Page 13 of Dangerous Games of Trust

We spend the next three hours going over exactly what I need to know about their operations. I’m even more overwhelmed than I was this morning, but I do feel like with her help, I’ll be able to work it out. Marco has kept his distance all day, spending most of it on the phone, but I’m dying to talk to him alone and find out what he makes of all these secrets and lies.

The doorbell chimes, and Dani leaves the office to answer it, coming back not too long after with a massive box. She dumps it beside my desk. It even gets Geovani’s attention, and he comes over to see what’s in the box.

“Is it safe to open?” I quiz them.

“Yeah, I scanned it,” she answers, slicing a Stanley knife through the top tape. I have no idea what her scanning it means, but I’ll go with it.

I pop open the top, laughing out loud when I see what’s inside. A bottle of my shampoo and conditioner, along with all the same face and hair products I had at the boys’ place. There is also a note that just says Maddox and an X. I swoon a little, smiling to myself. He couldn’t stand my hair not smelling right.

Geovani raises a brow in question, and Dani smirks knowingly. “This must be some magic stuff, the way all the boysfall for you.” She winks, opening the top of the conditioner bottle and having a sniff. “Yep, I’m in love with you now, girl.” She laughs.

I grab the bottle back from her, not liking the way Geovani’s fists are clenched at his side with what she is insinuating.

“That’s enough excitement. Back to work,” he mutters dryly, moving toward his desk.

Dani smirks at me playfully, and I can’t help but laugh back, watching him go. Yeah, this cozy little scenario just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

Chapter 7

I’m jolted awake inwhat feels like the middle of the night to Geovani shaking me gently. “Red. Red. Get dressed, come on,” he encourages me, his voice low.

I try to focus on his face, but it’s pitch black. I can only make out the shadowy outline of his crooked nose. “What the fuck?” I croak, rubbing my tired eyes. I fell into an exhausted sleep just after dinner, but I know I haven’t slept all night yet, there is no way.

Geovani flicks on the lamp by my bed, burning my eyes. He tosses a pair of black tights at me, and they land on the end of my bed, then he follows up with his leather jacket. “Hurry up,” he mutters, glaring at me, unimpressed that I haven’t moved yet.

“What’s the rush? Come back to bed.” I run a hand through my tangled curls as I sit up, watching him pull on some jeans and a dark hoodie over his bare chest.

He pulls me out of bed to standing, the chilly night air sending a shiver over my bare legs. “I’ve been waiting for the perfectmoment, and it seems like now is the time,” he explains, like somehow that make sense to me.

“Time for what?” I complain. I have no fucking clue what he’s going on about, but I pull the tights on over my bare legs and force my tired arms into his jacket.

“Can you just trust me on this? It’s important.” He tosses a pair of black boots in my direction, and I tug them on as well. Tightly he clasps my hand, his gaze lingering on me for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. As our eyes meet, a surge of electricity seems to crackle in the air. I blink back at him, waiting for him to enlighten me. “I’ll keep you safe, just promise me you will stay close.”

Wearily, I nod, seeing the seriousness on his face.

He takes my hand, pulling me along with him, rushing through the quiet apartment. When we make it out of the elevator, we find a black Maserati pulled into the first parking slot. It has extra-dark-tinted windows, and I know for sure this is his car. He opens my door for me, shoving me inside with a quick glance over his shoulder, before jumping in the driver’s side.

Like a lunatic, he screams out of the parking garage, the screech of his tires echoing off the concrete walls. I scramble to fix my seat belt in place before I fly through the front window. “Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me at this ungodly hour?” The car clock says it’s two a.m. I can’t for the life of me understand what could possibly be so important we need to do it in the dead of night.

He chuckles dismissively. “Have some patience, Harley.”

In a huff, I cross my arms over my chest, staring out the window, watching the city whoosh by with the two of us deadly silent until we’re on the outskirts of town where the houses thin out to trees. I’m not sure if it’s comforting to be away from the city or scarier that no one will be around to hear me scream if I’m being murdered.

Geovani absentmindedly pushes a button or two on the dashboard. Music pumps through the speakers, breaking the silence, “You’re so Dark,” by Arctic Monkeys. I glance at him, surprised by his choice. He hadn’t even heard of them before I introduced him to their music one night while we were working out in his gym. But he’s purposely avoiding my gaze, staring out over the black of night instead. I feel like he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s too smart not to. This is a little nod to our time together.

Half an hour later, we pull into the parking lot of a secure storage company in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. He types in an access key then drives the car through the slowly opening metal gates. Once he finds a wall of safety deposit boxes, he pulls up out front, killing the engine and hopping out in a rush. It’s then I notice the gun wedged in the back of his jeans.

My stomach churns uncomfortably, not knowing what to expect next. They had all implied I shouldn’t leave the apartment, but I guess that’s why he’s brought a weapon just in case.

Coming around my side of the car, he holds out a hand for me to take. I look him over, my glare bitchy as fuck, telling him I’m not going anywhere with him. “If you want me to come with you, explain to me what’s going on first.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“I will enlighten you as soon as we’re back in the car, but for now, I just need you to trust me and stay close so I can keep you safe,” he growls out, getting impatient with me.

I offer him my hand, something in his desperation making me curious to see what he’s up to. He slams the door with his boot, pressing the fob to lock the car before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I’d like to say protectively, but I think it’s more so he can direct me through the lot to the line-up of safety depositboxes we find ourselves staring at. Even so, I don’t shrug him off; right now I’m grateful for his protection.

He searches diligently until he finds the one he’s been seeking, then he gently guides my hand to press my thumb against the keypad at the front. As I stare at him in disbelief, the small door slowly swings open. My eyes widen. What the actual hell is going on here?

He empties the box, hastily stuffing its contents into his front pocket. As soon as he closes the door, he swiftly directs me back toward his car, moving with urgency. We take off before I even have time to do up my seat belt again. We were out of the car for no more than one minute total.

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