Page 57 of Midnight Curfew

I clench my teeth, getting hot all over again. What the hell is she saying?

“When he looked at me that night,” she goes on, “I don’t even think he saw me. I think he saw you.”

I don’t give a shit. And I don’t care that it never would’ve happened if I hadn’t fucked with him. It wasn’t my fault.

Liv jumps down from the window, and I watch my sister, who has our mother’s long black hair and her brown eyes but no dark circles or frailness. Olivia’s only gotten more beautiful.

“I think you should have a conversation with him,” she tells me in a low voice, continuing before I can tell her to bite me. “I think you should offer to accompany him into the Wolfe Room and help him with women in exchange for him turning a blind eye toward our family.”

I laugh, and I can’t seem to stop as I think about her ridiculous proposal. I don’t care if he makes his father proud, and I have no doubt he can get his dick to work if he’s creative.

But…

As I let her idea roll around in my head, I wonder if he’d agree.

He might relish another opportunity to fuck with me on his turf.

Liv closes the distance between us. “We’ve made ourselves liked, wanted, and valuable to this community. We’ve created a need where there wasn’t one.” She whispers, “Make yourself invaluable to him now.”

I stare at her. It’s not the best idea, but it’s an idea.

But…

No. I shake my head. “No. Fuck, no.”

I spin around and move away from her, inhaling a deep breath. I can’t play nice with him. Let him put me in a fucking suit. Let him get me into a club. Let him have me picked up and driven home like I fucking work for him?

And what if I’m into it and want to have some fun? Is he going to watch?

No.

“What would your teachers say, Dallas?” Liv hasn’t moved from where she was standing. “Would Epictetus and Socrates run away from the one thing they knew would save them?”

I throw her a scowl. She’s barking up the wrong tree with me. If I have to lose my self-respect to get fed, I’d rather starve.

But she smiles, approaching me again. “And when you have the leverage you need, you can fuck him up again for hurting me.”

I expel a weak laugh. Well, that would be a perk.

My mouth is so dry. “I don’t want him close to me.” I’m surprised at how timid my voice sounds. “I can’t keep a straight face when that piece of shit is trying to destroy my home.”

Liv takes the bottle, setting it down on a table. “He doesn’t want the Bay gone, Dallas.” She frowns. “He just wants to own everything in it.”

—

I can’t go to Callum and strike a deal. Fuck begging for his mercy.

But I have my ways. It’s not a bad idea, no matter how much I laughed at Liv. Once I let it crystallize, I understood we weren’t going to be able to fight him and his friends the old way. Whoever was smarter this time would win it all.

And going into the Wolfe Room would be a fantastic opportunity to collect information, make friends more important than him, and maybe place a camera, although I can imagine that place is swept often.

Still, though, it’s a chance.

If I can control my temper.

Gazing out one of my classroom windows, I watch him park, the high winds nearly blowing him and Anna-Katherine away as he pulls her along and she shields her face.

I’ll admit, he looks good. He got taller, bulked up, and he fits a suit nicely. I’ll enjoy making him watch me fuck.