Chapter 3 #2
I flipped my phone over with a snort. Bitch? This wasn't like Beck. He preferred to bide his time. But the frustration warmed a petty part of me. Beck wanted to play games? Did he forget that he'd trained me? He wanted to provoke me into interacting with him? Well, I'd give him silence instead.
Games weren't as much fun when you played them alone.
"Alright?" Ray startled me.
He slid in with his eyebrow quirked as he lifted my lemonade.
"I'll just get a straw." I wandered up to the counter and interrupted a thick, hairy-armed man with a twirled mustache.
"What can I get you?"
"I-I'm hoping you might help me. Someone broke into my car last week while parked outside, and the police won't do anything.
Could I get access to the security camera footage you have?
He stole my grandma's wedding ring, and it's the only thing I have left of her.
" I reached over and grabbed a straw, passing the back of my hand over my eyelids.
The man sniffed. My theatrics didn't move him.
"We don't give out access to our cameras." He crossed his arms and looked me up and down.
I knew what he saw. A weak woman. I could work with that.
"I-is there anything I can do to change your mind? It would mean the world to me." I tossed a little innuendo there.
Nothing like a bit of honey to crack open a grumpy man.
The man snorted under his breath and stalked into the kitchen. I cursed under my breath. That could have gone better. I looked around the restaurant with a sinking feeling. There was no way I could get digital access to the cameras. My trip was spinning into a more complicated mission.
When I returned to the table, Ray twirled my phone in his fingers.
"This thing has been going off the entire time you were gone."
"It's nothing." I sat next to the Donato heir and tried to control the rapid fluttering of my heart.
Ray sniffed and pressed his thigh against mine with insistent warmth.
"If you say so."
I gave him a sidelong look, silently questioning why he was sitting so damn close to me. And why did my breath catch from the innocent action? Only it wasn't harmless at all. Intention, so delicious, made my mouth water.
"You're supposed to be dating Adelaide. Don't you think you should be more discreet?" I whispered, and Ray perched his elbow on the table.
His muscular chest caged me, and his electric gaze froze my muscles.
"Tomorrow, I'll be the best fake boyfriend she's ever had, but right now, can't I enjoy lunch and flirt with a gorgeous girl?"
My stomach flipped at his charm, and a server brought over our plates of food, saving me from replying. I parceled out a napkin for us both and sucked in the scent of barbecue with a low moan. Ray spoke to the shell of my ear.
"You shouldn't make those kinds of noises, Lara. They give people ideas."
I turned my head, our lips inches from each other. He smelled of expensive cologne. The kind you tested in the store but left behind because the price made your eyes water.
Adelaide had lingering negative feelings about Ray Donato, considering their history.
But I felt an affinity with him. Both of us leaned toward adrenaline and hedonism when lost. Adelaide's influence would be a good thing for Ray, but I kind of liked the beautiful mess.
I was too busy admiring his sharp cheekbones when he flashed my phone in front of me. It unlocked at the sight of my face.
"Ray. Don't," I warned. A foolish warble in my voice only made the man fight harder.
I grappled his arm as he pressed me against the booth. No amount of movement could get me free in time enough for him to read the string of texts. There were new ones, more ominous.
Unknown: There will be consequences.
Unknown: If you don't answer me.
Unknown: I will send someone to gut you, slut.
Unknown: You don't want to test me.
My mouth dropped open, and I clicked it shut. The unhinged vehemence from Beck was too far. He was putting me in danger. I slumped against Ray's stiff arm and let out a soft puff of dismay.
"Who's threatening you, Lara?" Ray locked my phone and tossed it on the table with a frown. "Don't tell me that's nothing."
I tried to snatch my phone, to tuck it away and drop the subject, but he shook his head, once. A warning for me not to even try. Panic trickled, and my throat closed as I tried to think of how to play this.
"It's none of your business."
"So Adelaide won't mind if I tell her?" His lips quirked, not with humor.
