Page 66 of Tell Me All Your Lies

“I’m not going to say it.”

“Let’s go with important.”

“Yes.”

“Then I better show her my cards on Thursday.”

TEN

Cara

Staringat the note that Grant left me once again, I’m getting nervous for our night in together. He’s going to be teaching me some of his card tricks. Neither of us thinks that Cordelia will expect me to be as proficient as he is, but I need to have some understanding of gambling.

Even though Grant and I are newlyweds, we would have been dating for some time ahead of getting married. It would make sense that I would understand the games that afford us this lifestyle.

Growing up in Massachusetts, I had a core group of friends that I spent all my time with: Lachlan, Grayson, and Liam. They used to play cards together periodically, but I never found it interesting.

Since I was always by their sides, I would be pulled into a few rounds to make the stakes more interesting or listen to their conversations about it. Right now, I’m happy I didn’t just ignore them like I did with other topics I found dull.

When Grant asked if I had a basic understanding of how to play a few games, I was able to be honest with him when I said yes. I probably would have lied to anyone else if I didn’t, but I’d rather not lie to Grant.

An air of mystery surrounds the man, and there is so much about his past that I have yet to learn. Especially when it comes to his time with Brad.

My gut is telling me that there’s more to the story and that Grant is hiding some of his past from me. But for now, I’m going to keep trusting him at face value.

Truthfully, I have no other choice but to trust the man who holds the cards to bring down the Kingpin.

I shake my head in disbelief.

Cordelia is the Kingpin. I need to wrap my head around the fact that this figure I’ve been chasing for years is masquerading as this pleasant suburban woman. I know the Kingpin as a ruthless killer and operator of illegal trading and not this.

It takes everything in me to not arrest her immediately for her crimes, but the Kingpin is no longer my primary target—the Marlin is.

Pulling out a sleek black dress, I slip it on over my head and examine myself in the mirror. It’s short with a slightly plunging neckline and will be the perfect look for tonight.

Maybe that’s overtly confident of me to wear tonight, but I want to impress Grant. We’ve been here now for a week, and he hasn’t so much as looked at me the way he had before the barbecue at Cordelia’s house.

The feeling of being roommates and partners only has been wearing on me. I’m well aware that’s all we are, but I just want to feel that spark one more time.

There’s so much unanswered by him, and I still don’t know why, after years of torment, I want him to notice me.

The short truth is that I want his attention.

I want Grant to see me fully.

I want to be wanted by the man shrouded in mystery.

I’m beginning to crave Grant Sinclair.

Is that such a bad desire to have? I certainly hope not; otherwise, the next few weeks are going to continue to go by at a snail’s pace. What we thought was going to take months could really only be a few weeks.

Cordelia’s invitation to the tournament was unexpected, but Grant’s past as Ace was too tempting for her to pass up.

Walking down the stairs, I try to exude confidence in case Grant is already back from the store. He didn’t share why he was going, but I imagine it has something to do with this evening.

I descend the staircase and head toward the living room to look for Grant.

That’s when I pause midstep.

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