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My old commander looked at me once again and I threw him a furious look. “Tell her. Whatever the fuck it is, just tell her. She deserves to know every scrap of the truth.”

“Yes,” she hissed. “Tell me.”

“Your father was being funded by the Degardo Cartel, paid well for communications systems that allowed them to listen in on trade secrets in every law enforcement agency, every crime syndicate. What your father created was a powerful tool. In order to keep his secrets, he was forced to turn over the most valuable treasure he owned as collateral.”

“What was that?” she spit out.

Gray took a deep breath before answering. “You. You were to be married to Degardo’s son. That’s why you were kidnapped so your father wouldn’t be implicated.”

“You’re lying to me!”

I moved toward her, noticing her body was swaying. I’d never been as furious as I was right now.

“Get away from me!” She threw up her arms, taking a step backward.

“I’m not lying to you,” Gray insisted. “When we land in Washington, I’ll provide all the proof you need. I’m sorry, Juliette. I truly am. I didn’t want to believe that about Randolph. He was once my friend.”

I could tell the rug had been ripped out from under her. She locked eyes with mine, just like the night before when we’d made love. Only on this sunny morning, there was nothing but hate in her lovely eyes. Pure. Hate.

She abruptly turned, heading for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To get my things. I can see I have no other choice.”

“Are you coming back?” I asked even though I knew the answer.

She stopped on the bottom stair, giving into full body shakes. “What in God’s name do I have to come back to? More lies? That I can’t take, especially from you, someone I thought I… What does it matter?”

As soon as she headed up the stairs, I took two long strides toward Gray, throwing a hard punch to his jaw.

He stumbled backward, pressing his palm against his face. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you did. Don’t call me for any other missions, Gray. That involves trust and the absolute truth, neither of which we have in this toxic relationship.”

CHAPTER 35

Four months later…

Juliette

Music.

Hot men.

Good friends.

A night off with no pressure.

Several drinks.

I’d finally allowed my friends to convince me to head out on the town, yet I hadn’t enjoyed anything, including the sexy men who’d asked me to dance. Nothing felt right. At least I was no longer front-page news. There was a plus. With my father managing to get out on bail, I’d tried to distance myself from everything and everyone.

“Why are you pouting?” Cami asked as she crowded next to me shoulder to shoulder at our little round table.

“I’m not pouting.” I’d come close to snapping my answer, something I’d done several times over the last few months. Maybe because the ache had furrowed deep down inside, the kind of pain that took years to dissipate. If it could ever happen.

Ashley slipped across the table, giving me one of her looks. I’d experienced that on a half dozen occasions when both my friends had done an all-night vigil with me, plying me with ice cream and wine, neither of which had put me in a better mood.