Page 87 of Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines (Rock Canyon, Idaho 3)

“Odd question, but I guess it depends,” Caroline said hesitantly. “Who are we blackmailing?”

“Dad,” she said, her tongue licking some chocolate pudding from her fork.

“Then I think I’m pro blackmail. Why are we doing it?”

“Because he’s blackmailing my boyfriend’s dad and ruining my life?”

“Good enough for me.”

SOMEONE WAS BANGING on his door.

Justin stood up in his boxers, cursed the bottle of Jack he’d smuggled home from his dad’s stash and gone to bed with, and went to answer it.

“What?”

Ellie stood on his doorstep, her eyes raking over him appreciatively before she seemed to catch herself.

“My sister loves you and you’re lying in bed like a loser while my father plays her like a fucking puppet. Where’s your chivalry?”

“I tried talking to her, Ellie. Believe me, she doesn’t want to be with me.”

“Yes she does. I just gave her everything she needs to fight for you, but she won’t if you don’t give her a reason to.”

“I’ve called her, shown up at her door . . . nothing’s worked.”

“Try again.”

“Ellie—”

“If I’m wrong, fine, you can blame me for bad advice, but if I’m right, you get back the woman you love and I get a sister who doesn’t cry all day while stuffing her face with pie.”

The mention of a sad Val gave him a little hope that maybe all wasn’t lost. The Val he’d come to know never cried. Still, he felt a little bad that the thought that she’d been moping around made him feel so good. “She’s been crying?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?”

“Give me an hour.”

“I’ll make sure she stays put.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

* * *

“THERE IS NOTHING wrong with my Internet, Ellie, and I’m not going to sit here all day waiting for something I’m going to get stuck paying for,” Val said into the phone.

The doorbell rang and her sister squealed. “There he is!”

Before she could say anything else, Ellie hung up and Val went to tell the repair guy she didn’t need him. But when she opened her door, Justin was standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, looking furious.

“What are you doing here? I told you—”

“I told you from the minute this thing between us started that I wanted you. Just you. This needed to be about what we felt, what we wanted—not what was good for us. So I’m going to ask you this once, but I’m in no mood for your self-sacri

ficing lies and bullshit. Why won’t you fight for us?”

She blinked at him for half a second before her temper flared to life and she snapped, “How dare you show up here and talk to me like that, you cocky son of a bitch?”

“I’m not cocky, I’m pissed at you. I thought you were the type of woman who went after what she wanted, but you’re willing to give up on us, for what?”