Page 53 of Corrupted Deception

Ray started nudging Charlotte’s leg with his nose, and he let out a low whine, breaking into the silence that had settled between us.

“I’ve got to feed him and do some research,” she said, though it was a moment before she looked away and turned her attention to the miniature bear.

She rubbed his head, then started walking toward the warehouse door. Ray took off ahead of her, reaching the door in a flash and staring at the handle, his short tail wagging.

When I followed her rather than heading for my car, she looked back at me and rolled her eyes.

“’Just couldn’t stay away’,” she sang, her voice sultry and resonant, like liquid velvet. Just like the last time I’d heard her sing.

“If you tell anyone what you just heard, I’m going to kick your ass,” she says, standing in the middle of the empty music room.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” I say. I swear I can still hear the notes. They carried a weight, a depth that seemed to resonate from the very core of her being.

She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest defensively. “Anyone can sing, charming.”

“Not like that.”

She’s silent, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Thanks,” she offers up reluctantly.

I smile. “Your secret’s safe with me,” I promise her.

I don’t know why she wants to keep a voice like that hidden, but I’m okay with being the only guy in school who knows her secrets.

“Will you keep going, per favore?” I ask. It isn’t often I push her, but knowing she keeps this part hidden, I want more of it. Hell, I want all of it.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No,” I say. No jokes this time.

She rolls her eyes. “Turn around.”

“Scusa?”

“You heard me. I can’t do this with you standing there, staring at me.”

“If you want to stare at my ass, Charlotte, you just have to say so,” I say as I turn around and face the door.

Instead of a witty rejoinder, she sighs. And then her voice erupts, a force of nature that demands attention.

“’And the people bowed and prayed... To the neon god they made…’”

‘The Sound of Silence’ became my favorite song that day.

It still was.

Without further argument, she slid her hand beneath the warehouse’s corrugated siding, unlocked the door, and opened it.

Ray shot ahead as I got my first look at the inside of the building that was nothing like the dilapidated exterior. An open floor space in muted tones with every comfort imaginable, from plush furniture in the living area and high-end electronics to a well-stocked bar and state-of-the-art appliances in the open kitchen.

Charlotte swayed on her feet as I closed the door behind us. She was beyond exhausted.

“When did you last sleep?” I asked, suspecting it was no time recently.

She scoffed. “Sometime last week, I think.”

I looked around, sorting out the interior’s layout and the most likely location of the bedrooms. Then I picked Charlotte up and threw her over my shoulder.

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