Page 36 of Lie to Me

Mine. Mine. Mine.

And fuck, those little moans. It’s goddamn torture. I can’t stop hearing them.

The fire in her eyes as she yelled at me is something I’ve never seen from her before, and—though it probably shouldn’t be—it was hot as hell.

Though one thing that’s also been playing on my mind—and not in a good way—was the things she said about taking care of herself.

I’m well aware that Sloane can fight. But the way she was talking, it was as though something had happened to her. That and the way the light has been dimmed from her eyes ever sinceI saw her again makes my gut clench. Did someone hurt her? Did something happen to her?

I can’t take not knowing.

I grab my cell from the coffee table and groan internally as I pull up the contact I need and dial.

“Hello?” Alec answers on the first ring.

“I need you to do something for me,” I mutter.

There’s a pause, and I know he’s probably wondering what the hell is going on. I usually only call if it has something to do with Luca.

“What’s going on?”

“I need you to look into someone. I think something happened after they left the city ten years ago, but I can’t ask Izzy.”

“Name?”

“Sloane O’Brien,” I mutter and there’s a long, drawn-out sigh.

“Please tell me you’re not going after this girl. I thought you didn’t hurt women and children? Going after the head of the Irish Mob’s sister isnota good idea.”

I chuckle. “Alec, nothing and no one will ever harm that woman again if I have anything to say about it.”

Another pause is followed by a boisterous laugh. “Holy shit. It happened again. ItoldEnzo it was like a goddamn pandemic. Stay the hell away from me, Marco. I don’t want you passing that shit onto me.”

I roll my eyes. Alec is known as a playboy billionaire bachelor and has told us numerous times that he never plans to settle down.

“This isn’t a new thing, so I think you’re safe,” I grunt, and he hums. I can hear him clicking away at his keyboard in the background.

“So, I’m looking for something that happened to her after she moved in with her aunt?” he asks, though mostly to himself, so I stay silent. “Okay. So, if she moved in with her then, let’s starthere… oh here’s something…” He trails off and I’m quiet for a moment as I wait for him to say more, only he doesn’t.

“What?” I bark.

More silence.

“Alec, what. The. Fuck. Happened?” I ask through clenched teeth as my pulse skyrockets, immediately thinking the worst.

“I’m… I’m sorry, man, but I think this is something that’s best coming from her, if she ever decides to tell you.” His voice is uncharacteristically soft, with something that sounds a lot like pity in his tone.

What the hell happened to her that was so bad Alec won’t even tell me?

That feeling that’s haunted me for years comes back with a vengeance. That little voice in my head telling me I should have fought more, that I should have done things differently. If I had gone about things a different way, would whatever happened to her have happened? Or could I have prevented it?

“I’m sorry, Marco,” Alec says, momentarily startling me. I forgot he was still on the phone. I grunt before hanging up. He knows me by now, so he’ll know that I didn’t do it to be a dick and that I just need quiet.

I guess I’ll just have to hope with everything I have that Sloane will come around one day, and if she does, hope that one day she’ll eventually trust me enough to tell me herself.

I just wish I could erase my mistakes of the past so we never had this distance between us in the first place.

Chapter Seventeen

---