Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,24

me crashing down. And how funny that the person tugging on the string that leads the kite is a boy with a smile to die for.

My thoughts are back on Gabriel again, even though that’s the last place they need to be.

On our date, I’d hoped to find out exactly what information they want from me, but as usual, Gabriel expertly deflected the topic, and I was left having to send my message along before running away.

I never expected to enjoy the time we spent together, never wanted my thoughts to reach back to a night when I’d witnessed something I shouldn’t and lived to regret.

Still, that night was heavy on my mind, my heart breaking for the truth of the man who sat across from me at the table.

For all the shitty things Gabriel does, I understand why he hides so much. He’s more broken than anybody realizes.

He’s beautiful, too. Not in the calculated, dangerous way that Tanner is, and not in the vibrant, sex god way that Jase is.

Gabriel is soulful in a way not many people would expect of him, his witty charm and easy humor a disguise that protects the beating heart beneath.

I see it.

I know it well, actually.

And I think that’s part of why he hates me.

How wrong is it that my soul came to life the moment we kissed in the car?

We’ve always had that effect on each other, though. It’s as if our life energy isn’t quite complete on its own, but when combined, a slow pulse becomes a frenetic hum, the surge of it always stealing my breath to leave me mindless.

I’d intended to kiss him, but had convinced myself it wouldn’t mean anything. It was a game and nothing more, a tease I’d intended to use to get him to talk.

But the minute our mouths touched, the entire world dissolved, leaving just him and me in a state where neither of us could resist the attraction.

I felt it in him, too, so I can find some solace in the fact that it wasn’t just me that lost control. And if it hadn’t been for the game I’d already arranged prior to that moment, I’m not sure I can say it wouldn’t have gone further than that kiss.

There’s no denying I wanted him, but then I always have. It’s too bad our history is the reason we can never happen.

It’s been that way since the beginning, and I vividly remember a boy with wavy hair and bruised eyes, his lip swollen where it pulled into a scowl, and the hateful words he’d said to me when he shoved me to the ground.

I also remember Gabriel’s father laughing the entire incident off, even while my father marched over to pick me up from where I’d fallen to brush the dirt from my knees.

Still watching the little boy on the beach, I want to cheer when he finally lifts that kite into the air, the absolute joy in his expression helping warm the cold chill of memory in me.

Wishing I could see that same blaze of happiness coloring Gabriel’s face, I think about how stunning it would be.

I would continue watching the boy if my phone didn’t ring from inside my suite, dragging me away from the balcony and across the room to a table where I’d dropped my purse when I first walked in.

One glance at the screen and I hit the button to answer when I see Emily is calling.

“How’s the fugitive life going?” she asks, a touch of humor in her words because she knows exactly why I’m running.

“It’s great. I was just standing outside enjoying the beach, and tonight I’ll be partying it up at a club.”

“Must be fucking nice,” she grumbles. “Do me a favor and post a video for me to see. I want to live vicariously through you for a while.”

“I’ve already posted several,” I remind her. “Plus, what do you have to bitch about? You’re living it up with two insanely gorgeous men you get to play with at the same time. If anybody needs to post a video, it’s you.”

Dropping down onto the white couch in the center of the room, I lean back and kick up my feet.

“Actually, that’s more complicated than I like it to be. Damon got arrested a few weeks ago.”

“For what?”

“Fighting,” she groans.

I’m not surprised by that. Both Damon and Ezra are known for it.

“Will he ever grow up? Let me guess: he and Ezra decided to take on an