Page 92 of Don't Lie To Me

I’m not sure what to make of any of it. Next, I type in my birth father’s name. Jagger gave it to me two days ago, along with any other information he could find on my birth family, but until now, I have been reluctant to look any deeper into my past. But if he has something to do with this asshole hunting me down, I need to know.

My search for Daniel Kingsley, brings up more newspaper stories than my search for Orlando, most of them linked to his assassination. There are conspiracy theories about his links to the mafia, but from what I can see, nothing was ever proven. For the most part he was a much-loved vice president, living the high life with his beautiful wife and baby girl. There are photos of us all together, but I have to skip over them. It’s too hard to see and makes me feel physically ill, knowing what happened to them in the end. What the hell were his secrets and why would someone do this to keep them quiet?

Chapter 35

Aslighttapcomesat the door, and I freeze. I was so deep in my investigation that the noise jolts me.

“Sloane, it’s Romeo, let me in.” His voice sends warmth over me, calming my anxiety instantly. Fucking finally, one of them is back. I was beginning to worry. I rush over to the door and swing it open. He moves into the office, closing the door behind him.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, wondering where Reef and Onyx are.

“Sure, doll face,” he says, the words tight and strained, a tension underlying his casual tone. “The problem is dealt with. I’m sure they will be back soon. Onyx suggests I take you home and they will follow us out.” Something about him makes me feel uneasy all of a sudden. Why would Onyx let him take me home?

I tilt my head to the side, taking him in properly. His suit is messed up, but that’s to be expected if he’s just moved a body. Is it the research I was doing on his family, have I put this idea in my head, or is it more than that? Something’s off, I’m sure of it. “Romeo, what is it, is there something I need to worry about?”

“I’ll let the boys know you’re coming with me.” He removes his phone from his pocket, typing out a message. As he’s doing it, all the motherfucking lights go out.

“Not tonight. Are you kidding me?” I mutter under my breath. My heart kicks up a beat, the darkness of my office only broken by thelight shining off his phone. His expression shifts, a fleeting glimpse of something unreadable in his eyes.

“Come on, doll face, let’s get out of here,” he mutters, his voice low, almost threatening.

I take a shaky step away from him, not sure what is going on, but knowing something is not right. This event is just as important to him as it is to me, or at least I thought it was. “We need to get the lights back on or our event will be ruined,” I snap back at him.

He closes the gap with one large stride, placing his phone down; its soft glow illuminates his face, allowing me to see him clearly. His hands come to my body, one firmly holding my ass while the other comes to my neck carefully as he inhales deeply. “Your safety is my top priority.”

Anxiety swirling through my mind prevents me from relaxing enough to truly connect with him. I push against his chest, the muscles hard beneath my palms, but he doesn’t move an inch.

His gaze is intense as he peers down at me. “Don’t fret about your precious club, doll face. We have other plans for tonight, ones that don’t involve some sadistic piece of shit getting his hands on you. One of the girls can handle it for you, right?”

I shove at his chest, my hands stinging against the hard, unyielding surface. It’s like trying to move a solid brick wall. “What the hell are you going on about, Romeo?”

A wave of darkness washes over him. “The only thing that’s important tonight is getting you to safety,” his voice growls out, angry and frustrated. Like I have tipped him over the edge.

My pulse quickens, a frantic drum against my ribs, as a cold dread settles in my stomach. What the hell isn’t he saying right now? “W…what? What happened out there?” I stutter.

“Why must you fight me on everything? Can’t you just trust that I’m doing all I can to protect you? You can either come with me easilyand walk out of this place hand in hand or we can do it the hard way and I carry out your unconscious body. Either way, you’re leaving here with me tonight.”

I slap him harder, trying to get some leverage on him, some space. “I don’t know what fucking game you’re playing tonight, Romeo, but this shit isn’t going to fly. I get that you want to keep me safe, but fuck, the club needs its power back on or all the girls we have working here won’t be safe. It’s my duty to make sure they get home to their families first. Get your gun and we can head out back and check the meter.”

His large hands firmly encircle my wrist, his touch jarring as he scoops them up in a firm hold. “Sorry, doll face, I’m the one dishing out orders tonight, not you. We don’t have time to play around.”

I stare back at him, dumbfounded. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into him tonight, but I’m not standing for this shit. He’s gone way too far. “Get off me, fucker.” I bring my knee up, aiming for his balls, but he anticipates me and moves just in time, spinning me around to face the wall. As I struggle against him, he captures my hands behind my back and clamps something hard and cold over my wrist. “A little present from Reef. I knew you wouldn’t come easily,” he whispers in my ear, sending goosebumps over my skin. “You never like to make things easy, do you, doll face, fighting me over every damn thing.”

He pins me to the wall, his weight pressing down, and I feel him pull something else from his pocket. From the flash of his phone light, I see a syringe. Oh, fuck, he really is going to knock me out.

I break into a cold sweat. I try to think quickly. If I’m out of it, I’m fucked and have no chance of fixing anything. “I’m sorry, Romeo, I was just messing around. I know how much you like to play games, it was just a bit of fun. I’ll go with you now, if that’s what you want,” I lie, trying to get him back on my side. It’s like he has flipped a crazyswitch. Maybe he is more like his papa than he let on. Or maybe the sight out there in the streets was too much to take, knowing the threat that I’m next.

He freezes, the harsh glow of his phone illuminating his face as he studies me. “Good girl.” His gaze lingers on me as he pulls back slightly, making me feel vulnerable. Then he delicately removes my bracelet, dropping it to my desk.

“What are you doing?” I stutter.

“It was sweet of Onyx to have you tracked at all times, but where we’re going, you won’t need his gift.”

I stare back at him, my heart thumping, feeling the loss of my gift already. Onyx was tracking me with that bracelet?

Romeo wraps an arm around my waist, directing me through my office, and I wish with every damn thing inside of me that I didn’t place my gun on my desk and instead it was still strapped to my thigh. “We might just leave these on for safekeeping.” He tugs on the handcuffs. “Don’t want you getting away, not now that I finally have my hands on you.” His lips press into the side of my face with a soft kiss that sends my pulse into overdrive. What the hell did he mean by that? He’s had his hands on me all week.

As we push out into the hallway, I can hear the chaos going on inside the other spaces of the club with the lights out. Fuck, I should be in there helping them fix this mess. I try to fight against him, knowing now is my chance to make a run for it.

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