m not blindfolded.
However, this silence gets awkward fast. At least for me. So I prompt him to talk with a relevant question. “What is this Hattie woman like? I mean, if I am to pretend to be her, shouldn’t I have an idea of who she is?”
He side-eyes me. “I’ll tell you, but no more jokes about me being in love with her.”
“All right. But one question first. Did you and her—”
“No.” He says this so emphatically, I laugh. “You’re totally off track, Clover. I can’t stand her. She’s a bitch. And I really don’t say that about many women. She’s just…” He looks at me for a moment. “Nothing like you.”
“In what respect?”
“Everything. She’s tall, and thick, and… manly.”
I laugh.
“It’s true,” he says. “I’m not cutting down her looks, because she’s not ugly, or anything. She’s just not feminine.”
“You prefer your women feminine, I take it?” As soon as I say that, I feel a blush heat up my face. Because I’m very feminine.
But Riggs doesn’t even hesitate. “Yeah. I like the princesses.” Then he shoots me a sideways look and winks.
Which makes me blush hotter.
“But anyway, she’s rough. And strong. And very capable.”
“Is that why they sent her up top?”
“No. They sent her up top because she’s rigid. Not to be confused with frigid.”
I laugh.
“Because she’s not a prude. She’s just very by the book.”
“She likes rules, I take it?”
“That woman has never broken a rule in her life.”
“And let me take a wild guess here. You’re a natural dissident?”
“Some might say that. She turned me in dozens of times when we were kids. Every time I wanted to do something fun, she’d ruin it. I think she gets pleasure out of ruining people’s fun.”
“That’s… mean.”
Riggs stops to point at me. “Exactly. She’s mean.”
I point to myself, eyes wide as I look up at him. “So I should be mean? If I’m supposed to be her?”