Page 42 of Vicious Betrayal

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" Declan smiles, but it tightens slightly, and I realize that he doesn't like that Cormac is being rude.

"Oksana," Cormac says shortly. "This is Declan Murphy. My boss."

"And friend," Declan says, though his smile hasn't eased. "Oksana. I haven't heard that name recently. Russian?"

I nod, feeling my pulse pick up. "Yes. I just don't go much to parties. Cormac talked me into it. Said he wanted a little arm candy for the evening." I laugh with a girlish titter, playing myself off as much sillier than I think I really am—just an empty-headed, pretty woman playing her part until the evening is done and we can go back and do what I'm really here for.

"Did he." Declan looks at Cormac with something that might be amusement. "That's new."

"Don't make it strange," Cormac says shortly. Declan laughs, and then motions to Cormac.

"Not that I want to separate you from someone so beautiful for long, but I need a minute with you. Just a minute, Oksana," he assures me charmingly.

Cormac gives me a glance, and I nod to let him know I understand. I'm not supposed to talk to anyone unnecessarily, or make myself overly noticeable.

I'd said, when I asked to come tonight, that I was tired of being hidden. But being here has made me feel more like a secret than ever, and I really don't like how it feels.

I want him to introduce me freely. I want him to seem proud to be with me. It hurts that he isn't, that he wants to keep who I am and what we are as quiet as possible. And I know that's trouble. That means I'm feeling much more than I should.

I trail off a little, trying to keep them within earshot. It's hard to do, as Declan draws Cormac away from the main gathering areas. I end up trailing them at a distance, and then discovering Declan has led Cormac down a low-lit hallway. I press myself into a corner, trying to keep my breathing quiet, my heart hammering in my chest. I have no excuse if I'm caught, except maybe that I'm trying to find the bathroom. But if I hear something I shouldn't and they know…

The sound of their conversation carries, and I strain to hear it.

"—been distracted," Declan is saying. His tone is mild, almost fond. "Now I know why."

Cormac says something low that I don't catch.

"I'm not saying anything about it," Declan says. "I'm just saying I've noticed. You've been somewhere else, mentally, at least. I need you here for the next few weeks, that's all I'm asking."

"I'm here."

"Good." A beat passes. "We're moving the Thursday thing. We talked about this—we'll shift it to the warehouse near the docks. Monday, not Thursday. Make sure the right people know."

"Done."

"The other thing—the imports, the second shipment—that comes in Friday. I need someone I trust at the point of entry. I want it unloaded and moved before anyone's paying attention. Can you handle that?"

"Yeah."

"That's all I need." Declan's voice has the ease of a man who knows his operation will function smoothly and without issue, because he has the right people in the right places. "Go be with your girl. Just be here Monday."

"She's not my girl," Cormac says shortly. "Just someone I've hooked up with a few times."

I press my hand to my mouth before I can make a sound. I know he doesn't feel that cavalier about me. I know the way he looks at me, the way he touches me, how I've made him lose control and step out of his comfort zone. I've been his unexpected surprise, the thing that's shaken up his life when it'd gotten stale, and I know that I'm more than just someone he's fucked occasionally. I know he's just saying that because he's worried about what my family might have to say to Declan, and he wants Declan to think it's nothing important.

It still feels like a knife in my chest to hear it. And it shouldn't, because I'm going to do so much worse to him than play him off as nothing to me to a boss.

I hear their footsteps start moving back down the hall, and I quickly turn and head down the opposite way. I'm nearly to the end of the hall when I hear Cormac's voice behind me.

"Oksana?"

I turn quickly. "Oh! I didn't know you… I was just looking for the ladies' room. Someone gave me directions, but I got turned around."

If he suspects something is off, he doesn't show it. He just gently takes my elbow and steers me in the right direction, then lets go, his expression suggesting he's miles away from me right now and deep in his own thoughts.

"I'll meet you back near the parlor room bar," he says after a moment. "We can go home soon. I've seen who I need to see."

And too many people have probably seen me, I think bitterly, but I don't say it. I just flash him a smile—the falsest one I've ever given him—and duck into the ladies' room. I don't actually need to use it, but it's thankfully empty, because I need a moment to compose myself.