“No, I don’t know why you care if I have a cold. Or why you want to punch a man in the face because he called me a bitch.”
“Easy. Because you’re not a bitch and no one gets to say otherwise.”
She was on a roll, and Jacqueline kept going. “I don’t know why you become enraged when you see marks on me—”
“He hurt you. I’ll hurt him.”
“Why do I matter so much? I haven’t mattered to anyone but my grandfather in longer than I can remember, and yet you are doing so much for me.”Too much.Steam filled the air around them. “Tell me why.” Jacqueline needed to know.
The faint lines near his eyes deepened. “Do you think it’s because of the twenty million?”
“You’re an FBI agent, you—”
“That was one of my many lies. I’m no FBI agent. I’m a criminal, sweetness. Always have been. Always will be. Sure, Imight have to work a few deals with the FBI and the CIA every now and then, but those arrangements are just so I can stay out of jail.”
Jacqueline found that she couldn’t move. His words seemed to echo in her head.
His teeth snapped together. “Fuck. How do you do that to me?”
I’m a criminal, sweetness.“Do what?” He hadn’t meant the things he’d said. Surely, he hadn’t.That was one of my many lies.
“I don’t understand how you get me to give you the truth when I intend to offer more lies.” Now his smile seemed almost sad. “Maybe it’s something about your eyes. Maybe I have too much trouble looking into them and lying.”
I’m a criminal, sweetness.
“But the truth has to come out sooner or later, doesn’t it? I guess this is our ‘sooner’ moment.” He pulled away. Left the bathroom.
The door closed softly behind him.
Chapter Fourteen
Well, the cat was out of the freaking bag.
I’m a criminal, sweetness. Always have been. Always will be.He was starting to think the woman might be able to perform some sort of witchcraft. Because he was sure as hell under her spell. He’d intend to lie, to manipulate, then he’d look into her eyes and randomly do the most stupid of shit, like tell the truth.
Remy had changed his clothes. Put on fresh jeans. A sweatshirt. Boots. His hair remained slightly damp, but he didn’t really give a damn about that. He had more pressing problems.
Like the fact that she retreated from me. Like the fact that she knows the truth.
It had only been a matter of time until the truth had raised its ugly head. He’d been trying to find the right moment for his confession. Clearly, he had not found that moment.
The bathroom door opened. He didn’t whirl around to face her. Instead, he tried to play it cool. He maintained his pose in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Big Easy. “Are we warm now?”
“You’re not a criminal.”
His shoulders tensed. “You sound very confident of that fact.”
“You’re not. You’ve done nothing but help me from the very beginning.”
Obviously, she’d forgotten that upon their first meeting, he’d tried to steer heraway.“That night, I warned that you were confused. You had mistaken me for someone who was a helper.”
“I remember the warning.” Her voice was closer because she’d crept across the room “But you have helped me.”
“Maybe I’m helping myself to the twenty million.”
Her hand closed around his shoulder. “Why are you trying to make me think you’re a bad guy?”
He turned slowly to face her. Jacqueline’s hand slid over his chest before falling back to her side. “Because I am.”