Clever Deceit: Sleeping With the Enemy, #2

By Lexy Timms

Deception is one of the quickest way to gain little things and lose big things…

 

With Tony McCarthy on her tail, everyone in Lily's life is a target.

 

Her mom, her dog, and, it seems, me. With my house now nothing but ashes, I have to face the fact that I'm very much part of this story now. And I'm determined to make sure it has a happy ending.

 

I'm falling for Lily, harder than I want to admit, and I know it's dangerous to get involved with someone with her past. But I have a history of my own, and our connection is impossible to deny. I don't care what it takes to bring down the McCarthy family. If it means the woman I love is safe, that's all I care about.

 

But… I might be closer to losing her than I thought.

 

Sleeping With the Enemy Series

• Book 1 – Sharp Lies
• Book 2 – Clever Deceit
• Book 3 – Honest Neglect

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Shadow Publishing
• Release date: Feb 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224668021

Lexy Timms

"Love should be something that lasts forever, not is lost forever."  Visit USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, LEXY TIMMS https://www.facebook.com/SavingForever *Please feel free to connect with me and share your comments. I love connecting with my readers.* Sign up for news and updates and freebies - I like spoiling my readers! http://eepurl.com/9i0vD website: www.lexytimms.com Dealing in Antique Jewelry and hanging out with her awesome hubby and three kids, Lexy Timms loves writing in her free time.  MANAGING THE BOSSES is a bestselling 10-part series dipping into the lives of Alex Reid and Jamie Connors. Can a secretary really fall for her billionaire boss?

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Sleeping With the Enemy

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Book 1 – Sharp Lies

Book 2 – Clever Deceit

Book 3 – Honest Neglect

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Clever Deceit Blurb

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DECEPTION IS ONE OF the quickest way to gain little things and lose big things...

With Tony McCarthy on her tail, everyone in Lily’s life is a target.

Her mom, her dog, and, it seems, me. With my house now nothing but ashes, I have to face the fact that I’m very much part of this story now. And I’m determined to make sure it has a happy ending.

I’m falling for Lily, harder than I want to admit, and I know it’s dangerous to get involved with someone with her past. But I have a history of my own, and our connection is impossible to deny. I don’t care what it takes to bring down the McCarthy family. If it means the woman I love is safe, that’s all I care about.

But... I might be closer to losing her than I thought.

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Contents

Sleeping With the Enemy

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Clever Deceit Blurb

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

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CHAPTER 1

LILY

COME ON, MOM, I TOLD my mother, slipping an arm around her shoulders. You need to get back inside. There’s nothing else we can do here.

I just...I can’t.... she began. She was trembling as she stood next to me, watching the last of the flames doused beneath the fire engine’s hose.

I couldn’t believe this. I was standing in front of Warren’s house, looking at the wrecked remains of his home. How had this happened? Was I to blame for this? I felt like I was going to throw up. It was so surreal, like something out of a nightmare, except this wasn’t one I could wake up from. No, this was a nightmare I was well and truly trapped in, and I didn’t know how I was going to escape from it.

I guided my mom back inside the house, even though it was clear she wasn’t ready to walk away from the nightmare in front of us quite yet. I wished she didn’t have to see this, but I was sure Tony had wanted to send us a message—a message we couldn’t ignore, one that drove home how much power he had over us and proved how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted.

I sat Mom down on the couch and headed to the kitchen, where Warren was comforting Silver. The dog was curled up on the floor, her whole body shaking, and I dropped down beside him to do my best to make her feel better.

How is she? I asked, though the answer was obvious.

I don’t know, Warren replied, his voice taut. I wasn’t sure how to speak to him about this. I wanted to ask him how he was doing, how he was navigating this nightmare, but it seemed like too obvious an answer to bother him with that. He was wrecked by this, of course he was. How could it have been anything else? I didn’t know how I was supposed to make it right for him, with his home in smoldering ashes next door, but I would do whatever it took to make that happen.

I’ll make us some tea, I offered. It wasn’t much, but it was the only thing I could think of right now. I filled the kettle with water, and as I did so, my eyes drifted back to the house next door. Where there had once stood a building, there was nothing left but the ashes and dust and blackened furniture that made up the last of Warren’s possessions. I couldn’t even imagine how he was feeling right now, having to watch his whole life torn away from him like this, especially after everything he had already been through.

