Page 76 of With This Kiss
“Yes, Preston. He’s always with you. Even a blind man could see he likes you.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized his crush was so obvious.
“Preston would be a good match.”
I frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“He is hardworking. He’ll do whatever he can to provide for you. And he’s not in the life. You’d have a good life with him.”
Perhaps he was right, but having a good life with someone and having one filled with passion were two completely differentthings. And I knew for a fact I would never be able to get used to Preston’s touch.
But Reign…
He was everything Caine wouldn’t want for me, evenifI exclude the fact that he was a Mahankov.
But add to that, Caine might just hunt down both Kingston and Reign if he knew. Reign for being with me, and Kingston for being the reason I had approached Reign in the first place.
That would help me complete my revenge. While Dad and Caine were hesitant to start a full-blown war with the Bratva because of Etta, they wouldn’t hesitate when it came to me.
I looked down at the table. “It’s not Preston.”
“Then who is it?”
I shook my head. “There’s no boy.”
I didn’t look up at Caine as I said it, knowing full well he would be able to read the lie from my eyes.
I didn’t think it mattered much because I got the sense he knew I was lying in the first place. And if there was one thing Caine hated, it was being lied to. He would order an investigation into me to find out who I was seeing.
I would have to be careful.
I should have just said it was Preston, but it was too late now.
The waitress came to our table before Caine could ask more questions.
I quickly placed an order for a club sandwich and potato soup. Caine ordered the same thing. I didn’t think he cared too much about what he was eating.
He just wanted the waitress to go away so he could continue his interrogation.
“So you got my text message?” I said as soon as the waitress left.
He looked at me, and the expression in his eyes told me he knew just what I was doing. Thankfully, he let it go and said,“Are you sure about what you saw? The pictures you sent were pretty dark.”
“The camera was shitty, yes, but the streetlight nearby was enough for me to see what was going on. I… I don’t know if what I saw is really what happened, or maybe there’s another explanation. I don’t know. But I did see Tito exchange money and drugs with a man. Have you identified the man?”
Caine shook his head. “They were smart to do it within the camera’s blind spot. We don’t have a clear shot of the man. But you’re sure you’ve never seen him before?”
I nodded. I was good with faces. I would have remembered. But then again, that didn’t mean much because there were a lot of men under my father.
“Maybe it’s nothing. Why would Tito betray the family? Right?”
Caine didn’t say anything about that. But it wasn’t exactly a secret that he didn’t think highly of Tito.
“I also saw him in Dad’s office a few weeks ago. He said he was dropping off documents, and Dad confirmed that, but he seemed kind of freaked out when he saw me as he was coming out of the office.”
“Huh” was all he said. I knew he wasn’t being dismissive.
“I think… he might have also seen me take the picture of him and the man in the alleyway.”
