Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,117

on my belly, begging for him to take care of me again.

It’s too bad for him it won’t happen.

He ignores the comment. “Why are you here?”

To lie my ass off...

Settling in my seat, I give him my best smile. “To let you know I found a roommate. Thankfully, she’s letting me stay with her for free until I can find a job.”

Clearly not impressed, he lifts a stack of papers to tap the edges on the desk, the leather of his chair squeaking. Most would think my father is just tidying up, but I know he’s occupying his hands while formulating his next question.

“Who’s the roommate?”

“You wouldn’t know her.”

“Who?” he demands, his hands stilling.

“Luca Hughes.”

Setting the papers down a little too carefully, he sits back in his seat. I take that to mean he does know her. But why wouldn’t he? His hand was involved in sinking her father’s business.

“Senator Hughes’s daughter-in-law?”

Smiling again, I meet his stare. “Former. She divorced her husband. In fact, I believe she reverted back to her maiden name, Luca Bailey.”

Emphasizing her last name, I study my dad’s face for any small twitch that indicates distress. I’m not surprised to find nothing. He is a politician after all, and before that he was a shady attorney. If anybody can hide his thoughts, it’s him.

In a way, he reminds me of Gabriel. That damn mask always on full display.

Dad folds his fingers together, his thumbs tapping together. “You need to go back to your own house, Ivy. I’ll arrange for you to have a driver again, and I’ll reinstate your finances.”

Damn it. Something about Luca’s father must be bad because my father is not the type to fold so easily.

I might think my dad is a complete hard-nosed ass. And we may have gone head to head more times than I can count for the stupid shit I did when I was younger. And it might also be true that he’s attempted to keep me under control and subdued. But he always protected me. Loved me. Looked out for me.

That made him a hero in my eyes.

My heart is shattering to think he might be a hero to me, but when the mask is pulled away, he’s somebody else’s villain.

I refuse to show what I feel. The lie must go on, and that includes the refusal to bow before him.

“Actually, I’m really happy where I am. I think this is good for me, Dad. It’s about time I learn to stand on my own two feet. It’s been really nice. I’m getting back out there, and-

I snap my fingers like I just remembered something.

“Guess who I ran into the other day?”

Lips pulling into a thin line, dad relaxes back into his seat. “Who?”

“Brinley.”

There’s the slightest jump in the muscle above his eye, but other than that, no obvious reaction.

“You remember her, right? She used to come over here before I left for college.”

If my father wasn’t such a good actor, he’d be sweating bullets right now. “I remember. I didn’t know she was in town.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either. Who were her parents again? We didn’t have a lot of time to talk, but after thinking about it, I couldn’t quite place exactly how our families know each other.”

He doesn’t answer. Instead his jaw tightens, his eyes narrowing just enough that I would be shitting my pants if I were younger. That’s the look he gets just before he tears my world down as punishment.

Pushing to his feet, my dad places his palms on the desk and leans toward me. “You need to return to your house, Ivy. I won’t tell you again.”

Interesting...

My father wants me to squirm, and maybe a month ago, I would have. But now? There’s no way I’ll sit back and behave for any man. Not even my dad.

I rise to my feet and slam my palms on the opposite side of the desk and mimic his posture. “Why?”

His eyes narrow more, but then slip down to my hand where a large diamond stares up at him. That dark gaze snaps back to my face, anger thinning the line of his lips.

“What’s going on with you? First you tell me the article claiming you’re engaged is fake. Then I read you broke up. And now you have one hell of a rock on your hand.”

My lips quirk at the corners. “It turns out I really like Gabriel Dane.”

His expression changes to match mine. “Like doesn’t equal marriage. There’s another word for that. I find