Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,13

to trust me, probably because I’m the most laidback of the bunch. The man you can tell all your secrets to because I’ll never use them against you.

And if you believe that, you’re an idiot.

“I’m only here for a little while, and I need to talk to you about Ivy,” I assure him, still inwardly laughing because I’ve never seen Tanner look so frazzled in his life.

The only reason I’m here at all is because Ivy insisted on picking me up for our date, and I’m not stupid enough to tell her where I live. Not after the chicken incident or a dozen other pranks she pulled that almost got me kicked out of the house when Warbucks caught wind of what she was doing.

“Great. It’s nice you stopped by. Now leave.”

Tanner leans back in his seat and stares ahead at Luca, his legs stretched out over the floor in front of him, and so much tension in his shoulders that a feather could touch him and he would shatter.

If the guys don’t leave around the same time I do, Tanner will murder them all and make my life a hell of a lot more complicated.

I pull the joint from behind my ear, rolling it between my fingers as Tanner’s gaze remains locked to Luca across the room.

Smacking him on the shoulder to drag his attention back to where it should be, I lock my eyes to his while biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the way he narrows his stare on my face.

If Luca is smart, she’ll run the fuck out of this house while Tanner is distracted.

“Can you stop eye-fucking Luca for one goddamned second to listen to me about what’s happening tonight?”

It’s obvious he’s too wrapped up in his own shit to give a fuck about my issues, but I force him into the conversation anyway. By the time I’ve dragged his ass through the topic of my plans for the night, I’ve smoked the joint and feel a hell of a lot better.

It’s not that I’m nervous about being around Ivy. If anything, I’m excited. However, the anticipation of finally bringing her to heel also drives a vein of distrust through me because it can’t be this fucking easy.

By all indications it is, but that still doesn’t ease the pounding of my pulse and the tension in my shoulders when the doorbell rings.

Tanner’s obvious relief at seeing me go makes me feel sorry for Luca. Without doubt, he’ll chase the rest of the group out to be alone with her. But that can’t be my problem tonight, not when I open the front door to see an aggravating beauty standing on the other side.

Ivy’s blue eyes meet mine, and it reminds me of the day I met her. Just like that day, she’s the spoiled princess staring at the broken prince, only my eyes aren’t bruised this time, and hers are no longer innocent.

Running my gaze down her body, I unleash the smile I’ve used so many times to sneak past a person’s barriers. Because that’s what you do when you’re hiding.

You smile.

You lie.

You deceive.

You pretend that you’ve never been hurt and that you never will.

Her lips stretch apart to match my expression, her body fidgeting in place because I haven’t said anything.

“Are you ready?” she asks, a trace of nervous humor in her voice.

This is awkward as fuck. I’m not even going to try to lie. About that, at least. Then again, given everything, I’m not surprised.

Over text messages, it’s easy to say the right things and pretend we haven’t spent the majority of our lifetime at each other’s throats. She’s begged and pleaded with me to help her. Explained she wouldn’t pay the price. And each time she brought up the reason we’re talking again, I’d redirected the conversation.

She will pay.

I’m confident about that.

The only question is how long I’ll drag out this game until the time comes for her to fess up.

Despite talking for a week, I still don’t have the best feel for Ivy. I still don’t trust her entirely either. And probably never will.

It’s obvious we’re both watching our backs because there’s no telling who will strike out first.

“I’ve been ready,” I finally say, doing nothing to hide the fact that, even though she’s dangerous and I know it, I still can’t help appreciating the view.

Really, it’s like standing beneath an erupting volcano. You know you need to run. To hide. To get out of the