Page 25 of The Perfect Lie
I wasn’t sure what game he was playing, but I was sitting this one out. “Why is that any business of yours?”
“If you recall, I’m still her father. The ring on Reyna’s finger was a dead giveaway. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” I didn’t give a shit if he noticed or not. All I cared about was getting him out of the suite before he had a chance to talk to Reyna.
“You should leave before Reyna finishes getting dressed. I would hate for her to find out the real truth about you,” I snapped. There was no proof of anything that Patton had found, but he didn’t know that, and right now, it was the only ace card I had.
“Huh… and what would that be, Cross?” A sarcastic grin spread across his face, and I wanted nothing more than to erase it from his face with my fist.
“I hope you aren’t that stupid,” I said. “I don’t have any problem telling Reyna about the activity that goes on at your agency.” Little did he know, Reyna already knew.
The surprised look on Crosby’s face told me I hit a nerve. Threatening him with the truth prompted me to have Patton look deeper into his company, especially considering his expression.
“Tell Reyna that I had to leave. I’m sure you can come up with some sort of excuse.” Crosby straightened his suit jacket and buttoned the top button before heading to the door.
With his hand on the door handle, he turned to face me and said arrogantly, “Just so we are clear. Everyone has secrets, including you, Cross. I would hate for Reyna to get wind of our arrangement when she was fifteen. It would make the difference between her loving you or hating you.”
“Don’t threaten me, McCall.”
“Likewise, Cross. Likewise.”
If Reyna hadn’t been in the other room, I would have beat the shit out of him. Luckily for him, we weren’t alone; otherwise, he would be crawling out of here.
~17~
Reyna
I hurried to get in the shower and dressed before my adoptive father left. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, mostly about Gwen and why he never told me about her. I would have loved to find out about the things Patton found on him, but I didn’t dare ask him.
Taking a last look at myself in the bathroom mirror, I accepted my appearance and stepped away to join Davian and my adoptive father. When I opened the bedroom door, I was greeted with silence, and I thought maybe they had stepped out onto the balcony. As I headed in that direction, Davian was leaning against the railing, alone. I remained at the opened glass door and asked, “Where did my father go?”
“He had an appointment he had to get to,” Davian said, holding a tumbler of whiskey, which I thought was out of character for him this early in the morning. It wasn’t even 9 o’clock yet.
“Did something else happen? You seem upset?” I lowered my eyes from his to the tumbler he was holding.
“No… not really.” Davian didn’t miss a beat as he took another drink of his whiskey
He downed what was left of the amber liquid, walked toward me, and placed a kiss on my lips. I watched Davian place the crystal tumbler on the dining table before he turned to face me. Avoiding any type of confrontation, I walked over to where he stood and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “So, Mr. Cross. What do you have planned for the day?”
“Funny you should ask.” Giving me one of his signature smiles, Davian placed his hands on my hips and brought me closer to his body. “I thought we could spend the day together away from the hotel. Just us and no one else,” he said as he nibbled on the sensitive part of my earlobe.
“Not even Patton?” I questioned. Davian never went anywhere without his sidekick, at least whenever I was with him.
“Not even Patton.”
This was a first, and I couldn’t have been happier. I couldn’t remember the last time Davian and I spent time alone together without the men fromThe Societyclose behind.
Giving him the biggest smile I could, I looked up at him and said, “I’m ready to get out of here whenever you are.”
Davian kissed the top of my head and took me by the hand. Once we were out the door, I happened to grab a glimpse of Sean standing down the hallway in front of one of the other hotel rooms. I hadn’t noticed him there before and seeing him piqued my curiosity. Tugging Davian’s hand, I kept my sights on Sean and asked, “Davian, why is Sean standing in front of that room?”
He looked down the hall where I had my eyes focused on Sean. I thought he was going to avoid my question when he squeezed my hand began leading me away from the suite door to the elevators, but instead, he said, “Sean is there to make sure Gwen doesn’t try anything stupid and to make sure unwanted visitors can’t get to her.”
“So, she has been a few doors down from us this whole time?” I snapped, less than pleased that Davian neglected to mention this small detail about Gwen to me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Reyna, you need to stop. The only reason I reserved her a room close to mine is because I didn’t trust her or Crosby.”
Looking behind me, I allowed Davian to lead me to the elevator, but I didn’t stop my interrogation. “Do you think she would try to leave or that Crosby would take her?”
“It’s very possible, and it’s a chance I’m not willing to take. Let’s not worry about Gwen. All I want you to think about is what you would like to do. You have me for the whole day, and I plan on making it a day you’ll never forget.”
