“So, how much did I make today?” I asked from the back of the Ute as we idled at the curb to keep the air conditioning going while Abbot ‘dropped off some paperwork’ to where, I had no clue. My skin felt like it was covered in salt and grime from weeding three different gardens in the day’s heat, so I was glad for the reprieve.

Kristian glanced at me, his eyes doing a quick up and down before they met mine. “I’m not payin’ you, doll. You’re working off a debt.”

I closed my eyes. Lord, give me strength. “I’m aware of that. How much did I pay off my debt?”

He shrugged and turned back to face the front of the cab. “Haven’t worked it out yet.”

A quiet fell between us and I looked out the window, watching a few people walk by. It’d been like this all day. Kristian and Abbot didn’t really speak to me unless they were telling me what to do. If this was the way this whole indentured slave thing was going to work it was going to get old real quick.

“Do you smoke?” I asked, needing the nicotine as much as I needed to break the silence.

“Nope,” he responded, the end of the word popping between his full lips. “Abbot does. They’re in the glove box.”

Taking that as an OK for me to grab one, I leaned over the seat, arse in the air so I could reach. After a moment of digging, I found the packet and shook one out, sticking it in my mouth before returning to my seat. He watched me out the corner of his eye the entire time.

“Want me to smoke it outside?” I asked before lighting up.

“Just crack the window. Abbot smokes in here all the time.”

I did as I was told then flicked my thumb over the plastic lighter. “This thing isn’t working,” I said, checking that it still had fluid inside.

Kristian reached over the seat and took it from my fingers, tapping it against his palm before rolling the flint and producing a flame. He held it while I lit up. “The smell doesn’t bother you?” I asked, sitting back so I could exhale out the window.

“Not particularly. I’m used to it. Jasmine smokes too.”

“Jasmine’s your girlfriend?”

He looked at me as though I just kicked his dog. “She’s my mother.”

“Oh, the woman who wanted me killed?”

His mouth curved slightly as he looked at his phone. “She doesn’t like inconveniences.”

“That’s what I am, is it?”

He looked at me and grinned. “Yeah. You’re a fuckin’ huge one.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

He didn’t answer, just directed his attention to where Abbot could be seen approaching with a bag of food and three Cokes in his hands.

“Sustenance,” Abbot said as he slid into the car. He handed out the drinks and sandwiches before his eyes noted the cigarette burning between my fingers.

“I told her she could have it,” Kristian said.

Abbot shrugged. “Whatever, mate.” Then he turned back to me. “Didn’t know what you liked so got you chicken and salad.”

“It’s fine. Thanks.” Finishing the cigarette, I flicked it out the window. “And thanks for the smoke. I don’t have a big habit.”

“It’s cool. I don’t mind sharing.”

We ate in quiet for a moment then Abbot spoke around his food. “Ran into Nadine and Karen out there.”

“Oh yeah?” Kristian asked, more focused on his food than the conversation.

“They seemed keen to party. Told them to stop by the shack Friday night.”

Kristian wiped his hand across his face and shook his head. “Call ’em and tell them no. I’m not in the fuckin’ mood this week.”

Abbot’s eyebrows almost met his hairline. “It’s Nadine and fucking Karen. Are you seriously saying no to that?” He gestured near his chest to point out that at least one of the girls had great tits. I hid my smile behind my sandwich and pretended I wasn’t listening.

“It’d be weird.”

“Why? Because of her?” Abbot jerked his head towards me.

Kristian gave him a look that said, “Um, yeah.”

“You can party with whoever you want. I won’t get in the way,” I said, ignoring the strange feeling, heavy at the bottom of my gut.

“Another time,” Kristian said, like it was the end of the matter.

Abbot pouted. “You used to be fun.”

“Yeah? And you used to be cool, but now you’re just this creepy old guy hitting on young girls.”

“Mate, I’m your fucking mirror. If I’m creepy, so are you. And those girls are at least twenty.”

“And you’re not.” Finishing the last of his sandwich, Kristian started the engine. “Mate, I’m not in the fucking mood to party.”

The confusion on Abbot’s face was kind of hilarious. He obviously wasn’t used to his twin not wanting to get it on with a couple of hotties. I wondered if they ever did that whole kinky twin thing where they fucked the same girl—or did that just happen in porn?

“Listen, if I’m cramping your style I can make myself scarce. I’m sure you guys have your needs.”

“Fuck. I’m just not interested, OK?” Kristian snapped, pulling into traffic.

Abbot and I exchanged glances, and I shrugged. The guy obviously didn’t want to party.

“Why don’t you drop me off at Jazz’s?” Abbot said.

“Throwing a tantrum ’cause I won’t help you get your dick wet?”

“No. My car is still there. I’ll shower and call the girls, let them know we’ll hang out some other time. I’ll just meet you at the shack later.”

“Fine.”

After we dropped him off outside a massive white rendered house, Kristian met my eyes in the rear-view mirror and said, “I’m not your chauffeur.”

I took that to mean that he wanted me to sit up front. I climbed over the back of the seat then clipped myself in. “Happy?” I asked, pulling the baseball cap from my head and shaking my hair out.

He grinned. “You really don’t like me, do you?”

