Chapter 18

A chill ran down my spine. Of course, I was lying. But I had to stay focused. “You underestimate me, husband,” I said. And that much was true.

I lifted my chin. “How much money do you have?”

He let out a breath. “I don’t count.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Now who’s lying?”

“You want to blackmail me?” He bared his teeth, motioning to the deadman kneeling in the corner. “Try.” He was threatening me.

I lowered my eyes. He wasn’t afraid of me. I had to change tactics.

“You’re not afraid of getting caught?” I asked. “The police will come. You’ll go to prison. To death row—”

“The moment you married me, you became entrenched in my family’s history. You’ll never make it to the police.”

Heat circulated inside of me. “I don’t believe you,” I stammered, but that was a lie, too. I had seen what he had done the night. I knew exactly how much Wilder kept hidden from me. And I remembered his brother’s warnings: You know how much pent-up frustration my brother carries with him every day? He takes it out on his job.

How did they make Green stop bothering me, anyway? I had assumed it was bribery, but what if it wasn’t?

One day, he’s going to take it out on you.

“What do you want, Maisie?” Wilder asked.

My eyes flicked to the ground, then back up to him. I didn’t need to get money from Wilder himself, but I could find a way for him to help me.

“I want you to treat me like a wife,” I said.

“You want me to have sex with you?” he asked.

“Your dad promised me a lot of money.”

He scoffed. “I’m not interested.”

But I knew Wilder wasn’t asexual. He was a sexual person, but what excited him wasn’t as simple as breasts and pussy.

I stared at the kneeling corpse. Wilder had peculiar tastes. “You came on my face,” I reminded him. “You got hard when you touched my pussy.”

“A natural reaction.”

I sighed deeply, then readjusted. “If you pretend to like me around your dad, and help me fake our relationship—hell, maybe even stick your dick inside of me for good measure—I can get my money. Or you can help me find another way to get that money.”

“Did he tell you why he wanted us to fuck?”

My stomach dropped. I hadn’t thought to ask. All he had said was that Wilder was obsessed with work. And that more than he let on.

I bit the inside of my lip. “No.”

“Let me know when you’re ready for the truth.”

“Why do you kill people?” I asked, changing the subject. He shifted his weight. Sawyer’s words came back to me: It’s a fixation. He’s going to take it out on you. “Is this part of the Feldman Farm? You murder in the

Dairy Barn?”

“It’s our family’s trade,” he said. That must have been why the cattle aspect of the business was small, and why they had so much money everywhere.

Which was why Wilder wasn’t afraid of my blackmail threat. And why, if I ever wanted to take Forrest on, I would have to have Wilder on my side.

“Okay. Yes. But why do you do it?” I asked. “You seem to be passionate about it.”

He folded his hands together and then ran a palm through his hair. “Death is the only thing we can count on.”

“So you guarantee that for people.”

“It gives me a sense of closure.”

Maybe he meant it gave him control. Like if he could kill someone if he could control their end, then he would have more power over everyone else.

“How long have you been doing it?” I asked.

“All my life.”

My chest dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“Killed my first when I was ten.”

Had he ever had a childhood, then? “I see why you don’t talk about yourself.”

And for that, he laughed, the first real chuckle I had heard come from his mouth.

His tone shifted. “You’re not disgusted.” There was a hint of curiosity in his words like he wanted confirmation.

“Disgusted? No,” I said, a smile raising my lips. “Disturbed? Sure!” He narrowed his eyes. “But you remember what I used to do for my job, right?” His eyes dipped, and I took that as a ‘yes.’ “This isn’t the first time

I’ve seen something like this.”

His eyes held me, but it didn’t seem like he was scrutinizing me. It was like he was searching for the answers he thought he knew, but for once, he was coming up empty-handed. It was an interesting look at him.

“Why don’t you give me a proper tour of the rest of the place?” I asked.