Page 54 of When Lies Unfold

I ignore his remark and gesture to the doorway. “Am I allowed out of my prison cell now? Because I’d rather not be late for work.”

With a curt tip of his head, he offers me his silent permission. But when I attempt to step past him, he moves in front of me lightning quick. My eyes clash with dark, menacing ones.

“Remember: stay away from the cop.” He delivers this in a lethally sharp tone.

I offer him a saccharine smile. “Only if you promise to stay away from me.”

When I try to edge past him, his fingers snare my wrist, and the bite of pain stops me in my tracks. Looming even closer, he brings his face a hairsbreadth away from mine. His tone is hushed and barely audible. “Pretty fuckin’ stupid of you to mouth off to me right now.”

“As opposed to any other time?”

When his grip tightens, I can’t suppress the wince that follows. His brow creases, and narrowed eyes drop to his hold on me. Loosening his grip, he studies the angry-looking red band of skin along my wrist. His unnerving gaze locks with mine. “It hurts?”

I lift my chin a notch, refusing to show more weakness. “Nothing a little castor oil and cayenne pepper won’t fix.”

His survey feels intrusive, and I quell the urge to fidget. He reaches for my other wrist, inspecting it similarly. His thumbs trace a path parallel to the abraded skin from the zip ties, and my nerve endings tingle.

Surely, this isn’t his tiny attempt at showing remorse for how I’ve been treated. My breath catches when his thumbs make another sweeping path along my skin, carefully avoiding my injury. Mouth suddenly parched, I wet my lips.

Santiago’s attention zeroes in on my mouth, those eyes flaring with something I can’t quite pinpoint. Whatever it is, it evokes another unusual—and wholly unwanted—response from me. Growing increasingly aware of his proximity, my mind flashes back to what happened in the kitchen. How he touched me.

How he allowed me to touch him.

I swallow hard past the lump of arousal threatening to overtake me. For whatever reason, this bizarrely compelling attraction renders me powerless to stop it. There’s something about this man that beckons my body and every carnal urge I possess.

My breath hitches when he takes a step closer, his thumb still stroking my wrist. I need to lock this down, to protect myself from this—from him. But mental exhaustion is making it impossible to defend myself against whatever this is.

He leans into my space, and I squeeze my eyes shut. His nose dusts lightly against mine, and goose bumps rise on my exposed skin, making my nipples pebble. His minty breath skitters against my lips, and my mouth parts as a deep, traitorous part of me yearns for??—

“Ahem.” Gordo’s throat-clearing causes us to abruptly straighten, my eyes flaring open.

Santiago releases my wrists as if my skin’s made of molten lava and retreats a step. With the odd moment shattered, he spins around and strides for the door. As he crosses the threshold, he tosses over his shoulder, “Be sure to brush your teeth, Miss Arias,” before disappearing from sight.

Hands curling into fists at my sides, I’m tempted to hurl that metal chair across this room.

Gordo’s mouth twitches before he offers a discreet shake of his head. “Trust me. It’ll only cause you more trouble.” Lifting his chin in the direction of the open doorway, he says, “Best if you get ready for work and stick to throwin’ the chair at him in your mind.”

I inhale a deep breath before exhaling slowly and loudly. My begrudging, “Fine,” provokes another barely there twitch of his lips. As I slip past him, I tack on stubbornly, “But just this once. No guarantee for next time.”

A grunt of a chuckle trails me. “Be disappointed if you said otherwise, Miss Arias.”

25

SANTIAGO

When Gordo voices the question after we’ve dropped Lola at work, I’m prepared.

I’ve been expectin’ it.

“Gonna explain what happened this mornin’?”

“Nothin’ happened.” My tone is curt and screams Leave it the fuck alone.

“Uh-huh.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Let it go.”

We drive in silence for a few minutes before he starts up again. “Just sayin’… Seemed like you two had a moment goin’ on there.”

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