Page 21 of Ly to Me

Carver leaned forward, scratching his chin. “How ’bout this: You win, I give you a chance to buy the facility from me—at cost.”

“What?” The woman sitting on Jamie’s lap slackened her jaw. Grant and Hayes exchanged a look, one of them murmuring something about a great game coming up. I didn’t know which, because my focus was on the man to my left—

Cold. Calculated. Like a predator stalking his prey, which wasn’t me, for once.

“I don’t want the facility.” Jamie’s tone turned serious. “I want to buy this house.” His finger swirled around the space. “You’d be allowed to stay, of course, for a monthly rental fee.”

“That right?” Carver’s agitation was so thick, Jamie would be a fool not to pick up on it.

“Yep. Take it that’s what you want, then? The facility, all to yourself?”

“Hmm.” Carver leaned back in his chair, his knee sliding against mine again. The moment I tried to jerk it away, his booted foot snaked around my ankle. That simmering, anger-filled heat was back faster than I could take in my next breath. “It’s a start.”

“That’s it? Just like that?”

Carver drummed his fingers on the table. “Tell you what—I’ll be nice and give you thirty days to find somewhere else to live.”

“You’re serious?” Jamie’s face twisted with anger before he broke into an odd fit of laughter. Carver unlocked our legs and leaned back in the chair again, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited. “We’ve been partners for years.”

“Does that mean you plan on losing?”

“No.”

Carver shrugged. “So, what’s the problem, then?”

Jamie’s face turned redder than a beet. The woman on his lap nudged him with her elbow. “To clarify—I win, I get to buy the house in thirty days and keep working at the facility, keeping my half. You win, you get to buy Oak Heart Farms in thirty days and keep your house.”

Oak Heart Farms?Jamie hadn’t told me the name before.

Carver inclined his head. “Sounds like a deal.”

Jamie seethed through his teeth. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

Grant let out a low whistle. “You guys sure about this? Those are some pretty high stakes.”

“He’s fucking high and thinks he can win. Let him try,” Jamie replied before pushing the woman off him. She let out a faint sound of disapproval, then stormed off down the hallway that led to his room.

Carver smirked, and right as the cards were being dealt, his hand slid over my thigh, digging his fingers into my flesh. My teeth ground together, the urge to slap him hard across his smug face stronger than it had ever been.

No, that’s a lie. I’d dreamed of slapping the shit out of him for years.

“Let’s add one more thing,” Carver said, that fire in his touch leaving my skin as his hands folded on top of the table.

“Sure.” Jamie spread his arms. “What else could you want from me?”

“Her.” Carver jerked his head toward me. Jamie burst into another fit of laughter, tears rimming his glossy eyes.

I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not something that can be won through a fucking game.”

“Then join. Play for yourself, and if you win, our bets all become invalid, and you get to stay in the guest room for a week.” Carver flashed his irritatingly perfect teeth at Jamie. “Sound good to you, partner?”

“Deal,” I answered before he could.

Jamie seemed to deflate, matching the complete flip of his personality. “You’re kidding, right? She can’t even play!”

I glared at him. “I’m a fast learner. Watch me.”

Carver chuckled beside me, and as Hayes dealt the cards, the tension in the room grew.