The wind was knocked out of me when my chair fell backward and hit the floor. I thought at first I’d leaned too far back when I fell asleep, but knew it wasn’t my fault when blows landed on my unprotected body.

“Wake your scumbag ass up, you piece of shit.” Tim was pissed, and I had no idea why. He didn’t take to violence unless he was really upset. I couldn’t remember doing anything to set him off, but it was nothing new for me to piss people off and not know it.

I shoved him off me and got to my feet before he could attack me again. My jaw ached, and my shoulder throbbed. I saw movement on the monitor and knew why he was pissed. We didn’t use the clock cameras unless someone was suicidal. We never pried into someone’s privacy while they were getting clean unless it was for their safety. I had no safety concerns with Laney. It was a blatant violation of her privacy.

“I can explain.”

“Explain?” He was trying to catch his breath. “You think I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing already?” He pointed at me. “You need to let her go. You’re trading one addiction for another. This needs to stop now.”

“Addiction?” I grabbed the chair that was still lying on the floor and tossed it out of my way as I stormed toward him. “You think I’m addicted to that tramp? I’m doing my motherfucking job and making her fall out of love with that guy. You know, the job we’ve been hired to do!”

He took a few steps toward me and didn’t back down. “This is not a job we can do! I told you that you cannot make someone fall out of love with another person. It won’t happen. And she sure as shit will not fall in love with you!”

I punched him, and when he landed with a thud, I grabbed the front of his shirt and picked him up off the floor. He tried to fight me on the way to the kitchen door, but I’d always been stronger than him and even more so when I was as pissed as he made me.

I set him down long enough to open the door and threw him out. “Do not come back here. You’re not welcome.”

I shut the door before he could make it back up the steps and locked it. He had keys to get in, so I locked the security bolt that didn’t have a key. He pounded on the door.

“Open this fucking door, Brody, or I swear to God I will get her father and bring him out here. Open the fucking door!”

“Go to work, Tim. Go where you’re needed.” I’d hoped that was an empty threat about her father. We didn’t need him up our asses for our real business, and that would’ve been the outcome if he had gotten him.

I looked up to the ceiling when I heard the buzzer from Laney’s room. She would lay on it and then give quick, short bursts as if she were trying to get someone’s attention. There was no doubt she heard our argument, but I wasn’t sure how much she could make out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before going up to calm her down.

I was late with her breakfast, so I grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit and a water bottle before I went. I took my time walking up the steps in an effort to calm myself down before getting to her door. It didn’t work. I shook my head as she kept ringing the buzzer.

“I’m here!” I shouted through the door. “You can stop ringing it now.” I unlocked the door and opened it, but just stood in the doorway. She backed up. “I’m sorry I’m late with breakfast.”

“What happened to your face?” She walked toward the table. “Who was here? I heard arguing.”

“My brother.” I set the fruit and water onto the table. “He’s gone now.”

“What were you arguing about?”

“We disagree on something.”

“Yeah.” She pointed to my face. “I got that. What were you disagreeing about?”

“It’s just what brothers do.” I pointed to the table. “Eat your breakfast.”

“It’s almost lunch.”

“Then eat it for lunch!” I closed my eyes when she took a couple of steps back. “I’m sorry. I overslept. I’ll bring something up in a little bit for a late lunch.”

“This will be fine.” She sat and opened the water. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to take a shower.” I smiled when she looked down my body, and her cheeks turned pink. Was she thinking of me in the shower? I didn’t need her to fall in love with me. She only needed to want to fuck me to give her enough doubt that Bryce wasn’t the one. One opening was all I needed to plant that seed of doubt, and she’d call off the wedding before leaving my house.

“I’ll be back later.” I didn’t wait for a response or for her to look at me. I needed to get back to my plan and forget the shit my little brother said. What I was doing was working. It didn’t matter if he was around to see it or not. I would get the job done with or without his support.

* * *

I took a deep breath and placed my forehead on the table. As much as the fight scared me, I was grateful for it. I heard enough to know the reason I was there. I had little doubt my father was behind the plan to get me away from Bryce, but I wasn’t so sure he’d want me to fall for his goon, either.

It scared me to think he was expecting me to fall for him. Or, maybe he was hoping. Why did he care? He didn’t know me. Maybe it was because I didn’t want him that he viewed me as a challenge.

Whatever the reason, he handed me my way out. It was going to take time to make it believable and to get myself comfortable with faking it, but I’d make him think I’d fallen for him long enough to get out the door. Then, I’d run and never look back.

I’d take care of my father once I was out, too, but that would take a little more planning. I needed to stay focused on the hurdle in front of me before moving on to that one. Getting out was my priority, and I’d do anything I had to in order to make Brody believe I was falling for him.

* * *

I collapsed on the floor when the plank was finished. I hated planks. I hated exercise of any kind, really, but I could tell the difference in how much more focused I was. It had been a few days since Brody’s fight with his brother, and he’d practically disappeared.

I’d been left to exercise on my own, but I didn’t mind. He needed the few days to do whatever he needed to do after that fight, and I needed the time to get a plan together. He wouldn’t believe me if I suddenly came on to him. I had to ease into it, but more importantly, I wanted him to make the first move.

It would be more believable if he was the aggressor, and I was the one he had to convince. That was how it had been going so far, and that was what needed to continue. There were things I could do to speed it up, though. I needed it to speed up. I needed Bryce.

