Page 11 of The Perfect Lie
He shrugged his shoulders in an I-don’t-know manner, but I knew he was lying and keeping where they went from me. It was beginning to really piss me off. “So, is this how it is going to be? I know you’re lying. Tell me where they went. You do not want to piss me off.”
Calvin must have gotten my drift because his hands went up in surrender. “Okay, okay. They left to check on a lead. Gwen McCall was spotted with your father at the Four Seasons.”
“Wait. Gwen is with my father? That’s not possible. He’s dead.”
“Not that father. Your adopted father, Crosby McCall.” Calvin's expression wasn’t the least bit amusing. Luckily for him, he didn’t add a sarcastic ‘duh’ to his comment.
“Why would Crosby McCall be with Gwen?” I asked, holding back my annoyance. This was so messed up and was getting more unbelievable by the minute. There was no reason for them to be together. They didn’t know each other.
“I think I’ve said enough.” Calvin pushed away from the table and began walking away from me.
“Calvin, please.” He didn’t stop, and I could tell I got his attention since he didn’t turn around. “How does Crosby McCall know Gwen?”
I thought for sure Calvin would tell me, but instead, he continued to walk until he was out of the room. I would never get the answer I needed, at least not from him. Looking behind me, I doubted Calvin would be coming back anything soon unless he wanted to be bombarded with more questions.
As I took a seat at one of the working computers, I typed in the password that Davian had given me, which allowed me to access the Internet and nothing more. The access Davian permitted me to have was more than enough for what I wanted to do. There was only one name that I wanted to search for, and that was of my adopted father. Once I typed his name into the search engine, I didn’t have to wait long before a list of links regarding him appeared. As I moved the pointer down the list, nothing stuck out. Almost every link was related to his galas and charity events against domestic violence. By the time I got to the fifth page of links, I was ready to give up. Nothing in my search tied Crosby McCall to Gwen. Maybe I was going at this the wrong way. Maybe it was Gwen I should be concentrating on. The problem was, I didn’t know her last name.
Deleting my last search, I typed‘Death of Davian Cross’s fiancée’into the search engine. Still, nothing. Trying one more time, I removed the word‘Death’and pressed enter. Link after link appeared. I knew Davian was a celebrity in Atlanta, but I guess I didn’t realize how much. The first two pages showed links to the Regency's construction and the new construction of the Atlantis, which I already knew about.
When I got to the third page, my curiosity piqued. The link that caught my attention read‘Wedding plans underway for Davian Cross.’I hesitated for a moment, wondering if invading his privacy was such a good idea.“You are only trying to find out about your father and Gwen, Reyna. Don’t let anything else get to you,”I thought to myself, realizing that no matter what I found, I would be upset. I had to know, no matter what came up.
Taking a deep breath, I placed the pointer on the link and clicked. At first, I thought my eyes were making me see things that weren’t there. Closing my eyes for a minute, I opened them and refocused on the picture beside the news article. I wasn’t going crazy. Standing next to Davian was Crosby McCall and next to him was a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair and the greenest eyes I had ever seen. I moved my eyes to the caption below the picture and slowly read the words on the screen.Davian Cross (right), Crosby and Delilah McCall (center), and Gwen McCall (left) celebrate the announcement of their wedding to take place midsummer.
~7~
Davian
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked through the doors of the Four Seasons, but seeing Gwen and Crosby McCall wasn’t one of them. When my father called and told me about Gwen and Crosby McCall and the importance of getting to the Four Seasons as soon as possible, I thought he was crazy.
Like they hadn’t a care in the world, Gwen and Crosby sat on a leather couch like they were on some kind of vacation. When I walked over to where they sat, Gwen was the first to look up at me. Her emerald eyes were just as brilliant as I remembered, and I couldn’t shield the effect she still had on me. Feelings sparked inside me that I thought were laid to rest years ago. Reyna was my world now.
Jumping to her feet, Gwen quickly walked toward me. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders and her head fell to my chest. “Davian. Is it really you?”
My gut twisted, and I lost it. “It’s me, princess.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” she breathed against my chest.
What the hell was I supposed to say?That I missed her too? That what we had was over, and there was another woman in my life? Reverting my eyes to Crosby, who arrogantly remained seated on the couch, like he held all the power in his hand, gave me the composure I needed to find out what the hell was going on.
Freeing Gwen’s arms from around my neck, I sidestepped her small frame and made my way to Crosby. He was no longer seated, but standing like he owned every person that worked at the hotel. His smug look unnerved me, which reminded me of the arrogant prick he was.
“What the hell are you doing here, Cross?” he hissed, his expression colder than the North Pole.
“I was just about ready to ask you the same question. Do you mind explaining how a woman can miraculously come to life after being dead for five years?” I could be just as cocky as him. There was no way he could sidestep my question.
“I… I don’t have an answer for that. I am just as surprised as you are that Gwen is alive.”
Back-peddling bastard. He was lying through his teeth. He knew exactly how, after all these years, Gwen showed up. “I think you do. And you are not going to leave until I get a straight answer, even if I have to beat it out of you.”
“Are you threatening me?” His brow formed a straight line masking his beady brown eyes, reminding me of the snake he was.
Damn right, it was a threat. If he knew me at all, he would know that I always made good on my threats. “Don’t push me, Crosby, or you will find out just how serious I am about getting answers.”
“Look, I think we both want answers. Why don’t we let Gwen explain where she was for the last five years?” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was actually clueless. I knew better, though. I didn’t trust anything that came out of his mouth, but just like him, I was willing to play his game.
“I’ll bite. Why don’t we take this somewhere more private? I have a suite available with an open reservation. We can talk there.”
“Fine. Lead the way.” Crosby's arrogance appeared again as he bent over at the waist and swung his arm to the side.
