The Arrangement 12(13)

Sean seems agitated. He rolls his eyes and knocks back the rest of his drink before slamming the glass down on the table next to Mel. She flinches when he does it. Sean is at eye level with her. His voice is deep and menacing. “I didn’t do it for you, I did it for Avery. You’ve been watching her back, so I’ve been watching yours.”

Mel doesn’t like that answer. “You’ve been trailing me?”

“I’ve been watching. I watch everything, especially when it comes to her.” Sean points at me. “I know things she hasn’t said and I know things you haven’t admitted. Tell her what happened tonight or I will, and I guarantee you that it would be better coming from you.” Sean straightens and backs away, before taking a seat to the side.

Mel swallows hard and glances at me again. I lose my patience. “Oh, for the love of God, just say it. I liked you before, when I knew you messed with people. You’ve threatened Naked Guy on more than one occasion. I know you aren’t Mother Teresa and never have been, so just tell me!”

Mel glances at Sean out of the corner of her eye, almost pleading with him. “This is a bad idea.”

“Tell her,” Sean demands in a tone that makes me shiver. One of Sean’s brows lifts as he folds his arms over his chest and his icy eyes narrow at her.

Mel doesn’t like being told what to do. Her eyes shift from side to side and she leans back and cracks her neck. After taking a huge breath, she dives into a story that I wish I never heard.





CHAPTER 12




My body tenses as Mel speaks. I’m afraid for her even though I know she survived. After Sean and I left the room, things spun out of control. Mel ordered her dinner and when there was a knock on the door half an hour later, she thought nothing of it. Mel yanked the door open without looking, and there stood a woman with her complexion and caramel eyes.

Mel explains, “She looked like a fucking twin. It was creepy. The chick was about the same height and weight, and—get this—wearing the same dress.”

“That’s weird.” My face scrunches up because I don’t like where this is going.

“No shit. So I’m like, ‘What do you want?’ She laughs and manages to get into the room, but I don’t let her in very far. It was like she was looking for something.” Mel shakes her head and bites her lower lip, thinking before adding, “So, she can’t get past me. The woman thinks there are other people in the room. I left the TV on in the bathroom and the tub was filling. I planned on vegging and watching TV, eating dinner while I soaked. Anyways, the girl steps up to me and smiles this creepy, toothy grin and I feel a barrel press into my belly. The bitch had a gun. She’s not two steps inside the room and she pulls a fucking gun on me. After that, things get blurry.”

“Mel,” Sean scolds.

“I’m telling the truth, white boy.” Mel huffs and deep frown lines cross her face. “Avery, everything happened so fast. I went from having the gun in my guts, to ripping her hair out and rolling around on the floor. The bitch pulled my bracelet off, so I crushed the stone thinking Black would send her ninjas, but they never showed. So, I realize I’m on my own and use my knife on the bitch. She had me pinned.”

“You had a knife on you?” I sound stupid for asking, but where the hell was it?

Mel nods once. The normal smile that’s on her lips is gone and her head hangs between her shoulders as she buries her face in her hands. “I always have it strapped to my thigh. When I’m doing it, I hide the blade, but it’s still in reach—under the pillow or shoved into the side of the mattress. I take care of me. I always have.” Mel glances up and doesn’t blink. Her eyes are cold and hard, like she’s emotionally shut down in order to tell me the rest of the story. “Before the bitch knows what happened, I stabbed her in the side. She starts muttering about something that makes no sense, after cursing me out.”

“What’d she say?” Sean asks. “What were her exact words?”

“Her voice isn’t panicked, it’s creepy, smooth as glass, and she says, ‘You have no idea what you’ve done, you little cunt. Everything was perfect, and now they’ll all…’ Her words get garbled and I can’t understand her. Her face contorts in pain and she starts screaming. That’s a horrible way to die, and with the amount of blood pouring from her like that, she was as good as dead. She started begging me, so I ended it. Then I grabbed my stuff and ran. They must have found the body when they brought in the food.”

I can’t breathe for a few seconds and Mel won’t look at me. Sean is watching the side of my face, waiting for my reaction. A few things stick and I blurt them out. “Someone was trying to frame you for something else—otherwise why would that woman be dressed like you?”