Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,21
to me in answer to every question I’ve asked you tonight.”
She’s not wrong.
“And that’s fine, I knew you were lying. Unlike you, who actually believed I’ve somehow become the most annoying woman on the planet.”
I laugh. “It wasn’t too difficult to believe. You’ve always been annoying.”
The tips of the scissors jam into my skin, but not enough to cut me.
“My point is, you can go fuck yourself, Gabriel. The entire Inferno can if you think I’m going to pay whatever ridiculous price you demand of me.”
I’m entirely naked at this point, Ivy’s voice above me again as she says, “Turn him over.”
My body is flipped to my front as my wrists and ankles are held together. Within a minute or two, I’m completely tied up, the hands that previously held me down finally letting go.
“I’m using you to deliver a message to Tanner. So hold still while I write this out.”
The tip of a marker scrawls across my back, the side of my face jammed against the ground as the bag they used scratches my skin.
“Take him to the van.”
As they lift me up, I can’t help but fuck with her. “So wait, we’re not having some weird captive group orgy, because I thought that’s where this was leading?”
“Idiot,” Ivy grumbles as I’m tossed into the back of van, not so delicately, I might add.
I feel a mouth press against my ear from over the bag, Ivy’s soft voice reminding me just how much I hate the bitch.
“Tell Tanner and everybody else I said hi.”
Turning my head so that I can answer, I warn her, “I hope you know you’ve just started something I plan to finish.”
I don’t need to see her to know she’s wearing a grin I’ve seen far too many times.
How did I not see this coming?
Either old age has knocked me off my game, or Ivy’s become a better player.
“Good luck with that, Gabe. I highly doubt you’ll find me.”
The van door slams just before it takes off, and I’m driven to God knows where.
Eventually we reach our destination, and I’m dumped unceremoniously onto the ground, my skin bare against what feels like neatly mowed grass. The van takes off on a squeal of tires and heavy laughter, Tanner’s voice sounding next, which only makes me cringe.
At least Ivy dumped me somewhere I could be quickly taken care of. It means she’s going soft. The woman I used to know would have left me in the middle of Times Square complete with a neon arrow flashing down at me to ensure every person takes a good, long look.
Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes for Tanner to untie me. I sit up after Luca runs inside the house, most likely to laugh her ass off, and gratefully take the shirt Tanner hands me as his eyes meet mine.
Covering my cock with it, I wait for the son of a bitch to stop laughing.
“How in the hell did this happen?” he asks, every word difficult for him to speak clearly because he still has a bad case of the chuckles.
Asshole.
“She pretended like she was mentally deficient, and it threw me off my game. It won’t happen again.”
Tanner shakes his head and pushes up to his feet, reaching down to grab my hand and tug me to mine.
“I warned you she hasn’t changed. So what are you going to do now to fix this problem?”
After brushing a few blades of grass from my skin, I breathe out a heavy sigh and wrap the shirt around my waist. “I have a feeling she’s about to run. At least, that’s what she told me.”
We’re walking back to the house when I remember something else Ivy did.
“Oh, hey, do me a favor. Tell me what she wrote on my back. She said it’s a message for you.”
As soon as I turn around, Tanner laughs again, the sound of it doing nothing to make me feel better.
“What does it fucking say?”
He gains control of himself finally and answers, “It says here’s an asshole you can shove your demands in. Fuck you all. Love Ivy.”
My lips quirk at the words.
But only because she’s a dead woman the next time I get my hands on her.
Ivy
What a dumbass, I think as I climb from the back of a rental car to step out into the warm sunshine of Miami.
It’s been a little over a month since I bagged and tagged Gabriel before dumping him on Tanner’s lawn, and I shouldn’t be thinking of him