Page 35 of Cruel Revenge

“But have you killed people here?”

There’s a long silence before she steps out of the closet, wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of tiny shorts.

Skyla pulls her hair over one shoulder, eyeing me with something like suspicion in her eyes. “I have. I don’t make a habit of it, but there’s been a time or two when I’ve been pushed too far.”

“Happens.” I give her an easy smile, though I feel anything but at ease right now.

Her words are hollow. They sound robotic. Like a lie she’s told a thousand times before.

This might not be the first time I’ve thought she’s hiding something from me, but it is the first time I’ve been certain of it.

I don’t know who my wife is. Not really.

I crave her body and her submission.

This might be temporary. Business.

But she’s hiding something, and for now, I’m going to let her keep her secret. Make her trust me.

However, in time, I’m going to find out everything there is to know about Skyla Lynde.

Chapter Nine

SKYLA

Joshua is getting suspicious.I could see it in his eyes when he watched me over coffee this morning.

I came too close to giving away my secrets yesterday. My walls were down. My words came out without thinking.

He almost got too close to the truth.

That’s the last time I’ll allow that to happen.

As I tap my pen against the stack of checks in front of me, the itch to disappear grows stronger. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to disappear for a little while over the years.

Joshua would never allow me to leave.

Kalani strides into my office and sits down across from me. “So, are you going to tell me about your hot husband, or are we going to sit here and pretend that he didn’t have the entire office turning heads yesterday?”

Rolling my eyes, I turn my attention back to the paycheck I have to finish signing. “I don’t know what there is to tell.”

“How about the fact that you have a hot husband in the first place, and you didn’t think to talk to me about it at all? I would like to talk about that because I know that you’re not going to tell me anything unless I sit here and pry.”

Kalani drops down into the seat across the desk, crossing one leg over the other and arching one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

I sigh and shove the checks to the side, debating how much to tell her. I don’t want to lie to her about everything, but I don’t have much of a choice either.

“We eloped. I didn’t want a big wedding and neither did he, so we took off and got married.”

She purses her lips. “Please tell me that you haven’t been married for like a year and I’m just now finding out.”

“I haven’t been. It’s still a new marriage. I didn’t even move in with him until yesterday, and I’m still keeping my house.”

There. A tiny bit of the truth.

Kalani laughs and presses a hand to her chest. “Only you would make a man wait that long to move in with him and then still keep your house on the side. When are you going to let this poor man off the hook?”

I tap the end of my pen against the desk. “I don’t know. It feels easier to keep one foot out the door. After Logan, I don’t want to give someone every part of me only to have it thrown back in my face again.”

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