Page 21 of The Lies We Tell

“Why don’t you try me?”

He sighed, taking a sip of his coffee as he considered. “Fine, then. Tell me.”

“My father has contacts in Spain. A drug supplier. I don’t think their relationship is going so well.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I heard him arguing with them over the phone right before Christmas. Something about my father not being pleased with the quality and wanting a discount.”

Nodding slowly, Matteo took another sip of his coffee. “All right. I’ll take that into consideration. Now what about your favor?”

She couldn’t tell if he believed her, but that would have to be enough for now.

“Right. I need a ride or a car or something.”

His eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. “Why?”

“Because I’ve been here almost a week, and I’m running out of pretty much everything I found in the bathroom cabinets. Shampoo and conditioner and lotion. And call me vain, but I’d like to pick up some makeup too. Girl stuff.”

“Sure.”

“It won’t take long.”

He nodded again, holding out his coffee and donut to her until she took them. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit and pulled out a wallet. With barely a glance, he slipped out several bills and folded them. Taking the coffee back, he pressed the bills into her hand, then took the donut in the other.

“I’ll call a driver for you. Is an hour good?”

“A driver?” Her eyes darted to the garage. “Isn’t there an old car I can borrow or something?”

He met her gaze with a level stare, his face expressionless. “No. I’d feel better if you had a driver. Until we’re certain your father isn’t going to come after you.”

“I told you he won’t.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed.

“I know. Go back inside. It’s freezing,” Matteo said. It was a command, but a gentle one. “I’ll send someone over to drive you.” He took two steps backward toward the garage. “One hour.”

Once he’d gone, she counted out the bills. Three hundred euros. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever been allowed to hold that much money before. Not because her father didn’t have it to spare. But because he didn’t trust her with it. He didn’t trust her with much of anything.

True to Matteo’s word, an SUV showed up an hour later. A short man with close-cropped blond hair swung down out of the driver’s seat and opened the door for her. When she requested a specific store, he didn’t bat an eye, expertly navigating through traffic and pulling into a parking spot within view of the front door of the shop.

He got out to open her door and tailed her inside. He didn’t speak, which was fine if a little awkward. She didn’t want to have a conversation about toiletries with a strange man anyway. But she didn’t want him following her around all afternoon either.

Up ahead of her, a man with dark hair in a thick wool coat ducked into an aisle, and she had an idea. Hopefully this would work and buy her at least a few minutes. Adding body wash to her basket, she turned for the next aisle. Feminine products.

Once her guard realized where he was standing, his face went beet red, and he cleared his throat. She sent him an apologetic smile.

“This is the last thing I need.”

He glanced around at the array of colorful boxes, and his cheeks darkened to an even deeper shade of crimson. “I’ll just meet you at the front, then.”

“Okay. I won’t be long.”

He nodded once and then raced up to the front of the shop like the tampons might actually chase him down if he wasn’t fast enough. Tessa shook her head. Men were ridiculous.

“Fucking finally. You’re thirty minutes late. And you didn’t answer my text.”

Tessa steeled herself before facing the voice at her back. “They took my phone and gave me a new one the other day. I didn’t want to risk texting.”

“Doesn’t explain why you’re late,” her father grumbled. “You know how I hate it when you break the rules.” He reached up and gripped her hair, but didn’t tug. If anyone walked by and saw them, they might think he had his hand on the back of her neck. “What do you have for me?”

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