“You think I don’t know that?” He took another drag on his cigarette. “She’s a good kid. I just don’t know if I want her to win the million. She’s already got lots of money from her daddy.”
I nodded. “So you plan on getting rid of her before the end?”
He gave me a sharp look. “I didn’t say that.”
I shrugged, pretending casualness, though my foot tapped a staccato beat on the table. “I’m just saying…if you have a plan to get to the end, I wouldn’t mind hitching a ride for as long as you find me useful.”
That had been the right thing to say. His eyes got a predatory gleam in them, and he sat up, leaning in toward me. “I might have a plan.”
“Oh?” I leaned in closer. “I’m all ears.”
“What about your partner?”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but my partner’s currently in the kitchen hitting on your partner,” I said sourly. “I don’t trust him to take me to the end.”
“You think those two might have a deal together?” Casper’s white brows knitted.
“They might.” I actually didn’t know if they did or not, but the thought had crossed my mind and I wasn’t ruling it out. “He hasn’t said anything to me for sure.”
Casper snorted. “I’m pretty sure they do. They constantly have their heads together. Which means you and I get left out in the cold.”
I leaned in, propping my chin on my hand. “So what do you propose?”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Casper said. “You know they want you out this week, right?”
I feigned surprise. “I do now.”
“It might be in my best interest to keep you, though. Here’s the thing. You know who’s the strongest person in this game?”
“You?” I guessed. When in doubt, flatter the ego.
“Marla,” he said, and gave me a knowing nod.
“Marla?” I echoed. “How do you figure?”
“Here’s the thing with Marla,” he said, and he flicked his cigarette in his ashtray and then put the tray on the table so he could lean in closer. “She’s a young mother with two children. She’s not great at challenges, so she flies under the radar and lets her partner take the heat there. If they go up on the block, who do you think’s going to go home?”
“Jendan,” I guessed. “He’s strong.”
“Exactly. And Marla’s got the girl vote. Everyone likes her and she’s working the mom thing. Nobody will notice her until it’s too late, and then we’ll be handing her a million dollars. You mark my words.”
“So you think we should get her out sooner?”
“Next,” Casper said. “If I can get Jayme and Fido to put Marla and Jendan up on the block, would you vote for Marla?”
That was exactly what I wanted to hear. And yet… “You’re not telling me how you’d get Jayme and Fido to put them up.”
“I think they’d be up for it,” he said. “It’s a big move. You gotta make big moves in this game to impress the jury. Jayme has said before that she wants to shake things up. Booting Marla and splitting up that power duo would do it.”
“So you’d get Jayme to put up Marla and Jendan,” I repeated. “Then you and I vote for Marla. That’s only two.”
He began to tick votes off on his fingers. “You, me, Sunnie, and Brodie. If we tell them how we want to vote, they’ll go along with it as long as it’s not them up on the block. We get rid of Marla this week and then Jendan the week after as long as we have Power. Then, once we get a bit further into the game, we can pick off our partners. First Brodie, because he’s stronger, and then Sunnie. Then it could be you, me, Jayme, and Fido in the final four.”
Yeah, and I was the King of England. But I gave him a wide-eyed look. “I’m not hating it,” I admitted.
He nodded. “I’ve been talking with Jayme and Fido this entire time. They’re solid, and they’ll listen to what I say. I’m running the show in our little alliance. If I say you’re in, they’ll listen.”
God, this could not go better, could it? It was like he was practically stringing himself up. “So you’re going to get Jayme and Fido to put up Marla and Jendan,” I said. “You’re not worried that the two of them are too strong together?”
He winked at me, a condescending gesture. “If they are, we can always pick off the stronger one the next week. They can’t get Power a second week in a row.”
“Good idea,” I enthused.
“So…this is a big move. You’re with me? If we put up Marla and Jendan, you’ll vote Marla?”
“I would if the house was going to,” I told him. “I don’t want to go out on my own and then have her coming for me if she survives the vote.”
