Page 83 of Say My Name

Having her stay at my house is the only plausible solution. Even if I’m not sure how I’m going to keep my hands off her.

Chapter 24

Chloe

Most people say plans rarely work out. Like the saying, “Life happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Because the truth of the matter is, you can plan something down to the tiniest detail, and it never goes as planned.

When Vin told me we should slash my tires, so it would make me look like the next victim, I thought he was crazy. I seriously wanted to have him committed.

He felt it would make Devereaux more protective of me, keep me under his watchful eye, which would draw us closer.

Ineverexpected him to invite me to stay at his house.

My palms sweat as he takes the streets like he’s racing the devil. I cling to my seatbelt as he speeds down the interstate.

“Where do you live?”

“Near Meadowbrook,” I wisp out. “The townhomes on the corner of Bridgewood Road.”

“Yeah, I know them.”

Because we are traveling faster than the speed of light, within minutes he takes the exit for Meadowbrook, and thank heavens, he slows down when he turns into the neighborhood. I direct him to my townhome.

He pulls into my driveway and puts his car in park. “Want me to go in with you?”

“No,” I say, because my investigation board is still in the middle of my living room. “I’ll be two seconds.”

Thankfully, he doesn’t insist, so I dart out of his car and hustle down the path that leads to my front door. And because I’m afraid he might change his mind about accompanying me, I run through my house faster than he drove here, throwing clothes into a Victoria’s Secret bag. My heart rate is at a heart attack level when I rush out the door, locking it behind me, and hop back into Devereaux’s car.

“That was fast,” he says.

“Told you I’d only be two seconds.” It’s stifling in here, with him taking up all the air.

“Nice bag,” he says as he drives through my tiny subdivision, taking the corners a bit too fast for my liking.

I stare at his big hands, gripping the steering wheel so tightly, and remember the other night when those same hands were all over me. “Yeah, it’s all I had.”

He glances over at me. “What do you think her secret was?”

“Who? Victoria?”

“Yeah, do you think she really had a secret? One so naughty she couldn’t tell anyone?”

“Actually, they named it after Queen Victoria, and possibly her secret was that she wore naughty lingerie under her dresses.”

He smirks. “Do you like naughty lingerie?”

“I like the way it makes me feel.”

He grips the steering wheel tighter. “How does it make you feel, Swan?”

I breathe in, wondering if Devereaux will ever say myrealname. He must know it. I would think he could look up my file right from his phone. We’re not even at the club anymore, but he still insists on calling me by the stage name. I opt to let it go and not to ask him about it.

Perhaps he hasn’t looked up my file. Maybe he doesn’t care, and I’d look foolish for drawing attention to it. I remind myself this is a job. It’s not real.

“Like a queen.”

“Are you wearing lingerie right now?” he asks.

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