Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,23
a credit card on file to book your room.”
Digging through my wallet, I grab my father’s black card, which is an endless supply of cash that never lets me down.
The attendant swipes it, clicks a few keys, and is printing me out an electronic key within seconds.
“Enjoy your stay, Miss Callahan. If there’s anything we can do for you, please let us know.”
Scott and I head up to my suite, and after depositing my bags, Scott does his usual disappearing act after confirming he’ll pick me up again later to drive me around town. I have no idea where he stays when we’re out of state. It’s just never the same place as me.
I’ve always found that odd, but then he’s not really a bodyguard like we led Gabriel to believe, he’s just a regular driver who happens to be in really good shape. For that reason, he has no need to be at my side 24/7. He only needs to be available when I want to go somewhere.
His acting on the night of my date with Gabe, however, was amazing, the entire thing a ruse to make me seem as meek and mild as possible.
Like an idiot, Gabriel believed it. But then, a lot of people do. I have two distinct and separate lives, the one I make available to the public and the real one.
After getting busted in high school for all the trouble I caused, I learned quickly that on the surface, I need to appear like Mary Poppins, while the real me continues with the normal shenanigans outside of view.
That’s typical of life lived under a microscope, though. You present one public face that’s only a practiced mask intended to deceive.
That’s why I have two accounts on every social media site, one under my real name, and another using a fake name only my inner circle knows.
I spend the next few hours updating both.
According to my fake accounts, I’m back at home attending to all my usual functions, while on my real accounts, I’m documenting all the fun I’m having without mentioning exactly where I am.
After accomplishing that, I step outside onto the balcony, my eyes scanning the sandy beach where it stretches out into the distance.
The crash of waves lulls me into a relaxed stupor, my hair lifting from my shoulder by a light breeze that carries the scent of the ocean with it.
Seagulls dance through blue skies, their high-pitched calls adding to the chorus of serenity the beach provides.
I could live in a place like this if my father would let me, but he insists I stay in the city near him, although he’s never given me a reason why.
The man won’t let me do anything with myself. A job is out of the question, as well as anything else, and I’m of the opinion that he is determined to mold me into a replica of my social butterfly mother.
Except, that’s the last thing I want, and while I could rebel and take off to do my own thing, there is still the weight of loyalty and responsibility that sits heavily on my shoulders.
I love my parents, and that’s a hard truth to swallow because it’s my love for them that keeps me trapped. I never want to disappoint anybody, not like I did so often when I was younger.
All the mistakes I made growing up have left me feeling unsure about myself now. I’d thought I was smarter than the pack, so damn sneaky that I could get away with anything.
Except, that wasn’t the truth at all. It was a steady succession of mistakes that led me to the final one - the BIG one - the mistake that sent me crawling straight to Tanner for him to fix.
Ever since that day, I’ve been too afraid to trust my instincts, too embarrassed to pick up the pieces and try again.
And maybe that’s why I let my father dictate my life. Sometimes, it’s easier to hand over the reins to someone else rather than set out on your own and risk failure.
Stepping up to the balcony railing, I balance my arms on the cool cement, lean down and track a child that runs across the sand with a kite fluttering behind him.
It barely lifts into the air, the cheap wooden frame bouncing on the ground, but the boy still has a broad smile on his face that is insanely adorable.
In many ways, I feel like that kite, so many false starts that only sent