Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,31
has been able to convince her he’s not still alive.”
The clerk’s shoulders wither, and her eyes round with understanding. “You’re such a good man for helping her.”
“Thanks. But about the bill. Can I just -“
Her hand squeezes my forearm.
“One night is fine. I’m so sorry you have to go through this. If I could give it to you for free, I would.”
“Thanks for that,” I say on a sad smile. “I appreciate it.”
I hand her my card, and she runs it with no problem. Not that I expected one. Unlike Ivy, my finances aren’t tied entirely to my family. I sign the receipt and hand it over, my eyes locking on the clerk’s once again.
“I have one more issue. Ivy apparently brought all her possessions with her. Don’t ask me why. Crazy and all. But can we have a valet bring those down? It’s just too much to carry.”
Blinking at me, the clerk darts her eyes between Ivy, who is still frantically arguing with her dad, and me. “The valets expect to be tipped. Can you afford that?”
I sigh. “Not really. I mean, I can. I’ll just have to pay my utility bill a little late, but that’s fine.”
She nods.
“Actually, I can get them. It’ll only take a few trips. I’m just worried because my war injury I told you about-“
Another nod.
“It was to the leg, and it acts up with a lot of walking. But that’s fine. I’ll just-“
“No,” she says, cutting me off. “You’ve already done so much. I’ll have someone get her bags and bring them down.”
“I appreciate it.”
She turns to call a valet, and I twist around to see Ivy marching my direction. Judging by the thin line of her lips and the clipped sound of her strappy heels against the floor, I’m about to be in a hell of a lot of trouble.
Honestly, I can’t wait. Ivy is the most fun to screw with when she’s angry.
Stepping away from the counter to intercept her before she’s close enough for the clerk to overhear our conversation, I wrap my hands over her shoulders and stop her in place.
Lowering my mouth to her ear, I don’t miss the angry heat of her body, waves of it crashing against me.
“I suggest you dial down whatever it is you plan to say or do at the moment so this situation doesn’t become worse for you. The bill has been paid, and a valet is bringing down your bags. I’d hate for you to ruin it.”
“I’m going to kill you,” she hisses, “and chop you up in tiny, tiny pieces.”
It’s wrong that my cock twitches at the barely restrained rage in her voice. Apparently, I am the type of bastard who gets off on this.
Still, I won’t admit fault.
“I have no idea why you’d do that. I’m here to rescue you, after all. You should be more appreciative.”
When I pull away from her, Ivy’s eyes lock on my face. I see my death being planned behind them, and I chuckle at the sight of it.
“Be smart, Ivy. You can either go along with what’s happening right now, or fight and fuck it up. Your choice.”
Her voice is a razor’s edge when she narrows her eyes on mine and says, “I have no idea what you’ve done, but I’ve never hated you more than I do at this moment.”
Smiling at that, I answer. “I’ve done nothing.”
“You are a fucking liar. And when I figure this out, I will get even.”
I’ve never heard more beautiful words in my life.
Winking at her, I squeeze her shoulders.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Ivy
Gabriel stares back at me with an evil glimmer in his green eyes. The son of a bitch has me cornered, and he knows it.
How he even accomplished this, I have no idea, but I’ve been cut off entirely from the means to walk out of this hotel on my own.
My father was so angry that he could barely formulate a well-structured sentence when I called him. All he told me is that I need to grow the hell up, stop being a fuck-up, and good luck getting home.
To say I was in shock is an understatement. Not once has my father stranded me somewhere, and despite my argument about how dangerous it is, he cut me off and wouldn’t hear it.
He told me to have my fiancé solve the problem since I’m threatening his career with what I’ve done.
I had absolutely no fucking idea what he was talking about, and he wouldn’t explain