Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,76
like something out of the Blair Witch Project, only without clothes or creepy little effigies hanging from tree branches.
“I swear I left them right here.”
“Uh huh,” I answer. “So what you’re saying right now is that some animal came along and took off with my clothes to build a designer nest or something? It’s obvious they’re not right here.”
His green eyes tip down to meet mine, that damn smile blinding me.
Not the charming smile that is a lie.
And not the evil one that means he’s done something fucked up.
The real one I rarely see.
This isn’t Fraud.
And it’s not the monster.
It’s just Gabe.
The person he would be if life didn’t make it necessary for him to hide.
“I dropped them where I took them off.”
His gaze runs down my body. “You don’t look horrible in my shirt. We should just go back the way we are.”
Smiling in return, I toss up my arms.
“I can’t go back like this. We need to find my clothes.”
Actually, I could. I really don’t care what everybody thinks. I’m just making excuses to stay out here longer because I don’t want to give him up.
As soon as we return, I know the rest of the guys will be waiting. It will ruin this.
Gabe will go back to being who he is in the group, and I’ll be cornered to pay the price being demanded of me. I have no delusions that his first loyalty lies with the Inferno.
Which is why I’m making a bigger deal of this than it really is. I’m stalling.
It’s like when the alarm goes off in the morning and you keep hitting snooze.
Just five more minutes of the dream...
Just a little more time to be who we are without the pressures of the outside world.
When Gabe reaches out to grab the front of his shirt to tug me to him, I don’t fight it. With his fingertip, he tips my face up to his, his truth so open that my breath catches to see it.
This is all I ever wanted.
This is why I refused to let go.
“I don’t think you have much of a choice. We’ve looked for over an hour. They’re going to come looking for us eventually.”
A stupid thought whispers in my head as we stare at each other, one I shouldn’t say because it will only send him running. But it’s there. On the tip of my tongue, begging to be released.
“I don’t hate you when you’re like this.”
He shutters the instant I say it, that wall slamming down in defense against anything real.
“You will again,” is all he says with that damn smirk on his face before spinning me to walk up the trail.
His hand smacks my ass to march me in the direction of the house, and I know the moment is over.
Just like that.
Gabriel is there and then gone.
I shouldn’t have said anything. But I couldn’t help it. I’m done lying. Pretending. Spinning in ridiculous circles because no matter where we end up, we always race back to the beginning.
It only takes a few minutes to reach the head of the trail, Emily’s cabin lit up on the inside and several cars parked in front.
Gabriel’s Jaguar is among them, and I realize this run through the forest had been his plan all along.
“How did you do it?”
“Do what?” he asks. He’s playing innocent but I can hear the hint of laughter in his voice.
“How did you make it sound like you were at the office? How did you steal your car out of the driveway without me noticing?”
I spin to face him.
“How long have you known we were here?”
The corners of his mouth curl, his smile as conniving as him. “Since you got here.”
Okay. That’s surprising.
“It took you three days to do anything about it? And how did you know?”
“I have a tracking system in my car.”
Damn it. I laugh at myself because I should have guessed that.
“Are you done stalling? We should get inside.”
“I’m not stalling,” I lie.
His brow arches at that. “Sure you’re not.”
Turning back to the house, I march up the steps of the porch, nervousness trickling down my spine because I’m about to walk inside to greet a group of people wearing only a t-shirt that falls to my knees, while also smelling like an interesting blend of sex, sweat and dirt.
This should be fun.
Gabriel steps around me to open the door, the wood partition swinging open to reveal the empty foyer.
Beyond that small room, I can hear several voices, masculine and feminine,