Page 51 of Don't Lie To Me

He closes the gap between us. “I think you do.”

“What?” I glance at Onyx, wondering what the fuck is going on. His piercing eyes are fixated on Reef in a threatening way that makes me think there really is more going on here. “I’ve never heard that name before in my life.”

“How about you show me your ID so we can tick you off the list of suspects.”

I feel Onyx stiffen beside me, his muscles taut, and I glance his way, a knot of worry tightening in my stomach. Does he just feel out of control, or does he know something I don’t?

I push down the panic, knowing now’s not the time to crumble. I don’t know anything about this girl. What’s the worst that could happen if I show him my ID? “Happily, I have nothing to hide. It’s in my office.”

“Lead the way.” His piercing gaze fixes on Onyx. “Alone. With your hands still above your head,” he demands, and fuck if his dominance doesn’t turn me on just a little.

“I… I need a swipe card,” I stutter, losing my edge. The way he’s looking at me is unnerving.

“You can take mine.” Romeo shows him he’s reaching into his pocket for the card. He hands it to me cooly, not at all flustered under the threat of this situation. Reef watches him, scanning his face in a way that confuses me.

I step out of the line and walk toward my office, with Reef closely behind me. Swiping us through, we walk down the long corridor tomy office. The silence between us is almost deafening. Once I swipe us through to my office, I flick on the light and turn back toward him. “If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do is ask. You really didn’t need to go to so much trouble.” I grin at him playfully, trying to lighten the somber mood he has created.

But his serious expression, set like stone, doesn’t change even once we’re alone, and I get a sinking feeling.

“Reef, you’re scaring me,” I whisper, not sure what to make of this. Was every interaction we had in the past a lie and he’s really been getting to know me so he can somehow fuck me over for his job? If that was the case, why would he have warned me they were coming tonight?

His kind eyes meet mine, softening a little. “I didn’t want to do this out there in front of your staff and the rest of my crew.”

“Do what?”

From his pocket, he produces a piece of paper, a birth certificate.Mybirth certificate according to the name printed on it. “This is a fake, Sloane.”

I take a step back from him, my heart kicking up a beat. “What are you talking about?” When he doesn’t answer, I snatch the paper from him, looking it over. It appears perfectly normal to me. “I got my license with this. No one ever said it wasn’t real before, this is legit,” I snap back, panic filling my voice.

I see a flash of sympathy in his eyes, then pity. “You really don’t know?” he asks, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as his eyes search my face for answers.

My heart hammers out of control in my chest, trying to process what he’s saying or not saying.

“You’re the missing girl, Ava Kingsley. It’s you, Sloane.” His voice holds a deathly serious edge, one that sends a shiver down my spine.

My eyes meet his, and I stumble back, hitting my desk with a thud. “W… what?” I stutter out, confusion swirling through my brain.

He produces more papers, laying them down on my desk in front of me. You’re a missing person; you have been since you were four. I have been following your case for years. It was a big deal at the time when you were taken, because of the high-profile position your father held. When the vice president is assassinated in his home and his child kidnapped, the story doesn’t die even after twenty-one years. Just today this intel came across my desk, Sloane. My boss wants this case solved, and I knew I had to intervene. This is you, I’m sure of it.”

I collect up the image, an artist impression of a girl who looks an awful lot like me. Then a photo of a little girl she couldn’t be any older than four. She has wispy white-blonde hair in pigtails and a sweet little pink dress on. She’s held in the arms of a woman who looks like she could be my identical twin. I drop the image like it just burned me. I can’t be that girl. The missing daughter of the vice president.

“Sir, we have searched the premises, no sign of the girl,” comes through his radio transmission. “All rooms are empty. I will gather the team and head on out.”

“Copy that,” Reef says back to him through the radio. Then his attention comes back to me. “I’m not sure why yet, but Commissioner Sedgwick has poured a lot of her resources into this case. She wants the missing girl found as a matter of urgency. And for whatever reason, she believes this club has something to do with her disappearance. She ordered the search tonight, she’s seen this image. Sloane, I could lose my job for coming to you and covering up what I have found. But fuck, that girl is you, isn’t it?”

I stare back at him, not wanting to give away that I’m actually freaking the fuck out right now. “It’s just a witch hunt. We don’t know anything,” I reply, my voice uneasy.

“Look over the papers, I think you will see what I did. A DNA test would prove it.” His hand comes to my waist, his eyes filled with sadness for me. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this. But if you are that girl, you could be in danger. I needed you to know before anyone else worked it out.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, not sure if I can look at those papers again. What he is saying is too much to process. I can’t be this girl they are searching for. I’m Sloane Stryker. I grew up here, this is my home. I have four big brothers, a twin. I looked like my mom, well, we had similar features anyway. “I’m not her,” I whisper, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.

“I think we both know you are.” He watches me, his hand tangling into mine. “If you need me, I’m here for you. Your secret is safe with me, but the longer it takes you to come to terms with this, the more danger you could be in. If our squad is already getting close, someone else could work it out as well.”

I pull my hand free, his kindness not what I need. “I don’t need your help,” I seethe, stalking away from him, my gaze dark and dangerous warning him to stay the fuck away from me. “You have a job to do, do it.”

“Sloane,” he calls after me, but I’m already halfway down the hall.

Shoving my way back into the main bar, Reef slinks past me, glancing back over his shoulder just once before he rejoins his SWAT crew. I don’t wait for them to leave before I take a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf and pour myself a glass. My hands shake uncontrollably as the liquid fills the tumbler.Help me. Fuck him, he never wanted to help me. He wants to be some big hero for his new boss, bring in the missing girl they’re all searching for. Well, I’m not her.

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