Page 61 of Don't Lie To Me

“I understand.” I bite into my lip, trying to work out the best way to go around this. “Can you try keep it on the down low? I don’t want this getting out. Whoever this poor girl is, she deserves better. I have no idea why someone is targeting me, but this is sadistic as hell. No one deserves to die like this. And… and I don’t want some asshole thinking his disturbing-ass prank worked. I won’t cower to anyone.”

His hand moves up my arm, cupping my face as he brushes my hair out of my eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you, wildcat.I’m going to catch this asshole and make sure he pays for ever thinking he can mess with you. But first, you need to come down to the station with me for some questions. We need to do this right, make it look by the book. Also, have someone clean up this shit. I don’t want this,” he motions to the mirror, “coming back on you in any way. Jagger is right, someone else knows who you really are.”

I stare back at him, seeing the truth in the depths of his green eyes. I get the impression he plays dirty when it comes to protecting people who are important to him, and for whatever reason, he has put me on that list. He’s not some soft-cock cop. Maybe Jagger was right about him; there is so much more to the detective than meets the eye. Just for good measure and because I truly can’t resist him when he’s all protective of me like this, I pop up on my toes and press my lips to his.

His hand snakes into my hair, and he pulls me into him, devouring me hungrily. I pull him close and kiss him with everything I have. Right now, this man is the only thing making me feel normal. I need to hang on to this moment for as long as he will let me.

Eventually he pulls back with a playful smirk on his lips. “Does the idea of me interrogating you turn you on, wildcat?”

I blink back at him, all flirty. “I had hoped you might consider taking my statement here. Say, next door, perhaps?”

He chuckles playfully. His eyes roam over me a little mischievously, and I think I might just be distracting him enough. “Have you had time to come to terms with who you really are?”

Fuck, the way he looks at me like he could be my hero. He has no idea about this life, none at all.

“Reef, for now I think it’s best if we all pretend like last night didn’t happen. I need your help with this as well. If Commissioner Sedgwick drops anything else on your desk about me, make it disappear. I knowit’s a lot to ask of you, and really you don’t know me all that well, but I’m relying on you to keep me safe here. You’re right, if this information gets into the wrong hands, I’m in big trouble.”

“But you believe me about it?”

I nod, not able to admit in words that it’s true just yet. “I appreciate you coming to me with the information you found.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Sloane. But you have to know one more thing about the case, do with it what you want. From what I can find, the Strykers kidnapped you then murdered your family. The police didn’t have enough evidence to convict anyone at the time, but the man who raised you, Sydney Stryker, is linked to this case. Shame he just disappeared a few years back, so we don’t have any definitive evidence to pin on him.”

Now it’s my turn to stare back at him, confused. What the hell is he on about? “Syd was a piece of shit, but he didn’t have the balls to do something like this.”

“The payday must have been worth the risk. It’s his face on the video surveillance breaking into the mansion where your family lived. I have seen it for myself.”

A cold shiver runs down my spine, knowing what he’s saying could be as much a possibility as what Jagger and Onyx have told me. “Are you positive?”

“Yeah.”

“Why wasn’t there enough evidence at the time?” I ask.

He lets out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping, and I know he’s hiding something from me.

“Please, Reef, I need to know what happened in my past to lead me here. Ever since you dropped that bomb on me, I have been confused as hell. My life has been one big lie, and now I have no idea who I really am.”

His hand falls to my waist, and he pulls me closer to him. He knows he shouldn’t give too much away, but he can’t resist me. “You are going to be big trouble for me.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be, I just need the truth,” I reply, way too flirty. I would like to say it’s an act to get him to comply, but fuck, I can’t help but flirt with him. Especially when he’s so close to me.

He sighs heavily, and I know I have won him over. “We can’t pin the murder on the man who blanked out the cameras. He wasn’t working alone. For a job of that size, there was a team of them, he was just the only one who was stupid enough to get caught on camera. He was questioned at the time, gave some phony story about being the camera repair guy.”

My head drops, and a flash of memories flood my brain. “Syd’s Audio-Visual Repairs. Yeah, I remember the bogus van.”

His eyes light up, and I know I have said more than I should. But so has he. “The murders didn’t happen until over an hour later, making it difficult without any more evidence to pin it on him.” His eyes meet mine. “There is so much more to this story, I’m sure of it. Until we work out exactly what’s going on, I think you should come stay with me.”

I take a step back from him, his hand falling away, the silence heavy between us. “Excuse me?” I blink back at him in shock. Stay with him?

He closes the gap again, his presence suffocating, not giving me the space I need. My back hits the counter as I stare back up at him. Something about his posture is way too powerful in this moment. “Let me keep you safe. You don’t belong here, Sloane. In this life with these people.”

He wants to save me, but he’s wrong, I do belong here. I huff out a laugh. “That’s a real sweet offer, Detective, but I have a bodyguard. I don’t need to uproot my life to stay with some guy I hardly know.”

He takes my hands again. “I’m sorry if you think I overstepped asking you to stay with me. I just… there is something here between us, and every time I walk away from you, I have this fear I will never see you again. It’s messing me up.”

“You’re so intense.” My fingers find his soft hair, running through its strands, less irritated than I should be. Because for some unknown reason, I feel this connection between us as well. It’s why I want to know every damn thing about him. “You just need to realize I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself, Detective. You don’t need to worry about me.”

He glances toward the mirror like he knows he does.

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