Page 156 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

The lights of the dashboard illuminate her pale face. I can tell she’s really been haunted by what Max is doing to her.

“Don’t worry, Jill.”

“I can’t help it,” she chirps.

“I have something he wants. And he’s not going to get it, unless he backs up off of you.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

The Unwanted Engagement

Hercules Valentine

Two Week Later

Achilles looks me in the eyes. At least he’s man enough to do that after what he said.

I sniff, swiping my nostrils with the back of my hand. I want to slam my fist on something, like his face. I can take him in a fight now that we’re both fully grown men. But I would never lay a hand on my brother. And he would never hit me either. We love each other too much.

“What am I? The family prostitute?” I grumble.

We’re having dinner at my favorite steakhouse. At least he’s buttering me up before he shoves more bad news up my rear. I want to say that he looks miserable about it, but he doesn’t. He appears unbothered. And since this is the second time around, I finally get it. Out of the three of us, I’m the only brother who won’t screw up a real marriage or a fake one.

“You know what? Forget it.” I don’t care who hears me when I say, “I guess you can keep balling your call-girls and Orion gets to chase tail like it’s the local turkey hunt.”

He groans when he sighs then checks both shoulders to make sure no one heard me. How can anybody hear me? He’s made sure we have the privacy this sort of bitter pill warrants.

“Stop whining and crying about it, Herc. Rain’s cute.”

“She’s a pothead,” I snap. On top of that, she stole my goddamn money. I paid her to go away. I guess I lost to the highest bidder, who happens to be my mother.

Achilles throws his hands up, which makes his muscular biceps bulge against his shirt. “You never smoked the exotic herb?”

“You know I don’t touch that stuff. And it’s more than that. I have a reason not to trust her. And you shouldn’t either.”

“Right,” Achilles says as he digs into the pocket on the inside of his jacket. “This is for you.”

I take the folded slip of paper he’s handing me. It’s a deposit receipt for one million dollars. I snort bitterly.

He grins. “She’s not so bad now, is she?”

Forget never hitting him. I could rip his face off right now. It’s exactly how much I gave Rain. “Who paid her more? You or our mother?”

“Neither. Rain. She sees the light.”

I can’t stop shaking my head while glaring at him. It doesn’t seem right that I’m sweating this out and he’s as dry as the Mojave Desert.

“I didn’t make the rules, Herc. If you could’ve stuck it out with the Grove daughter, we’d be in a better position.”

I grunt bitterly. Here’s what I know—Achilles cut some back-alley deal with Xander and Max Grove. If I stay away from Paisley and we don’t press any charges, then they would let us keep our compression technology. Apparently, our licensing application was denied due to a prior application being filed for the same technology by GIT. That’s bullshit. I know for a fact that if GIT had the technology, they would’ve already made the most of it. I’m positive the Groves are bribing someone in the licensing office. I have someone on it, trying to figure out who it is.

Nevertheless, on the matter of marrying my cousin then breeding with her, that’s not happening. But I know how to play along, to get along so that I can bide my time.

“Whatever,” I mutter then cut into my ribeye.

I fake nonchalance. I’m not looking at Achilles, but I know he’s watching me, trying to figure out if I mean what I said.

“All righty, then,” he finally says. “That was too easy. I don’t believe you. But you’re going to do it anyway. There’s no getting out of it this time. We need the bulk of the trust payment come October, or we’re going to sink to the bottom of the ocean.”