Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Where the hell did you go?” Eddie bit out.
“Sorry. I had to take care of something.”
“You need to tell us if you leave,” Tommy insisted.
“I’m sorry. Something personal came up, and it couldn’t wait.”
“If anything happens to you, it’s our asses on the line.” Eddie got in my face a bit and shouted, “Have the decency to at least tell us where you’re going if you plan to disappear.”
“Chill out…” Tommy scolded his partner. He turned to me. “Just tell us next time you want to leave, okay? If you need space, we’ll follow but give you some distance.”
“Okay,” I muttered. “I’m sorry for the scare.”
As I entered the house, Tommy followed. “Everything all right, Juliette?”
I shook my head and burst into tears.
“Hey…” He placed a hand on my arm. “Don’t cry. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. “I just need to be alone.”
“Does this have to do with Wes?”
My eyes widened in surprise. But as much as I wished I could unload everything on him, it was too dangerous to say anything. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Tommy seemed nice. I certainly liked him better than the other goon, Eddie. But the last thing I needed was one of these two going back to my father about Wes and me.
“Well, just holler if I can help,” Tommy said.
“Thank you.” I forced a smile. “I appreciate that.”
I retreated to my room and paced until I heard the front door open about twenty minutes later. Then I froze, completely unprepared for this confrontation and no closer to deciding what the hell to do.
Wes appeared in the doorway of my room.
“Hey…” He smiled, oblivious to the turmoil inside me.
The nerve of him to try to act like everything is normal.
His smile faded. He must’ve noticed the look on my face. “What’s going on, Juliette?”
“You can’t take a guess?” I spat.
He drew in his brows. “No, I can’t.”
“I know you’ve been lying to me, Wes!” I blurted. “I know everything.” Tears stung my eyes. Apparently, there was never a decision to make because I’d had no control all along. So much for handling this delicately.
The color drained from his face. “What do you think you know?”
“I know you’re having an affair.” I panted. “Cheating on me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I followed you and saw you with her!”
CHAPTER 25
* * *
Wes
Oh shit.
“Juliette, I swear, I’m not cheating on you.” I took a step toward her, but she took one back.
“Then who was that woman? You said you were going to see Detective Olson.”
I hated lying to her, hated that I’d gotten myself into this complete clusterfuck, but what else could I do? “Detective Olson was busy, so he had one of his people show me the photos.”
“At a hotel?” she screamed. “What kind of a police operation meets people at a hotel, Wes?”
Fuck. Fuck. Think. Think. But it was impossible to come up with another lie while she stared at me that way. So I did the only thing I could to buy myself a few seconds. I pressed a hand to my back, covering my wound dressing, and grimaced. “I need to sit down.”
Her expression cracked a little, anger softening into worry. I felt like even more of an asshole.
“Are you okay?” she asked, stepping toward me.
I nodded and sank into the nearest chair, using the time to pull my thoughts together. I needed to untangle this web of lies I’d spun before it strangled me. Once I had my shit somewhat together, I forced my voice steady. “I’m not cheating on you, Juliette, I swear.”
At least that part was the damn truth. Saying it out loud gave me just enough footing to dump all the lies on top. “Detective Olson called when I got in the car and asked me to meet someone else from his squad. He changed the location at the last minute, so if any of your dad’s guys were following me, they’d think I was meeting a woman and not working with the police.” I took a deep breath. “And he was right to do that. How do you think Vince would react if he knew I was giving information to the cops and not him?”
Juliette stood there, arms crossed, her eyes scanning my face like she was searching for lies. After a long, tense moment, her shoulders dropped a little. She wanted to believe me. I could see it in her eyes, in the way her lips pressed together like she was holding back a thousand questions she might not want answers to.
“Wes…” she whispered.
It was just one word, but it gave away enough uncertainty to expose the crack I needed. I’d done it a thousand times before—talking a suspect into trusting me, convincing a perp that it was safe to believe what I’d said. But now, now I was manipulating the woman I loved.