Darkest Deception (Deception Series)

43

Pressing on the gas pedal, the speed of my car pushes me against the seat as I race after Remo’s midnight Bugatti Chiron on the open streets of London.

A dark smile touches my lips. I grip the steering wheel harder, switching lanes from to the left, avoiding a car as he does the same from two cars in front of me. By the end of the day, he will have a shattered Bugatti due to his stupid decision of keeping me locked up for longer than we had decided.

A laugh spills out of me when I notice him narrowly missing a white BMW trying to switch lanes from left to middle.

My heart pounds. I watch the speedometer rise the longer I follow him, and as when as we reach an empty roundabout, he swerves in front of me, smoke rising from his back tyres. I swing my steering wheel to the right, too, pulling up the handbrake as I follow closer than ever when he takes the third exit.

“You are so fucking done today.”

He wanted to drive himself, knowing I was coming the second I left that fucking jail. I was coming to find him as soon as I dropped Ambrose off at her house, telling her I would be back soon.

My visit to Remo is long overdue.

Taking a deep breath, I press the gas pedal harder and reach the back of his Bugatti. He switches lanes to the left, and I follow, then moves to the middle. I chase right behind.

As soon as an empty plot of land comes into view, Remo takes the turn and starts to swerve, turning at a one-eighty angle, making me slam my brakes.

Fucker.

The dust rises from his drift, and as it fizzes out, we both are left facing each other, a crazy smile on my face and a deep frown on his.

Exiting his car with one polished shoe in front of the other, Remo rips off his jacket and throws his tie to the floor. Opening my door, he pulls me out, but I land a punch to his face before he has the chance to.

And a second.

And a third. Remo pulls me up, punches me twice and jumps high, slamming his shoe into my chest. I stagger back.

“You fucking psycho!” Remo grits out, panting, watching me run my hand over my lower lip, blood painting my skin.

“Psycho? You shouldn’t have left me locked in there. Big mistake. Big fucking mistake.”

Remo runs a hand through his hair, mirroring the colour of his Bugatti.

“We decided I would be in there for two days, max. And what did you do?” I stalk towards him, grabbing at his shirt.

“Fuck off.” He steps back, keeping his frozen eyes locked on me.

“You knew the blame would fall on you. You knew this would come out the minute Ambrose uncovered it. No matter who sent it to the media, it was bound to happen.” He points his finger in my face.

I admit, we planned this part long ago, but why the fuck had he kept me in there for long?

“Is this your petty revenge for when I told Aurora about you?”

He doesn’t move a single muscle, but the small tic of his jaw reveals it all for me.

I didn’t think he would be so childish about his revenge and take it when I needed to be there for Ambrose.

“You know when to strike, don’t you?” I laugh, shaking my head. I need to constantly watch my back with him.

You can never, and I mean never, predict Remo.

Even within our carefully laid plans, he switches at the last minute without telling me, and I have to readjust because he doesn’t know how to keep to the script.

“Go talk to your prison governor friend and fuck off out of here before I blow up your Bugatti,” I snap.

Remo’s jaw tics twice this time, and a flicker of amusement rises in me.

Actually, that isn’t a bad idea.

He can afford more than one, anyway.

“Or maybe I can ask Aurora about what you were doing while you refused to get me out. What will she say when she finds out that you were just being a petty little bitch?”

This time, Remo’s lip twitches as if he finds something humorous.

“What?” Confusion fills me like a poison.

Remo’s tight shoulders relax, and the fury drains from him.

“What will you tell her?” He takes a step towards me this time, looking down at the ground. “That we killed her father? That I didn’t take out her sister’s lover? That you couldn’t cover your tracks? Or that her husband is a murderer?” A loud laugh booms out of him, and he throws his head back. “Oh, she knows. She knew the minute she saw me drenched in blood from head to toe, not a single speck of clean skin.” He looks back at me, daggers in his glare.

“No, that is old news now,” I counter. “How will you tell her about the little secrets you know about her friend? Don’t have anything to say about Ruel Fargos?”

His eyes spark in anger.

A beat of silence passes between us. The longer he is silent, the bigger my victory.

