Page 9 of The Devil's Deceit

Her thumbs fly over the screen.

Juliet: Shit. Sorry babe. I totes forgot. Keeping up appearances is fucking hard.

Me: Tell me about it. I’m constantly crapping myself I’ll slip up.

She nods, and we fall into silence. The journey to Dunbrooke takes around an hour, and as the car slows to a stop outside Juliet’s apartment building, I unfasten my seat belt.

“Is this all right?”

I nod to the driver. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

We alight onto the pavement and wave as the driver moves off.

“Want to come in for a coffee?” Juliet asks as he rounds the corner at the end of her street.

“That’d be lovely.” I’m glad of the reprieve. Facing Arron, and especially Uncle Daniel, and telling them I messed up isn’t something I’m looking forward to. They’re relying on me to play my part. While I undeniably caught Christian’s attention, I didn’t handle our interaction well.The idea was for me to wheedle a follow up meeting out of him, and I epically failed.

Juliet unlocks her apartment door, and we go inside. I flop into the nearest chair and pinch my nose between my thumb and forefinger. I catch the concerned look on her face and force a smile.

“I’m okay. Really.”

“What happened? Did he touch you? Scare you? Because if he did I’ll?—”

“None of those things.” If I don’t interrupt her, she’ll carry on for ages, rapid firing questions at me until she runs out of things to ask—which never happens. “He took me to their private gardens at the back of the house, and we talked.” I dig my fingers into my temples and take a deep breath. “I’m ashamed to say that for a few minutes, I forgot who I was talking to. I guess the masks helped. Then he removed his and asked me to remove mine. When I did, he said, ‘wow’.” I shrug.

“Of course he saidwow.You’re gorgeous.”

“Guess we can put a tick in the box of ‘Does he find me attractive’?”

“Right, so it was all going to plan.”

“Yeah. Then I got your text and?—”

“Don’t tell me I fucked up? God, I’m sorry babe. I looked for you, and when I couldn’t find you, I got worried.”

“You didn’t fuck up. Although if you could shut up and let me finish, I’d appreciate it.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Never could keep quiet. Remember in school, we’d get separated for chatting in class.”

“You were the only one chatting. I was the one kicking you under the table to tell you the teacher was coming.”

She giggles. “Fun times. Anyway, go on.” She motions with her hands as though I’m the one who’s stalled the conversation.

“I told him the text was from the friend I’d come with, and he said ‘Tell her you’re with me and you’re safe. I’m only a monster when the moon is full.’”

A frown drifts across her face. “Babe, I don’t follow. He was making a joke, right?”

“Yeah, he was. But… well, the night Mum and Dad died, it was a full moon.” I press both palms to my face and shake my head. “It’s so stupid, but I freaked. Like, here I am, alone with the man responsible for killing my parents, or at the very least covering up what happened to them, and then he says something about being a monster and I just… I panicked and ran.”

“Oh, honey.” She grabs my hand and folds it inside both of hers. “Of course it freaked you out. None of this is easy, and it’s all falling on you.”

“Not all on me. Arron and Uncle Daniel are both playing their part. If it wasn’t for Arron’s IT skills and Uncle Daniel taking out a loan for the surgeries, I wouldn’t stand a chance at getting close to Christian.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who had those surgeries. You’re the one who’s to get up close and personal with him. You’re the one who… and I hate to say it, babe, but if the plan works, you’re the one who’ll probably have to sleep with the man you hold responsible for what happened to your folks.”

“Well, safe to say I fucked that up royally. I left without securing any kind of follow up.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Something tells me he’lltrack you down. A man like that doesn’t chase after a woman he’s only just met unless he’s interested.”