Page 58 of Cruel Secrets

He scoffs, looking too confident with himself as he pulls out his pack of cigarettes and shakes out another. “I don’t think so. You’re loud. If there was anything worth being jealous over, I would’ve heard it.”

My mouth drops open, even as I press my thighs together. “You’re horrible. You know that?”

“Maybe.” He tucks the carton away and pulls out a lighter, cupping one hand around the cigarette against the wind.

I’m tempted to pull the cigarette from him and stomp it out the second he has it lit. Just to annoy him.

And then the other part of me wants to drag him back to bed where he could help me warm up. Maybe spend the rest of the night in bed, showing him exactly how loud I can be if he knows what I’m doing.

Royce chuckles, his lips ghosting over the shell of my ear. “You know, if you don’t get that look off your face, I’m going to abandon the dead bodies to spend more time with you.”

“And just like that, the mood was killed.” I pat his chest. “Thank you for that.”

He drags my earlobe between his teeth, holding the cigarette far away. “Says the woman who walked out here without pants. Were you hoping I was going to talk about my problems and then fuck you up against the tree, Gia?”

“As tempting as that is, don’t you remember the bark burns I had on my ass from the last time you did that?”

His eyes sparkle with amusement as he flicks the cigarette. “Maybe.”

“Either way, not happening.”

“That’s fine. I still have the bodies to deal with.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You haven’t gotten rid of them yet? You burned a set of clothing and now you’re about to go get another set dirty?”

“They’re mostly wrapped in a tarp now. Dirt on my clothing makes doing yard work and not burying bodies believable.” He puts out the cigarette and tucks his hands into my pockets.

“Want some help?”

“No.” Royce nods to the house. “You would be better off in there with Matt and Bianca. The more you can claim you didn’t know about all of this, the better.”

I give him a flat look. “You told me their names and that you killed them.”

“And you’re still not going to come out and help me. I can handle this without you. I’ve been doing it since I was old enough to kill.”

“You don’t have to do it on your own.”

“You’re not wearing pants!”

I look down at my legs, but they’ve gone numb to the cold already. “It’s fine. My not wearing pants hasn’t been a problem for you before.”

He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “If I don’t let you come with me, you’re probably going to come out and try to find me, aren’t you?”

“I’m glad you know me so well.”

“Go put on pants. I’ll wait here.”

I eye him, but it looks like he’s telling the truth. There’s no crinkle at the corner of his eyes or twitch in his upper lip.

Maybe he realizes that I need this.

I have to see the men I allowed into my home. The pair who were sworn to protect me and my daughter.

I need to see for myself that they’re dead.

Hurrying into the house, I take the stairs two at a time to the bedroom.

As I tug on a pair of fleece-lined leggings, I hop around the room, trying to pull them all the way up.

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