Let’s go check on Diane, girl, he murmured to Silver, and the two of them headed through to the living room. I felt a lump in my throat. Even at a time like this, he was still focused on the people around him—he was still willing to do whatever it took to make sure they were okay. He had been through hell, and I had just brought another dose of it to his doorstep, but he was acting like he was more worried about my mother than himself.

Once the kettle had boiled, I made us all a cup of tea—with plenty of sugar to try and help with the shock—then carried it out to the living room, where my mother was staring off into space, her face as pale as a ghost. She hadn’t looked this bad since the accident, and I was sure this would put her back in her recovery a few steps. How could it not? She had just witnessed a horror that most people wouldn’t have to face in their entire lives.

And it had all happened because of me.

I pressed the warm cup of tea into her hand, and the feel of it seemed to bring her back down to Earth for a moment. She looked up at me, her eyes distant and hazy.

Are you okay? she asked me. I nodded.

We’re all okay, Mom, I assured her. Silver, Warren, me—we're all okay.

Thank goodness, she sighed, and she lifted the tea to her lips. I handed another cup to Warren, and then took a seat opposite my mom so I could keep an eye on her. When the adrenaline and shock wore off, I knew she was going to collapse with exhaustion, and I wanted to get her to bed as quickly as possible.

You should really get some rest, Diane, Warren told her, his mind the same place mine was. She shook her head.

I don’t know how I’m going to be able to sleep after tonight, she replied, lowering her gaze to the ground. I...I didn’t know people were capable of things like this. It just doesn’t feel real...

I knew exactly what she was trying to say, and it killed me to hear her in so much pain. She must have known who had been responsible for this, even if she wasn’t saying it out loud—Tony. Tony had been the one to start that fire, whether directly or not, and he was making sure we received a message loud and clear about what was going on here. He was the one calling the shots, and he wanted us to know it.

We sat there in silence, only able to hear the conversation of the firefighters outside and then the roar of the engine as it took off. Between us, the quiet hung heavily, none of us knowing what to say or how to react.

Mom finished her tea, and I got to my feet.

Come on, Mom, I told her again. Let’s get you to bed.

She shook her head. I don’t want to sleep.

You need it, Warren told her gently. Silver, too. She won’t be able to rest until he knows you’re okay.

Mom looked at the dog for a moment, and her eyes softened, as though she was taking her into account. She smiled.

I suppose you’re right, she agreed, and she rose from the wheelchair to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. I went over to her and caught her by the waist, not wanting her to collapse so soon after all of this. I didn’t want to have to get the emergency services out here again, not after what had just happened.

I called for Silver and led the two of them up the stairs to the bedroom. She was still shaky, but I could feel the way her body was starting to give out, the sheer stress and horror more than she could handle right now.

In her room, I helped her into bed and patted the end of it so Silver could jump up to join her. I was pretty sure Mom needed her tonight more than she needed Mom, but she probably didn’t see it that way.

Are you going to be okay? she asked me, eyes wide as she looked up at me in the dark.

Of course I will, Mom, I assured her. The fire’s out, and—

Not just the fire, she corrected me. I mean...everything else. With Tony.

She did her best not to speak his name if she could avoid it, but the way it hung in the air between us now made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I didn’t know what to say to her. I wished I could tell her that, yes, it was all going to be all right, she had nothing at all to worry about, but how could I say that and really mean it? I had no idea how far he was going to take things, and the thought of that scared the shit out of me. I would never have imagined he would go this far, burning down Warren’s house, but I was sure this had something to do with him.

I just had to find a way to prove it.

Yes, Mom, I promised her, and she pulled me into a sudden, tight hug—gripping on to me with all her might, like she never wanted to let me go.

You stay safe, sweetheart, she murmured to me, and I quickly blinked back tears before she could spot them.

I will, I breathed, hoping she believed me. I couldn’t imagine how horrifying this was to her. I had protected her from as much as I could, but seeing her face with something like this—it was beyond what I could have imagined, and I hated that it had had to happen like this.

