Page 32 of Deceiver

I purse my lips, a little uneasy with the situation now. “Anything at all that might help.”

“I’ll get something to you to keep him off your back for a week or so. I’ll have him chasin’ his fuckin’ tail until he finds himself spinnin’ in a circle he can’t get out of. Until then, you’re goin’ to need to get somethin’ for me.”

Here we go.

I’m the meat in the sandwich right now, going back and forth, not sure who is good and who is bad. Well, that’s not entirely true, I know who is bad, but now I’m beginning to ask myself if anyone is good at all in this situation or am I just working for the evilest kind of people this world has to offer.

“What?” I dare to ask.

“I need a name. Who he’s workin’ for.”

I want to roll my eyes, but that would just make him angry. If it were so easy to find this mysterious person he’s working for, then I’m certain we’d all have done it by now, but the fact of the matter is that it is not that easy. Whoever it is stays hidden for that very reason – they know they have too many people wanting blood.

“And how, dare I ask, do you think I’m going to find that out?”

My voice is laced with sarcasm, which doesn’t seem to go down well because his face hardens.

“You managed to find out plenty of information for your little fuckin’ article, I’m sure it’s not a stretch to dig further.”

I want to reach out and slap him, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me mad about that entire situation for a second longer. I have explained myself, I’m not going to keep repeating the same thing over and over just to get him to hear me. He’ll never hear me because he doesn’t want to believe that the world isn’t out to take him down.

Before I can answer, the door opens and Hazel waltzes in. She’s like those days of summer rolling in after winter, lighting up a space purely because she stands out. She knows she’s beautiful, I know she’s beautiful, everyone know she’s damned beautiful. That is, of course, until she opens her mouth and the devil comes out. Her eyes fall on me and her smile quickly dies, she then spins her angry glare on Western. “You can’t be serious? I thought we made it clear where you stand with her?”

Oh, so they’ve discussed me.

Wonderful.

“A pleasure to see you, Hazel, as always,” I grind out. “I’m here for business. Don’t worry, he’s all yours.”

Western gives me a look that sends shivers down my spine, but I don’t flinch. Hazel narrows her gaze, taking me in, as if she doesn’t trust me at all. Probably a good thing.

She shouldn’t.

“I’m busy,” Western grinds out.

Hazel looks to me before she throws her next sentence out, and just before she does, a small smile spreads across her face. “Well, we need to talk. The doctor won’t wait forever.”

Doctor?

Nobody gets to answer because she jumps right back in before we can. Giving me a salty smile, she adds, “We’re thinking of having a baby.”

It feels as though the world around me comes crashing down. Those words, they’re not ones I expected to come out of her mouth. Hell, I never thought I’d see the day that Western would take her back, let alone have a child with her. With trembling fingers, I try to keep my expression blank, but I’m failing with every passing second.

I need to get the hell out of here.

I turn on my heel, unable to open my mouth or even manage a sentence.

She knows that what she just said would crush me, and the cocky smile on her face is a dead giveaway.

I shove out the door and force my legs to move as I head down the hallway, racing toward the front door. My heart is racing, my hands are sweaty, and my stomach is twisting with a fiery hurt that I thought was beginning to fade. Who was I kidding? That man has me hook line and sinker, and now he’s going to move on with the woman he married, have a child, and I’m here just being a little piece on his chess board until he’s done with me.

“Hey, whoa, what’s goin’ on?”

Fury steps in front of me just as I reach the front door, his hand curling around my arm to stop my frantic escape. I spin on him, rage bursting forth, rage that is better suited for Western, but I can’t even look at him right now.

“I should have never gotten involved with that ... that ... fucking man!” I screech, horrified by my reaction but unable to control it. “I should have listened to every person around me that told me to stay away, that told me he was dangerous and bad news, but instead I decided it would be fantastic to try and help him. What a joke. What a pathetic, fucking, joke.”

Fury’s eyes flash, and his grips tightens. “Come on, I’m goin’ to take you somewhere.”

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