Page 15 of Tell Me All Your Lies

“You’re a gorgeous woman. I won’t deny that.”

She cocks an eyebrow as she lets the rim of her glass linger against her dark-red painted lips.

“But?” she finally asks.

“It’s a shame the package comes with all this damn sass.”

A wide grin spreads across her face, and I can’t help but let my teasing smirk grow too.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I have no issues finding real men who can handle it all.”

Cara downs the rest of her bourbon and slams it on the bar.

“See you out there,” she says, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she walks away.

This woman always has to have the last word. Why did I freeze when she responded? It can’t be the feeling of jealousy working its way through my system.

Cara can be with other men; it’s not like I’m a saint. And it’s not like I can have the woman—there would be too many obstacles in our way.

For one, I’m getting old. I may not be Luke’s age, but the wear and tear I’ve put on my body with decades of field experience makes me feel like I am.

When I was first starting out, the adventure, the travel, and hell, even the women all played into why I loved this constant game I still find myself in. There was too much appeal for a young hotshot to say no.

Nowadays, the lure to retire is constantly on my mind. I’m not sure what it’ll take to make me finally lay my superhero complex to rest, but it’ll happen one day soon. Until then, I’ve been setting myself up nicely in the background. Having connections from around the world has put me in a good financial position. If I do ever manage to say goodbye to this life, I’ll be able to work my other businesses with ease.

I sip my bourbon and swirl the remainder around in the glass. Cara’s laughing at some young man across the room. The sound of her laughter ringing in the distance is almost intoxicating.Almost.

I don’t even have to know what they’re talking about to understand he serves a purpose to her; otherwise, she wouldn’t be wasting her time. It’s all a façade she’s putting on with him to get under my skin.

I track the way Cara’s hand rests on the man’s forearm, making him relax despite the fact that she’s leading the conversation between the two of them.

He leans close to her ear, and she pulls back playfully before putting her hand in his. She pauses before he can pull her out onto the dance floor, and I see a slight shiver race up her spine.

Cara slowly glances in my direction. She can sense my presence. It’s this vulnerable version of her that makes me forget about all the complications that make Cara Collins.

She knew I was watching. More importantly, sheliked it.

Cara grins before focusing back on her dance partner. He whisks her out of my line of sight, probably for the best.

I have two options here.

The first is to simply get another drink, find Luke and Catherine, and maybe find a woman of my own for the night. The problem is that this irking feeling won’t go away. This leads me to option two: go out there and steal the girl.

I think I like that challenge much better.

Making my way through the sea of people, I try to stay hidden in the background of the dance floor. I find Cara easily. She moves with such precision and grace, just as well as she moves out in the field.

This woman.

I wonder why she’s playing with her conquest like this. He’s practically drooling all over himself as she saunters around the dance floor with him.

She likes the game.

I wonder what she’ll think of my next move.

Cara’s back tenses, just a slight flex, almost as if she knows I’m nearby. It’s an easy tell I’ve learned about her over the years.

She kicks up her leg and starts to overplay her hand.

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