“I think you should pay us a visit for dinner. I’ll tell Aurora to invite you over for dinner in two days.”

“Will she make the dinner herself? I just love her food.”

Remo sharply turns back, making me burst out laughing.

“Helia.”

“Tell her I want mashed potatoes. I’m really craving them. Prison food isn’t—”

“Get in your car,” he interrupts.

“Maybe even some of her special—”

Remo pulls out his gun and aims it at me, making me shut up.

“All right, mister. I’m going. I want to see how this dinner will end.”

I climb into my car, and before Remo can get in his car, I slam on my gas and smash the back of his Bugatti. Because fuck him. His sharp eyes turn to me, but I salute him with two fingers and a smile and reverse out.

Oh, what fun this dinner will be.

“I know you are here,” I hear Ambrose call out from her bedroom.

She’s watering her plants in a lounge set, hair down and curled in waves.

“About time you showed up, I was going to climb into bed and act dead till you freaked out for taking so long,” she mumbles.

A laugh spills out of me. “I got us an invite to dinner at the Cainn mansion in two days.”

Ambrose straightens, her face now my moon during the darkest nights. “Really?”

I walk closer to her, cupping her cheek and letting my lips trail over my cheeks all the way down to her neck, where I feather her with small kisses. Her hands dive into my hair and hold the back of my neck.

“Yes. Though you may see some fights happen because I love pissing Remo off.”

Ambrose’s laugh feeds my dying heart like a miracle medicine.

“You love pissing everyone off, but Remo seems to—oh…”

I suck at her pulse, and her hands fist my hair tighter.

“What did you do that… will piss Remo off?”

I let her go and grab her cream-coloured lounge top and take it off, my breath catching when I see she isn’t wearing a bra.

Her soft pink peaks are a magnet for my lips.

“Stop talking about another man while I’m trying to seduce you, Ambrose.”

Her hand cups my chin and lifts my face, but I’m not willing to let go of the heavenly sight of her full tits in front of me.

When my eyes collide with the melted chocolate in hers, my heart skips a beat.

The way she looks at me? I know she will be ready to fight any battle for me the way I would for her.

“I love you,” she whispers, almost shyly.

Her lashes flutter when I don’t respond, and she glances away before looking back at me, unaware of the storm she has created inside of me. It’s twisting harder and harder, ready to wreck everything in its destruction.

“Again. Say it again.”

She smiles. “I love you.”

Another skip of a beat.

“Again.”

Her smile widens and stars dance in her eyes. “I love you, Helia.”

My head falls back with a smile.

“I love you too, baby. I love you. I love you. I love you.” I press kisses all over her face, neck, chest, then her lips.

“Now take off your trousers. I need to be home, and that’s inside of you.”

With her trousers off, her legs hooked around my waist, I unzip my own jeans and stand still.

“Loving you feels just like hating you. It’s strong, it’s fierce, it’s intense, and it’s me and you.” I slam into her, stealing her breath.

“I hate you and want to strangle you all the same, just with me inside of you.”

Ambrose slams a hand on my shoulder, her eyes snapping to mine. “Are you going to actually fuck me or chatter like a teenager in love?”

My grip turns punishing on her thighs. “This is why I hate you.”

A soft smile touches her lips. It vanishes when I start fucking her, driving her up the wall, my cock deep inside her tight pussy.

Riding the high with her is like conquering the world with this crazy woman in my arms.

“Do I look fine? It’s not too much, right?” Ambrose says, a small pinch between her eyebrows as we stand in front of Remo’s front door.

She’s wearing a sky-blue dress that is pinched at her waist and held up by thin straps on her shoulders. She clutches a white purse in her hand and wears gold jewellery and white heels.

The dress is sleeveless. That alone has me weak in the heart.

“You look like you should take your clothes off.” I wink at her.

“Helia!” She slaps me on the arm just as the door opens.

“Helia.”

We both turn towards the door to see Kamari, her curly hair big and frizzy in the heat today.

“I may find some nests in that hair. How many birds do you have in there?” I ask.

Ambrose pushes me away as she walks in front of Kamari, who greets her with a polite smile while glaring daggers at me over her shoulder.