“Oh, it’ll go that way,” he said. “You watch and see.” He leaned back on the couches. “And this conversation between you and me? Never happened.”
“Got it.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “One word of this getting out, little missy, and I will deny all of it. I’ll just tell them you’re starting trouble to save your hide and make sure your ass is booted out the door as quickly as possible. You get me?”
Oh, I get you, I thought. I got all of it on tape, asshole. “I understand. You can trust me.”
“I know I can,” he said, chuckling. “Because your back’s against a wall. You’ve got no options but me.”
I smiled faintly. Just you wait.
~~ * ~~
The drunken revelries went on until late. I tried to nap in the Queen room, but being by myself was more creepy than comforting. The house was spooky as hell, and I kept noticing shadows. On top of that were the drunken hoots and catcalls coming from the kitchen area as the ‘winners’ of the reward challenge played every drinking game known to mankind and tried to pickle their livers.
I was anxiously waiting for them to head to bed so I could sneak out on the porch and retrieve my tape recorder. That thing held the key to me squeezing another week out of this game. I just had to be careful who I shared it with. Jayme and Fido were an obvious choice, but I didn’t know them as well as I knew Marla and Jendan. And since Casper intended to split Marla and Jendan, it seemed smartest to go to them first and make them do the dirty work.
I could sit back and watch as the other teams cannibalized each other, all thanks to my tape.
I just had to retrieve it first.
The wooden floor boards of the room creaked, and my senses went on alert. The hackles on the back of my neck rose, and I lay quietly in bed, dreading the sounds that would come next: footsteps. Sure enough, slow, methodical footsteps echoed through the room. My breathing rasped, overloud in my ears. How was it the guys never heard these things? The house had to be haunted. That wasn’t my imagination. It was—
A heavy body landed on top of me, and the bed creaked a protest.
“Ooof,” I wheezed as Brodie laughed and rolled over onto the other side of me, landing on the other half of the bed.
“Did I scare you?” he whispered loudly, voice slurred. “Sorryboutthatkandis.”
I smacked his arm with one of the pillows and then tucked it under my head again. “You’re a jerk.”
“Aw,” he said in a disappointed voice. “Why are you always so mean to me?” He was so toasted that the words were barely intelligible. Before I could muster a response, he pulled me against him and buried his face in my cleavage. “Mmm.”
I gave a squeak of protest, and my eyes widened. I lay in bed, frozen, warring sensations tearing through me. Part of me wanted to shove him away. Part of me really, really wanted to pull him closer and see where drunk Brodie would go with this. My nipples hardened at the prospect.
“Mmm, Kandis,” he breathed, and he began to rub his face up and down the valley of my breasts. “You’re the hottest girl in this house, you know?”
“What about Jayme?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Your ass is way better than hers,” he said and reached down to squeeze it. “So tight. I can’t stop staring at it.”
“And Sunnie? You sure didn’t seem to mind her ass,” I sniped, even as his hands continued to run along my body.
“Sunnie is all look but don’t touch.”
That didn’t make sense to me. “Huh?”
He glanced up at me and gave me a dopey, slit-eyed smile. “Wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. She’s got the herp.”
“How do you know that?”
“You ever seen her without that bright red lipstick she likes? It’s cause she’s covering up some mouth sores.” He shook his head. “My dick ain’t going anywhere near that. ‘Sides, she’s kind of dumb, too. She’s not smart like you.” And he rubbed his cheek against one of my breasts. “Smart and pillowy.”
I pushed his head away, rolling my eyes. Pillowy, my ass. “You’re drunk, Brodie.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said in a mopey voice. “You and me? Ain’t meant to be. You don’t like me.”
I stilled. Where did he get an idea like that? “What makes you think I don’t like you?” Oh God, his mouth was nuzzling at my stomach through my sleep shirt, and it was sending crazy sparks of arousal through my body. When he didn’t answer and just kept rubbing his face against me, I grabbed a handful of his hair and forced his head up to look at me. “What makes you think I don’t like you?” I repeated.
