Fraud

All I can do is keep playing stupid, but that doesn’t help the knot in my throat or the way my stomach is twisting. Gabriel might be playing nice right now, but as a member of the Inferno, all bets are off as to what he’ll do when reunited with his friends.

A deep sigh rolls over my lips as I take baby steps through the foyer. I don’t want to face them, and if I could turn around and run away, I would.

Gabriel must sense my thoughts, his hand pressing against my lower back to keep me moving.

I feel like a dead woman walking.

A convict being led to stand in front of a firing squad.

As soon as we step into the living room, everybody turns our direction and falls silent. Emily’s eyes widen to look at me, and Ta

“Again with this? Again?”

I don’t know what again is referencing, but Ta

Gabriel never removes his hand from my back. He doesn’t answer the question either.

Ta

“It’s good to see you again, Ivy. You should sit the fuck down so we can have a little chat.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him. Ta

I look away from him to see all the Inferno boys spread out over the couches.

Sawyer and Shane are obviously stoned, their smirks barely hidden as they take in the way Gabriel and I look. Beside them on another couch, Emily sits awkwardly between the twins, the shock on her face mixing with concern.

On another couch, Taylor is kicked back with his feet propped on an ottoman. Mason sits beside him, both staring at Gabe and I like we’ve each grown a second head.

Only Jase looks like he doesn’t give a shit. He’s planted in an overstuffed chair all by himself, his thumb moving as he scrolls through his phone.

When I glance back at Ta

My eyes meet Ta

“Actually, I’m going upstairs to get a shower. So you can sit the fuck down and wait to see if I might agree to talk to you when I’m done.”

His eyes narrow as Gabriel’s hand presses to my back a little harder. But then a slow smirk stretches Ta

Tilting his head, his eyes flicker between Gabe and me, the slow dance of attention finally focusing on my face.

“Do you think you’re safe now with Gabe? Is that the bullshit lie whispering in your head?”

Now that he mentions it, not really. I trust Gabriel about as far as I can throw him. I know where his loyalties lie, but I also know I won’t be shoved to my knees by the asshole staring me down.

What can Ta

“I still have it, you know?”

He takes a step toward me.

“I save everything when I do someone a favor. Since you’ve decided you don’t want to pay, and Gabriel won’t let us run a gauntlet on you the way it should be done, maybe I should take over convincing you that giving us the information we want is better than the alternative.”

Except that.

A hiccup of judgment in my past.

A mistake that shoved me to him in the first place.

The fear must be obvious in my expression because his mouth curls more, his eyes darting to Gabriel before landing on me again.

“I also have more information than you know about that. Something I highly doubt-“

“She’s getting a shower,” Gabriel insists, his voice loud enough to cut Ta

The room goes silent. Like a morgue, really, everybody watching the conversation with renewed attention. Even Jase looks up from his phone, a shit-eating grin on his face because Gabriel just chose my side over Ta

What the fuck?

I freeze in place, not sure what to do now that I’m caught between the two of them.

Ta

“Like hell she is, Gabe. Don’t you remember what happened the last time you let her out of your sight? She can’t be trusted by herself for a fucking second, and you’re acting like an idiot again to think she can.”

Okay. I deserve that, so I don’t argue.

Something is being said between the two men that I’m not aware of, some silent argument that I’m not sure I want to hear. It’s scary enough just standing here looking at the way Ta

Gabriel’s voice, however, is oddly calm when speaking directly to Satan.

“She won’t do anything because I’ll go up with her and watch.”

“Like hell you will. You don’t get to stand there and watch her get a shower just because you think she’ll do something.”

We all spin to look at Emily as she shoves to her feet. I smile to know my bestie has my back, but it’s not like Gabriel will see something I haven’t already shown him.

One would think the fact I’m standing here wearing his shirt would be the first hint of that.

I clear my throat to ease the knot choking me from this insanely tense conversation.

“It’s fine, Emily.”

She stares at me, not understanding, the rest of the Inferno gri

Rolling my eyes when she doesn’t back down, I admit on a rushed voice, “Gabriel may need a shower, too.”

I mean, how else am I supposed to say it without coming out and just saying it?

Her eyes widen, lips parting just a touch to tell me she finally figured out what really went down in the woods outside her cabin.

“Oh,” she says. “Wait, does that mean-“

“It means they banged,” Ta

I guess that’s one way to say it.

His dark gaze stays locked to my face for all of ten seconds before it lifts to Gabriel.

“Ten minutes. Any longer and I’m coming up there to drag you both out.”

I open my mouth to argue, but Gabriel clasps my hand and pulls me along toward the stairs.

Not speaking again until we’re stepping into the bathroom, I turn to face Gabriel as he shuts the door.

“Did you just take my side over Ta

Because...no. Not even in my wildest dreams would something like that ever happen, which means they somehow drugged me without my knowing it, and I’m still ru

Gabriel’s green eyes meet mine before he rushes forward and begins peeling the shirt off my body.

“You should shut up right now.”

“What? Why? Answer my question.”

I’m being backed into the shower as he pulls off his clothes. He leans down and his mouth claims mine, his hand slamming on the handle to turn on the water.

Pulling away from him, I yelp when cold water hits us. “We have ten minutes, Gabe. And this is not the time.”

Judging by the look in his eyes, it is.

“Ten minutes is plenty of time. Just don’t make a sound, and they’ll never know.”

He spins me around and directs my hands to the tile, his cock sliding inside me as he covers my mouth to muffle my moan.