Page 69 of Diamonds & Deception

“Drake—”

“No. I’m not listening to your lies, Nora. You fooled me from the beginning. Hell, even our first meeting with your fake dog was a lie. You’re good.” He lets out a sarcastic laugh. “And I was desperate enough to fall for it. For you. But once my trust has been betrayed, I don’t give it back. Especially when someone is so skilled at lying.”

I wrap my hand around his arm to stop him from leaving. “I never lied about my feelings for you. Yes, I pretended to be someone else, but everything else was genuine.”

“Was it really?” He turns to me, his dark eyes cold. “When I told you about being dumped because I was from the wrong side of the tracks when I told you how I didn’t like to tell women about my job because I was hurt in the past and didn’t want to be taken advantage of again, you sympathized. Empathized. And lied to my face. You’re no better than them. Sure, you weren’t after my bank account, but you thought I was a fucking murderer, and yet, you still fucked me. I’m not interested in a woman who uses her body to get information.”

Tears stream down my face, and I squeeze his arm harder to prevent him from walking away. “My feelings for you are real, Drake. I... care about you.”

“Don’t.” He rips his arm away and points an angry finger in my face. “Don’t do this, Nora. I put my feelings aside and came to you when I heard about Lenora. I honestly felt bad for you. I don’t know why. I let you into my sacred place,again,andagainyou betray me by going behind my back.”

“You want full disclosure?” I release his arm and square my shoulders. “I was jealous. I saw you in your tux and wished I hadn’t been so stupid. So blind. I wished I had never pretended to be Lenora and had approached you as me, Carly’s sister, looking for answers. I wished I could take back all my mistakes and we could start over. And I was incredibly jealous at the possibility that you were going to be with another woman. When Trey took Daisy out, I went down to the ballroom—”

“You what?” His head snaps back in shock. “I told you not to leave.”

“I’m not going to be treated like a prisoner. I saw you dancing with her, and my heart, already broken from my own mistakes, shattered into a million pieces. I saw the way she laughed with you, the way she looked at you. I pulled up the picture to see who she was. I didn’t do it because I don’t trust you or believe you have anything to do with Carly’s murder. I did it because I wanted to be her. I wanted to be in your arms, dancing and laughing.”

I can barely see him through the curtain of tears, but I hold my stiff posture, refusing to back down.

He drops his chin to his chest and shakes his head. “She was my first love.” Drake opens the door and without turning around, leaves.

***

FUCK.I can’t do this. I can’t let my emotions, or my dick, make decisions for me. I need to trust my brain, and my brain tells me to run. To lock Nora up and keep her safe and away from me until I figure out how to handle this problem.

Hell. Murder, two of them, three, actually, isn’t aproblem.I’m rude and dismissive to Nancy, which is not like me, and I instantly regret it when I ignore her, pushing my way into my office and slamming the door.

I tug at my hair and pace, then go back out and apologize. “I’m sorry, Nancy. Things are a shitshow right now. Why don’t you go home? Take tomorrow off as well? You don’t need to be a victim to my terrible mood.”

“I have two teenagers at home, Mr. Reynolds. I’ve seen explosive moods, trust me.” She goes back to whatever she’s doing on her computer.

“I apologize in advance for my temper. When this is all over, I’ll give you an extra week’s vacation. Or double your salary. Or whatever the hell you want. Write up a new contract and I’ll sign.”

She stops typing and looks up at me with a sad smile. “What can I do to help?”

“I don’t want to get you involved.”

“It’s the Donahue family, isn’t it?”

She’s my assistant, but there are parts of my work I keep from her, not wanting the risk of anything dirty touching her.

“What do you know of them?”

“What everyone knows.” She lifts a shoulder. “Micky and Eddie are scum. Martin and Owen are relatively clean.”

“Eddie’s been causing problems.”

“I heard he’s been banned from the casino. I can’t see any guests complaining about his banishment.”

“No, but with it comes a lot of...”

“Got it. He’s evil. You don’t think...?” She doesn’t have to say it. We’ve all been thinking it.

“The Aces will be here soon. Please don’t disturb us unless it’s a dire emergency.” I trust her to know the difference.

“Yes, sir.”

I go back into my office and take in a few minutes of solitude before the guys join me for an emergency meeting. First, I text Nolan asking him to arrange twenty-four security in front of my penthouse door. No one goes in or out except the four of us. It’ll piss off Nora, but she’s already more than angry at me anyway.

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