Page 22 of Thorns of Deceit

I shot him a surprised look. “Really?”

“Yes. Since you’re no longer employed at my establishment”—he quirked a brow and tilted his head—“you’ll need shit to keep you busy, aside from sending memes to your friends.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stalk much?”

“I notice things,” he corrected calmly. “In my profession, attention to detail means the difference between life and death.”

“Duly noted,” I acknowledged, realizing that might be a problem. “What have you noticed about me?”

He turned his body and gazed at me, contemplative, his Yankees game all but forgotten.

“Hmmm, where do I start?” He tapped a long finger against his lips. “You worry about your mom. At times you wish you didn’t have to deal with her addiction and how dependent that makes her. You’d never leave her to suffer alone, but part of you just wants to disappear with your friends. Am I on the right track?”

My eyes widened as I nodded.

“You want to go to college. Maybe you see it as your way out?” he continued, but there was no smugness to his tone. “I’m okay with that, you know. Whatever you need, just say the word and it’s yours.”

No way, it couldn’t be that simple. I didn’t even ask for the thing I most wanted and he was just… handing it to me? There had to be a catch. Right?

I stared at him, silence stretching between us, while I tried to come up with the right words.

“I don’t know what to say,” I murmured, the hope in my chest expanding like a balloon. “You’re really okay with me going away to college?”

“I didn’t say you’d be going away,” he corrected. “There’re colleges right here in the city with excellent music and arts programs.” My hope was deflating slowly but surely. “Why don’t you look into them and register for the ones you want?”

He pulled out his wallet and opened it, then handed me a thick black Amex.

I reached for it hesitantly.

“To pay for my applications?” I questioned.

“Among other things. This card is yours to do with as you like. You can withdraw cash too. The PIN is 6533. It doesn’t have a spending limit, so whatever you want or need, just get it.”

Well, well, well… things were looking up.

ELEVEN

RAVEN

Ipeeked my head into Aiden’s bedroom and immediately noticed the shower running. A smirk tugged at my lips as a devious plan—and some rather erotic images—flickered through my mind.

Pushing the door open, I tiptoed across the bedroom toward the bathroom, the door cracked just enough for mischief. I was primed to scare the absolute hell out of him—or, more accurately, his stubborn, overgrown heart—when his voice cut through the rhythm of the running water.

“If you’re my wife, refrain from gawking. If you’re not… well, I should warn you, I have a gun and I have no qualms about killing a man while naked.”

I stifled a laugh, shaking my head. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re completely nuts?”

“Many people,” he shot back. “So… what are you doing here, Raven?”

I leaned closer to the crack, peering through the steam-fogged glass. The swirling mist made him almost entirely invisible, which only fueled my naughty imagination.

“Good morning to you too,” I called. “I just wanted to check if you were still here or if you’d gone off to work. Or maybe, should I say, off to commit your usual criminal shenanigans?”

He chuckled, voice teasing. “I’m sure when you heard the shower, you guessed I was still here. Pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

I pressed my back to the wall and slid down onto the hardwood, crouching next to the slightly ajar bathroom door. My eyes searched the fog for a glimpse of him again, but to no avail. No matter, he’d get out of that shower and I’d get my show.

“I know you’re still there,” came his muffled voice through the door, water drumming a steady rhythm behind it.