Page 83 of Deception
Lex ruffles his hair. “Like I said, it was an accident. It could’ve happened to any of us.”
“Yeah, I can pick them up. That won’t be a problem.”
Kissing the top of his head, she walks to the door and winks at him. “Thanks, baby. See you at dinner.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Griffin’s Beach
Lex
“And if this doesn’t work?” Karmen asks as they walk towards the park.
“Then I punched you in the face for no reason,” Lex says, her voice low as she stays in the shadows.
The only way to get the name of Julian’s informant without someone hacking Julian is to use his own stupidity against him. And what makes men more stupid than love?
Julian’s been in love with Karmen ever since Lex can remember. When he couldn’t have her, he chased women who looked like Karmen. Dark-haired and shapely. Unfortunately for him, he never found a proper substitute.
“You know what to do?”
Snorting, Karmen nods. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve had to use my wiles to get a man, but give me a little credit.”
Lex smirks and moves into the bushes as her mother-in-law walks up to Julian who sits on a park bench waiting for her. His cologne is so strong, Lex nearly gags from where she stands, and she hopes Karmen doesn’t pass out from it.
“Karmen?” Julian asks and jumps up to gently touch her face. “Are you okay? What happened to you?”
Holding the phone out, Lex records the entire interaction.If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what else to do.
Regardless of the terrible human being Julian is, it’s beyond obvious that he cares about Karmen. If he wasn’t trying to take down her club, Lex would feel guilty.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Karmen says, looking around as though checking to make sure no one followed her.
“Why here?”
“Because TK would freak out more than he already has if I showed up at your house. The whole club has lost their minds about the warrants.”
Her shaky breath emphasizes her fear, and she continues to look around cautiously. Lex knows she had no reason to doubt Karmen. She’s a natural.
I’d wonder how she plays the part so well, but I have to remember she fucked around with Rush after TK found out about them. She was a battered woman.
“What happened?” Julian asks. “Did TK do this to you?”
“Colt blames Jennings and TK for the war you’re waging on the club, and Jennings and TK blame Colt. The shift in leadership has gotten really bad, and no one trusts anyone right now.”
They sit on the bench, and his hand rests on her knee. Aside from the slight twitch of her face, Karmen gives nothing away about the discomfort she feels.
Julian tells Karmen he can’t back away, which is a lie, and Karmen tries to make him believe that’s not what she wants. She plays a lovely game of word salad to let him believe TK was the one who gave her the black eye without flat out confirming it to him.
Wiping fake tears, she looks towards Lex. “Maybe I shouldn’t have called you. What if someone sees us?”
“No one comes out here at night,” Julian says. “And if anything, we’re just two old friends who ran into each other while out on an evening stroll. No one has to know you called me.”
She’s got him hooked. He trusts her. Which is why she lands it beautifully when she tells him she knows someone’s talking to him. It’s the only thing that makes sense. There’s a rat in the clubhouse, but TK doesn’t want to believe it. Neither does Colt.
“I have a suspicion. That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Karmen says.
“Suspicion?”