I couldn’t help but smile back. “What’s to like?” I teased.

Shaking his head, he chuckled then turned the Ute around in the driveway and headed back out.

“Your brother seems pretty disappointed that you didn’t want to party with those girls,” I said after a while.

“He’ll get over it.”

“I hope it wasn’t because of me.”

He sighed. “I’m just tired of fucking around.”

“The soul of every guy who ever lived just screamed in agony over that sentence.”

He laughed. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“I don’t know,” I said, picking out a piece of grass that was caught in the fabric of my leggings. “I think keeping things casual has its benefits. If you aren’t hoping for anything you can’t get upset when it doesn’t work out.”

“Yeah, well it gets old. I mean, I see how Sam and Nate are, married and settled, and they’re so fucking happy about it. Sam’s wife is really cool. She’s the sweetest thing you ever met in your life, all wide-eyed and innocent but with this crazy fight in her.”

“She’s the one who kicked Johno in the nuts?”

He chuckled fondly. “Yeah. That’s her, the bride from last night.”

“Sounds like you have a crush on her.”

“Nah. It’s not like that. She’s like the sister I never had. The whole dynamic of our family has changed drastically over the last year. We’ve been through a lot together and she makes it all better. I guess I’m just changing my outlook.”

“You want some meaning in your life,” I stated.

“Yeah,” he agreed, a frown creasing his brow. It seemed he hadn’t thought about it like that before.

“I get it, man. We’re all searching for meaning somewhere.”

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat. “I guess. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this shit.”

I shrugged. “People always spill their guts to me. It’s a gift. I’ve got an open face or something. It puts people at ease.”

“Giving you the perfect opportunity to rob them, huh?”

Pressing my lips together, I looked out the window, not dignifying the jibe with a response. I didn’t need to be reminded of who I was. I lived with that knowledge every day and didn’t once pretend I was a good person.

By the time Friday rolled around, I’d mowed about twenty lawns, cooked multiple dinners, and cleaned their place from top to bottom—Cinderella had nothing on me. Honestly, it was exhausting. Not only was I working my arse off, but I was under constant watch. Even in my sleep I had someone beside me, reacting to my every move. The moments where Kristian or Abbot spoke to me kindly were few and far between. But I was eager for the conversation when it came. Call me lonely, call me intrigued, but I enjoyed those moments when it felt like they forgot to hate me. It made me forget to hate them for a moment too.

With Abbot needing to run some errands, it was just Kristian and me for dinner. I had no idea what a quiet Friday night usually entailed for these guys, but I hoped it involved a lot of sleeping. I could definitely go for that.

Despite my bone weariness, when we got back to the shack, my eyes drifted longingly towards the roiling surf. Perfect surf conditions.

“Would it be against the rules for me to go for a surf? Or at least a swim.” The idea of hitting the water to cool down seemed like heaven.

“After we get this equipment cleaned and locked away, I’ll take you down.”

I didn’t understand why we kept hosing down mower blades that kept getting filthy again, but I helped him get everything tidy and stored back in the shed.

“Surf or swim?” I asked as we entered the house.

“Surf,” he said, grabbing a pair of board shorts from the top of the laundry basket that had been on the floor next to the couch since yesterday, waiting for me to fold it.

He walked through the house, stripping off his shirt, the muscles in his back rippling with his movement. Then he stopped at the laundry door and threw the shirt inside before removing his pants and adding them to the pile.

“Go on then,” he said, glancing at me before he pulled his shorts on. “Get your suit on.”

“I’m not supposed to leave your sight, remember?”

“Then leave the bedroom door open.”

Brushing past him in the hall, I entered the bedroom and dug through my bag, finding my bikini and rashie. I stripped quickly and re-dressed, feeling his presence the entire time. He wasn’t watching me, couldn’t even see me from the hallway. But he was there all the same, his existence this oppressive being that crept into every space.

At least you have a roof over your head. Maybe he’d settle down in time, dial back his contempt for me, and give me space to breathe. He didn’t seem entirely unreasonable, and I kept catching glimpses of a guy who loved fun in the way he interacted with his brother. Kristian and Abbot had wrestled and joked their way through the workweek, Kristian’s serious side seeming reserved for his interactions with me. I didn’t know if he had to remember that he disliked me, or if there was just something about my presence that pressed all his buttons the wrong way.

“Interesting tattoo. I keep meaning to ask you what it means,” he said when I emerged from the room, my legs bare, but the rest of me covered in my surfing gear.

I looked at the script that surrounded my left thigh. “Oh, it’s elvish or something. I got it from Pinterest.”

“Isn’t that the One Ring to rule them all from Lord of the Rings?”

“Same font, different words.”

“What does it say?”

“We’ve all got light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on.”

His brows lifted a touch. “Deep.”

I shrugged. I’d gotten it on a whim. At the time, I thought it would be a good reminder to stay on the straight and narrow, to better myself, but it seemed my dark side kept winning.

“You got any tats?”

He shook his head. “I don’t really do identifying marks.”

“Except the freckle on your chin.”

His hand floated up and he pressed his fingers to the spot as his eyes narrowed slightly then he relaxed his entire stance with the release of his breath. “Boards are in the shed,” he said, leading me outside.