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My heart stutters. I suck in a deep inhale.

Somehow his smile grows more sinister. A fear-laced chill creeps down my spine.

“I look forward to continuing this game, Trailer. All’s fair in this power war you started between us.” Leaning forward, he whispers, “I’ll get what’s mine in the end, but the road to your demise is proving to be quite a fun ride. Your move, Trailer.”

Bile rises in my throat. I clamp a hand around my neck in an attempt to keep last night’s BBQ down. I don't say another word as Shawn saunters down the hall, glancing back once with a wink before disappearing around a corner. The fingers around my neck twitch, and my knees buckle. Palm out, I smack the wall to stay upright and bend forward to stop the room from spinning.

“Ma'am,” Trey says at my side. Fuck, when did he get here? “You need to sit down?”

I shake my head, my dark hair falling forward in a makeshift curtain. Licking my lips, I force myself to stand tall and take a deep breath.

“Did you hear him?” I ask as I glance back down the hall, fully expecting Shawn to be there enjoying my mini breakdown.

“You've got five minutes,” Kyle bites out, clearly in a foul mood.

He wraps his fingers around my bicep and tugs me into the room. Before Trey can get a word out, the door slams closed.

“Talk.” Releasing me, he marches over to the side bar and pours two fingers of a dark liquid into a crystal highball glass.

My earlier fury smothered by Shawn's comments, I mindlessly shuffle to the couch and fall onto the soft cushions. Staring unseeing at the far wall, I shake my head in disbelief. “It wasn't you.”

“Four minutes, Walmart,” Kyle barks from behind me.

“We found bugs, listening devices in my daughter’s dorm, and I thought… I just knew it was you.”

In my periphery, he folds into a chair and messes with his suit jacket. “Why in the hell would I want to spy on your daughter? What would I gain from it?”

“I couldn't think of anyone else until… just now Shawn said something that makes me think it was him. But you’re right. What would he have to gain from it?”

“Probably was him.” My gaze slides from the wall to Kyle. Head back, his eyes are closed, stress lines marking his normally flawless face. “And as to why, you never know with Shawn. Maybe he did it to mess with your mind or to learn information that he could hold over your head one day.”

I shudder at the thought. Again I take in his unusual rumpled appearance. “You look terrible,” I say before I can stop myself.

“He has it out for you, Walmart.” Ice blue eyes meet mine. “Don't think you can ask me to control him. No one can. I tried to pull him back, but it seems he chose not to listen.” A high-pitched squeak sounds through the office as he tightens his grip around the slick crystal. “Not the first time or the last. Just watch your fucking back.”

Why does it seem like everyone is spouting that warning at me lately?

“Aw, you care about me.” My voice is fake and cheery. Suspicion creeps up my neck, making the tiny hairs stand on end. “Wait, why are you being nice to me?”

“Two minutes Walmart.”

“What do I do?”

“Resign and let him take his rightful spot.”

“Not going to happen,” I grit out and slam a fist into the cushion. “Not that it’ll matter if I can't get the votes to stop the bill.”

“Good to know even white trash sticks to the losing end of a bargain.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks, I'm too tired.” With his free hand, he massages the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, I'm tired, and it’s only been five months.”

“Yeah.” I relax back into the couch. “No one gets it. They try, but it's hard to explain when the weight of the country falls on your shoulders. Did you know it would be this consuming?”

“No fucking clue.” A shimmer of humor laces his words but in a sad way.

“Same.” Behind my closed lids, my eyes flick back and forth, my mind working overtime. “Hey, so last night in Austin, someone mentioned gas prices are skyrocketing and they think we're to blame. Something about the EPA tightening regulations?” Peeking an eye open, I catch Kyle's intense stare zeroed on me. I swallow against a dry throat and push up, sitting ramrod straight. “You know anything about that?”