You get some sleep, I told her, pulling back and heading for the door. She reached down to pet Silver, and I pulled the door shut behind me, leaning against it to catch my breath.

I couldn’t stop the tears falling then. I knew they wouldn’t do me any good, but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to go and find Tony right now, I wanted to wring his neck and tell him that he would never get away with what he had done to us, but what good would it have done? He was getting away with it. At every turn, he was winning, and I wasn’t sure if there was anything I could do to change that.

I pulled myself together. Warren needed me now, and the last thing that would have been any good to him was if I came out there bawling my eyes out and needing his support. He was the one who had lost his home, after all—he was the one who needed all the help he could get.

I inhaled a deep, shaky breath, wiped my eyes, and headed down the stairs. This was no time for crying.

No, this was time for action.

CHAPTER 2

WARREN

ARE YOU OKAY? LILY asked me, and I managed to nod. Of course, it was a total lie. I felt like I was never going to be okay again after what had happened tonight. It was the early hours of the morning now, and I could still smell the smoke in the air, the way it clustered around the house as though it was squeezing in on us.

I will be, I replied. It was the best I could give her right now, and even that wasn’t a lot. I wished there was something more I could say, something I could do to assure her that I was going to be all right, but there was no way I could pull that off with my house burned down next door.

You should get some rest, Lily told me gently. I didn’t know how I could rest, when I was sure the only thing I would be thinking of was the way my house had been swallowed up in flames.

But worse than that, Lily had almost been hurt. I had been so distracted by the fire that I had let it draw my attention, and Tony had gotten his hands on her. I should have been there for her, but I had failed, and I was furious with myself for letting him get that close. If I hadn’t gotten to them in time, who knew what might have happened—how it might have ended. I shivered at the thought.

She slipped onto my lap and rested her head against my shoulder. Her body was soft, exhausted, all the tension gone after the stress of tonight. How could it get any worse? I had no idea. But I had a feeling that Tony wasn’t going to let us off that easily.

You’re going to stay here for a while, right? she asked quietly. I lifted my head to look at her.

You don’t mind?

Warren, I’m the one who got you into all of this, she reminded me, raising her eyebrows pointedly. I’m not going to kick you out on the street after what he did to you.

That would be great, I sighed with relief. That was one less thing for me to think of, at least. I still didn’t know what I was going to do. I would have to rebuild the house pretty much from scratch, and the thought of that seemed to stretch out endlessly in front of me. I felt like I had just begun to build my life up into something I actually wanted it to be again, only for this to come along and rip me apart once more.

I nuzzled into her neck, inhaling the scent of her and trying to forget about what was waiting for me beyond the four walls of this house. Even after what had happened, I felt like she was worth it—she was worth every little bit of struggle that came with her, because she had made me feel alive in a way nobody had in a long time. It wasn’t her fault she had this past and this ex following her around. It didn’t matter. I could handle that.

I just couldn’t handle losing her.

You’re going to need help doing that place up again, huh? she remarked.

I nodded. I really will.

Well, I’m right here, she offered. And I’m pretty good with a hammer.

Are you? I chuckled. I can’t really picture it.

Hey, I lived out on the road for a long time, she protested, smiling. I had to deal with my fair share of breakdowns over the years.

I take it back, I replied, holding my hands up.

And I’m pretty sure Silver will work for treats, she continued. She was trying to cheer me up, thinking of me even now.

Yeah, I reckon I could bribe her into doing some work for me, I agreed, trying to joke along with her. I needed to get out of my head for a while, even if that felt impossible right now.

Come on, she told me, getting to her feet and taking my hand. You need to get some rest.

I’m fine, I protested, but she shook her head.

I insist, she replied. I don’t want you sitting here and brooding. There’s not a whole lot of room in my bed, but we’ll just have to make do.

Oh, I think I can find a way to make that work, I replied, and I got to my feet and followed her quietly up the stairs, past Diane’s room. I glanced at the door and offered a silent apology to the older woman for dragging her into this mess. She was already going through enough with her injury, and the last thing she needed was someone like me rolling up out of nowhere and making it all a whole hell of a lot more complicated.

Lily pushed open her bedroom door and tiptoed inside. She glanced over her shoulder