Page 41 of Tempting Devil
It was rare to see Gideon in anything other than a suit.
Samuel avoided wearing suits at all costs.
“I hate to cut this short, but I need to get going,” he said, anxiously shifting from foot to foot.
“Right. Of course. It was good seeing you.”
“You, too.” He left me with another hug before continuing down the hallway.
In the direction of Gideon’s suite.
I told myself it didn’t mean anything. It was merely a coincidence I ran into Henry in this hotel, on this floor. He was probably here to see a client. Or maybe a woman.
But just before getting on the elevator, I stole one last glance down the hallway, if for no other reason than to erase any remaining suspicion.
In my life, there have been many moments I wish I could get a do-over. Could go back to and choose a different path. Go down a different road.
This was one of those moments.
Because when I peeked around the corner and saw Henry pull out a keycard and let himself into Gideon’s suite, there were now just too many coincidences for me to ignore.
Chapter Sixteen
Gideon
“What the fuck are you doing?” Henry seethed the second he walked into my suite.
I snapped my head away from my laptop, where I’d been watching the security feed from the funeral home now that I was alone.
Based on what I’d been able to decipher so far, none of Brian McGuire’s employees suspected any foul play. All they knew was he hadn’t shown up for work, leaving the assistant funeral director to take charge of a viewing scheduled for this afternoon.
“What are you talking about?”
He stormed toward me. “I just ran into Imogene as I was getting off the goddamn elevator. On this fucking floor.” He threw his hands up, exasperated. “You said you ended things.”
“I did, but she apologized, and I figured I’d be a shit boyfriend if I didn’t forgive her,” I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.
But Henry was in no mood to joke this morning.
“You’re not her boyfriend!” he bellowed, his voice shaking the crystal chandelier hanging over the dining room table. “You’re lying to her. She’s already questioning things. The more time you spend with her, the more lies you tell her, the riskier it gets. If you’re going to carry on with whatever the fuck this is, she deserves to know the truth. Now. Or I’ll do it for you.”
“You wouldn’t,” I snarled.
He narrowed his venomous gaze at me. “If that’s what it takes for you to finally get your head out of your goddamn ass, I will.”
We glowered at each other for several long moments, neither one of us willing to back down just yet.
I was more than aware that last night shouldn’t have happened. That I should have kept my distance from Imogene. And I certainly shouldn’t have made plans to see her again tonight. But she was a damn drug.
Last night, she gave me exactly what I needed. Gave me back a piece of my humanity. It was selfish of me, but I wanted more of that. Needed more of that, especially with everything I had planned over the coming weeks.
But telling her the truth?
“She cannot know,” I declared vehemently.
“Why? What is so bad about finally telling her the truth? After everything she’s been through, after everything you’ve put her through, don’t you think she deserves that? Don’t you think?—”
“Because I don’t want her to know what I’ve become!” I roared as I jumped to my feet, my biggest fear spilling from me before I could stop it.