Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,69
Gabriel speaking. How can I assist you today?”
Judging by that smooth tone of voice, Fraud is on the line.
Behind him I can hear the soft murmur of office noises, a phone ringing in the distance, a receptionist answering the call and then the quick fingers of somebody typing.
“Jaguar?”
He laughs. “I figured I might as well sell you my car for as long as you’ve had it. I’ll have to do a credit check first, of course. I suspect you have no money or a job.”
A door shuts on his end of the line, the low din of his office silenced.
“Oh, that car. No thanks. I ditched it a while back before catching a flight to Europe. It didn’t have all the features I wanted and the suspension was shit.”
“Did you? I guess I’ll have to buy a new one.”
Clenching my hand over the phone, I pace the living room floor.
“I saw we broke up. Sorry to wreck your heart. I know you had hopes and dreams, but sometimes these things just don’t work out. It’s a pity.”
I can almost see his charming smile.
“Yes, well, I’m burying myself in work to get over the trauma. I’m sure I’ll eventually find it within myself to move on. It’ll be difficult to find another woman that enjoys destroying property and is a lying, thieving bitch, but if I wish for it hard enough on a falling star, I’m sure it will come true someday.”
I can hear humor in his voice, which only confirms he’s up to something.
“Cut the crap. Why did you do it?”
He pauses for a second, dead silence on the line before he sighs and explains, “You’ve made it abundantly clear you have no intention to pay the price for Tanner’s favor. There’s no point in controlling you anymore.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I think you know.”
His tone of voice changes on those last words, and it’s not Fraud speaking anymore. It’s the monster beneath the mask.
Fear crawls down my spine with scratchy fingers, my blood running ice cold. I know there’s only one thing the Inferno does when somebody refuses to pay, and it’s the last thing I’ll let them do to me.
“You wouldn’t.”
A nervous chuckle escapes my throat because this is insane. We’re all in our late twenties. I’m almost certain that these guys have grown up enough that they don’t still -
“I’m sorry to tell you this, beautiful, but we would. Not often anymore. However, we’re always willing to make an exception.”
Apparently, they haven’t grown up that much.
I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions in my life. And one incredibly stupid decision that I thought at the time wasn’t as stupid as I’m now learning it is.
It was never supposed to come to this, and I’m regretting everything I did.
“Good luck finding me in Europe, Gabe. It’ll be difficult for you to run me down if you have no idea where I am.”
Behind me, I hear Emily’s phone ring. Gabriel and I are both quiet when she answers. Only a minute passes before she calls my name, her voice anxious and urgent.
“Get off the phone, Ivy. I need to talk to you.”
Gabe laughs softly. “I see Ava got the word out. The thing about spies is you shouldn’t let us know you have them. They become unreliable reporters.”
I laugh in return, one hard bark of sound that does nothing to hide the panic I’m feeling. “Says the guy paying Dylan.”
He doesn’t react except to say, “We’ll see you soon, love. Try not to wreck my car in your attempt to escape. You’ve wrecked enough of my stuff and already have so much to repay.”
Gabriel hangs up, and I spin on my heel to face Emily, her expression is tight with fear.
“They found us,” she says. “Ava just called and warned that Mason and the guys are leaving town.”
Fuck...
My heart races as my thoughts scramble to figure this out. The worst thing I can do is panic. Taking a few deeps breaths, I try and fail to get my pulse to slow down as I fight to think clearly.
“Okay. This is fine. We have two hours at least. Gabriel was still at his office when I called him, so they haven’t left yet.”
Emily’s eyes meet mine. “Where should we go?”
I have no idea, but we’re not entirely helpless. Emily has money even when I don’t. We can still get out of state and go far enough that they can’t find us.