Chapter 2

Tyler repaid ten thousand dollars within three days, and Chloe was not fooled for a second. He was not paying because he felt guilty. He was paying because he was afraid she might walk away before he squeezed out the rest of her money.

The moment the transfer landed, she picked up her phone and called the bank. "I want to freeze the supplementary card on my account," she said, her voice calm and steady. "Please remove Tyler Reed as an authorized driver on my car as well."

She changed every password he might have guessed, and by the time she hung up, every easy door he had into her life was shut. Let him knock now, like the stray dog he is.

Her phone rang less than an hour later.

"Chloe, what the hell is going on?" Tyler's voice shook with rage. "My card got declined in front of a whole store!"

"My card," Chloe corrected, her tone sweet as honey while she studied her nails.

"Amber and I were buying something important, and do you know how embarrassing that was?"

Amber and I. He said it so naturally that she almost admired his nerve.

"Then use your own money."

"We're a couple, Chloe!"

"We're not married, and we're not even engaged." She let a small smile curl her lips as the line went dead quiet.

"I'll talk to you later," Tyler muttered, and he hung up hard.

Twenty minutes later, Amber's car rolled to a stop outside. Tyler stepped out of the passenger side holding the spare keys to Chloe's car, and Amber followed with a long white dress bag draped over her arm. They had been together when the card failed, and neither of them even tried to hide it.

Tyler walked in without waiting to be invited and tossed the keys onto the table. "Here. Are you happy now?"

"Very," Chloe answered, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

Amber gave her a wounded little smile, her eyes wide and wet. "Tyler was only helping me find a dress for the graduation party. He said we were all family, so I had no idea the money came from your account."

The lie slid out so smoothly that Chloe almost applauded. She looked at the expensive white dress glowing through the clear cover and tilted her head.

"Then return it."

Amber's smile froze like a cracked mask. "What?"

"You said you didn't know, and now you do. So take it back."

"Chloe, it's just a dress," Tyler snapped, stepping between them with his jaw tight. "Stop humiliating her over a few hundred dollars."

"If it's only a few hundred dollars, you can pay for it yourself, darling." Chloe's voice was light and teasing, and the word darling landed like a slap.

Amber's face flushed red, and she dabbed at the corner of her eye. "I don't want to come between you two. Maybe I shouldn't go to the party at all."

In her last life, Chloe would have rushed over to comfort her, apologizing for hurting such a fragile flower. This time she only shrugged, her face calm and bored. "That's your choice."

Amber had clearly expected a different script, and anger flashed in her eyes before the tears came back. "I was only trying to help Tyler plan something nice for you."

"Funny. Why do you know so much about what my boyfriend is planning?"

Tyler's jaw tightened, and Amber opened her mouth, but Chloe did not give her the chance.

"Maybe this relationship has gotten too crowded," Chloe went on, her gaze sliding to Tyler with a cool, playful smile. "Maybe you'd be happier with someone who understands you better."

For the first time since walking in, Tyler looked nervous, and a sheen of sweat showed at his hairline. "Don't be ridiculous. Amber is a friend, and you're the woman I want a future with." He turned sharply toward Amber, his eyes hard. "Apologize to Chloe."

Amber stared at him as if he had slapped her. "Tyler..."

"Just do it."

Her fingers crushed the dress bag until the plastic crackled, and her voice came out thin and bitter. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before Tyler used the card."

It was a small victory, but Chloe savored every second of it like the first sip of cold water after a long, dry road. Tyler pulled out his own card and shoved it into Amber's hand. "Pay for the dress with this, and wait for me in the car."

Amber looked at Chloe one last time, and the sweetness had drained from her face. Then she swept out, and the door clicked shut behind her.

Tyler lowered his voice and stepped closer. "What is wrong with you lately?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired of paying for everyone."

"I already gave you ten thousand."

"And you still owe me fifty, baby." She patted his chest lightly, and he flinched as though her hand were hot.

His face hardened. "You'll get it. But stop acting like I'm some stranger trying to rob you."

Chloe almost laughed in his face. Instead, she dropped her eyes and let her voice tremble. "Then stop making me feel like I'm dating one."

The anger drained out of Tyler's shoulders, and a satisfied look settled over him. He thought he understood now: Chloe was insecure and jealous, and she still loved him enough to bleed for him. Good. Keep believing that, you idiot.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised, cupping her cheek with a thumb that felt like sandpaper. "The graduation party is going to change everything."

After he left, Chloe called a contractor and walked him through her parents' house, pointing out every door and window. He scratched his head and told her that turning the place into a full bunker in under a month was impossible.

"Then forget full," Chloe said, her eyes cold and clear. "Reinforce the doors, windows and basement first, and I need backup power and water storage within three weeks."

He warned her that a rush order would cost extra. Chloe put Tyler's ten thousand down as the deposit and sold the pink purse he had bought with her own card to pay for the first materials.

The contractor promised his crew would start first thing tomorrow morning.

The house would come first, then food and medicine. And this time, Chloe would train her body, because she was done waiting for anyone else to protect her.

At that very moment, a few streets away, Tyler sat in Amber's car with the doors locked while she hurled the dress bag into the back seat.

"You made me apologize to her!" Amber's voice cracked with fury, and her chest heaved. "You spent your own money on this dress after paying her ten thousand. How much more are you going to waste on that woman?"

"Keep your voice down." Tyler grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, his breath hot against her ear.

"Answer me!"

"Chloe's house alone is worth over a million, and her parents left her investments too." His eyes gleamed like a gambler's. "Once she says yes, everything gets easier."

"And if she doesn't?"

"She will." He smiled with complete confidence. "She's loved me for two years and doesn't know how to live without me. This little act is only jealousy."

Amber turned her face to the window, her lips pressed thin. "Maybe you enjoy her being jealous."

Tyler caught her chin and forced her to look at him. "I could never love a spoiled princess like Chloe. She's a bank account with a pretty face, and you're the one I actually want."

He kissed her, and Amber did not respond right away. Her eyes stayed open, hard and glittering, before she pulled back and whispered, "Prove it."

Tyler sighed, then reached behind his neck and unclasped the Reed family necklace. Amber's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

"Your mother said this was meant for the woman you choose."

"And I'm choosing you." He fastened the chain around her throat and smoothed her hair over it. "Wear it under your clothes for now, and once Chloe's house is ours, you won't have to hide anything."

Amber touched the crystal pendant and smiled, her fingers trembling with greed. Neither of them knew that the necklace resting against her skin was the only thing Chloe wanted from them.