Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,90
to go home in a few minutes, and she’ll be away from them at her place.”
That appeases me some, especially since I have every intention of going back to her house with her.
Relaxing against the wall, I stare up at him.
“That’s fine. I’ll just ask her what’s up when I go with her back to her place.”
That damn smile returns, the charming one that hides everything he’s thinking.
“You’re coming home with me. We have a show to put on.”
Laughing at that, I roll my eyes. “We don’t have to be staying in the same place in order to pretend we’re actually engaged.”
His smile widens. “Fine. Then you’re coming with me because you still have a lot of work to do to pay me back for what you did to my house.”
My eyes narrow in refusal. Partly because of the way he’s looking at me, but mostly because there’s not a drop of humor in the way he said it.
“Are you telling me I’m still a prisoner? I thought I’d escaped my prison when I joined Team Inferno.”
Tilting his head, his brows tug together. “Team Inferno?”
“Yeah, I was going to have t-shirts made.”
Gabe laughs at that, his forehead lowering to rest against mine, his eyes trapping me in place.
“You’re coming with me because I can’t let you out of my sight.”
“And why’s that?” I ask.
It’s killing me that he’s so close, our breath mingling, our mouths a tempting inch apart.
“Would you trust you out in the wild?”
I can’t help my smile. “No.”
Softly brushing my mouth with his, Gabe whispers, “That’s why.”
Gabriel
The ride back to town was spent in silence. I insisted Ivy sit up front with me - mainly so I could grab her if she tried to jump out at a light and make a run for it - while Emily sat between the twins in the back seat.
The car felt like a stew of negativity, a sticky film coating my skin made from the tears Emily was attempting to hide, the pissed off glares of Damon and Ezra and the contempt written into Ivy’s expression because I’d forbidden her from confronting them about it the entire way home.
It was annoying the fuck out of me, and I’d briefly considered ditching out myself at a high rate of speed just to end the misery.
Thankfully, I was able to drop Emily off at her house, and the twins at theirs, which left just Ivy and me as we headed in the direction of my office.
Tanner was supposed to go in this morning, and I’d been too afraid to check my emails. There’s no telling what I’ll walk into when we get there, but I suspect it’ll be grown men crying and a seriously pissed off legal assistant demanding yet another pay raise.
We come up to a red light and as we pull to a slow stop, my body tenses in wait for Ivy to do something shifty. I’ve been eyeing her the entire time, the tiny amount of trust we’ve established still balanced on a razor thin precipice.
She glances at me while we wait for the light to turn green, her eyes narrowing on the side of my head for a brief second before, “How’d you do it?”
“There’s a thing called the brake pedal on the left of the gas. If you press it with your foot hard enough, the car comes to a stop.”
Her eyes narrow more.
“Not that, jackass. How’d you make it sound like you were at the office when you were really outside the cabin? You never answered me last night.”
Smiling, I lay my head back against the seat, my eyes locked on the red light that is taking its dear sweet time.
“It’s taken you this long to realize that? I’m sorry, but your question has expired, and I’m no longer required to give you an answer.”
“Questions don’t have an expiration date.”
“They do now.”
“Just answer the question, and stop evading.”
The light turns green, and I slam on the gas. Ivy grips the door handle, her stare still locked on my face.
“Doesn’t matter how fast you drive, Gabe. You can’t escape it. I’m still here waiting for an answer.”
My lips curl. “What if I open your door and shove you out?”
She rolls her eyes and turns to look out the front windshield.
A minute passes before she sinks down in her seat and lifts her feet to the dashboard.
Leaning sideways, I slap at her legs.
“Do you mind? I don’t want your dirty feet all over my dash.”