Page 15 of Corrupted Deception

I couldn’t quite say which one pissed me off more, so it was a relief when I pulled into the gravel lot to find Matteo sitting at a picnic table next to a big warehouse and smiling like a dumbass beneath a security light.

Charlotte was sitting on top of the table, dressed in a black tank top that left a strip of her tanned midriff bare, black pants that sat low on her hips and clung to her long legs, and the same heels she’d been wearing at the hotel.

Even fully clothed, she looked like she’d just stepped out of every man’s fantasy.

Her legs were dangling over the end of the table like she hadn’t a care in the world. But her spine was a little too straight, her jaw a little too stiff. And then there was the gun she had clasped in one hand.Thatcontrasted sharply with the carefree aura she was trying to exude.

The giant dog on the ground next to her sure as hell didn’t help the image. Presumably, the deep, cavernous sound I’d heard over the phone had come from him.

“Nice of you to join us, Cielo,” Charlotte said as I approached her, the gravel crunching beneath my shoes.

The big, black beast was on all fours, growling deep in his chest while he seemed to be trying to maneuver himselfunderthe picnic table.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Charlotte,” I replied as I tore my gaze away from the black gemstone in her navel and glanced over my brother. He looked no worse for wear.

Charlotte tilted her head slightly to the side, looking at me like she was trying to make sense of what she was seeing as I stopped right in front of her, her knees nearly brushing my thighs.

Christ, the body was incredible, but those eyes… they’d always fascinated me. Silver gray, perceptive and intense with a hint of wildness lurking in the depths of them.

“Did you and my brother have a good chat?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t seem to know the meaning of ‘shut up’.”

Matteo laughed.

“Let him go, Charlotte,” I said in a tone that brooked no refusal.

She scoffed. “You think I’ve been keeping him hereon purpose? Yeah, that’s all I need—a great big Luciano family reunion,here, of all places.” She looked around pointedly. “I must have forgotten the balloons, but I’m sure you have some body bags in your trunk, so we’ll just improvise.”

“If she’s not keeping you here, what are you doing, Matteo?”

He shrugged. “I was curious…” He let the thought trail off, still smiling at me like a dumbass. “She seems to know an awful lot about us,” he said, his eyes meeting mine meaningfully, not quite accusingly.

Once upon a time, I’d told Charlotte everything, far more than I should have. A mistake, of course, but seventeen-year-old males were stupid.

“Go home,per favore.We’ll talk later,” I told him.

First and foremost, about the difference between “following” and “hanging out”. And then maybe about what I’d do to him if he ever touched her, because the way he was looking at her said he was thinking about doing a whole hell of a lot more than “hanging out”.

He nodded as he stood up, still smiling far too happily.

“You two have a good evening. Don’t do anything I would do,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me before turning to Charlotte. “It was good to see you again. Perhaps, we’ll have a chance to catch up more later.” He flashed her a devilish smile, though I think it was more to goad me than to flirt with her right in front of me.

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait,” she said dryly.

As Matteo made his way across the lot, the only sounds were the gravel crunching beneath his footsteps and the dog grumbling.

When he’d gotten into his car and driven out of the lot, I turned back to Charlotte.

Thatwas a mistake.

Looking at her now, it was as if time had folded in on itself, compressing a decade into mere heartbeats.

“You left,” I said, my voice full of accusation I’d thought had died a long time ago.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes met mine, a flicker of something in them. Uncertainty? Guilt? With Charlotte, it was hard to tell.

“Believe it or not, I don’t actually spend a whole lot of time in hotel rooms with strangers.”

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