Page 66 of Cruel Lies

I regretted every word. But I regretted that they were the truth even more.

It wasn’t wise for her to attach herself to me. I would only hurt her in the end.

Rowan popped his head out of the office and caught my eyes, motioning that I should join him. With a sigh of resignation, I marched slowly into his den of plan-making and chaotic order.

"Close the door."

Like a puppet, I followed his command without a thought, waiting for him to speak before I said a word.

I didn’t have to wait long.

"I have a lead on the assholes who trumped up this story for the contract. I want you to follow up on it."

On the table were three folders, each with a name on them. None of which appealed to me at this moment.

I had no desire to follow up on my father. The asshole whose name was scrawled on folder number two was even worse. Scum of the earth, known for doing the work others wouldn’t. No matter how dirty, as long as there was money at the end of the rainbow, he’d fucking follow it like a bloodhound.

"Jameson’s involved?" I flipped through his dossier, disgust curling my lips into a frown as I spotted disgusting fact after disgusting fact about a man Harper’s mother had cut out of her entourage for good reason. The man was a piece of shit. It wouldn’t be beyond him to hunt down his own blood to take out for a payday, let alone his former boss’s daughter. I flipped the pages, setting down the dossier with a wince.

Rowan shrugged. "It’s possible. I don’t want to take any chances, though. Whatever Father has on them is big enough for them to help him falsify a contract for the Guild. And they know better than to mess with St. Clair."

Of the available options, he was the easiest to cross off. It would get me out of the house today, too. And that meant I wouldn’t have to deal with Harper’s stares all day. I could avoidthe awkwardness and the pain in her eyes that I’d put there intentionally to push her away.

I wasn’t ready to face what I’d done.

"I’ll take him. I’ll even cross him off your list tonight."

Rowan quirked a brow but said nothing, just nodded. "Have fun."

I rolled my eyes at him and grumbled under my breath. "Sure, if you wanna call it that."

Hours later,I’d managed to slip past the detail the fucker had following everywhere. Hell, the man was so paranoid he didn’t even take a piss without his entourage. I couldn’t imagine being that scared of my own shadow.

Then again, he had men like me tailing him. It made sense to be overly cautious.

Unfortunately for him, I was a killer, unscrupulous and unbiased. Taking out his personal guard would have been child’s play to me. Thankfully, I didn’t have to draw undue attention to my presence. I just waited for them to switch shifts and slipped under the radar, cornering the bastard in his office.

He was sitting upright in his chair, staring me down, but I could see the nervous energy in his little tells.

The way he shifted his posture and crossed his legs, perching a pair of clasped hands atop one knee to stop the bouncing. Little droplets of sweat collected on his brow as he struggled not to panic.

I didn’t blame him. I had gone without makeup for this job, and my face was scary as fuck. It was part of why I’d opted to come unpainted to this little interview.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" His attempts to sound domineering and in charge were futile. I could see the tremble inhis upper lip, hear the wavering in his voice. He told on himself without even trying.

"I want to know if you’re in the business of taking out hits on undeserving innocents, Jameson. It’s very simple." I slid the picture of Harper in her disguise as Hannah Flagg across the desk, and he peered at it for a second before blinking stupidly, like he’d never seen this girl in his life.

"I don’t know who she is, and even if I did, I’m not interested in hiring contract killers to take out someone I don’t know."

I shoved the picture a little further toward him. "Look really close, Jameson. Are yousureyou don’t know this woman?"

He squinted as if that would bring him the knowledge or brain cells he clearly lacked. "I don’t think so, but she looks sort of familiar?"

"You telling me you don’t recognize your old boss’s daughter?" I waved the picture in front of his nose, my menacing glare bearing down on him with a sickening smirk on my lips, stretching the old scars. "You’re not that dumb, are you?"

"I-I-I don’t know who she is, I swear!" His face had gone pale, and he looked damn close to passing out. "Fuck, please don’t hurt me."

"Jameson. Buddy, pal, friend." I pulled out a knife I wasn’t overly fond of and stabbed the sharp end into the top of his desk. "If I wanted to hurt you, you’d already be dead." My eyes moved to the blade, and his followed suit as he swallowed the lump in his throat and fought back what I imagined was his rising bile.

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