Marked By Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Marked Series Book 1) by Paige Orr (the red fox clan TXT) 📗

Not only that, but the fine specimen of a man who’s just caught me rifling through a Fae Prince’s safe is starting to look at me like I’m not playing with a full deck. I give the stranger a wry grin as I slowly start backing away from him and his expression turns to one of amusement before he suddenly disappears, popping up behind me, and causing me to stumble back into his powerful chest.

“Where do you think you’re going little songbird? Any other time I wouldn’t give flying fuck about why you’re stealing from that bastard, but with everything going on I find your presence rather suspicious.”

I gulp past the lump in my throat before trying to step away from him, but his arm comes around my middle and it’s like I’m being pinned by a steel bar. I wriggle against his hold to no avail until I feel his nose touching the side of my neck, accompanied by the sound of him taking a deep breath.

What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with this dude. I thought my ghostly stalker was just being an ass when he said this nut job was sniffing at me, but it seems I was wrong again. This is why I hate dealing with the supernatural! It’s strange enough for a human to know about their existence, but for some strange reason, I always seem to end up surrounded by them. On top of that, this situation is looking utterly shit for me.

I silently thank Nika for her idea to turn one pocket of this dress into a smaller version of a portal that leads to the safe in my house. Right now that’s about the only thing I have going for me since even if I’m searched, they won’t be able to find anything on me. That doesn’t mean I’m safe though, most likely I’ll be handed over to the Prince and from what this guy said there must be something bad going down between the Fae.

So not only have I been caught with my hands in the cookie jar, so to speak, but more than likely they’re going to think I’m involved in whatever shit show is going on. I seriously don’t understand how I always get myself into these kinds of situations, but I need to make them understand I’m not a threat to them.

“Silence isn’t helping your case little songbird, why don’t you be a good girl for me and tell me why you’re in this office, snooping through things that you shouldn’t be.”

Letting out a deep sigh, I hold my hands up in defeat. Even if I tried to fight my way out of this situation, it would be like batting a fly away for this guy. I might not be the smartest person, but even I know trying to fight a Fae would be suicide.

“Look buddy, I’m only here to get something for a client. You don’t have to restrain me, I know I wouldn’t stand a chance against you so I won’t struggle. I’m guessing you’re going to question me, so could I at least take a seat? These heels are fucking killing me”

He’s silent for a moment, thinking over my request before slowly releasing his hold on me. I brush my hands down my dress to straighten it out before squaring my shoulders and confidently walking around the desk. Sliding into the seat, I cross my legs before looking at the stranger with my eyebrow raised.

He chuckles at my display, causing me to bristle, before walking around the desk to lean against it in front of me. Well, there goes the space I was hoping to keep between us. Not only that, but he’s now between me and my bag which has Mercy, one of my trusty Sig Sauer P320’s. A hush falls over the room as we both study each other, waiting to see who breaks the silence first. That changes though when my ghost starts to talk in my ear, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I can’ believe I forgot the fucker was there, even for a moment.

“Damn girl, you could cut the tension with a knife. Don't you think you should stop giving him bedroom eyes though, it’s not exactly smart to flirt with death like that, trust me.”

I look up to the ceiling, praying for patience before turning back to the stranger who’s watching me much more intently than before. Stupid fucking ghost had to make me look even more suspicious, I swear if I get out of here without being killed for my stupidity then I’m going to wring the ghostly bastard’s neck.

“If you’re quite done being scared of your own shadow, why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re here little songbird.”

“I did tell you the truth, fuckface. It’s not my fault that you don’t believe me. It’s not like I'I'm going to give out my real name when I'm out on a job, so it's not like I can prove it to you. Due to client confidentiality, I’m not going to tell you what I’m here for either, so it looks like we’re at an impasse.”

It’s probably a ballsy move to talk to him like that, but if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that you never show a supernatural when they’ve got you rattled. He cocks his head at me as he thinks over what I’m saying before finally coming to a decision.

“Well, the only other way you could prove it is by giving me your name so that I can get someone to check out your story. Surely if you have nothing to hide, then you won’t mind”

I can’t stop myself from laughing at the audacity of this bastard. The only thing I can think to do is to call Nika. She has a burner phone for