Page 26 of Wicked Sin

And there are exits at both ends. I roll the dice and bet on the back door, but when I step into the bright heat of the rear courtyard, it’s empty.

The little witch ditched me.

10

Taylor

I probably don’t havea lot of time. It won’t take long for Detective Vasquez to realize I’m gone and lean on the resources of the D.C. police to find me.

I wasn’t lying to Luke, exactly. My mother does—did—frequent Tabard Inn, and I wanted to find out when she’d been there last.

But that’s not the real reason I picked this corner of D.C.

The Horus Group offices aren’t far from here, and I need to confront Cole and his team. Let them know I won’t be scared into covering up for my parents.

And if need be, I will threaten him with outing this despicable attack to his precious wife.

My sister.

Ms. Goody Two-Shoes herself.

Hailey won’t like it if I use her name like that, but her husband may have tried to kill me by blowing up my car, so she can deal.

The St. Regis would have been even closer to their offices, but going there is a last resort. And there was less of a chance that I could find an employee who would recognize me enough to put on that little performance for the good detective.

One day, I will forget how to be a manipulative bitch.

Today is thankfully not that day.

I run full-tilt past the church behind Tabard Inn, dash across the street, and then cut down an alleyway between two buildings. But the lot across the way is blocked, fenced in for construction, so I’m forced to turn and walk down the sidewalk on M Street.

Sucking in a calming breath, I slow down and turn right—and slam right into a hard, unyielding chest, attached to a body that was definitely not there a second ago.

I gasp and look up.

Detective Vasquez.

Fuck.

“Hey, Luke,” I say glibly. “That was fast.”

“What the fuck?” He gets right in my face and shoves me back, into the shadows of the laneway and up against the wall. “Are you insane?”

The jury is really out on that point still. “I need to do something by myself. I wasn’t going to ditch you forever.”

“And how were you going to find me again?”

“You would find me. Like…you just did.” Too fast. Damn it. “What did you do, completely violate my privacy and listen to me pee? Chase after me the second I was done?”

“No, you little brat. I gave you an inch of space, and you fled like a double-crosser.”

“That doesn’t explain how you found me.”

“No,” he ground out. “It doesn’t. If you’re keeping secrets, so am I. And no more of thathey, Lukebullshit. You can go back to calling me Detective like the mutant criminal you really are.”

“That’s rude.”

“Yeah. I’m rude. Get the fuck used to it.”

---