Page 72 of Devious Gambit

“Why would they arrange for a sale when they didn’t have it in their collection?” I asked, slightly puzzled.

He looked away from me. “When Cody found out who you were and who your father is…we devised a plan.”

“You want me to ask my father who I’ve never met where it is?” I posed, just to clarify, because I thought I’d been trapped in a scene in a B grade movie.

“Yes.”

Anger stirred my bones, but my eyes were dry. “So, all this effort you’ve gone to over the past few weeks has been for this moment?”

He screwed his face up as if in agony, the guilt was dripping off him, and I was too irate to care. “Yes.”

“Getting close to me and pretending to care was to manipulate me into doing this task for your friend? You were using me.”

He hesitated. “That was the original plan, but-”

“-Fuck you!” I shouted.

“Rhys, you don’t understand,” he landed in the seat opposite me and leaned across the small table, shrinking the space between us. “Listen to me.”

“No.”

“Just hear me out.”

“You didn’t come up with your end of the bargain,” I yelled at him.

“What?” Mr. Ed was completely baffled and he thought he was bamboozling me.

“You were supposed to find out who the rapists were and you failed. I owe you nothing,” I ranted, pointing my finger at his stunned face.

“Rhys, listen to me.”

“You obviously think I’m an idiot, but I knew this was coming. I knew you had a hidden agenda. I bit my tongue and rode along this fake journey pretending to be enamored by you, just to see where you’d take me. I never thought in my wildest dreams it would be here to Stillwater, Minnesota, six minutes down the road from my father’s prison.” It was all complete lie, I was utterly enamored by him. Hell, I fell in love with the a-hole, but I didn’t want him to know that. I still had an ounce of pride left.

“Rhys, if you don’t do this, Cody will get the information from you another way.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“His family mingles with the fucking Chicago mafia, figure it out for yourself. I’m doing you a favor.”

“Why haven’t they asked my father themselves?”

“Because he won’t see them.”

I groaned. “So, if I don’t do this, I’m going to receive threats and get beaten up or something?”

“Basically.”

“I hate you jocks,” I seethed. “You rich, asshole rapists Bloodz. I hate you all. You lied to me the whole time, you fuckwit.”

My horrible words rolled off his back like water. “Are you going to do it?” he asked me.

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.”

“What if he won’t tell me?” I asked, wiping a hot tear from my cheek. I thought I was doing well disguising the pain of humiliation that scoured my body. My eyes were dry only moments ago, my body decided to betray me at that very moment. Who was I kidding? Of course, someone like Jace Luxon wouldn’t be romantically interested in me.

“He’ll tell you if you told him what was on the line.”

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