Fraud

Ivy

I don’t care how much Ta

Pulling a shirt over my head, I take my time getting dressed alone in the bathroom. Gabriel took off to grab his spare clothes from one of the cars where he’d left them, which has given me time to get back in character.

I’ve spent a lifetime lying and playing games. I’m a damn expert when it comes to them. This one is no different than all the others, except for the potential disaster of a shitty result.

I have no idea what I overheard that day outside my father’s office. Do I believe it was shady? Yes. Do I have a sneaking suspicion he could get in trouble for it? Also a yes.

But do I know that for a fact?

No.

Still, I feel a duty to protect him.

Obviously, the guys have crawled closer to the truth of what I know. The question Gabriel asked me in the car the other day was right on target. What co

I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. And that only helps me with the dumb act I have to play now. It won’t be the full truth, but it won’t be a complete lie either. Technically, I know nothing.

A knock sounds on the bathroom door a second before it swings open. Gabriel stands in the hallway looking damn good in a slate gray t-shirt and dark jeans.

His hair is wavier than usual, a disheveled mess he hasn’t tamed since we stepped out of the shower. I look him over and ignore the pang in my chest.

Like this, he reminds me of the person I knew in high school. Only he’s broader in the shoulders and chest, his body fully filled out now that he’s a grown man.

“The casual look works for you, Gabe. You should try it more often.”

Gri

“Are you ready to go downstairs?”

I’ll never be ready, but I won’t admit it.

Cocking a hip, I tilt my head. “Are you my official warden now? If so, I’d like to file some complaints about the conditions of my prison.”

“We don’t accept complaints from prisoners who make escape attempts. You’ll have to behave for at least a full month before you’ll be allowed an opinion.”

Fraud.

I can see the difference in him immediately.

Most people wouldn’t notice. It’s a subtle shift in his behavior, a smoother edge to his voice that obliterates any trace of who he really is.

Ten minutes away from me and around them. That’s all it takes for Gabriel to retreat back to the bullshit persona he uses to hide.

It’s probably for the best. Especially when I have to be a fraud just as much.

Stepping up to him, I run my palm down the hard plane of his chest, my hand pausing over the ridges of his abdomen.

Gabriel stares down at me with an expression I can’t interpret, with a mask that disguises every thought behind that emerald green gaze.

“Why do I feel like I’m being led to the execution chamber?”

His stare drops to my lips.

“Confess and we won’t have to pull the switch.”

A shiver runs down my spine at what the switch really is. I wasn’t fully surprised to discover Ta

I did that. I allowed that to happen by making stupid decisions at the time. And I still carry the weight of it every day.

But I had my reasons.

And now I’m being marched downstairs to answer for that crime. Yet rather than hating the warden who marches at my back, all I want to do is grab onto him and never let go.

“I have nothing to confess,” I whisper.

His stare remains on my mouth as if he’s memorizing the way it moves, or maybe thinking about that addition to the benefits package he’d requested. The thought traps the air in my lungs.

“The information we recently found out says differently.”

A few seconds pass before I ask, “Do you know what Ta

When his green eyes lift to lock on mine, he can’t hide the simple fact that he does know. Instead of admitting it, he pulls his arms down and takes a step away from the door.

“We should go.”

I sigh.

Just like that, the moment is over. If Gabriel is as good at anything as he is at lying, it’s building walls that block a person from seeing the truth about what he’s thinking or feeling.

I step out ahead of him. “I know nothing,” I lie as we walk down the hall en route to the stairs, my feet quickly descending the steps while I brace myself for Ta

It won’t matter. I’ve been up against his hot temper and blatant arrogance before. Ta

My weakness has always been, and will always be, Gabriel.

That’s why I can step down into the living room with confidence that they won’t be able to pull anything out of me. If anybody is being aggressive about this situation, it’s Ta

Let him scream. Let him yell. Let him threaten to expose me for the fraud I am. There isn’t a damn thing he can do to make me talk.

“I need you to tell me everything there is to know about why your father was in touch with my father’s company.”

My eyes lift to see Luca standing in front of me, her eyes wide with expectation and brimming with tears, her light brown hair falling soft around her shoulders.

“He’s dead,” she says. “You should know that. Somebody killed him, and I have no idea what can be done about it. So I need to know everything, if for no other reason than to understand why the last member of my family was taken from me.”

Except that.

What she just said might be exactly what drops me to my knees to confess everything and beg for forgiveness. The honesty in her voice might be exactly what makes me talk.

Ta

Poor Emily still sits between the twins, but her focus is entirely on me at the moment. She has no clue about any of this. I’ve purposely kept her in the dark.

I’ll have a ton of explaining to do when Emily has the chance to get me alone again.

“Please, Ivy. I’ve done nothing wrong to you. And I have the right to know.”

Eyes sliding back to Luca, my shoulders wither at the sight of the pain in her expression. I know nothing about her father dying. And I hope my father had nothing to do with that. My dad might be shady at times, but he’d never sink low enough to murder someone.

Although, what I do know might be just as bad.

Gabriel is a wall of heat at my back, his hand sliding over my hip, fingertips curling down as he tightens his grip and holds me in place.

One would think he’s preventing me from shoving Luca aside in a bid to run and escape. But that’s not the feeling I’m getting.

If anything, he’s touching me to lend me his strength.