Page 58 of Tempting Devil

I still wasn’t sure what to do with the truth about Gideon…Samuel.

I almost wished he hadn’t told me. Wished I never knew.

One minute, my heart ached for Gideon.

The next, his story seemed too farfetched to be real.

Did Liam really shoot Samuel all because he didn’t want to sell Cloud Hero to ImageScape, like Liam wanted? Granted, Gideon’s claim that Alton bought up a bunch of stock in anticipation of the sale was certainly believable.

But Liam? A murderer? I still struggled with that.

Hell, I still struggled with everything.

I wanted to believe Gideon, but I couldn’t forget all the lies he’d told me. Was all of this yet another lie? Was any of it real, even all those years ago?

How was I supposed to reconcile the man I thought I loved with the man he was now?

With the killer he was now?

Approaching the front door, I entered my code into the keypad, wanting nothing more than to crawl into my bed and pretend the past week never happened, if only for a few hours.

But the instant I walked inside, I was greeted with an unexpected reminder of Samuel.

Ollie barreled toward me, his tail feverishly wagging as he jumped up to greet me. All the tears I’d kept at bay since yesterday afternoon rushed forward, especially as I recalled each and every time Gideon had interacted with Ollie.

I said from the beginning that Ollie seemed to take to him much quicker than any other man. Now I knew why.

Allowing my purse to slide off my shoulder, I dropped to the floor, wrapping my arms tightly around Ollie as he showered me with kisses.

“You knew all along, didn’t you? You knew your daddy was still alive.”

He barked excitedly, continuing to lick my face.

“And you still forgave him? Didn’t care that he’d been gone for years?”

Ollie nuzzled into me almost in apology, his nose wet against my skin.

“I get it,” I said with a heavy sigh. “You missed him and were just happy to see him again.” I leaned against the wall, extending my legs in front of me, scratching the spot behind his ears that he loved so much. “I wish I could be as happy as you, Ol. I just… I don’t know whether to trust him. Or believe him.”

I clutched his adorable face in my hands, some of the tan fur around his nose and brow turning white with age.

“Can you tell me what I’m supposed to do? How I can just trust him again?”

For a fraction of a second, I truly believed Ollie was about to impart some pearls of wisdom on me.

Instead, a knock sounded, followed by a familiar voice.

“Ginny? You home?”

Ollie’s formerly excited expression fell, and he growled, baring his teeth.

For the first time in all the years I’d known Liam, my reaction sort of mirrored Ollie’s.

My pulse quickened, a bout of nerves washing over me at the idea of talking to him after everything Gideon shared with me. I wasn’t sure if I could face him without letting on that I knew something.

Then I remembered what Gideon asked of me. That if I had any doubt about his story, all I needed to do was mention the police had reached out regarding Samuel’s death. That Liam’s reaction would tell me everything I needed to know.

Although I had a feeling I’d known all along.