He gave me a sad smile. “Cause you’re always frowning at me.”
Was I?
“And because you watched The World Races,” he said, propping his chin on my stomach. “Everyone that watched that hates me.”
“You were kind of a jerk on the show,” I told him.
He shrugged. “Just wanted to win.”
“And make out with a rock star.”
“That too.” He grinned. “You would have done the same.”
Maybe. Maybe not. “I don’t hate you, Brodie. I just don’t trust you.”
“I know,” he said, and he began to push my shirt up, trying to expose my stomach. “Doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, does it?”
I pushed at his hands as he maneuvered my shirt, but my efforts were half-hearted. I wanted this, if I was being honest with myself. A moment later, his tongue dipped and licked my navel. I couldn’t stop the whimper that rose in my throat.
“Would it be so awful to make out with the bad guy, Kandis?” he whispered against my stomach.
“You’re not a bad guy, Brodie,” I told him. I was sounding more breathless by the moment, and I knew I should push him away because there had to be cameras filming us. But I was having a hard time moving away. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I liked his mouth on me.
“I am the villain,” Brodie said and bit at the taut flesh of my stomach, causing me to suck in a breath. “That’s why they put me on this show.” His tongue licked a circle around the edge of my belly button.
I moaned, unable to help myself.
“Wanna make out with a villain?” he offered.
God yes, I thought. “You’re drunk,” I reminded him. “I can’t trust anything you say or do when you’re drunk.”
“So you’ll make out with me if I’m sober?”
“You won’t remember any of this when you’re sober.”
“So let’s make out now,” he said, grinning up at me. “The others are all asleep. I won’t tell.”
All asleep? I glanced at the small clock on the nightstand. Three in the morning. Surely the smoking area would be deserted? I might not have another chance, and I needed that tape desperately. “Can we talk about this later, Brodie?” I slid out of bed. “Just hold that thought, okay?”
“Sure,” he said with a yawn. “Holding that thought.”
I tiptoed out of the room and shut the door behind me and then made my way out to the back door, sliding it open. I winced at every creak and groan, but managed to make my way outside, pocket the recorder, and sneak back to my room without anyone seeing me.
When I returned to the Queen room, Brodie was asleep, sprawled face-down on the bed. His face was soft in the low light of the room, and I moved to cover him with a blanket before I headed to the antique couch on the opposite end of the room to listen to my tape recorder.
Even as I rewound the tape, I glanced over at Brodie. Would he remember what he said to me tonight? Or would it be lost with the morning hangover? I certainly didn’t need a romantic complication in the game, not if they were already targeting couples. And certainly not if one half of that potential romantic complication was notorious Brodie Short, the villain of last season’s World Races. People would think I was an idiot for hooking up with him.
Heck, I’d probably think the same thing about myself. How could I possibly trust a man that used people to push himself ahead? So far, he hadn’t gone against me, but the proof was in every episode of The World Races from a few months ago. He’d screwed over his own sister in that game—and turned around and hosed her again in this game.
Brodie couldn’t be trusted.
It was just a shame I liked him so much. Why couldn’t I be all fluttery and distracted over Jendan? He was trustworthy, handsome, strong, and he always had my back. Brodie hit on all the women, wasn’t trustworthy, and probably didn’t have my back.
My taste in men needed a tune-up, that was for sure. I lifted the recorder to my ear and began to listen.
~~ * ~~
“Toast please,” Sunnie whispered as she came into the kitchen and promptly bent over the granite countertop, laying her head on the counter. “I think I’m going to barf. Again.”
I shot her an amused look and dropped two more pieces of bread into the toaster. One by one, the house guests had trickled into the kitchen late in the morning, hung over and needing toast. Since we didn’t have TV, this was the closest thing to entertainment we had, and I’d parked by the toaster with a cup of coffee to watch the show. “How’s your head?” I asked sweetly.
