Page 60 of Heartbreaker

Everything in me freezes, an icy panic rushing through me before I turn in slow motion. I keep my eyes closed, praying that it’s not the shitty situation I’ve created in my mind, but I know in my gut that I’m fucked. That this is exactly what I feared. When I open my eyes to see Roman standing there, face confused, arms crossed over his chest, it’s confirmed.

The happy bubble I’ve been delusionally floating in just popped.

“Hey, Rome, what’s up?” I say, a bit too loud and obvious, but trying to sound casual, as if I’m always hopping out of his truck for no reason.

“Rome? Did you say Rome?” Demi asks, her voice sounding as frantic as I feel.

“What were you doing in there?” he asks.

“Oh, I wasn’t—” I start, but he cuts me off.

“Don’t,” he says, shaking his head, a look of disappointment moving over his face and sending a stab of pain into my chest. “You’re going to tell me what you’re doing here and, more importantly, why you were messing with the wiring of my truck.” Nausea roils, and I can’t get a deep breath into my lungs. Anxiety and guilt wrack through me, but somewhere in the depths of my mind, I recognize that I’m not scared.

As angry as Roman looks, as angry and skeptical and doubtful as he has a right to be, he would never hurt me. But I also know if I don’t set things right soon, I will be hurting him, and I can’t do that. I can’t lie to him any longer.

I’ve always been fine with lying, always been fine with bending the truth to fit the assignment, especially when the end goal was a good one.

But lying to Rome has become increasingly uncomfortable, and I don’t want this between us any longer. Even though I wish I had planned this better, done it under better circumstances, I know now is the time to spill everything to him.

Taking in a deep, fortifying breath, I speak. “I wasn’t—” I start, but he shakes his head again, a humorless laugh leaving his lips, twisting the knife in my chest.

“You know, it never added up in my head, how you got here. I mean, you rode dirt bikes as a kid, but that stopped, and you never picked it up again.” I lick my lips nervously, and when he takes a step toward me, cornering me until my back hits the oversized tire. “Why are you here, Lana? Because I’m pretty sure it’s not just to drive a monster truck.” I open my mouth, ready to confess, but another voice enters the fray.

“Everything good down here?” Demi asks, faux cheerfulness in her tone despite her nervous look.

“No,” Rome says, looking at her over his shoulder. “It’s not. You both had better explain what the hell is going on here, or I’m going to Phil and telling him what I just saw.” Demi rolls her eyes, poking at a bear.

“He’s not going to do anything,” she says.

“Why not?” he asks, fury in the words. I reach out, pressing my hand to his shoulder and drawing his attention to me before I lay the truth to rest once and for all.

“Because he hired us, Roman.”

THIRTY

I wasn’t trying to follow Lana. But when I looked out the window and saw her walking toward the arena instead of her hotel room, I was intrigued.

When I saw her walk into the arena, Demi nowhere to be seen, my nervousness grew.

Still, there was no universe in which I could have guessed I would find her in a truck, working on the wiring.

When I saw it, my mind ran through a million worst-case scenarios, the brightest and most gut-wrenching one being that she had been behind it all along. It fit in some ways, like how I’ve caught her snooping around more than once, and she did seemingly come out of nowhere. But in others, it didn’t, like how she showed up after the crash.

Still, it was clear that in some way, shape, or form, she’s involved in whatever has been happening, and I needed to confront her.

When I did, though, she didn’t panic or try to deny things.

She didn’t beg me not to tell on her.

She didn’t seem guilty per se, though she did look anxious.

And then she dropped the most confusing bomb of all on me.

He hired us, Roman.

What the hell could that mean?

“We can’t do this here,” Demi says, voice low and looking around. “The Wi-Fi will return soon, and so will Jackson.”