Page 69 of His Deadly Lies

I shake my head. “You keep insulting yourself.”

“Oh no, it’s not an insult when it’s the truth. I’ve butchered my way to the top for my family the same way your people did, and I’ve liked it,” he says. “I’ve put a bullet between eyes, through ears…”

“Still trying to make me hate you,” I murmur.

“Who says I have to try?” He holds my gaze, and the air in the car goes ten degrees hotter.

After thirty minutes of absolutely nothing, we both decide to check out the warehouse ourselves rather than waiting. Footsteps silent, I follow behind Carter and watch him snap open one of the flimsy locks on the back door. A push button deal, I realize as we make our way inside.

Easy to manipulate. Easier to destroy. And brand new shiny brass. We trace the outskirts of the building without seeing anything out of place and settle in one of the empty upper rooms, the phantoms of old furniture casting shadows across the worn concrete floor.

It’s not exactly uncomfortable, but the scent of old dust and age tickles the inside of my nostrils, and I bite back a sneeze.

“What do you do, then? When you need to push for extra income?” I ask. My voice echoes through the hollow space.

Carter checks out the room to make sure it’s safe before settling the edge of his hip on the window ledge, staring down at the empty alleyway below. He picked a great spot, I realize with a start. It clicks suddenly that he really has done this before. That he has so much more experience in the field than I do.

Not just in the field, fuck. He has more experience with everything. I wrap my arms around myself.

“We always manage to find a way,” Carter says dismissively. “A new venture, avenues not yet explored…Ricardo is always good at taking a risk when it comes to exploring his ideas.”

“Which tells me absolutely nothing about you or your life. You are a master of deflection.”

He casts me a sideways look, the afternoon sun streaming in through the window, lighting his profile. Illuminating the strong planes of his jaw and cheekbones. “I’m a master at a lot of things. Deflection is one of my many talents.”

This time I refuse to rise to his mini innuendo no matter how those words fill me with heat. It’s a ripple effect, cascading from my chest all the way down to my legs until my pussy tingles.

“Where do you source your own security from? Or is that above your pay grade?” I push.

“Don’t worry about our security.” His smile is a little placating. “Trust me when I tell you that, unlike the Balestras, the Vittorios have their shit together.”

“Ah, so you have a lot of time on your hands.” Leaning into the lust crackling like electricity between us, I take a step forward. “You’re telling me you have enough time to help me with my little problem.”

His chest hitches when I press my hand to it, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Take it any way you want.”

Oh, I plan to.

“You’ve managed to make a name for yourself, to the point where my father chose Ricardo as my fiancé. I simply want to know more about how your people would handle this situation were the roles reversed. Are you telling me you’ve never had a leak in any of your business ventures?” I purposely stress the last two words in an affected tone and wait for his reaction.

Carter looks uncomfortable and reaches between his legs to adjust himself.

I bite down on my smile. “Don’t tell me you’re turned on from a few questions.”

“Arrogant child,” he returns.

I know I’m getting under his skin. I smile at him, a quick flash of teeth, and lean into him. Stopping right before our knees touch, but I’m close enough now to catch the hitch of his lungs with his next inhalation.

“Do you get off on it, I wonder. Calling me a child. Calling yourself an old man.” I’ve listened, filed things away over the past few days. Carter makes no moves to hide his age and seems to lean into it harder than most people, who would fight to take away every year they could from their appearance or with their actions.

Why does he go the opposite way?

“I’m impressed,” he says eventually. “You see more than people assume you do. I know I haven’t said it, but I’ve been watching you.”

“You’re always watching me,” I murmur.

“It’s true.” He turns to stare back out the window. “You think you can mask your inner shark, but she’s there. Waiting beneath the surface to eat anyone who gets in your way. Swallow them down whole while they’re alive, and you love the way they kick and scream on the way down.”

I want to jerk back in surprise and force my body to still. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

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