Page 74 of Lie to Me

I tilt my head to look at him. My gut is screaming at me, telling me that he’s being truthful. But if that’s the case, then why the fuck does all evidence point towards him? I share a look with Luca and I can tell from the expression on his face that he’s thinking the same as I am.

I’m just about to open my mouth to tell Luca to call Izzy when my phone rings. My brows furrow, knowing that anyone who would usually call me knows I’m busy, so there’s only one reason someone would interrupt and call right now. Pulling the phone out my pocket, my pulse skyrockets when I see Jace’s name flash across the screen. Why the fuck is Sloane’s bodyguard calling me? I swear, if something is wrong, I’m going to level that city to the ground.

“What’s wrong?” I bark as I accept the call.

“Sloane is fine,” he starts, and the tension in my shoulders drops, “but something happened.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sloane

Present

“Baby, wake up.” Marco’s softly spoken words pull me from my sleep and my eyes flutter open to find him standing over me with a look of concern on his face.

I shift and sit up, finding myself on his couch.

I had left work and wanted to stop by my apartment for some extra things, only when I got there, I found the building on fire. Everything I owned that I didn’t pack to come here is gone. I was a mess knowing that the place I had come to love had gone and I must have crashed as soon as I got back here. Jace called Marco when we were on our way here to let him know what had happened, and it seems like he took the first flight back from Chicago.

“Hey,” I murmur. “How did it go?”

He shakes his head and gathers me in his arms, picking me up and carrying me through the apartment to his bedroom. He sets me down on the bed, gets us both undressed, and climbs in beside me before pulling me into his body. Only then does he finally answer my question.

“It was a dead end. The guy didn’t have a clue what we were talking about, it wasn’t him. We think whoever is doing this used him to distract us so they could go after your apartment,” he mumbles into my hair and takes a deep breath. “We think you were supposed to be inside. You’ve changed your schedule recently, but if it was your usual shifts at work and if you hadn’t been staying here, you would have been home.”

I tense as the realization of just how serious this is getting hits me. This isn’t just thinly veiled threats left in notes under my door anymore. This is someone actively trying to kill me.

“It gets worse,” he grunts. “See, Enzo likes blowing shit up, and whenever he does, you can usually tell it’s him from the way he does it. It’s no secret, either. This had the same signature, but I swear to you Sloane, it w—”

“It wasn’t Enzo,” I interrupt. There’s no way his brother would do that to him.

“No, it wasn’t. We think they’re still trying to pit us and your brother against each other. Finn met us at your building when we went to take a look. He was the one who pointed out that it looked like Enzo’s work, but even he knew that Enzo would never do a thing to harm you. Enzo just about lost his shit at the thought of anyone thinking it was him who did it. He already sees you as part of the family,” he says with a chuckle, and I find myself smiling.

“I’m sorry this is happening, you didn’t have to rush back,” I whisper.

He sighs. “Not your fault, little warrior. I needed to be here for you, to make sure you were okay and see you with my own eyes.I needed to hear your voice. I’m here, Sloane. You’re not alone anymore, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Of that, I’m sure.

“Ihave a surprise for you,” Marco murmurs as he takes a sip from his coffee.

It’s 6:00 a.m. in the morning, is the surprise that I can go back to bed?

“You woke me up at an ungodly hour on the first day off I’ve had in days. You could at least supply me with more coffee before you start talking,” I grunt, and he chuckles.

“You used to use every trick in the book to get me to talk, now you’re complaining?”

He has a point. Since I’ve come back, he’s so much more open than he used to be.

“Yeah, what’s with that, anyway?”

He tilts his head to the side as though he’s contemplating something before approaching me where I sit on the counter. He steps between my legs and runs his palms up my bare thighs, since I’m only wearing one of his shirts.

“I promised myself that if I ever got another chance with you, I’d do everything I can to be worthy of you. I don’t want you to wish I would talk to you more, so I’m making a conscious effort to talk to you more, to be more attentive, to show you I love you.”

I sigh and wrap my arms around him before pressing a kiss to his cheek and pulling back to look him in the eye. “I don’t want you to be someone you’re not for me, Marco. I want you exactly as you are. I wanted you then and I want you now. You don’t need to change, and you certainly don’t need to make any effortto be more attentive. That’s not something you’ve ever struggled with.”

“But I do need to show you how much I love you. You spent ten years thinking that our entire relationship was a lie, so I have a lot to make up for,” he mutters.

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