“Ambrose, Aurora is waiting for you in the dining room. Go in.”

“Thank you. You look beautiful today,” Ambrose says.

“I think someone didn’t understand that being rude gets you kicked out,” Kamari comments as I walk past her.

“I was just making an observation about your hair.”

Kamari smiles tightly. “Sure. I suggest turning around and walking back the way you came.”

“Careful there. I might think you are jealous of my personality.” I grin at her.

She sighs and shakes her head. “Just get inside, Helia. You are like an annoying child.” She walks past me. Of course she would think that.

The dining room is an open plan of the kitchen and dining room combined, but what really captures my attention are the open sliding doors and the table outside in the garden. It’s decked out with sunflowers in the middle of the white tablecloth.

And everyone is wearing shades of blue and white.

Even Remo. His navy-blue dress shirt is tucked into white trousers. He’s wearing fucking sunglasses as he taps away on his phone.

Aurora is greeting Ambrose, looking very pregnant in her white dress that reaches her calves and white strappy heels. Her hair is down and curled.

My gaze scans the extensive garden, and I spot Ruel talking on his phone, under the tall, old tree that is shading the table. He’s wearing sky-blue trousers, a white t-shirt and sunglasses.

Was I supposed to wear sunglasses, too? What’s with this new trend?

I walk towards Aurora to greet her but catch Remo looking straight at me. I grin.

I raise my eyebrows playfully at him.

“Helia, thank you for coming. It’s a nice summer day, isn’t it?”

I nod, keeping an eye on Remo, who is walking over to me.

“Remo, Helia is here,” she says.

“I can see that,” he grumbles, keeping his eyes on me.

“Oh, hey,” Ruel says, then walks over to grab a glass of water.

“Why are you both looking at Ruel like that?” Aurora whispers.

I look at her, then at Remo, then back at her.

“Ask Remo.” I walk away towards Ambrose and drop into the seat next to her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she says.

I nod, silently watching Aurora and Remo talking in hushed tones while Kamari drops into the chair next to Ruel, who places his arm on the back of her chair.

Remo walks over and sits down next to Ruel, and Aurora sits down next to me. Then servers start bringing food out.

“I cooked everything, guys. Compliments only, or else the door is right there,” Aurora announces, looking pointedly at me.

“No complaints from me.” I raise my hands.

“Keep a leash on your man, Ambrose,” Aurora teases, and Ambrose laughs from next to me.

“I don’t need to. He’s got attachment issues.” She gives me a side eye.

“That’s for sure,” Remo grumbles into his glass.

“Right. Ruel, how is football going?” I ask instead.

Remo’s eyes burn holes in the side of my face.

“Good. Got a game again in Monaco soon, so getting ready for that, attending the F1 race there, too. Great couple of weeks coming up.”

Everyone starts to dig into their food. Platters with little sandwiches, fruit, cheese boards, and so much more get set on the table.

“Dinner looks a little different today, I thought it would be night time,” Ruel says with a smile on his lips.

“Okay, Ruel, we need to have a best friends day now. You stole the words out of my mouth,” I say.

“Stop it, the weather was too good to pass up on having lunch,” Aurora argues with a sigh.

Everyone around the table laughs, except for the grumpy motherfucker called Remo. I swear this man has never laughed in his life.

“Were you born here, Ruel?” I ask.

“Yes, all thirty-three years of my life.”

I watch Remo slowly start to smirk at my attempts to irritate him. Now that is something out of ordinary.

“Something funny, Mr Cainn?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Nothing,”

“You—”

“We should play a game after this! Truth or dare. It will be fun,” Aurora interrupts, casting a brief glance at Remo.

His smirk grows all the while he keeps looking at me.

When I look back at Aurora, I see her eyes flick to Ruel for a second.

He told her.

He fucking told her.

Of course he did.

Remo never loses.

Never mind that then. I will find other ways to harass him.

The dinner continues, and I stay quiet. Every time I look at Ambrose, she’s got a big, genuine smile on her face, and that is all that matters to me in the end.

I will die protecting that smile.

I will kill while protecting that smile.

No deception ever felt darker than one I had with her, but it turned more real and more dangerous than ever.

It will never end.