Page 45 of Don't Lie To Me

His face grows more serious. “I swear, Sloane, I didn’t do this. Sure, I wanted to knock his head off when he kissed you right in front of me, but I’m not into creepy shit like this. I handle my problems like a man.”

I stare back at him, a knot tightening in my chest, wishing he was lying. But unfortunately, I don’t think he is. He did genuinely look shocked when he saw the images and what they said on the back, so unless he’s an excellent actor, this was someone else. “W… What, does it say, it’s Italian, right?”

“My girl. I’m coming for you, my girl.”He reads the back of the image.

A cold shiver slithers down my spine. If it wasn’t him, who?

He leans into my desk with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Don’t tell me you’ve never received stalker mail before. In your job you must get shit like this all the time. It’s why you have Onyx following you around, isn’t it?”

My foggy brain can’t process this shit today. My heart starts to race as panic takes over. “Stalker mail, no. We vet our VIPs very carefully. If anyone pulled shit like that on me or my girls, they wouldn’t get back in this place. Enzo used to threaten me with all sorts of shit, but we both know this isn’t him.”

“Well, someone has taken a liking to you. Someone other than Detective Wilder, your bodyguard, and me.” His lips twist at the sides.

I stare back at him, trying to process what he is saying. Firstly, that he’s admitting to liking me. Secondly, he knows about Onyx? What the fuck does he know! “Are you spying on me?” I snap back, ready to have it out with him all over again. This man is infuriating in so many ways.

He not so subtly checks his watch. “We really should start discussing what’s on the agenda for today,” he says, changing the subject.

“Answer me, Romeo. You know way too much about me. What, have you got hidden cameras in my damn apartment or something?” I fire back at him, needing to know.

He circles my desk, like a predator stalking its prey. His movements are slow and deliberate as I scurry to the opposite side, the desk a solid barrier between us, my heart racing a little faster. “I told you, Sloane, I’m very perceptive. I pick up on cues people give, and you’re too easy to read.” His eyes lock with mine, like he’s trying to read into the depths of my soul. I don’t like it. “We both know those marks weren’t from the detective, he went home alone, but you… You had company, didn’t you? Onyx walked you in safely, doing his job like a good boy. Until he decided to stick his dick in you. I wonder what your brothers would think about that betrayal of their trust?”

I match his intensity, giving zero away. “Nothing because nothing happened,” I snap.

From across the table he lunges, snatching up my wrist, forcing papers to go flying across my desk as I’m pulled toward him. “Don’t lie to me, doll face. I see right through you.” His other hand comes to my face, cupping my chin as he stares at me with a longing that scares me. He licks his bottom lip slowly as if he’s imagining the way I taste.

I swallow the lump in my throat, remembering what it was like to have his lips on mine, his body controlling mine, and his dick buried so damn deep inside of me. Oh fuck, I’m so damn screwed when it comes to him.

“I won’t tell your secrets, Sloane. We’re business partners, I want you to trust me.” He finally lets me go and walks toward the velvet sofa, taking a seat as if that altercation never happened.

I’m left rubbing my wrist and trying to get my racing pulse under control before I have a fucking heart attack.

“I’ll give you five minutes to collect yourself, then we start for the day.” He pulls out a laptop that I didn’t see him come in here with. The fucker has been in my office without me. I want to bite out at him again but today has already gotten too far out of control. This isn’t about me. This is about keeping my girls safe, and in order to do that, I have to find a way to work with him. Even if I hate it.

I slink into my attached bathroom, pacing, not sure what to do about all of this. I wish I could leave for lunch with Harley right now. Because by myself for the first time in my life, I have nothing to go off, no answers of how to get myself out of this predicament. I’m not that girl, the one who lets men have any power over her, but Romeo has something over me, so does Onyx, and if my response to the detective last night is anything to go off, he has an unexplainable hold on me as well. I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I need to swallow some concrete and harden the hell back up. Start thinking with my head and not my flustering heart—or is it my needy pussy. One tasteof cock and she’s willing to throw away years of my hard work. Nope, it’s not going to happen.

In the top drawer, I find my bottle of pills and pop two in my mouth, swallowing them down with a sip of water from the sink. Calmly, I reapply my lipstick and fix my ponytail. You can do this because you are Sloane fucking Stryker and you can do anything, I tell myself, making sure to straighten my shoulders and lift my head up high. Deal with one issue at a time, Sloane, and don’t let Romeo rattle you. Just because I screwed him doesn’t mean he’s got something over me. I hold all the power here because I know for a fact he wants me again.

With that knowledge up my sleeve, I stride back into the room, collect a notepad from my desk and a pen, then take the seat opposite a smirking Romeo. “Where do you want to start?” I ask with more confidence than I have right now. But I’m nothing if not a good actress, so here goes.

His fingers fly across his keyboard, a rhythmic tapping filling the silence before he glances up at me like I was somehow interrupting him. “This VIP event you’re hosting next weekend, how does it work?”

“It’s a masquerade event held in the VIP section of the strip club, with anonymity being the key, allowing some of our more high-profile VIPs to indulge in their darkest desires without fear of recognition. The men will mingle with a selection of our best girls, and by the end of the night, all of our private rooms will be booked out. We have run similar events before and they always prove to be very lucrative for all involved.”

“Interesting, can anyone who is a VIP attend?” The way he looks at me, his eyes running down my body, makes me want to slap him.

“You are not a VIP,” I snap back at him, knowing exactly what he is implying. He wants me back in one of the private rooms with him. He never gives up.

“I’m sure I could afford the membership.”

I purse my lips, a thin line of disapproval forming across my face. “I’m sure you could as well, but there is no way anyone who runs this place is attending the event. It’s unprofessional.”

“There is always an exception, though, isn’t there, Sloane?” He smirks, and I know he’s talking about my slip-up. The biggest mistake of my life and I’m going to pay for it forever.

I sit up straighter. “This event is one of the highest money makers for the girls all year, it’s extremely important to the club, and everything has to run smoothly.”

“Money makers for the girls?” he asks, and I see I have just wiped the cheeky smirk off his face.

“Yes, they keep whatever offer they have placed on them.”

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