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“The Lords are well connected. They provide security to a lot of clubs in and around Malibu. Trey’s the head bouncer at Club R. It was good you didn’t fuck Cori.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I can’t believe you’d say that. Asshole.”
Axel snorted. “Any other questions?”
“Guess not.”
“Billy?”
I cringed. Cori was coming my way. “I gotta go.”
“K.”
I ended the call, turning around. “What?” I sneered at her.
“You could be nicer, you know?”
“What do you want?” I really couldn’t be any nicer. I hated this woman. She and her involvement with Jason was the very reason my relationship with Miranda fell apart.
I also had the distinct feeling she enjoyed touching and kissing me way too damn much. The first time I sensed it was Friday night at Charlie’s when she kissed me. This undercover crap needed to end. She may have denied that she liked kissing me, but I knew women pretty damn well. In the last couple of days, Cori had tried to get in as much kissing as I allowed, which wasn’t much. I’d managed to pull away, turn my cheek, or divert her path away from me. It was fucking exhausting staying ahead of this woman.
“Wow, this is a side to you I haven’t seen before,” she huffed and pouted like a preteen.
I didn’t grace her with a response.
“Really? You have nothing to say?”
I stepped in front of her, shoulders squared, and growled, “What the fuck do you want me to say? You’ve ruined my life. Just stay the hell away from me.” I stalked off toward the entrance of the restaurant, leaving Cori stunned.
I didn’t give a shit. I was done with this goddamnedmasquerade.
2 Will
BETWEEN HAVING NO contact with Miranda and too much contact with Cori, I’d been in the shittiest mood since we landed at LAX. Pretending I wanted Cori, so Jason didn’t get suspicious, nearly drove me insane.
I never wanted to see Cori again, or Sin City.
Minutes before Jason’s meeting with Mario, the one to supposedly end all the lies and deceit, Jason’s plan changed. I feared he might have figured out I knew the truth about him and the dirty Feds, which would explain why he canceled. Axel had looked into this guy and found nothing linking a Mario to the Mexican cartel. As much as I hated Jason, I couldn’t see him being in with such illustrious criminals. He wasn’t smart enough.
According to Cori, Mario was the expert in his field—money laundering. And he, along with Jason, had slipped through the Feds’ fingers. Our guess was Mario was real and possibly the mastermind behind the breach in St. James Investments.
All in all, Vegas had been a big fucking flop.
The handholding, kissing, dancing, and nausea were for nothing. Cori and I retiring to our suite for a night of raunchyfakesex had been a waste of my precious time. Not one damn thing turned out the way it was supposed to. I wasn’t sure what the real reason was for going to Las Vegas because nothing was accomplished on Cori’s end or my end with Axel.
I felt trapped in a never-ending nightmare. What if Miranda asked if the affair was over? She might give me a chance to explain.Might. Even though I was done with this shitshow, I wanted Axel and his crew to get Jason and recover the millions stolen from SJI. Fuck. I wasn’t done. I needed to continue working with the bastards.
How would I explain not ending the affair with Cori?
“Don’t get discouraged.” Cori startled me out of my trance, gripping my shoulder. We’d hit some traffic on the 101, typical for this time of day and irritating as hell. I just needed to get home and face the music. “We’ll get him. Then your life can go back to normal.”
“This isn’t going to go over well with Miranda. I promised all this shit would be over when I returned.” Another broken promise. By now, I’d broken my word hundreds of times. It was a miracle she’d stuck by me this far. I prayed she’d continue to long enough for me to explain everything.
“These things happen. There was no way of knowing Jason wouldn’t meet with Mario. But we had to try, and we’ll try again.” She quieted, then turned toward me. “On the bright side, you’re a great dancer.” A small curl in the corner of her mouth appeared.
We’d put on quite the show dancing for Jason. My salsa moves had kept Cori at arms-length, a sweet reprieve that I desperately needed. Cori couldn’t dance to save her life. I could have danced all night just so I didn’t have to touch her.
I’d missed Miranda like crazy out on the dance floor. I wanted her with me, shimmying her shoulders and shaking her delicious ass. My girl could move her body like a pro. She’d called me a professional dancer, but Miranda was my equal on the dance floor just as much as in the bedroom.
