Page 10 of Tainted Truth

I don’t want to think about the one that came before and the lack of aftercare. If I go there, I’ll need to kill him right now with my bare fucking hands.

Once Spencer is clean, I grab a bottle of massage oil from my nightstand. “Roll over.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it.”

She shakes her head but does as I ask.

I pour a generous amount into my hands and knead the muscles in her back. My hands glide over her smooth skin. I find the knots along her shoulders and neck and rub each one until her entire body loses its tension.

Spencer groans. “Fuck, Zane. That feels so good.”

“Keep talking like that, and I’ll do you again right now. I need to let you rest, but I only have so much control when it comes to you.”

Spencer gasps but remains quiet for the rest of her massage. Once her muscles are loose, I lie next to her, on my side, and adjust her body so her back is plastered to my front.

“Why the handcuffs?”

Her question catches me off guard. I shouldn’t be surprised; I highly doubt she’s ever done anything like that. I should have talked to her about it before just going with it.

But as much as I want to give her everything, there are some memories that are too painful to revisit. And if I’m going to share with her, I need her to share with me. “Why does Anthony scare you?”

Her shoulders tense, but not a word leaves her lips.

Before I close my eyes, I give Spencer the news I was supposed to. “Paloma wants us to come for dinner.”

She twists so her face is in mine. “Who the hell is Paloma?”

The jealousy radiating from her fills my heart.

Yeah, she wants me.

I hold back a laugh and answer, “Rio’s mother.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.Oh.”

“We’re going tomorrow and you’re coming with.”

A mischievous glint enters her eye.

Before she can put together any ridiculous plans, I inform her, “I should mention that Paloma knows what we do and whowe are. She trusts us. If you try to tell her you’ve been chained to my bed, she’s not going to call the cops.”

“Fucking perfect,” she murmurs as she turns back over.

I’m going to hell, that’s for sure—my ticket was signed years ago—so telling a small fib isn’t going to make it any worse. Paloma kind of knows what we do. She was there for Rio during all the shit that went down with Izzy. She won’t call the cops, but she might rip us all new ass holes.

“Sleep, Angel.” I run my fingers through her hair and gently work out each tangle.

After little snores begin coming out of Spencer, I let myself dream.

I dream of a world where we all live together under one roof. Spencer is safe, there are no human traffickers to kill, and we get to lie like this in bed most days.

Something moves in my heart, and determination takes hold of me.

This will be our life. I’ll make sure of it.

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