“I know.” Sean cut me off, a sympathetic smile on his face. “I know how convincing she is. Unfortunately, Westin has this obsessive need for attention. She’ll try to rope you in, to get you to believe her sob story… if she hasn’t already.”
I clenched my jaw.
Sean sighed. “We were worried she might have done this, so we brought her medical records for you just in case. We want her to be safe, but it’s unacceptable for her to keep lying.”
He pulled out a thick folder of paperwork from his bag. I took it from him, the weight of it heavy in my hand. It felt like an icy dagger had pushed its way into my heart. Was I really so stupid that I’d let another omega manipulate me?
“You’re not the first person she’s done this to, so don’t blame yourself,” Alex said, clapping my shoulder.
I tightened my grip around the folder. “Can I take this with me?”
“Of course,” Sean said. “And we’re sorry about this. We completely understand if you don’t want to guard her anymore.”
I cleared my throat. “I always follow through on jobs. Until it’s clear she’s safe.”
He frowned at my words, but I couldn’t stand there and talk with them anymore while it felt like my world was caving in. I quickly excused myself and left the house. My hands shook as I started the car.
The moment I got inside my apartment, I opened the stack of medical documents. Page after page detailed the same thing: Westin was making up her symptoms. A long psychiatric evaluation that had been ordered after multiple trips to the emergency room found nothing wrong with her. The words danced in front of me on the page, taunting me.
Patient has a pathological need to be the center of attention.
Uses seductive and provocative behavior to draw people in, especially alphas.
Exaggerates or manufactures symptoms to gain attention.
Persistently charming and flirtatious to get her way.
Malingering.
My stomach clenched and I fought the urge to throw up. Westin had lied to me, just like Megan. She had seemed so genuine with her flirting and friendliness, and fuck, she’d been convincing when she told me about her health issues. But I’d been with Megan for months and never saw her betrayal coming. In one fell swoop, she had taken my friends, home, and future from me.
I wouldn’t let that happen again.
27
GRAY
“Hey, Gray,” Westin said cheerfully, heading out the front door. Her uncles’ car was gone from the driveway.
I clenched my jaw, refusing to let her draw me in. Today, she was wearing skin-tight jeans that hugged her curves, and her hair was piled on top of her head in that messy way I liked.
She turned to lock the front door and I found myself staring at her perfect ass before looking away with a frustrated huff.
She’s a liar. You’re not attracted to her.
My dick was unconvinced.
“I looked up recipes for strawberry cake last night and I think I might be able to pull it off. But keep your expectations low. Josie has only started trusting me with actually baking things.” Westin grinned as she whirled around to face me. Her smile faltered as she caught my expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.” My fury at her betrayal kept me up all night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Megan’s face as she revealed the depths of her deception. Her face kept morphing into Westin’s. I wanted to shout at her, to hurt her like she’d hurtme, but it was hard to hold on to those feelings when she was in front of me. Why did my alpha have to like her so much?
I turned away, heading to the car and opening the back door.
She stopped in her tracks. “What’s going on?”
Early this morning, I’d come to the decision that I was just going to ignore her. Be professional and nothing else. But seeing her hurt expression snapped something in me.
“I know the truth,” I gritted out.
