Treachery

Lie through my fucking teeth.

“My girlfriend is staying here, and I want to surprise her. She’s in room 14B. Her name is Ivy Callahan.”

The woman gives me a fu

“We’ve been together for five years. She actually helped me take care of my dying mother when we met and, you know how that is. We fell in love amidst tragedy.”

The woman’s eyes soften.

I fight not to roll mine.

“Ivy, she’s,” I sigh as if the woman I hate more than anything in this world walks on water.

“She’s a saint in every way she can be, so I want to surprise her like in those videos you always see on social media. She has no idea I’m in the country. I just returned from Afghanistan. I’m a soldier,” I tell her.

The woman’s hand goes to her chest, her eyes softening more.

“I was injured,” I keep on, “and Ivy has been so worried. She had a mental breakdown about it, actually, had to spend a few months in a hospital. She came here for some rest after the horrible experience.”

On that, I’m not entirely lying.

Ivy is, in fact, a crazy bitch.

“So, I fought like hell to be by her side after learning how horrible things have been for her, and now I’m back, and she doesn’t know. Her mom told me where I can find her and-“

I pause again, look around, and pull a box from my pocket. Flipping the lid, I fight not to grin when the woman gasps at the engagement ring inside.

It’s right then that I know I have her.

Some people are way too easy to read.

“You’re proposing?”

I nod and slip the ring back in my pocket.

“She thinks you’re hurt in another country, and you all fell in love in such a sad way, and-“

Her hand flies to her mouth. “It’s like a romance novel.”

Okay.

If she says so.

I’ve never read one, so I wouldn’t know.

She takes no time printing me out an electronic key and sliding it across the counter to me.

“Are you getting this on film? I’d really love to see it.”

Holy shit. She’s already tearing up.

I wink.

“Oh, definitely. Once she says yes and we kiss and all that, I’ll be sure to run it down to show you.”

The woman squeals, and I fight the urge to flinch.

Flapping her hands as if shooing me away, she says, “Well, go on. Don’t let me hold you up.”

I smile and nod my head in thanks, fighting a grin when she whisper-yells, “Good luck,” as I make my way to the elevator.

It takes no time at all for the elevator to reach the lobby floor. I step in to turn around and see the front desk woman practically dancing in place with her balled hands pressed against her mouth.

Smiling and waving as the doors close, the expression drops from my face as soon as they snap shut.

Given the early hour, I know Ivy will still be in bed after partying all night per her social media.

I reach the fourteenth floor and step out, my stride calm and collected as I walk to her room.

The handle beeps quietly when I slide my card through the lock, a green light flashing just as it clicks open to let me inside.

Able to taste the victory of this trip already, I make my way through her luxury suite, eventually stepping into her bedroom where she lays sleeping.

Ivy Callahan is absolutely gorgeous. In everything she does, this woman can draw the eye, her white blond hair always making her stick out in a crowd, and her shitty attitude enough to ride my spine since the day I first met her.

Rapping my hand against her door, I call out, “Room Service.”

Her blue eyes flutter open as she groans.

Pushing up onto an elbow, she allows the sheet to fall low enough that I get a peek at her ice pink nightgown, the thin strap slipping off her shoulder.

She catches sight of me and freezes in place, her hair a tumbled mess framing her face.

“Gabriel?”

She doesn’t sound as excited to see me as I thought she’d be.

“Good morning, love. Are you happy to see me?”

Her eyes round with fear, as they should. There is hell to pay for the last prank she pulled on me.

“How did you find me?”

I grin. “The cleaning staff at your house hate you as much as I do.”

Sitting up, she sneers and tugs the sheet to cover her chest. I push away from the wall and stalk toward her.

Kneeling down, I grip her chin and smile when she tries to pull away from me.

“Did you really think you could escape?”

Those blue eyes narrow on my face.

Such a fighter, this woman.

“Why are you here?” she asks, her voice sickly sweet. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?”

My grin widens, pure evil rolling through my thoughts.

“Actually, the way I see it, we’ve just gotten started.”

She smiles back because she’s a bitch like that.

“You need to leave before I call security.”

I lower my mouth until it’s brushing hers. There’s a spark that runs through both of us. We may hate each other, but there’s no denying the chemistry.

“You wouldn’t do something so common and boring.”

Rolling her eyes, she jerks away from my grip.

“I hope you know I think you’re a bastard. This won’t happen. I don’t care that you came all this way. I’ll leave you behind just like I’ve always done.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I would expect nothing less of you.”

“So why are you here?”

I trap her face again and kiss her before she can complain, her tongue sliding over mine even as she struggles to pull away.

Ending that, I drag my mouth to her ear and smile at how breathless she sounds.

“I hate to break this to you, Ivy, but payback is a bitch.”

THE END

Fraud (Antihero Inferno, Book 2) releases in June 2020 (keep reading for a sneak peek)

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