The Lies He Told | PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ROMANCE |

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"You love me." Her arm dangled over my shoulders, simultaneously, her mouth slobbering my face with drunken kisses. "Also, thank you so much for sneaking me out tonight. I know it started messy, with my brother acting like a caveman and all, but I have loved spending time with him. I forgot how good it felt to be in his company. "

I mustered a nervous smile.

"Plus, he makes me laugh, Oli." A breath of contentment escaped her lips. "And I do not laugh much anymore."

My heart sank for Hannah. I yearned to be her confidante, to help her shoulder the burden of her secrets.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I am glad I snuck you out tonight, too." And if Keith allows it, I would love for her to come over more often. "I get lonely up there," I admitted in a hushed tone, mindful of the others nearby. "The cliff house is my home. It is supposed to be safe, comfortable and relaxing, but I feel isolated and..." What is the word I am looking for? "And...Just..."

"Scared?" she asked, her voice laced with concern as we followed the men to the centre of the yacht, which led down to the saloon on the lower deck. "Worried?"

No, I feel trapped.

Her heeled shoes scraped on the wooden deck. "Is it because of Natasha?"

"Hannah," I whisper-shouted, and she winced. "Why not shout louder next time so her ex-boyfriend can hear you?"

"Sorry." She held my hand to descend the narrow staircase. "Sometimes, I forget about the secret mission."

Drew, with a questioning glint in his eyes, glanced over his shoulder at us. "What secret mission?"

"Attend to your own affairs," Hannah berated him, and he snorted. "If I wanted to tell you about it, I would have spoken to you directly."

"Fair enough." Drew pushed open the main doors at the end of the elaborately decorated corridor. "Fuck me." His round eyes roved over the expanse of the saloon in wonderment. "What is this place?"

Chase eyeballed the panoply of chandeliers. "Are those real?"

"No," I fibbed, knowing that the light fixtures boasted the purest form of gold and parallelogram-shaped crystals. "Regardless, who wants wine?"

A couple of grunts.

Behind the dark oak cocktail bar, I restricted myself and the others from all things theft-worthy and profitable. "I have Domaine de la Romanée-Conti," I told them whilst arranging bottles on the bar top. "Château Lafite Rothschild and Puligny-Montrachet."

Drew snatched the whiskey bottle from Hannah's hand with a perfunctory apology. "I think I will stick to bourbon."

He turned his head to survey the casino, his unshakable sight lingering on the dark wood panelling, plush velvet seating, roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, and slot machines. I could almost see the wheels of mischief rotating in his head. He was dying to test his luck at the tables and perhaps win a few shillings.

"That looks fun." He pointed at the bandit machines lined up against the back wall. "Can I try my luck at one?"

"You needn't bother. Those machines are programmed to give us a mathematical advantage over you." Daniel would be furious if he found out I had revealed this information to anyone, but I felt it was vital for them to know before they spent money. "However, if you are determined to line our pockets, I suggest choosing the machines with the lowest house edge, as they offer the best chance of winning."

Chase leaned over the bar to see what else stockpiled the state-of-the-art chillers. "You got anything else to drink?" His interest was on the Macallan Valerio Adami nineteen-twenty-six that my husband had previously placed on the wall-mounted shelf alongside the sixty-five-year-old Lalique Cire Perdue. "I've always wanted to try one of those."