Page 27 of Property of Rattler

“Which is the truth,” I spit at him.

“Are you thick or just plain stupid?”

From somewhere, I get the strength to push him away and roll off the other side of the bed. “It’s you who’s not making sense. I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.” I throw my hands up in exasperation.

His lips press together. “Have you even read your parents’ will?”

“I was five when my parents died,” I snarl. “My grandparents gave me the highlights when I was sixteen. When Malachi turned twenty-one, he got his money. I knew the same would apply to me. There was no reason to read through the legalese for myself.” A thought hits me. “Why do you say I lied? Was there something I missed?” Then I wonder something worse. “How the hell did you find out what the will said anyway? Did you talk to Malachi?” My hand covers my mouth.

“What? Fuck no,” Rat retorts fast. “Who the fuck do you think we are? I said you had the Kings’ protection. Don’t ask me how, but Genie and Pippa can work fuckin’ magic. I assure you they tracked down your parents' will. Genie showed us a copy tonight.” He glares at me as if I’ve done something to offend him. “Obviously, your folks were sensible. Your brother was deemed responsible when he turned twenty-one, but you? Beinga woman, you don’t come into your inheritance until you’re twenty-five.”

What the hell?My mouth drops open. It can’t be true. “You have to be joking.”

He fucking snorts. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m one hundred percent serious. I’m sure Genie would let you have a copy of your parents' last will and testament if you want to check for yourself.”

His face, while mocking, doesn’t look like he’s kidding around, though I wouldn’t put it past him to try to get a rise out of me. Turning my back to him, I stare blankly at the wall, cupping my face with my hands.Six years? I’ve got to wait six more years?Rage billows up from deep inside.“That’s fucking unfair,” I yell. “If that’s true, I must have grounds for appeal.”

He barks a frustrated laugh. “Oh, yeah, sure. And all those appearances in front of a judge won’t give Stone an opportunity to kill you? Run you down outside the courthouse? Great fuckin’ idea, Ames. Yeah, why don’t you do that?”

He’s right, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of telling him so. His announcement has made the bottom drop out of my stomach. All this time, I thought there were only another eighteen months to hang on, but six years? How can I hide for that long?

Has everything I ever thought been wrong? Chills go through me as I wonder whether the escape route I’d been banking on was yet another figment of my imagination. Tentatively, I venture, “Unless I get married…”

“Unless you get married.” My sigh of relief is premature as he adds, “And have a child. Just being hitched doesn’t cut it.”

What?If I thought I was shocked before, this knocks the wind out of me. I can’t have heard him right. “Repeat that,” I demand.

“Your parents obviously didn’t want you to marry just to get your money.” He scoffs. “They included a clause to say you had to have a fuckin’ crotch goblin too.”

I wince at his crude term before the implications set in. “That’s fucking archaic.”

Returning to the bed, I sink down and put my head in my hands. What I don’t get is why Rattler is so angry when it’s me who’s got the problem. The Kings aren’t going to protect me for six years without getting paid. I’ve no option but to head out on my own. I won’t be a bother to them.

Suddenly, I jump to my feet and race to the door. Moving fast, Rattler gets there before me.

“Where the fuck are you going?”

“To catch up with Satin. She’s the only option I have.”

His jaw clenches, then he roars, “She’s not your only option. You’re going nowhere with her.”

He's angry, but I’m furious. How dare he send away the only friend I can depend on? At the back of my mind, I recall a saying about prodding a bear, but it doesn’t stop me from poking my finger firmly into his chest. “What other option do I have? Just tell me that, Rattler.”

Grabbing hold of my finger, he pushes it away. “Tomorrow, we go down to the county clerk’s office and get a marriage license. After that, Words will officiate the marriage.” He pauses and says something under his breath that sounds suspiciously likeGod help us,then resumes, “Words will return the signed license and register the marriage after. Then, you and I will take off to a secluded cabin the club’s going to buy in the Huachuca Mountains.”

That the idea is as obnoxious to him as it sounds to me is obvious from the tightness of his jaw and his rigid stance.

“And there we’ll live in marital bliss?” I snort. Then falter. “Oh my God, no. You’re not going to get me pregnant…”

“What?” he snarls. “I don’t even want to touch you, woman. And bliss? Fuck, more like purgatory. But while we’re gone, the club will try to find some way of getting Malachi out of the picture.”

A blast of blessed relief goes through me, and then incomprehension sets in. “So why the charade of getting married?”

It was one thing to put a wedding on the table when I thought it would free me from my brother’s clutches. Totally different when the will’s thrown a fucking baby into the mix. Growing up, I was like most other young girls, dreaming of meeting someone I would fall in love with and eventually wear his ring. I’d never thought about having a baby. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to procreate. And certainly not until I’d gotten my degree and fulfilled my hopes for a career.

And Rattler? He’s so far from the man of my dreams it’s laughable. So far, I haven’t found anything to like about him. Sure, he’s good-looking enough if you like that type, but his outer skin covers a rotten core. Marriage alone couldn’t save me. I’d still have to wait another six years. And with Rattler for company? I’m not sure I’d survive.

“Marriage is to get Malachi here looking for you.” Rattler answers my question at last. “We don’t want to be running all over the country looking for him. He needs money. He owes it to some bad people, and his time’s running out. He’ll be desperate, thinking you might have fallen in love, and will need to find you before you have a baby.”