Page 41 of Cutter

No such luck. Newton stopped chatting. “Going out again so soon? Planning on doing any work today?”

Son of a bitch.She’d snap at Newton if it would make any difference. That would show he bothered her, though, and the jerk would tease her even more.

As she walked past the main doors, her phone buzzed again.

“Hi.” She used her sweetest voice.

“I’m inside a store. Can you hear me now?”

“Yep. Loud and clear.”

“Morning, kitten.”

Oh, that sexy tone of his soothed her irritation and melted her insides.

“Morning,” she murmured.

“Listen. I’m running an important errand and don’t have much time. I need a favor from you. Can you talk for a moment? Is it safe?”

“It is,” she replied.

“The Chaos are throwing a party tonight for the Oquendo men. Barron, who wasn’t thinking clearly, asked Yoanni to the party. After I spoke to him, he called to change their plans, but she hung up on him before he could finish. You, better than anyone, know why she can’t go. Could you explain to Yoanni? Barron likes her a lot and is worried she won’t understand.”

Some of last night’s anger returned. With the help of wine, Emily had processed her disappointment and had come to a reasonable conclusion. Hearing him speak now vexed her again.

“Kitten? You’re not talking.”

“I wish you would’ve been honest last night and told me. Instead, I had to find out about this damned party from a very excited and happy Yoanni. You want my trust? What about yours?”

Wow, she hadn’t intended to slam him so hard, but her emotions had just…bubbled out.

“You’re right.” His tone was clipped.

“Good. We understand each other,” she continued, undaunted.

“I didn’t want to dump that information on you last night. It was getting late, and I wanted you to have a peaceful night. I decided to hold off until today. I didn’t take into account how Yoanni’s excitement would trigger your insecurities.”

A long silence followed. She heard him breathe on the other side.

“I’ll never hide important information from you, and I don’t lie. You might not agree with my methods. That’s your prerogative. If you want me to quit the investigation, speak now. Since I promised to help you and I always keep my word, I’ll stayas your undercover informant with no attachment between us. But if you still want this Daddy, remember: I’ll never hurt you. Your safety and happiness are all I think about. And what I say goes.”

“I—”

“Hush. Daddy’s talking. Stop interrupting and listen. We’re involved in a complicated, tricky situation. Since I’m the expert here and it’s my ass hanging out on the line, I’ll have to move and shift according to the danger. So cut me some slack and try to have a little faith. Here’s fair warning, Emily. Next time you’re tempted to criticize Daddy’s actions, think twice. Or be prepared for… I have to go.”

She swallowed hard. He’d leftbe prepared forhanging. But to her, the meaning was pretty clear.

“Daddy?”

“We’ll talk later.”

Emily lost track of time as she stood staring at her phone’s dark screen. She had done it again, allowed her silly insecurities to torpedo her good sense and nearly ruin the best thing life had put in front of her. And this, right after she’d given Yoanni that big speech about assertiveness and confidence.

Ha!

As she slipped her phone back into her pocket, an odd sensation, a feeling of someone watching, struck her. Casually, she turned toward the station’s front gate and found no one. But out of the corner of her right eye, something moved. She looked at it straight on.

Still, nothing but empty space.

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