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It takes a few minutes, and I’m out like a light.

xxx

I’m on the bottom of the ocean in pink lace, staring at dolphins choking on an oil spill, in the midst of the Adriatic Sea. The oxygen tank rubbing against my bare skin weighs a ton, sinking me out of reach of the wildlife I’m trying to save.

What’s my plan down here? I have no idea. Just kind of showed up clawing desperately to reach the dolphins. I can understand them. Their pain.

Each barrel of oil dumped from the very bright surface is being hugged by one of the Star Dust strippers. Their twerking creates bubbles all around them as the oil drains by the gallon.

It’s so frustrating. They can’t hear me, and I’m just sinking deeper, and deeper into the black depths.

The hitmen that were after me stick their oversized faces into the water. My goggles zoom and can see them so clearly – nasty smiles, silver teeth, forked tongues.

Everywhere I turn, I’m losing, and I don’t have the strength to swim up.

…

“Huu!” I flail awake when warm water splashes over my skin, only to find Trino standing over me with a furious frown, holding a dripping wet bucket.

“I had a mind to make it ice cold.” He throws the bucket behind me as I clamor off the long-chair and onto the grass. My legs are rubber, refusing to let me stand.

Wringing out my soaked top, I realize where I am. It’s still nighttime in his backyard. I effectively ran away from him and cut all communications.

“Get the fuck inside.Now.” He rips the chair away with one hand and flips it deeper into the grass.

I get to my feet and straighten. “Now you know how it feels, jerk off.” I rip out some of his grass and toss it at him. “Does that bother your OCD?Huh?”I rip more, then rub dirt all over his nice patio leading toward his house.

“I run three fucking businesses, and babysitting isn’t one of them! You could’ve been killed on the way back here. The mob is scrambling to find you and your father right now.The fuck were you thinking?”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that when—”

“Shut up,” he says eerily quietly. “Get inside. Now.”

I scoff and open the sliding glass door. “I’m so done with this bullshit.”

“Likewise.” He slides the door shut behind him. “Shower, get in bed, and don’t say another fucking word. I’m behind on work because I spent four hours trying to find your dumbass.”

“Maybe if you weren’t face deep in a pair of titsthat weren’t mine, I would’ve made it to the end of my shift,” I mumble to myself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I scoff.

He shakes his head, stomps into one of his office rooms and slams the door. It makes me want to use the spike of my heel to carve ‘asshole’ into the wood. A flash of my dad’s scared face holds me back, though. Even though my old man was selfish in this whole charade, I can’t lose him.

My arms go slack with a heel in each hand, and I dejectedly ascend the steps, watching my dirty feet leave residue on each step.

The shower I take steams up as I scrub the stench of Star Dust off me, thinking the most vile thoughts about everyone who’s touched my life in the last forty-eight hours. Then when I finally dry off and throw on an oversized shirt, I notice a brand-new pair of panties wrapped in plastic.

Those weren’t there before.

He’s so weird.

I tear open the plastic and hop into them before faceplanting on the bed. No matter how hard I try, I’m tossing and turning thinking about tomorrow. I have to marry an asshole to save my father’s life. A cheating, piece of shit,asshole. No respect for me. It’s disgusting.

I slap the bed and spin on my back.

Sunlight drips through the curtains.