Page 96 of When He Lies
She smiled at him. “We’ll see about that.”
“Fate’s funny, isn’t she?” Logan Sterling asked as he sprawled in the suite’s sitting room. “By the way, this is too freaking much blue décor. You will never find this much in one of my hotels.”
“Your hotels are in Vegas. Reno. Monte Carlo. And I’ve noticed that you tend to focus on a whole lot of red in them.” Ryan sat in the blue chair. Logan was on the blue sofa. They both still had their guns.
Simone was dressing. Ryan had already changed into fresh clothing, and he was currently being on his best behavior and not attacking the only family that Simone had in the world. Her family…Logan. Logan’s grandmother.
Though, that really wasn’t the case, was it? They weren’t her only family. Because…
She feels like family to me.
She felt like the woman he wanted to marry. She felt like…everything. He’d been dead serious when he asked her to marry him.
Or maybe he’d told her to marry him. Mentally, he winced. That had not been his best moment. He’d have to ask. Do an elaborate proposal.
After they locked up all the bad guys.
“Blue colors are supposed to make people feel calm. Peaceful.” Logan’s lips twisted. “I’m not exactly going for peaceful in my places. I want people on the edge of their seats.”
“You want them gambling their asses off in your casinos.”
A soft chuckle from Logan. “That, too.” He rolled back his shoulders. “Red makes you feel alive. It increases your excitement level. Makes your heart race.”
“What are you?” Ryan asked as he surveyed the man who could either be an ally or an enemy. “A color expert?”
“Simone is. She’s the one who helped me decorate most of my properties.”
Why had he tensed when Logan mentioned Simone’s name? There was nothing romantic happening between Simone and Logan. Simone had told Ryan that fact. He trusted her. He…
I don’t trust Logan.
The CIA had been watching Logan Sterling since he’d leapt onto their radar in a very big way in a recent case. Logan had actually assisted the CIA at the time. A shock, considering some of his darker ties. The CIA had dug into Logan’s past. Had found out that he was an only child, that he’d been raised by his maternal grandmother after his parents had been killed.
The CIA background check had clearly been missing a few pertinent details. Like the fact that he’d done a stint in foster care before his grandmother had taken custody of him. And, of course, there was Simone.
The CIA was just looking for blood kin. A mistake. Some ties went way deeper than blood.
“I didn’t send Simone after the broach and earrings,” Logan suddenly announced. “I’ve been trying to get her to give up her retrieval business for years.” The fingers of his left hand tapped against his thigh. “I would never willingly send her into danger.” A subtle emphasis on willingly even as his gaze sure seemed to say…Unlike you, prick.
Ryan forced his jaw to relax. “Things are not as they seem.”
“No?” Logan leaned forward. “You are not keeping my Simone captive in this fancy suite? Stopping her from fleeing—as she clearly wanted to do at the Arch? You are not using her to lure in some, ah, how did she term it?”
“International killer,” Simone supplied as she entered the sitting room. She’d changed into a blue dress that matched her eyes. Black sandals that tied around her ankles and had small, dainty heels. “Using me as a lure for an international killer.”
Ryan inhaled. “I am protecting her from killers.”
Logan swept his stare to Simone. “That what he’s doing? You agree with his words?”
Simone came toward Ryan. She perched on the edge of his chair. He tensed because he’d expected her to go and sit beside Logan. The fact that she seemed to be physically signaling that her allegiance was with Ryan…
Hell, yes.
“Why don’t you put down the gun and take my hand?” Simone whispered.
Ryan kept the gun. And took her fingers with his free hand.
Her soft laughter rolled over him. Then she told Logan, “He has managed to save my life…I believe on at least two separate occasions.”
