Page 93 of Ruin Me With Lies

Now I’mpissed.

I charge, ready to tackle him and pummel that smug face in.But suddenly, I’m drenched in ice-cold water.

Goddammit!

Shock tightens every muscle as chill seeps into my skin, instantly cooling my rage.I blink through the water, slicking my hair back from my face.

Cora stands between us, an empty bucket in her hands, glaring with furious disapproval.

“Enough of this nonsense!”she snaps.“If the people out there saw you two now, scrapping like spoiled boys, no one would follow you.”

“Cora—”

“I’ve heardenoughout of you two,” she clips, then looks pointedly at Gio.“You.Raya cares about you.Genuinely.Do notabuse that.”She then swings her fire to me.“Andyou.You wouldn’t recognize real chemistry if it smacked you in the face, because you’re too busy using women like pawn pieces.Stop fixating on whatever threat youthinkshe is, and start paying attention to what she actually brings to the table.Start paying attention to how much she pays attention toyou.”

Next, she spins on Lorenzo.“Andyou—”

Lorenzo’s brows snap up, startled.“Me?What didIdo?”

“Raya is a human being,” Cora fires back.“Stop treating her like a robot with all the answers.She might be wise beyond her years, but she’s still only twenty-three.You all think she’s hiding something?Of courseshe is.She’s hiding her loneliness.”She cuts a sharp glance between all three of us.“How about, instead of using her like a vending machine for information, you actually make her feel like part of the team?”

Silence.

Cora sweeps one last judgmental look around the room.“Now pull yourselves together and act likemen, for crying out loud.”

Grumbling under her breath, she stomps out of the kitchen.

“You idiots just wouldn’t stop until you made Cora mad, huh?”Lorenzo mutters.

“Yeah, that was…jarring,” Gio says, blinking, water still dripping from his lashes.“When’s the last time we even saw her get angry?”

“About three years ago,” I reply, wringing water from my tie.“Vale said something she didn’t like and she ripped into him.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that.”Gio chuckles.“Didn’t she throw salt water at him and call him the devil?”

“Yep.”I laugh at the memory.“To this day, I still don’t know what he said to piss her off like that.”

“Hey.”Lorenzo snaps his fingers at us.“Glad to see you two aren’t trying to murder each other anymore, but just to be clear, Raya isoff-limitsuntil we get this coup situation locked down.Capiche?”

Gio groans unhappily.“Why doyouget to be the one to decide that?”

Lorenzo stands from the armchair, done with our shit.“Because I’m the only one here who doesn’t want to fuck her.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Raya

I’M DOING STRETCHESONthe floor of Lorenzo’s office at Black Gold, trying to get my blood flowing after sitting in front of a screen for the past three hours.

It’s been over a week since I’ve seen or heard from Stefano, and things with Gio have been weird.Distant.He’s suddenly always too “busy” to hang out.So, by default, I’ve been spending most of my time with grumpy, grunty, hate-everything-that-breathes Lorenzo.Who, at this very moment, is staring at me from behind his desk with an expression I can’t quite place.

I try to ignore it, but the longer he stares at me like that, the more concerned I become.Is his brain broken today?He normally ignores me after giving me his long to-do lists, no matter how much I try to nag him on purpose.The only thing that gets this much attention from him is the surveillance footage of that lawyer woman he’s been stalking.

With a worried laugh, I ask, “Did you forget to take your vitamins this morning or something?Need a hit of caffeine?”

His lips part like he’s about to say something, but nothing comes out.He presses them together again in a tight line, drums his fingers on the desk, frowns, then tries again.“Are you...?Is it—uh—” He stops and shakes his head in frustration.“Okay, so, when you were growing up, and...um…is your—what do you like?”

I pause mid-stretch and blink at him for a few seconds, trying to process what the hell is happening.