“Have you looked at him? Tattooed and all? Do you know what the Society will think about that? How will you explain a…” She eyed Kip up and down, giving him back some of his confidence.
“A?” I asked, if Kip were my boyfriend, I’d be getting pissed at the way she was acting.
Although I did believe a lot of it was to the fact that she knew exactly how he looked naked.
Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat, making sure I, too, was waiting.
She threw up her hands. “Just look at him, Corey. Is that what you saw for our little girl?”
“You know what the difference between you and me is, Corinne? I’m thinking of what our girl wants, and that’s to be happy. He looks as if he makes her happy. And if not, we’ll find him and make him vanish, just the way the Society always does.”
He passed her and I felt Kip’s grip on me tighten. For someone who seemed so unapologetically unafraid of everything, and who claimed to have lived on the streets and struggled most of his life, he seemed suddenly worried about my family.
“Tell me he’s joking,” he hissed toward me.
“My mother ordered my own kidnapping for the mere purpose of being able to marry someone new without losing her face. Did you honestly just ask me if Corey is joking?” I replied and heard him swallow.
“Belle…”
I turned to him, stepping in until we were almost breathing the same air. As much as I liked making everyone in here squirm, I didn’t need Corinne to overhear us.
Besides, I didn’t want him to worry too much. “Kip, you’ll be okay. After this is over and my mother got what she deserves, I’ll make sure Corey knows you didn’t do anything of this because you wanted to hurt me. Plus, when my mother is exposed, he might not even want anything to do with me.” And there, as I said it, I realized that thought was painful.
He wasn’t my real father, but he’d always taken care of me.
“Hey,” Kip whispered, tilting my chin up. “Everyone who ever met you wouldn’t want to hurt you. I’m sure he’ll stick up for you even if your mother turned out to be scum. You were his daughter for a big part of your life.”
For once, I actually wanted to believe Kip’s lies and decided to not say anything against it.
Kip
I pushed back my chair. “Excuse me for a minute. I fear I need to wash my hands. Can you point me in the direction of a bathroom?”
Corinne was the first to stand, just like I’d expected. “Of course.” She’d pretended to try for her daughter, and I knew she’d been dying to get me alone.
I followed her out of the room, and when we were out of earshot, she grabbed me and pressed me against the wall. “Careful, you don’t want to be too close to your daughter’s boyfriend, right?”
I felt her nails digging into my biceps and she stepped in even closer. “What in the fucking world are you playing at?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t know you had such a hot daughter. Saw her outside the day I left you cum-covered on your husband’s bed. And damn, she is something else…”
Her hand wandered higher, wrapping around my throat. “Do it, Corinne. Choke me. Come on. If you think no one’s gonna come looking for us, you’re wrong. Remember I’m here with my girlfriend.”
“How much do you want?”
Oh, this was priceless. I was tempted to take money from her for the sole purpose of her deserving it, but I had a benefactor who was more than just a little nice and therefore I shook my head.
“Nothing,” I replied. “You cannot give me—”
“Fifty thousand and I might forget that you’re choking my boyfriend.”
Corinne’s eyes snapped to her daughter and still, she didn’t step back. “I didn’t.”
I swallowed, wondering if she felt it against her palm. “I need to protest that, cause… throat…” I made my voice sound rougher than it was and instantly she stood five feet away.
Belle crossed her arms in front of her chest while Corinne lifted her chin. “I’m not gonna pay you fifty thousand for that,” she snapped, but I had a feeling Belle wasn’t that easily deterred.
Seemed she wanted to make sure she had money should Corey not take care of her. Smart girl.
“I think you will,” Belle replied, her tone low, calm, and I wanted to kiss her.
Hell, knowing I pretended to be her boyfriend I crossed over and claimed her lips just the way I wanted to. “Be nice, babe. Your mother mixed me up with someone else.”
“What has gotten into you, child?” Corinne, too, stepped closer, no longer caring that I was close. “You don’t know who he is. He slept with half of my country club.”
I coughed, not believing she’d placed that low blow. “And you? Which half do you belong to?”
Belle arched her brows at her mother while Corinne nearly stuttered. “What? How dare you?”
“Then again… It doesn’t matter, does it? Because someone came with you. I mean… On you. Or in you? Probably, too. Either way, I know it’s true, because I have the photo to prove it. And now, fifty thousand in my bank account by tomorrow. You know where it needs to be going. Tomorrow, mom, or I’ll tell Corey your little yoga-teacher-lie. And also…” This time it was the daughter stepping in to her mother, making that woman back up. “Keep your hands off Kip. Under any circumstances.”
I wanted to assure her that I wouldn’t put my hands on her mother again, but didn’t think it was the smart comment to make. After all, yes, Anabelle knew the truth, but so far her mother didn’t know that.
“What if I don’t pay?”
Anabelle pulled her cell out of her jeans pocket and did nothing more than turn on her screen. It showed her mother covered
