“You can’t take a guess?” I spat.
He drew in his brows. “No, I can’t.”
“I know you’ve been lying to me, Wes!” I blurted. “I knoweverything.” Tears stung my eyes. Apparently, there was never a decision to make because I’d had no control all along.So much for handling this delicately.
The color drained from his face. “What do youthinkyou know?”
“I know you’re having an affair.” I panted. “Cheating on me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I followed you and saw you with her!”
CHAPTER 25
Wes
Oh shit.
“Juliette, I swear, I’m not cheating on you.” I took a step toward her, but she took one back.
“Then who was that woman? You said you were going to see Detective Olson.”
I hated lying to her, hated that I’d gotten myself into this complete clusterfuck, but what else could I do? “Detective Olson was busy, so he had one of his people show me the photos.”
“At a hotel?” she screamed. “What kind of a police operation meets people at a hotel, Wes?”
Fuck. Fuck. Think. Think. But it was impossible to come up with another lie while she stared at me that way. So I did the only thing I could to buy myself a few seconds. I pressed a hand to my back, covering my wound dressing, and grimaced. “I need to sit down.”
Her expression cracked a little, anger softening into worry. I felt like even more of an asshole.
“Are you okay?” she asked, stepping toward me.
I nodded and sank into the nearest chair, using the time to pull my thoughts together. I needed to untangle this web of lies I’d spun before it strangled me. Once I had my shit somewhat together, I forced my voice steady. “I’m not cheating on you, Juliette, I swear.”
At leastthatpart was the damn truth. Saying it out loud gave me just enough footing to dump all the lies on top. “Detective Olson called when I got in the car and asked me to meet someone else from his squad. He changed the location at the last minute, so if any of your dad’s guys were following me, they’d think I was meeting a woman and not working with the police.” I took a deep breath. “And he was right to do that. How do you think Vince would react if he knew I was giving information to the cops and not him?”
Juliette stood there, arms crossed, her eyes scanning my face like she was searching for lies. After a long, tense moment, her shoulders dropped a little. She wanted to believe me. I could see it in her eyes, in the way her lips pressed together like she was holding back a thousand questions she might not want answers to.
“Wes…” she whispered.
It was just one word, but it gave away enough uncertainty to expose the crack I needed. I’d done it a thousand times before—talking a suspect into trusting me, convincing a perp that it was safe to believe what I’d said. But now, now I was manipulating the woman I loved.
I didn’t have to fake the pain anymore as I winced. “Juliette.” I stood, moving slowly. When I reached her, I touched her arm, and she didn’t pull away. “I would never cheat on you. You have to know that.”
Her eyes met mine, still guarded, but something flickered there. “Maybe…” she whispered. “I guess I do.”
I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. Her shoulders relaxed into my hold, and I could feel the rise and fall of her breaths slow.
“I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion,” she said. “I just heard you on the phone and then…”
“Shhh…” I tightened my hold. “I’m sorry I upset you. I should’ve told you there’d been a change in plans.”
She nodded.
Hours later, things seemed ninety percent back to normal. Though, honestly, I wasn’t even sure whatnormalmeant anymore. Was normal sitting in Vince Ginocassi’s daughter’s house and holding her, feeling my chest full of love while I pretended I wasn’t betraying everything I stood for? Or was normal being a cop? The lines had blurred so much, I could no longer tell where one life ended and the other began.
Juliette came into the bedroom with a basket full of supplies—gauze, peroxide, ointments, tape, pain medications that I wanted to take because I knew they would dull the stress I felt but couldn’t because I needed to stay mentally sharp.
