Page 39 of His Deadly Lies

He doesn't speak, and it’s disappointing when his eyes remain on my face rather than slipping, even momentarily, to my exposed chest. I…wanted him to look at me. And appreciate the view.

“Are you going to help me with my seat belt too?” My second statement has a bit of a bite, and still he refuses to parry back to me.

Carter simply closes the door behind me, makes his way to the driver’s seat where Rafel usually sits and takes off out of the garage. He drives smoothly, taking all the right turns without me having to give him directions and keeping a cool five miles below the speed limit.

Of course he knows where we’re going.

Meridian is the crown jewel of the Balestra Club empire.

At least his silence gives me plenty of time to think without interruption. There is no doubt that Carter will have a front-row seat to what I’ll have to do today. He sees everything, I muse distantly, but today he’ll catch a rare glimpse of the real me. My secret will be out in the open, and no matter how necessary it is in the grand scheme, I’m not sure if I can trust him.

Or Ricardo.

In fact, it’s more than likely suicide to have blind faith in either one of them, considering they stand to benefit a great deal from marriage to me.

I pull out from getting lost in my head when Carter rounds the circular driveway in front of the massive double front doors of Meridian. Part country club, part bar, classier than most in the area, with the details to prove that the money is not just in the decor or the size.

Maybe seeing that I’m not some wallflower will be best. So they know who they are messing with. It’s a risk, though, because I won’t be able to leverage being dumb any longer.

Carter cuts the engine, and the two of us sit there with the valet waiting patiently outside to help me out of my seat.

“Are we going to sit here all day, or are we going inside?” Carter finally asks, each word grating on my shot nerves.

I lean across the center console, staring intently at the side of his face until he slowly turns to make eye contact with me. Even now, here, a zip of awareness slicks along my spine, and the air disintegrates from my lungs. “Do not, under any circumstances, undermine me in front of my men. Do you understand?” I ask, hissing out the words from behind my teeth.

Carter’s blue eyes flash with a hint of surprise that has me satisfied enough for the moment. “What are you going to give me for keeping my mouth shut?” he asks.

I blink at him. “You want a bribe?”

Typical man. Yet my breasts tingle, and my nipples pebble inside my bra.

“I’ll play by your rules for now, Princess. But if something happens that undermines my ability to keep you safe, then all bets are out the window. Do you understand? My bribe, as you call it, will wait for a time of my choosing.”

Calling him a toxic chauvinist won’t get us far.

Finally, I nod to the valet, who opens my door and holds out a hand. “Miss Balestra,” the man murmurs in a respectful tone. “Welcome back to Meridian.”

“Thank you.”

I know the man’s name is Jeff, and he’s working two jobs to be able to put himself through school. I keep all the information to myself and stride through the front door. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten back here.

This is my sister’s club.

Lucia Balestra is eighteen years old and one of the best business owners I’ve ever seen.

She’d been gifted the club for her sixteenth birthday, more of a joke than anything else. Papa wanted to see if she would be able to back up her talk of wanting more responsibility by handing her the deed to his greatest asset. At least, according to the US government.

And I had to give her fucking credit. She’s kept it running surprisingly well.

Rather than grabbing a seat at the usual table reserved for members of the family, I stride up to the bar and hold out a hand to grab the bartender on duty’s attention. “I have a friend coming in tonight. I need you to treat her well.” A smile flickers across my face. “We’ll let her see how straight laced we are here. Fun, drinks, nothing else. Think you can handle it, Stefan?”

Thank goodness he’s one of the guys who knows me well enough not to ask bullshit questions or start blubbering and telling me he needs to talk to the boss.

Stefan knows the drill. He’s been here longer than most of the other employees. He leans in, his elbows on the bar top. “Does Lucia know you’re here?” he asks.

“Of course she does. You think I’d show up unannounced?” I ask in a sweet tone. Much sweeter than my normal. We’ve flirted back and forth on occasion. It’s easy to slip into the rhythm of it, the sexy back and forth.

But I can’t forget the man looming behind me or the heat coming off of his body.

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