Page 68 of Wicked Proposal

After all, I’ve already done it once for free.

One million.Suddenly, all the things I could do with that money crowd my head. I could pay off my debts; I could buy us a house. I could keep Eli’s tuition paid and his therapist covered, could take him for pizza and ice cream every weekend. I could buy him all the sports gear he wants, fill his room with new toys instead of hand-me-downs. I could spend more time with him. I could…

Make him happy.

And I couldkeephim.

I’m not stupid. I know CPS is going to pounce at the first infraction. The second that my bank account goes under, that I miss a payment on my loans, that I so much as misspell a word on a check, they’ll swoop in like vultures.

They’ll take Eli, dump him into foster care, and…

No.I slap my cheeks and force myself to stop thinking. I’m about to be a freaking millionaire—CPS won’t be a problem anymore.

With Yulian’s money, I can hire a whole team of custody lawyers. I can make the case go away. I can disappear, far away from here, where Mr. Lee won’t find us.

WhereBradwon’t find us.

And then, maybe, if I pick my studies back up… if I can finish what I started…

If I can get the degree Ireallywanted…

Then we won’t have to worry about money ever again.

Just as I’m nursing that thought, Yulian’s Maybach pulls up. The window rolls down.

“Get in.”

And fuck you, too,I want to say.

But I slide into the backseat instead.

Yulian is there, all broody darkness and devil-actually-doesn’t-give-a-shit scowl. He doesn’t greet me, so I don’t greet him.

If silence is how he wants to play this, that’s fine by me.

“Hiya there, Nurse Wonder!” Maksim grins from the driver’s seat. His tattooed face peeks into the back. “So glad you decided to join the team.”

Did I have any other choice?

“Hi, Maksim.” I smile back. “Thanks for driving us.”

Out of the two Russian mobsters I’ve now tied my fate to, he’s by far the better hang. Polite, too, not that Yulian would know what that means.

“Hear that?” He wiggles his burned-off brow in Yulian’s direction. “She hasmanners. Refreshing, isn’t it?”

Yulian grunts something unintelligible. Then, “Drive.”

Maksim doesn’t need to be told twice.

We zoom off into the night. For a while, no one says anything. The tension in this car could be cut with a machete—and I don’t doubt Yulian’s got one stashed away in the mini-bar.

“I see you’ve managed to make our appointment,” Yulian notes eventually. “Despite the lack of… ah,notice.”

His tone makes me want to break every oath I’ve ever sworn. Repeatedly.

“My best friend is a saint,” I say instead. “It’s not the first time she bails me out of an emergency. Though I’m not sure this qualifies.”

“No?”