She licked her lips, sunlight catching her blond hair. “Yes, remember? I said I film my climbs for work?”
“I remember.” I squeezed my nape, thinking about her brother on that video recorder, not really keen on revealing just how much I didn’t know when she seemed so fucking capable in this busy world.
I scowled. But I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and if that meant I had to sound like the uneducated heathen I was, then...so be it.
Tensing, I asked the one question that’d been hounding me ever since a driver dropped off the keys to a brand-new fancy rental at the hospital. He’d mentioned that they didn’t usually drop off to clients but because she tipped so highly, they were happy to oblige.
The way he’d treated her made it seem as if he was both envious and impressed, presenting the keys as if she was higher up the food chain than him.
My skin had crawled, and I’d wanted to ask the second Gem had led me from the hospital and hopped into the leather-infused car, but I’d swallowed my questions down.
I didn’t know how to word such things, but I got the distinct impression she was someone. She had power, just like Storymaker had power.
Frankly, it made me nervous.
“Kas...you know you can talk to me, right?” Gem squeezed the steering wheel. “I know you’re probably still digesting everything that’s happened so far, and I don’t ever want to pry about your appointment with the specialist or make you feel like you have to tell me everything, but...we’re together. People who are together don’t have to hide.”
I swallowed hard. “Fine.”
“Okay then.”
“I’m just gonna come out with it.”
“Okay, great.” She braced herself. “If you have questions, fire away.”
She might regret that invitation, but I sat taller in my seat and said, “You mentioned...back in the valley that you had enough money to pay whatever ransom I put on your head. At the time, money meant nothing to me. I still don’t fully remember the concept but it’s slowly coming back to me.” I gave her a look. “The more I remember, the more I realize...you weren’t lying, were you?”
“Lying?” Her forehead furrowed. “Lying about what?”
“That you have money.”
Her cheeks pinked. “Is it that obvious? I thought I wasn’t that flashy.”
I looked out the window as an expensive-looking car drove past. “I overheard the nurse giving you the final tally for the hospital room. It sounded expensive, but you didn’t even blink. You were able to go and select new clothes with just a tiny plastic card instead of working for an entire season for something of value, and...the way the guy looked at you when he dropped off the car? You have power that only comes from having something other people want.”
She glanced at me, her eyes narrowing. “You say that as if money is dirty.”
“Money is what enabled men like Storymaker to steal our lives and rent us out as if we were nothing more than a T-shirt from a department store.”
She stiffened. “It’s not the money that’s bad, Kas.”
I sniffed.
“But you’re right,” she added. “Money has caused bad people to be able to do terrible things.”
I fell quiet for a while, my head whirling. Back in the valley, I’d been rich enough. I’d had food, shelter, and warmth. I hadn’t needed anything else. I’d never owned a dollar. Never worked for cash. Never been given anything of value for the use of my body and soul.
But out here...I was fucking destitute.
I had no skills, no prospects. When people looked at me, they did so without respect in their eyes like they did for Gem. They watched me with wariness as if I was a wild animal she’d dragged from the woods and dressed in human clothes.
Not far from the truth.
My hands balled on my lap as the real reason for my anger unveiled itself. “Look, I don’t expect you to look after me, Gemma.” My voice turned hard. “I’m not a...a charity case. I don’t expect to live with you for free. I’ll...I can—” I snapped my lips together, trying to decide what I could offer her that was worth just as much as the money she’d already spent on me.
The hospital cost, the food, the clothes, the drive back to her place.
I’d been in her debt the moment she’d found me and made me come alive again. But all of this? All these gifts and care...they just compounded that debt until I had no fucking chance of ever paying it back.
I sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the car.
Gemma noticed, her gaze flicking from me to an off-ramp and making a quick detour until we parked outside some garish store with a food joint attached.
“What are you doing?” I asked.