Page 52 of Wicked Sexy (Wicked Games 2)
“It’s Professor Durand from MIT.” His gaze skips to Tabby. “He’d like to talk to you, sir.”
Harry waves him over.
As Chan walks closer, Harry says calmly to me, “You got your cuffs on you, Connor?”
Staring at Tabby, I nod once, a curt affirmative.
“Excellent,” he says, taking the phone. He smiles at Tabby. “Because depending on what the good professor says, you might need ’em.”
Sixteen
Connor
While Harry has a muted conversation a few yards away, Tabby and I stand in frosty silence, staring at each other. I’ve still got her arm in my grip.
Fighting the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I keep my voice controlled when I say, “Tabby—”
“Fuck you,” she snaps, eyes blazing. Her cheeks are bright red, she’s breathing hard, and there’s a good chance I’m gonna get a knee in the balls any second.
I try again. “Tabitha. Listen—”
“Off is where you should fuck,” she hisses. With a swift, practiced move, she manages to twist away.
All my muscles tense. I’m braced to chase after her if she tries to break and run, but she doesn’t do anything except angrily brush her hair out of her eyes. Then she glares at me with what looks to be hatred.
I open my mouth, but she cuts me off.
“Go. Fuck. Yourself. Asshole.”
Heat radiates up my neck. I curl my hands to fists and count to ten.
Then I count to twenty.
“You lied to me.” It’s fast and cutting, spoken before she can curse. Her response is just as quick, just as angry.
“Never.”
I have to breathe deeply for a few seconds before I can control the scream crawling its way up my throat. When I speak, my voice is raw. “You said he was ‘wrong.’ That you were the only one who thought so. That you weren’t”—my voice grows louder—“fucking him.”
Special Agent Chan, standing off to one side, throws us a curious glance, and then looks away.
“All true! And then you shoved your tongue down my throat before I could say anything else!” she spits back at me, so furious, she’s trembling.
The anger gives me some hope that she’s telling me the truth. I’ve met plenty of people who can convincingly lie, but I’ve never
met anyone who can force the physical signs of anger. The red face, the shaking hands, the ragged breathing, the dilated pupils, they all tell a tale. Rage is distinct, and honest.
The only other option, I force myself to admit, is that she’s angry she got caught lying.
I lower my voice so Chan can’t hear me. “You’re not gonna want to hear this—”
“Then don’t say it.”
“—But you worked for a huge liar for years. You helped Victoria create an entire identity that was a lie. You helped her lie to my friend Parker—”
“Because he screwed her and her entire family over! He ruined her life!” She throws her hands in the air. “Or so we thought! You know exactly what happened. Don’t turn it around on me!”
When I don’t respond, Tabby says bitterly, “Why don’t you just say it, Connor. Just say that you think I made up Søren. That I made up everything. That I’m the one who pulled the studio job, and being here to watch the chaos is just a big ego stroke. That the blackmailer is really me.”