I had just begun the sit-up routine when the door opened. I continued as he set the tray on the table. Whatever he brought smelled wonderful. It seemed he was back to cooking full meals, and I hoped that meant his mood was more stable as well.

I jumped up and stood next to him as he reached over to lift the lid. I stood closer than I usually did, but I was still far enough away that I didn’t touch him. That would come in time, but I needed him to think I was beginning to trust him. It caused him to stop with his hand on the lid and look at me.

“That smells so good. Are you going to eat with me tonight?”

“I hadn’t planned on it.” He moved again to lift the lid, but I stopped him.

I placed my hand on his and lowered the lid to keep it warm. “Go get your dinner and bring it up while I clean up. I’m lonely up here, and these exercises are starting to bore me. I need new ones.” I didn’t wait for a response, but I felt his gaze on my back as I walked to the bathroom.

* * *

He was at the table waiting on me before I came out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were back already.”

“I just sat down.”

I walked around the table and took my seat. The shower felt so good as it always did after a workout, but I knew it was in vain. I was certain he’d work me out again once we were finished eating.

He lifted the lid on both of our trays, and I smiled. I hadn’t had a full pot roast dinner since I started dating Bryce. I was going to have to talk to him about the whole vegetarian thing. I wasn’t sure I could do it anymore after I got home.

“This looks really good. Are you sure you’re not a chef?” I took a bite of the cooked carrots and potatoes and closed my eyes. Vegetables never tasted so good.

“You don’t have to be a chef for this stuff. You toss it all together and throw it in an oven or crock pot, and dinner is served.” He took a bite.

It was difficult trying to come up with conversation when I knew nothing about him, but I needed to. “I’ve done that, and it doesn’t turn out this good.”

“I guess I just get lucky because that’s all I do.” Half of his plate was gone. “Maybe it’s the kind of meat you buy or the quality.”

I shrugged. I’d never tried to make pot roast. My father had cooks for that when I was growing up. When I moved out on my own, I didn’t cook that fancy for myself. There was no reason to make it for Bryce since he never touched meat.

“Are you going to show me a few new moves tonight?”

“Not after a meal like this. It’ll hit like a brick in your stomach if you try to do too much. You need a night off.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

“Everyone needs a day off. You’ve been exercising every day since we started this, and that isn’t good for your body. You’ll overwork it and injure yourself.”

I’d never admit it to him, but a night off did sound good. It wasn’t something I wanted to get used to, though. I wanted to get stronger and be able to better protect myself as this plan of mine unfolded. I needed to be strong enough to get away if the opportunity came up.

“Why are you working out so much, anyway?” He motioned toward the bed. “When you first came here, you barely left that bed.”

“Yes, because I was bored. I’m still bored, but you’ve given me something to do. If you brought puzzles or something, I’d have something else to keep busy with.” I shoved my mouth full of food to stop myself from talking. Simple answers were needed. If I acted as if I was trying to convince him of something, he’d know my reasons weren’t true.

“Puzzles, huh?” He rubbed his chin. “I could scrounge up a couple. I can’t say they’re very interesting, but they are puzzles.”

“I’d take anything. Even books.”

He nodded. “I’ll see what we’ve got.” He pushed his empty plate toward the middle of the table. “I’m sorry if you were scared when my brother was over.”

I put my fork down and wiped my mouth with the napkin. “It’s just fear of the unknown. I couldn’t get out to see what was happening or who you were arguing with.”

“What did you hear?”

He was worried I knew what his intensions were. I did know, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “The only word I could make out was ‘addictions.’ You said it like a question.”

He leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. “What are you addicted to?”

I smiled. “Soda.” I leaned back and grabbed the empty can he’d let me keep a few weeks ago. “I could use one of these about now.”

He laughed so hard he sat back in the chair and shook his head. I wasn’t sure what he was laughing at, but it was nice to see him relaxed for once. I picked up the rest of the roll I was too stuffed to finish and threw it at him. It landed with the butter side down on his chest and stayed there. He looked down and laughed harder.

“What’s so funny? A lot of people are addicted to soda.”

He sat back up, took the roll off his shirt, and set it on his plate. He was trying to stop the laughter from bubbling up from time to time, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. He grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the butter off his shirt.

“I’m sorry about your shirt.”

He shrugged and took it off. I looked away. I loved Bryce’s body, but I was human, and seeing the muscles move as Brody took his shirt off was affecting me a little more than I would’ve liked. I’d been attracted to other men before, but nothing had been riding on those attractions the way it was riding on this one. I needed to keep my head in the game and remember what I was doing. Flirting for survival was one thing. Getting caught up in the moment and forgetting everything that was at stake was another.

It was a temporary situation. I didn’t want to do anything to cause permanent damage out of desperation. Bryce may have been able to forgive given the situation I was in, but it was something I’d never be able to forget. I had to make sure I could live with my decisions. Getting out alive was only half the battle. I still had to like myself when I got out.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?” There was an amusement in his voice. He liked making me uncomfortable.

“The entire situation does. I’m not used to half-naked men in my bedroom.”

“You can’t tell me you haven’t had your share of naked men in your bedroom.” He motioned for the bed. “Or in your bed.”

“It may surprise you to find out, but no, I haven’t.” It was none of his business, but I played along. I wanted him to think I was trusting and opening up to him. “I’ve only ever been with Bryce.”

The laugh that bounced off the walls was not one of fun. It was meant to inflict pain at my honest answer or to try to prove he didn’t believe me. I didn’t care if he believed me or not. Bryce was my one and only lover. At that moment, I vowed to keep it that way.