Page 89 of A Lethal Game of Trust

Mia sat upon one of the low sofas, a coffee before her on the table as she texted away. When she saw me approach, she straightened and crossed her knees, gesturing for me to sit before her in the armchair.

My brows were down already. This wasn’t the teary, loving welcome I was expecting.

I placed her bags by her feet and sat where instructed, right on the edge of the seat. I picked at the hem of my shorts, suddenly nervous as if I was the one who had cheated.

Maybe I wasn’t exactly the best of friends to her, but…

No, there wasn’t an excuse. I was an awful person.

“That’s all your stuff apart from the fridge,” I said, sounding apologetic. “If you pop round while Issy’s out—”

“Leonie,” she said, her voice stern. Her tone told me she didn’t care about the fridge. She locked her hands around her knee, looking down at me. “I know.”

When I first met her, she had tried to be intimidating. I’d found it amusing but only laughed behind her back.

But now she wasreallytrying to intimidate me. And I had no loyalty to her at all.

“I don’t follow,” I said, my hands sweaty only because of the heatwave. “You know…”

“You and Dom.”

She watched for a reaction, her own pretty face serious.

“What about me and Dom?” I asked with an awkward laugh.

She lifted a brow and cocked her head to the side. “How long have you been fucking my boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” I said by impulse.

She rolled her lips, proud that she was right and I had just given it away.

Damn my need to defend myself.

“So when you spoke to him, he told you?” I asked, my heart beating harder. He’d only done this to throw it in her face. Just as I thought he would. Because I was right, he was a dickhead and, even though we’d used each other, he was using me for a different reason. To hurt her. I was just collateral.

“I saw the two of you on our security camera,” she said, leaning back with a smirk, having grabbed her coffee. “Lookingverycosy.”

But when we’d left their house, I had purposely kept away from him, two steps ahead.

“You can keep the fridge,” she said and lifted two earrings from the table that I hadn’t noticed. “I’ll keep these for when I tell Issy about herbest friendand herbrother.”

“Please,” I said, reaching to cup her hand with mine, clasping her fingers around the jewellery. “Please don’t.”

“How long, Leonie?” she asked through gritted teeth. “How long have you been fucking him? I can put a date on it.”

“A date?”

“Pretty much as soon as you and Jared broke up,” she said and her eyes brimmed with angry tears as she placed her mug back down. “As much as you’re not a cheat,heis. You’re just a shit friend.”

“He’s not a cheat,” I argued, pushing her hand away. “Youare. You just want a reason to excuseyourshitty actions. Andsome jewellery isn’t going to prove anything.”

“But this will,” she said and got out her phone from her bag.

I looked around at the busy cafe. It was the end of the lunch rush and, our flat being in the centre of town, I’d likely run into someone. People from Drakon were often in here.

Roc sat in what would normally be classed as a large arm-chair, but he made it look as if it was for a doll’s house. He lifted his chin in question, ready to come over.

I shook my head.