Playing Games
Page 43
"I know."
"So…why?"
I shrugged uncomfortably. Because I gave our Ace to Brodie, because I thought he'd changed and he's my brother. Turned out he was just using me. But the words wouldn't come out of my throat.
"Do you know something I don't? About the Ace? Is there something bad that happens if we play it?"
I shook my head. "I know what you do."
"Then I really don't understand," Liam said, a hard edge to his voice. "It's not that you didn't play the Ace just now. If it was strategy or you had a plan, I could understand it. But not playing it just to not play it? That just seems cruel to me, and I thought we were friends with them."
"We are," I said softly.
"Then why?"
I bit my lip. "I…I don't have it anymore."
"You…what?" He gave me an incredulous look. "Where did it go?"
My stomach gave an unhappy gurgle. I wasn't sure if it was stress or all the ants I'd eaten this afternoon. Either way, I felt like I was going to throw up. "I gave it to Brodie."
Liam's face grew hard. His eyes were cold and unfriendly as he studied me. "You…gave it to Brodie." He said it so flatly that it made me wince.
"He was in last place and he was in trouble," I explained.
"And he's your brother," Liam said slowly. He tilted his head at me, as if seeing me for the first time. "And he really, really wants to win."
"He does," I agreed.
"And you don't care about winning."
I shrugged. That had been my story the entire time, hadn't it? I didn't care about winning nearly as much as I cared about cashing out for that twenty grand. So why was I fighting so hard to stay in the game? I supposed it was because I didn't want to disappoint Liam.
Unfortunately with the way he was looking at me at the moment? We'd moved past disappointed and straight to furious.
"So. Has all of this been a set-up, then?"
It was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean, a set-up?"
He gestured expansively. "All of this. Splitting up. Romancing me and romancing Tesla and then working together behind our backs. Is all of this a set-up to push your way to the win?"
My jaw dropped. "What? No!"
"Really? Because that's not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing someone that was mad that she was partnered with me, and then kissed me out of the blue not a day later. And I couldn't figure it out." He gave a wry snort. "I mean, you didn't act like a groupie. That I know how to handle. And here I thought you were just a nice girl having fun. Maybe the pigtails fooled me. But those aren't you either, are they? It's all for the show. Everything."
I ran a hand over my pigtails and shook my head. "You're wrong."
He put his hands up, as if to stop my argument. "Just tell me one thing. Did he promise to split the prize money with you if you helped him?"
I was silent, rather horrified. Brodie had promised to split the prize money. "It's not what it looks like, Liam—"
"Fuck." He shook his head. "I can't believe you fucking slept with me just to win some money."
I grabbed one of the pillows off the bed I sat on and threw it at his head. "I didn't sleep with you for some prize money, you asshole."
"Then why did you?"
"I thought I liked you. I guess I was wrong," I said bitterly. "You're kind of a dick."
"Yeah, well, you're kind of fake."
"Fuck you."
"Have you been throwing challenges?"
"Have I what?"
"Throwing challenges. You know. So your precious brother could catch up."
"Are you kidding me?" I thought my jaw couldn't drop any lower. I was wrong. "You really think I've been throwing challenges?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
"Gee, if my memory serves me correctly, someone on this team's been sucking at challenges and it wasn't me." I tapped my finger on my chin as if mockingly contemplating things. "Who sucked at oil wrestling? Who sucked at eating mukluk? Actually, I should be asking you if you were throwing challenges - you're the one that started fighting at the oil wrestling and made us lose six hours!"
The look on his face could have iced a glacier. "I attacked your brother because I didn't like the way he treated you. I see now I was misguided and it was all just to fuck with my head. I'm sorry I bothered."
My jaw worked silently. I could think of nothing to say. The hurt spiraling through me - and the anger - was too intense. "You're wrong about me."
"Yeah? Prove it, then."
"How?" I snapped at him. "No matter what I do, you think I'm helping my brother out."
