Page 27 of Bitter Lies

AIDEN:

How long will you be in London?

Two days. Tomorrow night, I’m attending a private event with my grandmother. Do you like art?

Not sure.

I have an extra ticket.

It’s a mystery why I’m offering him the ticket. What’s even crazier is I hope he takes it.

I have a work thing. Not sure I’m free.

Staring at the screen, I mull over whether I should go there or just let it go. I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, so I type out the words and press send.

What is it you do, exactly?

…

The dots bounce around and disappear more than once before I receive a response. His next words make my stomach drop, and I wish I hadn’t asked.

I could lie. I won’t. I’m not a good man. You should never see me again. Tell me to fuck right off and disappear.

I bite my lower lip as I consider my reply.

Do you know who I am?

I didn’t until ten minutes ago. We should end this now before it’s too late. Before things get out of control.

Just the thought of him being gone, of never seeing or hearing from him again, fills me with sadness. I don’t understand it, but I don’t like it.

It’s already out of our control. If you want to see me while I’m in London, you know where to find me. I’m not afraid of you. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. If you’d wanted to hurt me, you could’ve done that tonight. No one would’ve been the wiser. But you didn’t.

There’s more than one way to hurt someone.

I sense a hidden message in his words, but I don’t care to know what it is.

Stay safe, princess.

And if I don’t?

Why am I pushing him?

I’ll cash in my raincheck and spank your arse while fucking some sense into you.

I knew what he’d say before the words popped up on my screen. Now my knickers are drenched, and I’ll have to take the edge off when I get home.

Chapter 12

Aiden

“We shouldn’t be here.” I voice my disapproval as Silas orders me to pull up to the curb. “Our meeting with Cort Theiss is less than an hour away.”

The smug expression on his face, paired with his hand on my shoulder, sparks a slow, simmering urge to break each of his fingers one by one.

“So, we’ll be late. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay put.”

I signal the valet to hold on, then turn to Silas. “Why are we here?”