She just moaned and squinted at the fluorescent lights overhead.
“That good, eh?” I swung my feet, thinking. “Sure would suck if we had a Power challenge today, wouldn’t it?”
Her red eyes widened at the thought. “You don’t think they would, do you?”
Man, I sure hoped they would. I didn’t say that, of course. I simply plucked the toast from the toaster, put the slices on a plate, and brought it over to her. “Considering that they gave you the alcohol, I don’t think they would, unless they’re going for comedic effect.”
Sunnie picked up a square of toast and nibbled on the corner. She immediately turned green and bolted for the bathroom.
I watched her go. “Yeah, or maybe not,” I said to myself. “Not much of a challenge if six people are busy puking their guts out while the other two run wild.”
I hummed to myself as I cleaned up the kitchen, my mood terrific. The tape recorder was in the pocket of my jeans, and I was just waiting for Marla and Jendan to sober up so we could talk strategy. My partner needed to sober up, too, though he was currently sawing logs in our bed.
As time passed and no one seemed in any particular hurry to wake up, I started to get a little more nervous. My plan wouldn’t work if I didn’t have time to put it into action. Deciding to take the bull by the horns, I went into the attic room to visit Marla and Jendan. They were both still in bed, pillows stuffed over their faces.
I knocked on the door and stepped inside. “Hey, guys? Do you have a minute?”
Marla groaned and tugged the pillow against her face tighter. “Right now?”
I might not have more time later, I thought, but didn’t speak it aloud. “No time like the present,” I said, keeping an upbeat note in my voice as I approached the side of their bed. “It’s important.”
That got Jendan’s attention. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, focusing his gaze on me. “Something wrong?”
“You could say that.”
Marla sat upright and squinted at me, her short mom hairdo spiky on one side from the night’s sleep. “What is it? Not the Power challenge?”
“Nope, but something you
need to hear before we go into the next vote. It impacts everyone’s game.”
That got their attention. “What is it?” Jendan asked.
I gestured at the door. “Can we get Brodie? I want him to hear this.”
Five minutes later, Jendan and Marla were somewhat awake, so I steered them back to the Queen room, where I’d left Brodie. As soon as they filed in after me, I checked the hall to make sure no one else was around and then shut the door and locked it. In the room, Brodie was still snoring, flat on his back this time, arms sprawled wide. I moved to his side and gave him a gentle shake. “Hey, wake up.”
He immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to drag me down next to him. “Mmmm. Come back to bed.”
“Brodie, don’t.” I pulled out of his arms, shooting an embarrassed look at Jendan and Marla. “You’re still drunk and we have company.”
“I’m not drunk, baby,” he murmured, and one eye cracked open.
“You are if you’re calling me ‘baby.’ Wake up.” I ignored the suspicious looks Jendan and Marla were giving me. Shit. If they thought I had a relationship with Brodie, this could make things difficult. “Don’t be weird.”
“Weird, huh?” He scrubbed at his face and peered at the two standing behind me, as if just now realizing we weren’t alone. “Hey guys.”
“I brought them in here because we all need to have a discussion,” I told him, moving to a corner of the bed—away from Brodie’s arms—and sitting down, a leg curled under me. “I found out some interesting things when you guys were drunk last night.”
“Oh?” Marla glanced around and grabbed the nearest chair. Jendan continued standing, arms crossed, though he stood near Marla’s chair. “Good interesting or bad interesting?” She looked uneasy.
I forced a laugh. “Isn’t all ‘interesting’ bad in this game?”
Brodie sat up, yawning. “So what is it?”
I took a deep breath and then laid it all out on the table. “I had a long talk with Casper last night. He’s going to talk Jayme and Fido into nominating you guys because he wants to make a big move and stir things up. Once you guys are up on the block, Marla’s going to be the one to go.”