Tempted by Deception (Deception Trilogy #2) by Rina Kent

Before he leaves me in peace, he pauses and shuts the door, trapping us—and the screaming woman, who’s still in the stall—inside.

“What?” I ask with alarm.

“You’re not doing well, are you?”

“No offense, but I haven’t been doing well since I made your acquaintance.”

“None taken”—he lowers his voice—“but it’s different since after the assassination attempt.”

“Different?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Look, I know you didn’t cheat on Boss.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’re not that type of person.”

I scoff. “Obviously, your precious boss thinks I am.”

“He’s blinded by you, Lia.”

“By me?”

“Yes. His obsession with you is forbidding him from thinking logically. And you did tell him you cheated. Did you think he’d pat you on the back?”

“I said that after I found out that he’s using me because of who my father is!”

“Still, do you think painting his most precious person, you, as a cheater was a wise idea?”

No, it wasn’t. “I’m not his most precious person.”

“Yes, you are, Lia. I’ve known Boss since I was younger than Jeremy and I’ve never seen him treat anyone the way he treats you.”

“With disdain, you mean?”

“You must me be joking. Listen, he’s not the type who allows anyone to cause him pain, but you were able to. You hurt him.”

“No more than he hurt me.” Tears well in my eyes. “Besides, he’d need to feel for me to ever be able to be hurt by me.”

“You’re just as blinded as he is, I swear. Just talk to him and I assure you that he’ll see your honesty. You’re torturing each other and it’s painful to watch.”

“How can I torture him when he doesn’t care?”

Yan opens his mouth to say something, but a bang from outside, probably from Boris, stops him.

“Just talk,” he insists before he gets out.

Arguing in Russian reaches me from outside. Boris is like Kolya’s twin brother when it comes to stoic behavior. He doesn’t like it when Yan talks to me and never fails to remind Yan of that fact.

After I quickly finish my business in the toilet, I stand at the sink to wash my hands.

The woman who screamed at Yan earlier shoves her stall door open. “The fuck is this? Family drama isn’t supposed to happen in a damn toilet…” she trails off. Then she whispers, “Fuck.”

I raise my head and my mouth hangs open as the water keeps running from the faucet onto my stiff fingers.

I’m staring at a replica of me.

She’s dressed in a faux fur pink coat, torn blue gloves, and her hair is a mixture of blonde tips and darker roots.

Her face is smudged with dirt and a few other things, but we’re still so similar that both of us stop and stare for a second.

“Wow,” I murmur.

“Fucking wow, indeed.” She circles me as if I’m an animal at the zoo. “If I didn’t know I was an only child, I’d think I have a twin sister. How old are you, girl?”

“Thirty.”

“Eh, I’m twenty-seven, so we can’t be twins.” She stops in front of me and grins. “Fucking life kicking a lookalike my way, ey?”

“You’re…” I trail off searching for the right words. “Do you come to this shelter often?”

“Nah, first time. But what a first time it is.” She stares at my hand and her eyes bug out. “Look at that fucking rock! Bet it could feed me for a year.”

I’m about to tell her that this wedding ring is the key to my cage, but while I study her, a crazy idea slowly forms in my head as the cold water soaks my skin. I must’ve really gone insane if I’m thinking about executing it.

“I’m Lia. What’s your name?”

“Winter,” she says, still looking at my ring. “Winter Cavanaugh.”

“How did you become homeless, Winter?”

She throws her hands in the air. “It started a few months ago. I became an alcoholic after my baby girl was stillborn and my mom died.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“So am I, but I’d be less sorry if I was married to a man who gave me such rocks. Goddamn, girl, look at your necklace. It must’ve cost a fortune.”

“Do you really want that?”

Her head snaps in my direction. “What type of question is that? ‘Course I want it.”

“What if I can make it happen?” My voice is monotone and scary, even to myself.

“How?”

I step closer to her and speak low so Yan and Boris don’t hear. The running water also serves as a camouflage. “Take my place, my husband, my fortune. Everything.”

“Are you kidding?” She laughs, then stops when I don’t join her. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” This feels like a movie, a reckless one, but I would be stupid if I pass on the chance that fate is finally offering me.

Her small features crease. “Why in the flying fuck would you give up all of that?”

“Because it’s suffocating.”