Page 69 of Vicious Seduction

Because it’s his private affairs, and if you trusted him, you wouldn’t need to look.

Except he might have pertinent information and not even know it. And what about Moxy? Maybe his club was connected without his knowledge. How would I know unless I took a peek?

I groaned inwardly and crossed the threshold into the closetoffice. To the right of the computer was an earnings report for The Blackthorn Group. I had no idea what the company did or any relevance it might have had. Inching it aside, the paper beneath was a nautical schematic of shipping routes. A stapled and highlighted stack of papers sat farther back and appeared to be some sort of printout of the federal tax code. Oran had OSHA listings for hazardous chemicals and printouts of various models of night-vision goggles. And that wasn’t even half of the crap. I didn’t know what I thought I’d find, but this wasn’t it.

Resigned to let it go, I started to turn around when my gaze snagged on a photo peeking out from the bottom of a pile of papers. I used a finger to slide the image over for a better look, only to wish I hadn’t.

My coffee turned rancid in my stomach.

The image had been clipped from the society pages of a local newspaper showing Oran attending the MET Gala … with his beautifulwife.

Oran Byrne and wife Caitlin arrive as part of the Friends of the Museum donor’s club.

The event had taken place a mere six months earlier.

I hadn’t been so naive to think Oran wouldn’t have a past, but awife?

Holy shit.

Was he still fuckingmarried?

With shaking hands, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and googled the New York State Department of Health—the entity that maintained searchable public record databases. When I input their names, I was only able to find one result. A marriage license. No decree of divorce. No death certificates.

Oran Byrne was married, and his wife was still out there somewhere.

There I was, beating myself up for a tiny white lie whenOran had been lying through his teeth. I felt like such a fool to think he’d truly started to care for me.

What an idiot!

Was Oran simply two-timing his wife, or was this all part of a much larger con? I wasn’t even sure what that could mean, and my emotions were entrenched in too much chaos to think clearly. All I knew was my heart hurt so fucking bad.

I looked down at the ring on my finger.

He told you it was a fake engagement from the beginning. Why the hell did you pretend it was anything more? What is wrong with you?

My eyes burned with tears. I wished they’d been out of anger, but the truth was, I felt absolutely gutted.

I took off the ring, set it on the photo, then shut the door behind me.

No more sacrificing myself only to get stepped on. If I needed information, I’d go straight to the source. I’d been playing it safe for months, trying to fly under the radar out of fear, but I was done with that. It was time to rock the boat and make some waves.

I threw as many clothes as I could fit in a duffel I found in the closet. I didn’t know how I’d get the rest of my stuff, but that was a problem Future Lina could tackle. For now, I was on a mission.

Before I left, I placed a call to the number I’d seen on Oran’s desk the first time I’d gone snooping. The one scribbled on paper along with the name of a fellow Olympus member.

“Hello, Mr. Paxton? This is Lina Schultze, Oran Byrne’s fiancée.”

“Oh, hello, Lina. How can I help you?”

“Oran has decided that he’d like to take his membership to the next level at Olympus,” I said, giving my tone just ahint of innuendo. “He asked me to call and set up a time to come by and talk since you had already been so helpful.” It was a risk assuming that this person had any role in the Society, but that was what it took to go on the attack. I was done playing it safe.

“I see. Of course, membership discussions are always held in person.”

“Of course,” I agreed readily.

“Tell Mr. Byrne he can come by this evening at seven. I’ll make sure the proper parties are present.”

“He’ll be delighted. Thank you so much for your time.”

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