Page 46 of Pretty Lies

Della snapped straighter in the seat. “What?”

“Just an obsessive asshole? You’re not that dense—you can’t be. If he’s willing to cause problems with the mafia because he’s just in his feelings about whatever the two of you had, then he’s got a hard nut for you. And that’s not a great thing.”

“That’s why it doesn’t make sense.”

Cory dared a look her way but quickly went back to the road. He was driving too fucking fast as it was, so like this, both eyes needed to be looking forward. Nonetheless, his quick glance showed him every drop of her confusion that soaked her features.

“Nobody wanted to listen, though,” Della said. “Not after it first happened. He’s not going to convince me to go back—if he had someone there to send me a message after I told him to fuck off for what should have been the last time, then why bother with this at all?”

“What?”

“This stupid game,” Della said. “Cat and mouse. Like he’s having fun, and believes if he just shows up enough, everything will change. It’s crazy, and it doesn’t make sense.”

It took Cory a second.

He waited another just for good measure.

“You don’t think the attack is related to him at all,” Cory said.

“Or maybe it is, I don’t know. But even back there, when you mentioned the attack being his call, it just … something in his face doesn’t sit right with me. He’s a good liar—I know it better than anyone. But he is still a fucking liar. He didn’t deny it, but he didn’t say he did it, either.”

Yeah.

Shit.

Cory had to think about that, too.

Even still …

“Maybe so,” Cory agreed, “but even if he’s not the fuck who did it, he’s still going to be a problem for me or you.”

Della glanced his way. “Things just changed, didn’t they?”

Oh, yeah.

Big time.

Fuck.

“All my history is bad. Especially with that guy.”

Della let out a sigh, her fingers playing with the edge of the jacket he’d still not taken back from her. He wondered if she managed to miss the comment he had made about the leather piece back in the club. She didn’t.

“When you put the jacket on me—that was important, wasn’t it?”

Akin to a dog pissing on his property. Cory didn’t think she’d appreciate the sentiment.

Nonetheless, the action drew the fucking line. Let that fuck cross it—Cory wished Luis would. Not like he needed another reason to end the man at the moment, but shit …

“Meant a lot between me and him right then,” Cory replied.

It was really all he had to say.

“That was a lie. You antagonized him.”

“Nah, I let him know what really matters, Della.”

“But you made it seem like we—”

“We’ll deal with your people tomorrow,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t understand, and he had zero desire to argue in circles. “I’ll work it out—we don’t have to go through that bullshit tonight.”

Della nodded. “Okay.”

She didn’t ask where they were going, then.

He didn’t offer.