Page 167 of Ruin Me With Lies

“Raya blackmailed you into planting a chip on Luca?”I ask.

“Y-yes.”

“A chip he somehow never noticed even though it was on hisbelt?”

“It was s-small.A t-type of t-transparent thingy,” she stutters.“She told me to p-press it into the inside of his belt buckle, the one with the eagle that he w-wore all the t-time.”She swallows.“When I did, it just kind of...uh, faded in.Like n-nothing was there.If I hadn’t put it there myself, I—I wouldn’t be able to t-tell anything w-was there.”

“So what, keeping your affair a secret was more important than telling us what she was doing?”

She glances at Tazi, drops her eyes, catches herself, then snaps them back to me.“Raya knew about...s-something else.Something that would have ended my marriage if it got out.She threatened to reveal it if I told anyone.So I...uh, I-I didn’t.”

Tazi steps back, fuming.“What are you talking about?What did—”

“Not here,” I clip.“Sort your marital issues somewhere else.”

Tazi grits her teeth.

“Is that all?”I ask.

Eleni nods frantically, then blurts, “She killed Luca.And I’m worried she’s coming for me next.That’s why I wanted to—”

“What makes you thinkshekilled Luca?”

Her eyes widen at the question, whipping between me and Lorenzo, as though she’s questioning her own sanity.“Because...s-she’sscary?”Her voice pitches higher.“She’s not who she pretends to be.She was cold and borderline psychotic with me.There was nothing behind her eyes.Nothing.And when I threatened to tell you what she’s really like, she laughed and told me to go ahead and do it so I could get to see her die.”She shudders.“I’ve been avoiding her at all costs because she’s evil.”

Lorenzo cocks his head.“We’re still talking aboutRayahere, right?MyRaya?”

Eleni nods wildly.“Yes!It’s true!She’s not who she says she is.She killed Luca.I know it was her.And she’ll come for me now that—”

“Leave,” I cut in.

“But w-what if she—”

Tazi grabs her and hauls her out before she can finish.

Lorenzo grips the back of his now-empty chair.“You believe that shit?”

“What reason would she have to lie?”I ask calmly.“If anything, it explains some of what’s on the thumb drive.The chip must’ve been a transmitter.Or a bug.Maybe both.Something.”

See?I knew she was the one who left that gift.But could my little liar be a little killer, too?To hide the spike of excitement that thought gives me, I lift my mug and take a long sip of coffee.

Lorenzo, still thinking, mutters, “Last time I spoke to her, she told me she wasdisappointedin me for not knowing where she’d been that weekend.”He pauses, brow furrowed in thought.“So the surveillance feed wasn’t ‘hacked’ last night.It was her.Shewent in, looped the feed, and blinded the surveillance team.”He shakes his head.“She was always showing me how to be clean and clever.Goddammit, I should’ve recognized her fingerprints on all of it.”He kicks the chair.“Fuck!You were right about her all along.”

With a shit-eating smirk, I toast him with my coffee mug.“I’m always right.”

“I don’t understand.”He starts pacing.“What’s she doing?Helping us, or fucking with us?”

Welcome to the frustrating, confusing world of trying to figure out Raya fucking Michel, brother.Nice to finally have some company.“Maybe both.”

“If she’s the one who left the evidence, then sheknowswho’s been coming after us.She’s known all along.”He grips the back of his neck.“So why distort their voice?Why leave only partial information?”

“For the same reason she didn’t tell you she was with me that weekend,” I infer.“She wants us to figure it out ourselves.Just like you said.”

He stops pacing and stares at me, frustrated, bewildered.“How the hell are you so fuckingcalmright now?You’re the one who was fucking her.Who threw hands at Gio over her.Who acted like a goddamn sophomore with his first crush.”

My answering grin is too wide for my face.“And now that crush is even bigger.”

“For fuck’s sake.”