Page 99 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.

But Monique heard it. And she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like his answers to her questions.

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ORAZIO

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She hadn’t started asking him questions yet, and he was already dreading them. He was already trying to come up with half-truths to tell her. Would she believe those half-truths, or would she see through them?

And if she saw through them, would that make her despise him more? Frustrated, Raz ran his hand through his hair as he followed Monique onto the elevator. His mind and heart raced as they began their trip to his floor.

Standing next to him, Monique was silent. It was that silence that worried him. If she were yelling and cursing, he’d feel better. Her silence felt like the calm before the storm. She stared straight ahead, not sparing him a glance.

He could already feel the distance forming between them. Nothing had gone as planned tonight. Instead of making things better, he’d made them tremendously worse. Not only was Monique mad at him, but Cas was also upset with him.

They both had every right to be. He’d never be able to get the look on Cas’s face when he’d seen Bethany out of his head. He’d never seen his brother look like that before. He and Cas had been through things that would traumatize normal people.

Yet, they came out of those situations scarred but not broken. Tonight, his brother had looked broken. He’d looked haunted by the accusations that could’ve ruined his life. And though they hadn’t ruined his career, they had changed him.

And because of Raz, Cas experienced that horror all over again tonight.Fuck!Why the hell had he called that woman? If she’d had any decency in her, she would’ve turned down his offer.

Raz closed his eyes and reminded himself that he didn’t harm women, even lying ass women. He really hated that his brother was suffering this way while Bethany was out dating the senator’s son.

Her life hadn’t been impacted at all. Yet, his brother’s had. She’d lied through her fucking teeth, and nothing had been done to her. That didn’t sit well with Raz at all. Raz would have to talk to his father about this tomorrow.

Though they wouldn’t go after Bethany, they could go after her father’s businesses and the money she depended on. Attacking her money and social status would be a nightmare for her. It wouldn’t change what happened. Nothing could.

Neither would it lessen Cas’s pain. But right now, it was all Raz could do. And he had to do something for his brother. Doing nothing wasn’t in his DNA. The more he thought about it, the more some things started making sense.

Ever since they returned home from Italy, Cas had been a little different. He still smiled and joked a lot, but something had been off about him. He rarely left the casino unless he absolutely had to.

He partied less these days. In fact, Ras couldn’t remember the last time his brother had brought a random woman to his room. Not that he kept up with that kind of stuff. However, he made it a habit to review the security footage at least once a month.

More than a few times, he’d witnessed security escorting one of Cas’s lady friends from the hotel after a night of drinks. Cas rarely remembered their names the following day. That was before their trip to Italy to meet up with the DeLucas and rescue their family member.

Since Italy, his brother had ceased his partying. He’d ceased attending the social events that Raz had loathed and avoided. Now, Raz knew it was because of what happened with Bethany.

He hated that his brother hadn’t thought he could come to him with this issue. There had been no need for Cas to be embarrassed. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Rejecting a woman shouldn’t lead to a man being accused of abuse.

Just like rejecting a man shouldn’t lead to a woman being abused by that man. Everyone had a right to say no with no consequences. His brother was now suffering for something he hadn’t done.

And there was nothing Raz could do to ease his pain or help him clear his head. That fear and shame must’ve kept Cas from coming to Raz with this. But why had he stopped going out? Why had he stopped living his life the way he had before?

Fuck what the police and Beth’s friends thought. Cas had been cleared of all charges. So, why had he changed? Raz thought back to the security footage he’d watched since Italy. There was one thing he’d asked Cas about that he’d seen in the videos.

One thing that his brother didn’t usually do. Lately, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, his brother always dressed in workout clothes and left the casino. He left with a gym bag in hand. That wouldn’t have been suspicious if he hadn’t been heading to the gym atonein the morning.

Plus, they had a gym in the casino. When Raz asked Cas why he was going to the gym at one a.m., his brother laughed it off and said the view at the gym was great. To Raz, that meant there was a woman his brother had been pursuing at the gym during those hours and on those days.

Could that woman have been Meka? Was that where they’d met, the gym? Was that where he’d told her about Bethany? Was that where he’d shared with a stranger, something he hadn’t felt comfortable sharing with his own brother?

“Did you hear me, Raz?”

Monique’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Huh? Sorry, what did you say?”

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