The smell hangs heavily in the air.
It’s an addicting smell.
He takes me to the closet and opens the door.
“Are we going to fool around in a closet?” I ask.
“If you want to,” Cullen says.
He touches my face and strokes my cheek.
We both hear what sounds like a scratch against the window.
Cullen jumps toward the noise, blocking me with his body.
He walks to the window and stares out.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says. “Sorry. Just a stupid fucking branch hitting the window.”
“What do you have hidden in here, Cullen?” I ask. “You seem nervous.”
“Not nervous at all, love,” he says.
He returns back to the closet and crouches down.
I do the same.
He digs through some clothes and shoes, and pulls out a gym bag.
“Unzip that, Jaci,” he says.
I carefully tug at the zipper, then flip the top open.
I gasp when I see money.
It’s like out of a movie.
Stacks of cash perfectly bound together.
They all almost look fake.
So much so that I look at Cullen…
“It’s real cash, love,” he says. “I don’t fuck around with counterfeit. I know people who do though. But this… this is all real.”
“It looks like a lot of money.”
“It is,” he says. “Want to know what it’s for?”
“Do I?” I ask.
“This is for recording,” he says. “WhenPawn Charmwants to get back into the studio. Or maybe when you want to get into the studio.”
I shake my head. “Don’t even say that.”
“I keep my stuff in order, Jaci,” Cullen says. “This life may have a lot of danger and death to it, but it’s also a lot like normal lives. You have to be careful. You have to be smart. You know?”