Page 58 of Total Obsession

I was fast losing what little trust I had built with her over these past few months.

"It was me," I said to her. I could see the soft features of her face fall. She so desperately wanted to believe that it wasn't, I could see that now.

Even still, trying to lie and say that it wasn't me would eventually lead to a worse outcome. She was convinced she'd seen me on the television. Rightly so. That doubt would have festered in her mind like an open wound. Infection's a nasty thing. You either treat it when it starts or risk it completely permeating the host. At which point there's really no saving things.

Better to avoid that trap altogether.

"What were you doing with people like that?" she asked me.

"I've been asking myself that all day,” I replied, allowing the features of my face to turn into frustration. I let her go and walked to the other side of the apartment, looking out the windows at the streets below. "I was supposed to be meeting someone for an investment opportunity. At least, that's what I'd been told."

"What sort of investment opportunity," she asked. I could hear the tinge of disbelief in her voice.

This was where I gave her just enough to stop the doubts. It was the oldest trick in the book, but not many people knew it. Give people what aligned with what they wanted to hear, but only as little as possible, and make it seem like a secret.

The result? They thought that they'd figured it out and their curiosity would die off.

I let out a long sigh. "I'm not going to lie to you, Zoey. My employer often invests in the fashion industry and that industry doesn't always do things completely kosher. I might be telling you things you already know. But I was told that Abelardo was the best at what he does."

"And what, exactly, did you think he did?" She was standing next to me now.

"He was going to help secure cheap stateside labor for a new clothing line. People don't want things made in China anymore," I said, "but U.S. prices can be cost-prohibitive. We were told that he'd be able to solve that problem for us."

"You understand that he was going to use illegal labor, don't you?"

I shrugged. "I know it looks like I'm always the one in control, but I'm just not," I said, showing her a bit of vulnerability to seal the deal. I turned to her and picked her hands up, holding them in mine. "I promise you, it wasn't my first choice and certainly not the way I would run things if I were in charge."

I could see her searching my eyes. What she was looking for, I wasn't quite sure, but I didn't flinch from her stare.

"I believe you," she finally said.

I pulled her into my arms, all but crushing her against me. "When they started shooting, I didn't know what to do. I barely got away."

"That must have been so terrifying," she said.

"I didn't realize he was so hated in the area."

"I mean, the news is saying that he's the leader of a huge gang down in Miami. You need to vet the people you do business with better," she chided.

"You're so right," I replied into her hair.

We separated, and she made her way over to the kitchen. She grabbed her phone and held it out to me. "You should call the police. Clear your name. You weren't involved in what was going on there."

I made my way over to her and took the phone from her hand, setting it gently on the countertop. "Zoey, I can't. Think about it. They'll ask why I was there. If I tell them the truth, I could get charged for that. That's even if they believe me, which they probably won't."

"But, that's so unfair!" she huffed. "Are you just supposed to live your life in the shadows now?"

I chuckled. "I don't know that things will be that bad. I'm sure everything will blow over in the next couple of weeks. For right now, I just need to lie low. They got who they really wanted out of all of this. I'm just lucky to have escaped with my life."

"Yeah," she said. "You really are. I hope you learned a lesson, too."

"That neither of us should go to Miami," I said to her with a laugh, pulling her into my arms.

"It didn't work out well for either of us, did it?" she said, smiling back at me for the first time the entire night.

"No," I agreed, before leaning down to kiss her. I broke the kiss before she wanted and pulled back. "Do you mind if I stay here with you for a while?" I asked her. "Maybe just through the holiday? I'm just a little bit shaken up."

She didn't hesitate in giving her response, which was how I knew that she was over whatever doubts and insecurities she had about the last 24 hours. "Of course, you can stay."

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