"Don't fuck us in the challenges in this last leg. If we win, I'll know you weren't lying. If you throw the challenge just to let your brother get ahead? I'll know where things really stand."
"Fine."
"Fine, then."
"All right."
He glared at me, then shook his head, getting to his feet. "I'm not staying in here tonight. I'll find someplace else to crash."
"Whatever," I yelled after his back.
He slammed the door and I was left alone in the hotel room. I flopped back on the bed, utterly furious.
Throwing challenges? Working with my brother behind his back?
I'd have been utterly furious…except that the more I thought about it, the less innocent my part in things seemed to be. How was it that I'd had the best intentions and still gotten screwed in this?
And how was it that I'd had the attention of a guy that seemed utterly perfect for me…and managed to somehow mess that up?
Abby was right - this wasn't reality, and it was messing with my head. I was ready for this race to be over so I could go back to my real life. At least there, I knew how things stood. There, rock stars with delicious tattoos and sexy piercings didn't romance me and drag me into bed, or trace tiny circles on my arms as I leaned against him. No one was so attuned to being with me that he had to touch me all the time.
That was reality.
This? This was just a dream that had turned into a nightmare.
CHAPTER TEN
"Everything's all wrong. All wrong, and I don't know how to fix it. All I know is that I don't know if I can trust Katy, and that makes me so goddamn miserable I can't stand it. I'm in love with her and I don't know if I'm being played for a fool." — Liam Brogan, Final Leg of The World Races
Liam didn't return to our room that night. I didn't see him again until it was nearly time for us to depart, and he met me on the mat, thin-lipped and frowning in my direction.
"Hi," I said softly as I took my place on the mat next to him. "Where'd you sleep?"
He shrugged. "Didn't sleep. Just needed to get my thoughts together."
"Oh." I studied him. He looked more than tired, he looked…done. Like all the fun had gone out of this and he wanted to be anywhere but standing next to me. Which hurt. "You know, Liam—"
"So…why?"
I shrugged uncomfortably. Because I gave our Ace to Brodie, because I thought he'd changed and he's my brother. Turned out he was just using me. But the words wouldn't come out of my throat.
"Do you know something I don't? About the Ace? Is there something bad that happens if we play it?"
I shook my head. "I know what you do."
"Then I really don't understand," Liam said, a hard edge to his voice. "It's not that you didn't play the Ace just now. If it was strategy or you had a plan, I could understand it. But not playing it just to not play it? That just seems cruel to me, and I thought we were friends with them."
"We are," I said softly.
"Then why?"
I bit my lip. "I…I don't have it anymore."
"You…what?" He gave me an incredulous look. "Where did it go?"
My stomach gave an unhappy gurgle. I wasn't sure if it was stress or all the ants I'd eaten this afternoon. Either way, I felt like I was going to throw up. "I gave it to Brodie."
Liam's face grew hard. His eyes were cold and unfriendly as he studied me. "You…gave it to Brodie." He said it so flatly that it made me wince.
"He was in last place and he was in trouble," I explained.
"And he's your brother," Liam said slowly. He tilted his head at me, as if seeing me for the first time. "And he really, really wants to win."
"He does," I agreed.
"And you don't care about winning."
I shrugged. That had been my story the entire time, hadn't it? I didn't care about winning nearly as much as I cared about cashing out for that twenty grand. So why was I fighting so hard to stay in the game? I supposed it was because I didn't want to disappoint Liam.
Unfortunately with the way he was looking at me at the moment? We'd moved past disappointed and straight to furious.
"So. Has all of this been a set-up, then?"
It was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean, a set-up?"
He gestured expansively. "All of this. Splitting up. Romancing me and romancing Tesla and then working together behind our backs. Is all of this a set-up to push your way to the win?"
My jaw dropped. "What? No!"
