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I screah that a thump sounded from above Three thumps The kind a hard heel sla anda box of tissues and ripping off a handful I blotted tears, blewto him; it was a pawn in a chess y was so y was born froy took risks because he had nothing to lose

My strategy was to play defense and ga and protect myself, and I did a shitty job of that when I let him push up my skirt and fuck entle I al with an enormous blow ofover to the peephole and looking through it I sank against the door, al okay?" he called out

"Yeah" I wiped at my eyes "Sorry about that"

"No worries I’ll just remehed

"What should I do with the card?"

I should have told him to throw it away I should have told hie disposal "Can you slide it under rin that crossed his face "No goodnight kiss?"

I sht"

The white envelope slipped underneath the door "Thanks," I said quietly

"No probleht, Chloe"

I sht, Carter"

He turned and left and for a long beat, I stared through the peephole at the empty hallway Carter would never be able to buy me a Maserati Did it matter? It felt like my old life was another person entirely I didn’t want the Maserati out front, not when it put me back with an unfaithful man, back in a life that suddenly felt hollow and superficial

I bent down and picked up the envelope, running ers over the white parchment, my name jotted on its surface in a script that was faer under the seal and opened the envelope Pulled out a square card and, with a shaky hand, flipped it open

This car is fast, like the beat of my heart when you seous, like its nener

This is not a bribe or a lure It is a stick shift, but you’ve never had trouble handling that before

Enjoy it baby

Paper-clipped to the back of the card, a folded piece of paper: a car title I unfolded it carefully and saw my name on the owner’s line, ift that would be a pain in the ass to give back Mya car in New York would bring Parking Insurance Gas I couldn’t afford the da, even when it was free My hands reached forVic’s number, then my brain kicked in and I stopped, and set down the phone, stepping away I brought my hands to my head and took a deep breath I needed help Freakin’ psychological help to stay away from this

The girls were still at the club I asked them to come over, and they didn’t ask questions "We’ll be there in twenty," Benta said and--eighteen minutes later--she buzzed the front door

Dante took a stool in the kitchen, Ca roo down on the chair, pulling off her heels and tucking her feet underneath her "Do I need to kick his sexy ass or what?"

"It wasn’t Carter" I sank into the couch

"What the F is this?" The shout came from the kitchen and I didn’t move, just closed my eyes and waited Cammie had obviously found the card From beside me, I heard the scurry of bare feet as Benta rushed to her side

"Holy shit, Chloe," Benta said, her accent strong "This is big, even for him"