Page 70 of Savage Little Lies

Once she leaves my office, I drop down into my chair with a slow exhale, feeling wired. I’ve been wanting her for what feels like an eternity, and now that I’ve had her once, I can’t stop thinking about her and all the things that we can do together.

Maybe I’m naïve, but I think this is about more than the money for Cara. At least I hope it is, because this doesn’t feel like scratching an itch and moving on.

When it comes to her, I fear I may be insatiable.

26

Cara

At 5:05, I walk out of the office smiling, one step closer to getting the hell out of this city.

I made $15,000 in cash today doing what Dmitri wanted.

And what I wanted, which is exactly what he offered, even if I refused to ask for it.

Thank goodness he did it himself.

I could’ve taken things even further right then and there, but I have to play this game smart. Not only am I deceiving Dmitri, but I’m also deceiving my father now too. I’m on my own side right now, but no one else can know that.

Unable to help myself, I pull out the bands of cash from my purse once I walk around the corner and head down an empty sidewalk. Dmitri is a lot of things, but he isn’t a liar or cheap, so I’m sure he paid me correctly. I just want to see for myself how much I made in the span of half an hour. The orgasm alone almost made it worth it.

“One thousand…two thousand,” I murmur to myself as I carefully flip through the bands, excitement fluttering in my stomach. At this rate, it won’t be long before I have enough money to leave this city, to start over.

Before I can finish counting, tires squeal behind me, making me whirl around just as a black sedan comes to a stop next to me. I catch a glimpse of my shocked expression in the reflection of the heavily tinted side windows before both doors on the right side are thrown open.

“Oh, sh⁠—”

Two men grab me by my arms and toss me into the backseat. Clutching the cash in my fist, I hit the seat on my side before scrambling upright just as one of the men gets into the backseat with me and slams the door shut behind him.

Once the other man is in the passenger’s seat, the car tears off down the street, making my head slam back against the seat from the force. I turn to the man next to me, my eyes widening. “Brendan? What the hell are you doing here?”

The asshole rips the bands of cash from my hand, then tugs my purse from my shoulder. “What’s all this? Where did you get this much cash, girly?”

“Answer my question first,” I bite out as I glance toward the front seat where I recognize Daniel and Neal. More of my father’s men.

As part of the Irish mob, they’ve been in my life since I was a teenager. In a way, they’re family, but there’s never been much warmth between us.

“I don’t think you want us to tell your father that you’re not cooperating,” Daniel says from the driver’s seat as he takes a right, driving farther away from the direction of my apartment. We’re not even going in the direction of my father’s house.

My heart races as I look back at Brendan, seeing the look of warning written all over his face. He’s not playing. My father put them up to this, to intimidating me.

“I just left work. That’s where I got the money from,” I reply in an even voice before reaching for the cash.

Brendan jerks his hands away from mine, keeping the money out of reach. “What is this? Around Ten K? Fifteen? You get paid in cash?”

“I get paid under the table. It’s safer for my boss,” I lie, my voice sharpening in frustration as I make another grab for my money. “Give it back!”

Brendan tosses the cash into Neal’s lap. “Count that.”

“Looks like bands of a thousand,” Neal says in a gruff voice as he runs his thumb along the corner of the organized bills. “Fifteen thousand dollars in total.”

Brendan whistles. “What is that for? Two weeks of work? A week?”

More like fifteen minutes.

I keep my mouth shut about that, though, still tasting Dmitri on my tongue even though that happened hours ago.

“It’s mine. I earned it,” I tell him. “I’m doing exactly what Sean asked.”