"Really? Because that's not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing someone that was mad that she was partnered with me, and then kissed me out of the blue not a day later. And I couldn't figure it out." He gave a wry snort. "I mean, you didn't act like a groupie. That I know how to handle. And here I thought you were just a nice girl having fun. Maybe the pigtails fooled me. But those aren't you either, are they? It's all for the show. Everything."
I ran a hand over my pigtails and shook my head. "You're wrong."
He put his hands up, as if to stop my argument. "Just tell me one thing. Did he promise to split the prize money with you if you helped him?"
I was silent, rather horrified. Brodie had promised to split the prize money. "It's not what it looks like, Liam—"
"Fuck." He shook his head. "I can't believe you fucking slept with me just to win some money."
I grabbed one of the pillows off the bed I sat on and threw it at his head. "I didn't sleep with you for some prize money, you asshole."
"Then why did you?"
"I thought I liked you. I guess I was wrong," I said bitterly. "You're kind of a dick."
"Yeah, well, you're kind of fake."
"Fuck you."
"Have you been throwing challenges?"
"Have I what?"
"Throwing challenges. You know. So your precious brother could catch up."
"Are you kidding me?" I thought my jaw couldn't drop any lower. I was wrong. "You really think I've been throwing challenges?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
"Gee, if my memory serves me correctly, someone on this team's been sucking at challenges and it wasn't me." I tapped my finger on my chin as if mockingly contemplating things. "Who sucked at oil wrestling? Who sucked at eating mukluk? Actually, I should be asking you if you were throwing challenges - you're the one that started fighting at the oil wrestling and made us lose six hours!"
The look on his face could have iced a glacier. "I attacked your brother because I didn't like the way he treated you. I see now I was misguided and it was all just to fuck with my head. I'm sorry I bothered."
My jaw worked silently. I could think of nothing to say. The hurt spiraling through me - and the anger - was too intense. "You're wrong about me."
"Yeah? Prove it, then."
"How?" I snapped at him. "No matter what I do, you think I'm helping my brother out."
"Don't fuck us in the challenges in this last leg. If we win, I'll know you weren't lying. If you throw the challenge just to let your brother get ahead? I'll know where things really stand."
"Fine."
"Fine, then."
"All right."
He glared at me, then shook his head, getting to his feet. "I'm not staying in here tonight. I'll find someplace else to crash."
"Whatever," I yelled after his back.
He slammed the door and I was left alone in the hotel room. I flopped back on the bed, utterly furious.
Throwing challenges? Working with my brother behind his back?
I'd have been utterly furious…except that the more I thought about it, the less innocent my part in things seemed to be. How was it that I'd had the best intentions and still gotten screwed in this?
And how was it that I'd had the attention of a guy that seemed utterly perfect for me…and managed to somehow mess that up?
Abby was right - this wasn't reality, and it was messing with my head. I was ready for this race to be over so I could go back to my real life. At least there, I knew how things stood. There, rock stars with delicious tattoos and sexy piercings didn't romance me and drag me into bed, or trace tiny circles on my arms as I leaned against him. No one was so attuned to being with me that he had to touch me all the time.
That was reality.
This? This was just a dream that had turned into a nightmare.
CHAPTER TEN
"Everything's all wrong. All wrong, and I don't know how to fix it. All I know is that I don't know if I can trust Katy, and that makes me so goddamn miserable I can't stand it. I'm in love with her and I don't know if I'm being played for a fool." — Liam Brogan, Final Leg of The World Races
Liam didn't return to our room that night. I didn't see him again until it was nearly time for us to depart, and he met me on the mat, thin-lipped and frowning in my direction.
"Hi," I said softly as I took my place on the mat next to him. "Where'd you sleep?"
He shrugged. "Didn't sleep. Just needed to get my thoughts together."
"Oh." I studied him. He looked more than tired, he looked…done. Like all the fun had gone out of this and he wanted to be anywhere but standing next to me. Which hurt. "You know, Liam—"
