Page 77 of Reasons We Break

Simran drops her pen. Rajan.

“She’s working.”

“So what? She royalty or something? Let me in.”

Simran sighs. It was only a matter of time before he saw the news and figured it out. “Let him in,” she calls, and after a pause, the kitchen door swings open and Rajan stalks in, scowling. He’s in a navy hoodie, his cap on backward. Simran’s eyes fixate on that detail. Somehow it seems a sign of his mood.

“Bad day?” she asks, but he interrupts.

“You’veofficiallylost it.”

His voice is heated. Simran closes her laptop. She needs all her focus for this conversation. But, Rajan’s next words are unexpected.

“Did you forget Hillway today?”

Her heart drops. She flips her phone back over to see the notifications she ignored the first time. Two calls from Paul. Ofcourse; there was a booth at a community fair they were helping with. She herself organized the opportunity for the volunteers months ago. How could she have forgotten?

She mentally adds Paul to the list of people she has to beg forgiveness from. “I—I’m sorry. Did they assign you someone different?”

“Yeah, and he was a dickhead. Never mind that.” Rajan turns to close the kitchen door, but one of the Lions holds it open pointedly. Rajan glares. “I’m gonna have a little chat with your bookkeeper. Stay out of it.”

“It’s okay,” Simran adds.

The door finally shuts. Rajan turns to her. “They your personal bodyguards now?” He prowls right up to her desk, shoving aside papers and ledgers; several fall to the floor.

Not this again. “Rajan, I need those—”

He plants his hands on the now-clear desk. “You could’ve kept your mouth shut, just kept doing the fucking bookkeeping, which was all they asked of you. But you had to go and give them the keys to paradise. Why?”

With the tenor of his voice, the sound of something barely restrained, her heart rate quickens. She leans back to put more space between their faces. “To work off your debt. As you know.”

“Yeah? Is that right,Simran Sahiba?” It’s the first time in a long while that the nickname sounds mocking. “Then tell me something. Did you ask Nick about it after you pulled this stunt? Because with all the drugs they took from the Aces, you must’ve paid off my debts times a million. Did he say we were home free? Did he?”

Simran blinks. Because she hadn’t asked Nick. It hadn’t even occurred to her at the time, for some reason. She reaches for her phone. “I’ll talk to him now.”

“Don’t bother.” Rajan almost sounds regretful. “What you did, higher-ups are gonna notice. You made yourself too valuable. Doing our books, cracking Aces’ books, now whatever the fuckthisis.” He sweeps his hand over the mess of ledgers and paper on the floor. “I was so close, you know.So closeto getting us both out.”

Simran stares. “What?”

“I found someone to replace you. An accountant.”

“Replaceme?”

She regrets how her voice sounds, because Rajan gives her a sharp look. Then he laughs. “You know what I think? This is fucked up, but I think it’s true. You ready?”

“Rajan—”

“I think youlikeddoing it. Telling Nick you had a big prize for him. Got a little thrill, did you?”

Heat rises to her face. She busies herself picking up the books Rajan knocked off the table. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

He keeps going. “This isn’t about me and my debt anymore. Nah, this is about you now.”

“It’s not—”

“I think youknewwhat the consequences would be. You knew you were painting a target on your back from both LionsandAces. But all you cared about was cracking that code. Because whenever there’s a problem in front of you, you need to solve it. If you can’t, it drives you nuts. Just like—”

She straightens to look him in the eye. “Don’t.”