Page 92 of Convict's Game

At school, I’d had a good group of girlfriends but had lost touch when I’d moved to private school under my grandparents’ guiding hands. There, they’d encouraged me to befriend specificgirls whose families they approved of, but those relationships hadn’t lasted.

I wanted a friendship group. I didn’t know if it could be these women, but for another three weeks, I was tied to a member of their crew. Maybe this was another way to make the best of it.

We’d moved to the sofas mid-chat, and Everly handed out a tray of pizza bites. The curvy brunette stared at the food with one hand to her belly then leapt up and bolted across the room.

Genevieve stared after her. “Morning sickness. She’s suffered it for months. It should be stopping soon, but any child of Shade’s is going to be trouble.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “Talking of difficult men, Mila, come help me mix the next round of drinks.”

I joined her in the kitchen area. Genevieve set me up at a chopping board and handed me a bowl of limes.

She fetched ice from a tall freezer and cracked it into the shaker. “You asked about the game rules and how they bring you closer. No one else here, but you and I have been through it, so I wanted to share the wisdom I’ve gained.”

I swallowed and nodded.

She picked up the bottle of tequila. “I didn’t love Arran when we were first tied together. Like I said, he drove me crazy, but the feelings hit hard as the weeks passed. It’s to do with the closeness and the bond that gets forged by the experience. If two people are together every day for a period of time, and by together I mean intimate, not just work colleagues or friends, they connect. Thirty days is how long it takes to fall in love with that kind of intensity, and by all accounts, the game does that job very successfully.”

“It does?”

“No couple has ever broken up.”

I blinked, stalling in my task of juicing the limes. Her words rang louder than the party chatter. I wasn’t sure if it was a promise or a threat.

“There are so many women who sign up for it and who are willing to do whatever it takes. Some don’t like the man who catches them at first, but that changes. I’m explaining this to you because, like me, I’m guessing you didn’t opt into the experience.”

I closed my eyes. She’d read between the lines so easily. “I…”

“It’s okay. Arran already knows. Tyler had been updating him daily on Convict’s health and the work he was doing, then he stopped short once the game had taken place. It was no surprise that you were the woman he emerged with. Arran predicted it.”

“He won’t kick him out for it?”

“He loves him. When we were on our honeymoon, he opened up about when they met at a fight club in Edinburgh, down by the docks.”

I gave a weak laugh. “We have a warehouse there. Maybe we crossed paths.”

“Maybe you did. Like with the game, Arran and Convict fought and bled together. I’m pretty sure your man could do anything right now and Arran would forgive it. Let’s just say he’s come a long way in managing his very big and very strong emotions. So back to you. I’m not prying, but I know exactly what you’ve been through and I’m walking proof that it all comes good.”

“I don’t hate Convict. He’s just…”

“Infuriating?”

“An excellent word.”

Everly returned from the bathroom and settled on the sofa. Lovelyn rubbed her arm.

I twisted my lips and told Genevieve, “He kept my brother here without me knowing. How am I supposed to forgive that?I know he’s in a gang, but I’m not. I’ve never been near this world.”

“Neither had I before Arran, and he and Shade did something very similar to Riordan. He’s my brother, if you didn’t know. They didn’t hurt him, and I got over it because he did and because it’s part of the life. You get addicted to the gang shit, believe me.”

I finished with the limes, and Genevieve added the juice to the tequila and triple sec. She shook the shaker then poured. “I’m telling you this because one, I can see that you’re struggling, and two, if you really don’t want this world and the man you’re tied to, you should get out now. Before more time progresses and the love comes.”

My shoulders dropped. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“Right. Then piss him off in exchange and you’ll feel better.”

I laughed in surprise, and Cassie joined us, taking two of the glasses. “Is that Convict? If he’s driving you around the bend, do the same to him. Let him wonder where the hell you’re going so he flies into a panic.”

I angled my head in question. “Where am I going?”

“We’ve established that Esther died in suspicious circumstances and that you know some of her history. Do you know where she lived?”