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She sucked in a deep breath and pulled up the app for the software that powered her website. She’d started Capitol Scandals with the idea of doing something good.
She ended it with the same thought, only this time she would save her father.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, making the world blurry and opaque as she hit the button that took her site offline and hid it from search engines.
The door opened as she set the phone aside and Connor walked in carrying a tray. “Hey. I have coffee. I had them make it supersweet for you and I got you a fruit cup and a raw granola bar. I was promised both are vegan. Let’s eat up and then get out of here.” He set the tray down and stared at her. “What’s wrong, princess?”
She would ignore the way he called her princess. He couldn’t really mean anything by it. He probably called all the women he fucked princess. She stood up, so glad she’d already gotten dressed. “I would appreciate it if you would tell Calder it’s done. He can leave my father alone now. I’ll abide by his rules.”
Connor went still, his body tense. “What are you talking about? You’ve been crying. What happened?”
Like he didn’t know. He’d probably walked out to give his old friend a call. Likely he was expecting a fight and needed advice on how to handle a hysterical woman. She was going to make things easy on him. She just wanted it done so she never had to lay eyes on the man again.
“My father called. He explained what’s been going on. I don’t have Calder’s number, so you’ll need to tell him that I’ve met his demands and I expect my father to be safe from here on out. Tell him if he hurts my father, I’ll dedicate my life to ruining his. Every good deed I’ve ever done, I’ll turn around and work against him. Do you understand, Mr. Sparks?”
She needed to stay calm. Her whole soul wanted to scream at him. If she gave in to her rage, she would also give in to the bleak sorrow that threatened to overtake her. She couldn’t let him see her cry or show him any chink in her armor. Connor had used her. He’d made her feel completely hollow on the inside, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her weep for him.
“Who told you?”
“My father explained who you are, but I put it together. And Tom figured out that you were the one who let Calder into the building and my apartment. How did he find the code to my safe?”
“What did Roman do?”
“I’m sure he did what you agreed to. He found a way to make me shut down Capitol Scandals.”
“No. That was not our agreement. I’m here to find out what you know about Natalia Kuilikov.”
So they intended to take everything from her. It made sense, she supposed. Men that ruthless left nothing behind. She reached into her pocket and drew out the paper the CI had given her. The information no longer mattered to her. She wasn’t strong enough to play with the big boys. In a matter of days, she’d gone from political crusader to a stupid girl who wanted a baby with the man she loved.
Lara slapped the note on the table. “Here. That’s all I’ve got. Anything else you need? I suspect you’ve taken already all the data from my computer.”
He stared at her outstretched hand. “Lara, we need to talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She stared at the paper on the table. He could take it or leave it. She no longer cared. She wondered how long it would be before she cared about anything again. “I’m going to call a cab. Our business is done.”
She started toward the door, but his hand shot out, gripping her wrist and whirling her around to face him.
“There is nothing businesslike about this and you’re not leaving. If you think for one second I’ll let you set foot outside without me, then you haven’t been paying attention the whole time we’ve known each other.”
The whole time. She’d known him less than a week and yet she had the feeling he would haunt her for the rest of her life. How had he gotten so close to her in such a short time?
Well, of course. That had been a setup, too. “There was no Niall.”
His face lost a bit of color. “No.”
Somehow that was the cruelest cut of all. Losing Niall had hurt. Not in the way losing Connor cut to the bone, but they’d bonded that night when he’d held her while she cried.
Over him.
“You’re a bastard.”
“Yes.”
“Let go of me.” She struggled in his grip.
“No.” He drew her close. “I can’t. If I let go, you’ll disappear and I can’t let that happen. I forgave you for lying to me last night. Don’t I deserve the same?”
The utter hypocrisy hit her like a slap upside the head. “Everything you’ve ever said to me is a lie.”
“Not everything.”
“Let me go. I’m not doing this with you, Sparks.” She wasn’t going to call him Connor again. Too intimate. He’d pretended to care about her, to love her. It had been nothing but a cleverly crafted ploy designed to make her open her doors and let him inside. “You’ve got what you want and now I’m leaving. And you know what? I don’t forgive you, not for any of it. I hope you rot in hell.”
“That’s not like you. You’re angry, but you don’t mean a word you’re saying. When you calm down, we can talk. But don’t think for a second that I’ve gotten what I want out of this. If I had what I wanted, you would be back in bed and neither one of us would be thinking about a thing except pleasing each other.”
“You must be really hard up to need sex from your mark. Next time, find a prostitute. At least she’ll get paid.”
“I won’t need a prostitute, princess. I’ll have a wife. I believe I did mention we’re getting married. Just because you’re not happy about how we met doesn’t change a damn thing.”
“Not happy about how we met? Are you crazy? You lied to me and used me and made me look like a fool.”
“I lied to you, yes. But I made love to you and I saved your life twice. You’re only a fool if you think you can brush me off now. I don’t know what Roman did, but I’ll fix it. I will handle it. You will go back and pick up that piece of paper. Then we’re going to your place to pick up Lincoln and some of your things and we’ll stay at my house until everything is sorted out. You and Everly can work on the Natalia situation.”
Of course. He knew Everly Parker because she was engaged to his very good friend Gabe Bond. “She lied to me, too. I’m not working with her because I’m done with this investigation. And I’m done with you. Go to hell.”
“I’m already there.” He backed her up against the wall, looming over her like a really gorgeous grim reaper. “Did your dad tell you all about me? Did he tell you about growing up in a single-wide with a village bicycle for a mother? Did he tell you I attended one of the world’s best prep schools on a scholarship and I showed up in jeans that were two inches too short for me because dear old Mom spent her money on drugs instead of little things like clothes and food for her kid? Did he tell you I kill for a living? Am I not good enough for you now that you know who I really am?”
She pushed at his chest. “Are you actually trying to play on my sympathy? Screw you. I don’t care that you gr
ew up poor. I care that you grew up to be such a massive asshole.”
He stopped, staring down at her, and then the bastard threw back his head and laughed.
She shoved at him again, but he wouldn’t move. “Stop laughing at me. Is that what you’ve been doing the whole time? Did you laugh at the idiot who thought she was fighting the good fight? Did you and your friends get together and marvel over how stupid one girl could be?”
He was a hunk of unmoving granite. His arms wound around her and he pulled her in. “You are not an idiot and you do fight the good fight. And if any of my friends laugh at you, it’s because you’re charming and funny and they’ll be better for knowing you, princess. I really did contact you because you had a link to Natalia. But I stayed for you.”
That didn’t even deserve a reply. She simply scoffed and
