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“It’s sweet if you know the lyrics.” I say, refusing to let him hide.
He looks down at me and all the playfulness is gone. “I don’t.”
“Liar.” I say again, smiling. He doesn’t look away. “M- Mark.” I start, sounding breathy and desperate and not really caring. I look at his lips and lean in. He’s going to kiss me.
He keeps staring, his intensity turning into something different. “Stop looking at me like that.” He whispers.
“Like what?”
He looks away, smiling at someone and answers through his teeth. All the venom is back. “Like I’m going to kiss you. Why would I do that? There are no cameras here tonight,sweetheart.” I look down and sigh, willing myself to keep it together. Luckily, the song ends before I can humiliate myself further.
“I have to meet with Senator Senior,” He sneers his father’s name and I’m unsure if the deep distaste is for me or for his dad. Probably both. “Ric will take you home.” He turns and leaves me standing on the dance floor alone.
Totally, utterly alone.
CHAPTER 16
Mark
This is it. Weeks of tortured patience, months really, finally paying off. Fausto sets down his glass and points at one of his goons to unroll the map, an actual paper map, on the table.
“You finish your fancy wall for your cute little voters, then you give us remote access to override at these points.” He watches for my reaction. I don’t give him one. Which takes effort. There are a fuck ton of X’s marked along the southern border.
“That’s a lot more points than we discussed, Fausto.”
“Sí,but you know how things are always changing. That bill you should’ve squashed is troublesome. We need more ways around all the new protocols.”
“I moved millions of—“
“Not enough! What do you think I’m paying you for, to fuck my pretty niece and play wannabe president in Washington? Make it happen,sobrino.”
I inhale and maintain a bored look. “This will take time.”
“Your high tech wall has a few more months to go. So do you.”
“I’ll get things moving today.” I tap the map. “Is this my copy?”
Fausto laughs heartily. “Your copy! Sure, boy, sure. But it stays here. You get your plan in motion and when it’s time to install, we’ll go over the map.” I nod.“Bueno. Adiós.”
Fausto waves his hand like I am a gnat he wants to be rid of. I nod and stand, bowing like a little choir boy before being ushered out.
I collapse into my car. “Home, my wing.” Ric nods. As if I really even need to say it anymore.
It’s almost physically painful to walk into the main house like I used to do. All my routines are totally fucked. And now, my workload has quadrupled along with the risks. I’m running on no sleep as it is, like a rocket filled with burning fuel, but tied down, unable to take off. Same as my dick, actually.
I stifle a groan as I stumble into my side door. Nothing has changed in my wing and still everything is different. Rather than continuing to wallow, I need to think. I need to plot. I strip off my button-up shirt and dress pants. I leave on my undershirt and throw on some shorts. I walk across the hall into my gym. It’s one of my two sanctuaries.
I scan my options. There are a couple of state-of-the-art machines that do every muscle group between the two of them, free weights, a rower, treadmill and bike. I go with the rower, the only thing that seems to really satisfy me when I want to kill someone. Which is often.
Miles in, I’m not sure how many minutes, maybe an hour, I see something in my peripheral vision. It’s her.The fuck?
This is more than enough to piss me right the hell off and unfortunately for her, I was already pissed. I’m up and in her face in a flash.
“What part of don’t ever come into my wing don’t you understand, Eleanna!”
“I’m sorry! Robbie is here.”
“I don’t care if…what?”
