Page 12 of Unlawful Lies

“Please. It would be my honor to do this for you.”

“Why are you so insistent?” I want to know. “You don’t even like me. You’ve never liked me.”

Besides, men and women don’t have to be friends to kiss. I’ve seen my parents together. They flit around the house, him a tyrant and her a ghost, and they have children. They hate each other.

Edward would use me as a conquest to undermine the Salvatores and secure the reign of the Balestras. Which is fine. It’s business. I’m using him as well.

I used that kiss in the garden to lower his guard even if—I shake my head. It’s ridiculously difficult to admit to myself the other reasons I kind of want to let things progress between us. Then again, as Daddy says, I’ve always been feisty and stubborn. I do things my own way, no matter what society says is proper.

He’s never been able to degrade it out of me.

“I like you well enough,” Edward insists. His soft smile shifts into a leer when I turn to face him. “I like the way you feel.”

I roll my eyes even when heat spirals down into my stomach, and certain parts of me he’s already stroked start to tingle again. “And what do you get out of this? Hmm? What are you expecting as payment?”

“Nothing.”

He answers too quickly to be innocent.

I slide my hands off of my hips. Down toward the crook of my inner thighs before letting my arms hang limply at my sides. A suggestive gesture he no doubt takes note of.

“Look, I’m sure that you have this entire situation handled, Nicola.” He steps toward me, and the distance between us goes up in flames. There’s no room to breathe, and there’s no room to escape. Even if I wanted to…it's becoming harder and harder to want, if I’m being honest.

Which I hate being because that makes this so much harder to look at objectively.

“I’m sure you have all the resources you need at your disposal, but I have a gut feeling you're a little too close to this to remain objective. Am I right?”

He’s the epitome of control, and it irks me. The arrogance, the sheer belief that he is the one who knows best in all aspects, even this, gets under my skin.

But…

And it’s a big but.

What wouldn’t I do for my father?

Edward senses me wavering and hurries on to say, “We have the opportunity to start a war before it begins.”

I shake my head. “No one said anything about a war.”

“You see what they did to each other the moment they were alone?” Edward sweeps an arm back toward the house. The heat of the day has plastered his shirt to his chest beneath the suit jacket. My mouth goes dry. “They missed on purpose. It won’t happen again. And all that because of an insult. My father believes he’s correct. He’ll do whatever it takes unless we either find the painting or clear Arden.”

I wish he was wrong. Then, let them destroy each other. I nearly say it out loud before catching my tongue.

“I’ve got more resources than you do. More established means of finding out information.

“I don’t need your resources. We have plenty of trustworthy and competent people at our disposal. If Giovanni is serious in his accusation against mine then I’ll get to the bottom of it on my own. Not to mention, I’m not in a position to pay whatever it is you’ll ask for your help.”

“Who says I want any monetary compensation?”

My head whips up at the dark invitation in those syllables. “I wasn’t talking about money.”

No, we both understand the flimsy foundation we stand on and how easy it will be to have it all crumble beneath us. That’s what happens when you build any sort of relationship, even a tentative friendship or begrudging respect, on sand. Heat and chemistry are not a good place to start, and considering how easy it was to get lost in those sensations?—

And our families, held back on chains of halfhearted promises and air, both of them ready to collide.

Then, the farther I stay away from Edward Balestra, the better. Even when my father is the one who pushes me toward the young man.

Even when working with him might mean a chance to rub Daddy’s innocence in Giovanni’s face to boot.

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