Page 80 of Don't Lie To Me

My heart kicks up a beat because I know he’s right, and I hate him for it. I hate that I have gotten myself into this situation. But right now, I don’t trust myself. I would run from this place and straight into danger just to prove he wasn’t right. If they hadn’t taken my pills off me, I would still be taking more than I should be, just so I can cope with all the demons in my head.

His face softens. “Youcan’t, can you?”

My face hardens, and I glare back at him. “I trust myself, of course I do,” I snap back. One thing I learned long ago from him was never to show any signs of weakness.

“Okay, prove it. Let’s see where this morning takes us.”

My eyes narrow in on him. What kind of test is this? “I don’t have anything to prove to you. I’m going to get on with my day as normal. I have the women’s health center opening this morning, then final preparations for our VIP event at the club this afternoon.”

His brow rises and his lips form a thin line. “Sloane, we’re not leaving this place until your stalker is located and taken care of. Your brothers are hunting him down, but until I get the call, I’m sorry to say you’re stuck here.”

My face turns icy cold. “Like fuck I’m staying here day in and out. Have you forgotten who you work for?”

“I work for your brother. You’re not my boss, Sloane. And we have decided this is for the best.”

My fists ball, and I search the room for something to fucking hurt him with. “Fuck you. You know what? Whatever this was between us, it’s done. I’m not having you control my every move, or my fucking brother for that matter. I’m going to take a shower, and when I get out, you better be ready to take me wherever the hell I want to go,” I snap back at him, every word getting angrier as I go.

“Or what, trouble? You don’t hold the power here.”

“Or I’m going to make your life hell.” A bitter laugh escapes me. “You think you can happily go about your day without me? Good, because you no longer get to touch me. I really hope you can get all you need watching, Onyx, because you’re going to have to watch a lot of me with your two buddies. I have years of fun to make up for, and I intend to do every depraved thing under the sun with Reef and Romeo.”

I feel the way his body tenses, and I know I have him. Not giving him a second to recover and come back at me, I shove out of his grip on me and stalk for the shower, slamming the bathroom door behind me. It vibrates so hard I think the mirror is going to fall off the wall. I flick the lock, needing to block him and his bullshit out.

Sucking in ragged breaths, I try to get my anger under control. I’m not sure if I’m about to burst into tears again or lose it completely and start stabbing shit. All I know is I feel more out of control than ever. Onyx and I don’t fight, we never have. Maybe he was right, we never should have fucked in the first place. It’s turned our relationship upside down in a way we can’t come back from. With a sniff, I suck back the threatening tears, and I turn on the shower, my hands shaky as hell from that ridiculous confrontation. But how fucking dare he. I step under the spray, making sure to get my hair wet as well. I need to scrub every inch of my skin to get rid of this icky feeling I’m left with. Why does he and every other man in my life have to be so damn infuriating.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, the bathroom door is ripped from its hinges, splintering wood flying everywhere. Onyx stands in the space, raging like the fucking hulk.

I jump in fright; he’s gone motherfucking crazy.

His eyes, filled with a burning rage, meet mine. “Don’t fucking lock me out again,” he growls like a demon before storming away, his loud footsteps echoing down the hall.

I finish my shower in a rush, too pissed to even enjoy it. Fuck. Every bit of the control I used to have over my life is slowly being stripped away. Even if it was just an illusion, a lie, at least I thought I had somecontrol. Now I know these assholes are running my life, but they have another thing coming if they think I will just lie down and take it.

I wrap a towel around my middle and carefully pick up the heavy bathroom door, resting it against the bedroom wall so I can move back into my bedroom. Without even getting dressed, I find my phone on the dresser and send out a quick text to Harley.

SLOANE: Sis, I know today is massive for you, but I need your help.

HARLEY: Anything for you, girl, you know that.

SLOANE: I need to talk to Alex this morning. Can you get him to set it up with Onyx and make sure it’s at your grand opening? I don’t want to miss it, girl.

HARLEY: Done, I’ll have him call Onyx and organize it shortly. You better spill when you get here, I need to know it all.

SLOANE: If we can get five seconds alone!

She loves my message, and I place my phone back on the side table, knowing what I’m doing is a little manipulative, but fuck it. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I know she will forgive me.

Opening my bag, I find it empty. I move through the room to the walk-in closet and discover my clothes neatly arranged, along with several additional items not present the previous night. The new items are untouched and fresh, the tags still attached. What the hell? I take one of the short black skirts and a white silk blouse and slip them on. On a shelf I find a pair of low-slung ankle boots and I pull them on as well. I fix my make-up and style my hair, sleek and straight flowingdown my back, taking control of anything I possibly can to get myself through the morning.

As I walk past my bedroom door, the absence of the handle is a stark, unsettling sight, and a fresh wave of anger slithers over me. Fucking Onyx and his control issues.

I waltz into the main living room, trying to appear calm despite the heated argument Onyx and I just had.

I find him sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop, his body so tense it looks like he’s about to pop a tooth. I wonder if he just got a call from Alex. Fuck, I hope so.

Reef slides a fresh tall, black coffee across the countertop to me, along with two little white pills, dropping a sneaky kiss to my cheek as he does.

“Thanks.” I smile at him brightly. At least one of them seems to be on my side and willing to help a girl out.

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