Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,86
I’m pouring a whiskey when Tanner steps into the room behind me.
His voice is cautious when he asks, “Did you just do what I think you just did out there?”
I laugh and take a sip of my drink, my eyes closing as it makes a smooth path straight to my bloodstream.
“That was probably the most cryptic statement I’ve ever heard. I’ll be sure to order you an award for it,” I say after swallowing.
Tanner blinks in my direction.
“Stop shitting me that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You stepped in front of Ivy...for a second time, I might add. The first time I thought was to shut me up-“
“It was.”
“Fair enough, but the second time?”
“Jase’s temper was a little too hot for my liking.”
Tanner doesn’t buy my answer for even a second. Which sucks for me because I really need him to believe that. Mostly so I can believe it myself.
“What’s going on, Gabe?”
Finishing the drink, I pour another.
“I don’t know. Are you asking this so you can bitch at me and warn me about her, or because you need to know how to behave?”
It’s rare Tanner and I are ever careful with each other, which is why it bothers me more that his voice is softer than usual.
“Is she family?”
I slam the second drink and turn to face him.
“I don’t know”.
His dark green eyes lock to mine. “Should I consider her that until you do know?”
Fuck my life.
I’m not cut out for this shit.
I pour a third drink before answering him.
Seeing that, Tanner laughs.
“I’ll take that as a yes. And how the hell do you plan to drive tonight after taking half that bottle out?”
“I don’t,” I answer after another healthy gulp. “I’ll stay here tonight and leave tomorrow.”
Leaning back against the wall, he crosses his arms over his chest.
“Fine. But once you get back tomorrow, we need to figure out what to do about this new turn of events.”
Finishing the third drink, I eye the bottle for a fourth, but decide against it.
“I have an idea about how to figure this out.”
As soon as I hear Ivy’s voice, I forget my better judgment and reach for the bottle while Tanner glances over to where she stands in the doorway.
“No offense, Ivy, but you have no clue what’s going on here.”
Her eyes shoot to him. “That may be true, but I do know when I see a game being played. Someone is lining up all the pieces around your group at the moment.”
Not all games, I think, my thoughts going back to how she ended up here in the first place.
Tanner looks to me thinking the same thing, and I swallow what’s left of my fourth drink.
How the hell will I ever explain it?
His gaze snaps back to Ivy as if intuiting my thoughts. “What’s your idea?”
“We ask our dads for more information,” she says with a shrug.
Tanner laughs softly at that, his shoulders shaking when he turns his head to stare at me. “That’s cute.”
“No. The fact you don’t understand what I’m saying is cute. This might be a good time for you to stop thinking you’re the master player, Tanner. It also might do your ginormous ego some good to realize you can be played just like everyone else.”
My brow cocks at that, but I say nothing.
Attention sliding back to Ivy, Tanner grins. “And who do you think is playing me?”
One thing I like about Ivy is her refusal to back down. I only wish she would be a little more selective about the times she chooses to show that side of her.
“If I had to guess, I would say it’s your fathers at the present moment.”
“At the present moment?” Tanner asks, his voice disbelieving.
Ivy grins. “You’ve been played in the past. I’m pretty sure of that. But your arrogance kept you from seeing it.”
Tanner’s shoulders square at the challenge in her comment. “When the fuck have I ever been -“
“Ivy,” I say, cutting off the argument I know is coming between the two of them, “why do you think we can simply go to our fathers for more information?”
Her blue eyes sweep my direction.
“I never said it was simple. But your recent media leaks actually may have been a good idea. Despite how fucked-up they were.”
“And the reason for that is?”
She laughs. “We both know you can’t bullshit a bullshitter. But you can make them desperate enough to accidentally leak information in their attempt to keep bullshitting you.”