I laid my hand over his forearm, surprised by how tense it was. The food remained abandoned beside us. The smell that tantalized me moments ago made my stomach turn. Ray had caught me in a lie, and he knew it, quick enough to realize how to manipulate me.
We were more similar than I thought.
Intelligence hidden behind a careful mask.
"Please, don't. She's got enough on her mind, and I don't want to worry her."
"I'm very good at keeping secrets. Tell me who, and I'll help you. Adelaide isn't the only one with connections in this town."
Oh. Only my mentor and lover from a secret organization. I couldn't explain what that meant. But to say nothing would be to invite more curiosity. The first thing that popped into my head spilled off my lips.
"It's an ex of mine. That's why I'm here, actually.
" I waved my hand around the restaurant.
"I think he followed me here last week, and I need access to the cameras.
" I shrugged, hoping the nonchalance I faked was enough to get him to forget it.
"They wouldn't give me access, though, so I'll have to try something else.
But Adelaide can't find out about this. Especially with everything she has on her mind right now. "
"I should tell Adelaide. She will want to protect her best friend," Ray countered, reaching across to grab a rib smothered in dark, sticky sauce. "Or you could get me on the phone with him. Your choice, volpe mia."
What did that mean? I was too stiff with panic to question him.
"No, to both options."
My best friend wouldn't let this go, and she'd dig until she found the falsehoods I worked so hard to legitimize. She'd find out I was a liar and a fraud. I wasn't ready to lose everything I'd built in Greenich Bay, not when there was still a chance to make it my forever.
"No Adelaide. Done. Tell me when you broke up, and how long has this been going on?"
I told Ray about Beck and me, leaving out all the details except our twisted passion and attraction. Ray wanted to see all the messages, but I lied and said I'd deleted them. His expression darkened as he put the rib aside.
"You think he followed you? Tell me where he was living beforehand."
I shrugged. Absolutely not.
Beck would gut Ray if he turned up on his doorstep, but I still couldn't believe he put that in writing. To everyone else, I was Lara Miller. There was nothing special about me. Nothing to warrant being stalked and abused at all.
Ray licked his fingers, and his thigh pressed against mine again. The warmth was a strange comfort.
"He's got a temper, but I can handle myself. If I get proof of him being here, I can prepare. Adelaide will tear this guy into bits. I'm not telling her, and neither are you, got it?"
"Maybe he deserves it. Nobody should speak to a woman that way."
"Like you're a paragon of virtue."
"Make a deal with me, Lara."
Ray's brow furrowed for a moment before smoothing, and his charming smile filled the space.
His hand snuck out, and I eyed it with a grin I couldn't smother.
Adrenaline fired in my veins and the breath I sucked in was hot with danger and promise.
This was like making a deal with a devil.
My hand slapped into his, and he gripped it tight, wrenching me toward him.
I was sure I could manipulate him into dropping this.
Ray didn't commit to things, and he wasn't a disciplined type.
In a day or two, he would forget about this conversation, and I could go back to ignoring Beck.
"I'll keep your secrets and make sure you get that footage. I won't ask for much in return."
His gaze searched mine, thick with humor and warning. He wanted me to balk and prove I feared him. This was all a game for him. But I'd been playing games for years, especially with Beck. But if Ray could get me the footage without me putting myself at risk?
"What do you want?"
"You'll have to take my help and find out later. Can you handle that, volpe mia?"
I leaned until our breaths mingled. A low whistle came from the side as someone watched us, thinking we were about to kiss. Ray's pupils dilated as he waited. I would do anything to distract him right now.
"What does that mean?"
"My fox. There's something cunning in you, something sly. You shouldn't have caught my interest, Lara."
"I can handle anything from you, Ray. Anything." I promised and felt it sear through my stomach with a heat I couldn't deny.
Whatever I promised would become clear later, and I'd pay the consequences then. I knew no matter what, I'd enjoy working closely with Ray.
Maybe too much. He didn't know how right he was about me.
But it was too late to say no now, and I didn't want to.