Page 65 of Savage Little Lies

His words echo in my head over and over again, overtaking all my other thoughts. Maybe he’s right.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to be part of my father’s world. I’ve always felt like an outsider.

I’ve tried so hard to make him proud, thinking that I have to prove myself to him, that I owe him.

What if I was wrong, and there’s something better out there for me, even if I have to do it alone?

But how the hell could I manage that?

My car is ancient and I don’t have enough money right now for a bus ticket. I would need a ton of cash in order to disappear somewhere that Sean can’t find me.

“I’ll get it done,” I reply before ending the call, feeling numb for a few seconds.

Then, the panic and anger hit me full force, tearing me apart as I struggle to figure out my next step. If I fail this mission, I should run because my father will force me into an arranged marriage.

If I succeed, I should still run because I know I’ll be better off far away from him.

A reckless idea cuts through the noise in my head, making me pause. Something I blurted out in anger during my argument with Dmitri. It’s crazy and goes against my original plan, but I need to be flexible if I’m going to outsmart everyone else.

Besides, drastic times call for drastic measures. And this…this would be better than my father ending Dmitri’s life.

I open my messages with him, my thumbs flying over the keyboard.

Can I come see you?

His response comes under a minute later.

I’ll send a car for you. 20 minutes.

As promised, I spot a black SUV pull off to the side of the street in front of my apartment building about twenty minutes later as I stand under the awning over the entrance.

The driver, Arman, gets out and opens a black umbrella. He strides over to me and holds the umbrella over my head as he walks me back to the car. “Good afternoon, Ms. Reynolds.”

I give him a small smile before getting into the backseat, my heart continuing to pound as I think about what’s coming. What I’m agreeing to will change everything, but I need to do something crazy to get what I want.

That seems to work for Dmitri.

I watch the rainfall through the window as the driver takes me to a much nicer part of the city, away from the casinos and tourists.

The driver guides me to the front entrance with the umbrella over my head. “Take the elevator to the top floor. Emil will escort you the rest of the way.”

I nod to him before stepping inside the pristine, brightly lit lobby. I head to the elevator and hit the button for the penthouse, chewing on my bottom lip as I watch the digital red number etch up higher and higher. The elevator dings before the doors slide open, revealing a small foyer where Emil is waiting outside of a door.

“Ms. Reynolds,” Emil greets me as I stride toward him.

I offer him a polite smile before passing by him once he opens the door to Dmitri’s penthouse. My eyes immediately widen at how huge and nice it is. His windows are enormous, with a view of the brightly lit strip off in the distance as the rain tumbles down. The space is clean and tidy with nice artwork on the walls and little room accents here and there.

Dmitri steps out of a room to my right, crossing through the large open living room space to reach me. For once, he’s not in a nice suit or office attire. Just a pair of black lounge pants and a casual white t-shirt. “Is everything okay, Cara?”

He actually sounds concerned. My heart briefly flutters as I convince myself to nod.

“I wanted to talk to you about the offer you made me the other day,” I tell him. My palms begin to sweat the moment those words leave my mouth.

There’s no going back now.

Dmitri’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Really? I thought you made it clear you didn’t want to be my ‘paid-by-the-hour whore.’”

I give him a nod. “I don’t. I didn’t. But…I thought about it some more, and I’ve changed my mind. I’ll agree to multiple encounters, if the price is right. The payments can be considered bonuses on top of the work that I’m already paid to do. And I would prefer to be paid in cash.”