Page 113 of Righteous Deceit

Is CJ one of the people she’s protecting, and if so, why do I want to punch him in the face again? And what the fuck does he have to do with what I’ve just found?

They’ve hidden their secret well, I’ll give them that. But what does this woman using Giuliana Bianchi’s name have to do with Sia? More importantly, who the fuck is she?

The front door unlocks, and I close my laptop softly.

“Oh.” Sia smiles, walking into her house and following the same routine she does every time.

Her shoes come off first, and she pushes her toes against the hardwood floors, eyes closing in satisfaction as she stretches the arch of her foot.

She drops her keys to the entryway table and her bag beside it.

“I didn’t think I’d see you for another few days.”

“Who are you protecting?” I don’t bother with small talk. I want answers, and she’s going to finally give them to me.

She moves closer, curiosity pulling at her dark eyebrows. “Protecting?”

“The secret you seem so intent on holding, who are you protecting?”

Her eyes turn wary, and she takes a step away from me. “I told you I couldn’t tell you.”

“You can. You won’t.”

She keeps her silence.

“You said two people. Do both of them have the ability to destroy you?”

She swallows. “No.”

I slide my arms along the backrest of the couch. “Tell me about that person, then.”

Her jaw is wired shut, and it pulsates with irritation.

“Do you need something on me? I don’t want to know for gain, Sia. Not for me or my outfit. But if you need ammunition on me to keep an even playing field, I’ll play the game.”

“No. I don’t want to know anything you don’t want to tell me.”

“Lorenzo was eager for our union so he would have eyes inside your family,” I tell her unnecessarily. “As a spy. I agreed, and I don’t know if I intended to fulfill that expectation.”

“That’s hardly a secret. Why it might not be the main reason he agreed to our nuptials, it was obvious enough that it played a part. Which is another reasonwhyyou can’t know.Please, Diego. Leave it alone.”

The room seems larger than I remember. She’s only mere feet away, but I feel like an entire house separates us. I imagine she’d feel the opposite, walls closing in. Her gaze moves cautiously over her exit points.

“Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”

“I need to know.”

She shakes her head. “You don’tneedto. Youwantto. There’s a difference.”

“Tell me.”

She stares at me instead of speaking.

“We’re stuck in this marriage,” I say. “We can either make the most of it and enjoy it the way we have been.” I let my eyes track over her white high-waisted pants and black block-colored body suit, covering the soft curves that bring me to my knees. “Or we can start living like strangers. You’ll live here, and I’ll stay in New York. I have no interest in being a pawn, Sia. I like you a lot, which has come as a surprise, considering for a while I tried to convince myself that I hated you.” I laugh because the notion is beyond absurd. How could I despise someone I crave more than air? “Let me help you.”

“Grace.” The word jumps from her lips, and the way she cups her mouth afterward tells me she didn’t mean for the single syllable to escape.

“Grace?”