Page 31 of An Eye For Illusion

My heart rate ticks up when I see it was Colin who called. I glance around the parking garage, and a small gasp slips out when I see Colin’s eyes boring into mine. I quickly look back at Elliott, not wanting to give anything away.

“What is it?” he asks.

“There’s an emergency at the office,” I lie before sending Thomas a quick text instructing him to pick me up on the third floor of the parking garage.

I want to get out of here. The need to wash my body where he touched me to rid myself of him entirely fills my soul. I’m also having way too many emotions about the fact that Colin caught me kissing the man I’m supposed to be marrying.

Fuck my life.

Elliott says nothing as he watches me straighten my clothes. My smile on the outside says I’m in love, but on the inside, it’s shaky, a little broken, and a lot scared.

I blow out a relieved breath when Thomas pulls up behind Elliott’s car. He hops out quickly, rounding the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He tips his head to Elliott. “Mr. Moore.”

“Thomas,” Elliott says, not friendly but casual.

I turn my attention to Elliott. “Will you call me later?” I hope like hell this little show isn’t in vain and that I’ve made some headway with him.

He leans down, his eyes zeroing in on my face as they scrutinize me. I want to squirm under his gaze, but I hold myself still. I won’t cower in front of this man.

“Yeah, babe. I’ll call you.”

The way he says babe causes my stomach to do another summersault. I don’t believe him for one second, but there isn’t much else I can do here. I nod and walk over to slide onto the backseat before closing the door myself.

I don’t look back at him again.

Thomas gets back in the driver’s seat, and we pull out of the parking garage. As soon as we’re on the road, I pull my phone from my bag and press Colin’s number. I hope he called because he found something. I don’t know how much more I can take.

Chapter 11

Colin

Jealousy isn’t an emotion I’m accustomed to, but I can’t deny that’s exactly what I feel after seeing Elliott Moore kiss and grope Jade. Calling her to interrupt their interaction was petty and unprofessional, but it was the only thing I could come up with that wouldn’t also draw their attention to me sitting in a parked car watching them.

Even though Elliott’s schedule didn’t show that he had an early meeting, I planned to be here in case the guys that tailed him a few days ago showed up. Donovan is working to find the ring they and Vinny are all connected to after the all-clear from Liam to proceed.

In the meantime, I’ll follow Moore beyond his scheduled meetings. It looks like I may need to tail the tails to get to the bottom of it.

Moore’s intense gaze stayed on Jade as she got into the waiting car and left. She never looked back at him. When her driver pulls out of the parking garage and onto the street, Moore finally gets into his car.

My phone rings, distracting me from the intense jealousy I had moments before. I didn’t expect any emotions about the two of them practically groping each other in public—let alone wanting to rip Elliott’s throat out for touching her.

I try to shake the crazy thoughts loose as I look down at my phone. My pulse picks up as soon as her name appears on the screen. I swipe to answer it. I don’t know if she’ll be angry I interrupted…

…or grateful.

“Jade,” I say cautiously.

“Colin, did you find something?” she asks. Her voice is hopeful, not a trace of anger in her tone.

I clear my throat, more surprised than anything that she sounds so hopeful.

“I’m following him now. We’re leaving the parking garage and headed in the opposite direction of you.”

She’s quiet for several moments before she responds. “Well, why did you call?” She still doesn’t sound angry. Instead, she sounds confused and defeated.

There’s no way in hell I would ever admit to her that I was jealous of Moore. I’d sooner die. But the way she sounds makes me want to give her something, some kind of hope that I’m close.

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