Treachery

Gabriel

Never in my life have I found the sun to be as obnoxious as it is in Miami, Florida. I don’t understand what people see in this place.

Walking outside feels like walking into an oven, the freaking sun blinds you despite how heavy the tint is in your sunglasses, and everywhere you look, there’s another crazy son of a bitch doing something so typical of Florida that I finally believe all the news reports that come out of this place.

I think the sun fries their brains, and if I don’t get what I came here for and get the fuck out, I might find myself just as nuts as the rest of the natives, actually enjoying the heat and humidity and sand.

Leaning back in my seat, I stare through the windshield of my rental car, a phone pressed to my ear while waiting for Ta

Today’s the first he’s been back in the office since Luca agreed to live with him, and already, I’ve received five resignations from the associate attorneys and three calls from Lacey threatening to quit.

It’s not even noon yet.

I was able to smooth things over with the attorneys, and I promised Lacey enough money to make the nightmare worth it, but before we go broke, I need to get Ta

“What the hell is going on?”

His voice is surprisingly chipper. “What do you mean? I’ve been perfectly pleasant today.”

“Pleasant, my ass. You made two grown men cry and another start questioning his poor life choices. These are Ivy League attorneys, Ta

Low laughter rumbles over the line. “I told you to make your trip quick. I’m not to be trusted around morons.”

“Not everybody is a moron.”

“Says you. I have to go. Take care of your shit and get back.”

Suspicion bleeds through me. “You’re doing this to hurry me along, aren’t you?”

“Like I said: Gotta go. Have fun in Miami.”

The line goes dead, and I slip my phone into my pocket, glance up at the hotel where I’m parked and drop my head against the headrest.

All in all, I’m happy how everything turned out for Luca and Ta

I swear, the job it took to get them together was like herding cats. Just when you had one in line, the other would take of ru

So, that’s what I did.

All it took was for Ta

I told him I made some changes to the game, I just didn’t explain that those changes involved playing the gauntlet on him as well.

If anything, Ta

Another game was necessary.

And it was pulled off perfectly.

You try shoving two stubborn forces together without getting creative and see how well it works for you.

The fact that Ta

After Ta

Taking Mason and Ava aside, I set up the ruse. They went along with it without question, and what an amazing job they did.

While Ava ran Luca around all day, I sent Mason to the apartment to trash the place. Yes, it was a shitty thing to do, but I told him not to destroy anything important. He made a mess of Luca’s photographs, but they were all salvageable. He pulled all her clothes from the hangers, but didn’t destroy them.

What he did destroy was the cheap furniture I knew she didn’t give a crap about. He made it impossible for her to return home. And when Ava took her there at the time she was supposed to, Mason made the entire thing seem legitimate by pretending to attack Ava.

Nobody got hurt in the process.

I made sure of that.

But it worked to accomplish what I wanted.

Luca had no place to go but Ta

Yes, I had to lie to both of them to keep pushing that issue, but they don’t call me Fraud for nothing. Lying is what I do. Bending the truth to get what I want is nothing new to me.

And I never feel guilty for it.

Which is why I don’t feel guilty for what I did to Ta

Namely, the a

Sighing, I realize there’s nothing else to do at this point than get on with it.

I open my door and groan to feel the heat crash against my face.

Florida.

Of all the fucking places she could choose, she came to a cement wonderland built on a damn swamp, complete with mosquitos the size of your head and reptiles that swallow you whole.

I hate this place, and it angers me more as I climb out of my car, shut the door and cross the parking lot on a long-legged stride, happy for the air conditioning that rolls out as the glass doors of the hotel slide open.

Beachy music plays softly from the speakers above my head, beautiful women walking around with bikini tops, big hats and color coordinated sarongs. There’s an air to this place that mixes the luxuries of wealth with the laziness of hot summer days.

I want nothing to do with it.

But still, as I approach the front desk, I slip on a fake smile.

The only way this will work is if I can find a female employee to speak with, so when a man turns to talk to me, I stumble as if tripping over my own shoe, intentionally knocking over a cup of hot coffee that spills down the front of his white shirt.

“Oh, crap. I am so sorry, I didn’t mean-“

At first, he flashes me a nasty look, but then pastes on a professional smile.

“It’s not a problem. Accidents happen.”

Inside, he’s telling me off.

Patting at the stain with a few napkins, he only manages to smear it more and gives up.

With a snap of his fingers, he calls over a female employee, her eyes wide when she looks at the state of him and then over to me.

“Take care of our guest,” the man barks before storming off toward the restrooms.

I give her a shaky grin and apologize profusely.

“I’m so sorry to have done that, it’s just -“

I sigh, letting the words hang for a moment before, “I’m just nervous as hell, to be honest, and I tripped over my own feet.”

She buys it.

“Why are you nervous? Are you checking in?”

Shaking my head, I brace my forearms against the counter and smile. “No, actually.”

Glancing around as if I’m afraid someone might hear us, I do what I’ve always done best: