Page 22 of Ruthless Sinner
“Well maybe he should.” Marco smiled at me, and I could tell he was going for a smirk, but it ended up too vulnerable for that. “What do you say, Kennedy, you want to go steady?” he said playfully.
I laughed, my heart stuck in my throat.This is a good thing,the logical part of my brain asserted.He trusts you. This is what your supervisor wanted. This is what you need.
Yeah, but somehow, it felt like more than that.
For a wild, reckless second, I wanted to tell him. To confess that I was a mole, an FBI agent, and that the D.A. was building a case against his family. Maybe—it wasn’t too late or too early—he would believe me and support me instead of killing me.
But that was a ridiculous thought, and I let it go. I was in this and there wasn’t going to be a way to back out—not without putting a target on my back for my betrayal.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll tell Jade I’m not doing the side gig anymore. Strictly stripping from now on. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds like I’ll pick you up after your shift,” Marco replied with a huge grin. “I have plans for us.”
He stepped up to me, his hands gently taking me by the elbows as he leaned in. I kissed him automatically, without thinking about it, because of course I did. I was so used to kissing him by now—and that should’ve been another warning, another red flag.
Marco kissed me softly, like it was a promise. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered as he pulled away.
“See you later,” I replied.
When I got to the dressing room, I used my burner phone to text Johnson.He asked me to be his girlfriend, so I’m getting closer.
The response was immediate.Excellent. Now get us intel.
Yada, yada, all work no play, no rest for the wicked.
I hid the phone away again and went out to do my routine. It was fun in a way, dancing and showing myself off, knowing that I was gorgeous enough to get men drooling and tossing their cash onto the stage. But the whole time I was just thinking about Marco. What he’d have planned. What I should be planning.
I was the first woman he’d liked enough to want to properly date, the first woman who’d held his attention for more than a few days, more than one or two nights. I… I didn’t know how to feel about that. I should feel flattered—and I did. But that was part of the problem. Was it only because I was that good at manipulating him? Or was I really that special?
To my shame, I wanted to be that special to Marco. I wanted to be the woman that he relinquished all others for, no matter how stupid I knew that sounded. I shouldn’t care that he wanted me. I shouldn’t care to feel special and meaningful but—I did. I hadn’t been significant to anyone since my mom died, the last person who’d truly been close to me. I wanted to be that special to someone again.
None of it’s real,I told myself ferociously as I finished up for the evening and went to the back room to freshen up and change back into my street clothes.
Well, for me it wasn’t real because of my deceit. But Marco didn’t know that. The situation was real for him. Was I that special to him? And if I was—could I find it in myself to completely betray someone who cared about me like that?
Marco was waiting when I stepped back out into the alley, only this time he was leaning against his motorcycle.
Oh, my God. I knew he had one but we’d never ridden it together. My legs trembled, my body already getting hot at the thought of that machine between my thighs, molded to Marco’s back as we rode…
“Nice ride,” I said, walking over and running a hand along the leather seat. “Where are we going?”
“Just a little place I know,” Marco said, and tossed me a helmet.
I put it on, and didn’t bother asking if he was going to wear one, because clearly he wasn’t. I shook my head. “Y’know, I can see why your dad worries about you.”
Marco just smirked, swung his leg over the seat, and straddled the bike. “Hop on.”
“I hope you’re not trying to impress me,” I warned him as I slid behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, “because the opportunity to do that passed about a month ago.”
That was a total lie. I was definitely impressed by the motorcycle and I was prepared to be impressed by whatever else he had planned, but there was no way I was going to let him know that. I didn’t want him to think I was easy. Even though it had already been a month and I could probably let myself relax by this point.
Still, the thrum of arousal and anticipation that shot through me as he hit the throttle was unreal. I held on tightly and pressed my face to the back of his shoulder as we took off, out of the alley, onto the deserted late-night street.
Wherever he was taking me, I knew I’d like it. For all his fancy toys, Marco didn’t like to make a big deal of things. He wasn’t about taking me out to a fancy restaurant. Instead he took me to his favorite random ice cream shop. I liked that. I was ready for the low-key thing he had planned.
And in the meantime, Ireallyloved pressing myself against him as we rode this motorcycle. I could feel his back muscles shifting and flexing underneath me, the firm feel of his abs against my hands as I kept my arms wrapped around him. When I rested my cheek against his back, his body sheltered me from the wind, so I could just watch the flurries of blurred light as we sped past buildings and out of the city.
I had no idea where we were going. It occurred to me, belatedly, that this could’ve been a setup to get me alone and out of NYC, somewhere remote, where Marco could kill me. But I had no reason to suspect I’d been found out. There was no reason to panic until then. And his jealousy earlier… surely he wasn’tthatgood of an actor.
