CW Boys: Tell Me No Lies

CW Boys:

Tell Me No Lies

Book 3

C. Shell

Table of Contents

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

About the Author

Also by C. Shell

Preview of Anonymously Yours

Copyright

CW Boys: Tell Me No Lies (Book Three)

C. Shell

Copyright C. Shell 2018

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. IF you are reading this book and didn't purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the author and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance between persons living and dead, establishments, events, or location is entirely coincidental.

CoveDesign: ©Sean Nel

Chapter One

If there is one thing I have learned about myself over the past month, it’s that I would be a terrible spy. My sleuthing abilities are severely lacking to the point where I’m starting to think I have a bell tied around my neck, or someone snuck a GPS tracker on my back when I wasn’t looking. That would explain so much.

After the horrible showdown with Dex at Nicole Taylor’s house I have been doing my best to avoid him, which is harder than you can imagine. He’s everywhere these days. For example, if I go to the store to get mom some eggs, he’s at the checkout, or if I go wash my car I find him next door grabbing a burger at the diner. I would call it a crazy coincidence, but I’ve never believed in such things. I try and hide when this happens and get away before he catches sight of me, but it never happens. Sometimes we just stare at each other, and other times we end up in a heated conversation that goes nowhere fast.

This leaves me with a lot of questions and a heart that can’t heal. I relive that night every time I see his face, and it’s excruciating. The things I saw in that room can’t be unseen. I thought our love could endure anything, and then Dex had to go and prove me wrong. Some days my anger overrides my sadness and then other times I feel like I’m drowning in my own tears. I hate this feeling of hopelessness.

That brings me to my current predicament: I came to the library this morning to do some research for a paper I’m doing in English on the difference between jails and prisons. While searching for the books I need, Dex showed up. Forgetting that he probably already saw my bright red car in the sparse parking lot, I hightailed it to the children’s section in the back of the library where I am currently hiding behind a huge cut-out poster of The Cat in the Hat. Running away was a knee-jerk reaction, and one I’m not very proud of.

Kneeling on the worn-out carpet, I count to ten to calm my racing heart. The poster is barely large enough to hide my frame which means I can’t move an inch without exposing my hiding spot. My embarrassment only gets worse when a little girl comes into the area and notices me, her little face scrunching up with confusion. A smile cracks my face, and I give her a little wave, trying to act as if a grown girl sitting behind a big cat with a hat on isn’t weird.

The little girl’s puzzled expression slowly breaks into something closer to accepting before she loses interest in me altogether and goes about her business. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here, but my legs are beginning to cramp and my anxiety over seeing Dex has depleted to a bearable nervousness. If I don’t get out of here soon, I will be late for work, and Seth, my new manager, has a permanent stick up his butt over the simplest infractions.

I listen keenly but don’t hear a thing beside the chatter of little children and the gentle hum from the overhead lights. I inch out of my tight spot and crawl my way to the entrance of the book section where I stick my head out to check that the coast is clear. The shock of seeing someone leaning against the nearest column and staring straight at me pulls an alarmed squeak from my lips.

What are you doing crawling around on the floor? This is a children’s area which means there is no telling what kind of gross things are stuck in that carpet.

Yuck. I glance down at the carpet beneath my hands with worry. If cooties are a real thing, then I’m a goner. Oh, geez. I’m torn between running from the building or standing my ground and acting as if my extreme reaction to keep from seeing him is normal. I go with the latter option and stand, hoping I look relatively calm despite my heart trying to pound its way out of my chest.

I…um. I lost my earring and was down there looking for it. The moment the words are out of my mouth I want to take them back. I don’t know where the lie came from, but there is no turning back now. It’s full steam ahead.

A single brow arches. You’re not wearing earrings.

My brain stutters to a slow grind. On instinct, I reach up and feel my naked earlobes. How did I forget that vital nugget of information? Too late to change my story now. I was wearing them until I lost them. Both of them, I add with a definite nod. Now, I’m searching for them.

In the children’s area? He rolls his eyes and changes his stance, giving me a good look at his muscular frame. Jimmie said that he had been spending more time working out since the break-up and judging from the new definition in his arms, he wasn’t exaggerating.

I fold my arms and find a way to lean against the cat in the hat poster without falling on my ass. I like children. They laugh, play, and act silly. I was wandering by when my earrings fell off. That kind of stuff happens. You’re not a girl, so you don’t know.

Was that before or after you ran from me?

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Seriously? The rise in his voice has the librarian turning and shooting us a warning look. Dex ignores Mrs. Dixon and keeps on. The gig is up, Addy. Why is it so hard for you to admit that you were running away from me? He leans back, daring me to contradict him. It’s not as if it’s the first time you’ve done it. You’ve been getting better at it since the party. I’m starting to think I stink or something.

The answer should be simple, except it’s not. Nothing about us is simple, and it never has been. I lean back and swallow my pride. If he wants to have this conversation in public, in the middle of a library, then so be it. At least I don’t have to worry about him yelling at me in here.

I’m running because I don’t want to see you or be anywhere near you, right now. And you aren’t wrong about smelling bad. You carry the stench of betrayal.

Dex steps forward. He’s careful not to touch me, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get right up next to me. It takes everything in me not to reach out and grab him. I might be mad and hurt by what he did, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him. The kind of love we have doesn’t go away overnight. Or ever.

I did it to protect you. If I could’ve found another way to get her confession, I would have. He blows out a frustrated breath. It guts me that you got hurt, but you have to know that I would never have taken it further than I did.

Anger slices through me. What was the point, Dex? You have a confession that you can’t use, I tell him. I did a little digging of my own and found out the courts can’t use your tape because of the way you obtained it. Doesn’t help that her case has already been settled and closed. I glare at him, letting him see the deep festering wound within me that he’s created. You ruined us for nothing.

No. Shaking his head, his expression turns determined. I got us the leverage we need. Lacey can’t come back after you without there being repercussions. This tape might not be able to put her behind bars, but it will keep her in line. One wrong move and I’ll blast it onto every social media site available. She’ll be ruined.

Apparently, he has all the details planned. Too bad it isn’t foolproof. So, will you. There is no way you can release that without it coming back on you. You drugged her, Dex!

A squeak from an old chair is the only warning that we’ve gotten too loud again before Mrs. Dixon is up and headed our way. The old lady is in her late seventies, but her physical appearance could fool anyone. She is a feisty one and takes her job as the town librarian seriously. Dex grabs my arm and then we are on the move. We fast-walk our way through the history and self-help section before making a quick right and exiting through the side door.

It’s weird, but standing outside in the light of day with Dex makes me feel more vulnerable than I did in the secluded library. There is no place for me to hide out here. Standing on a sidewalk that leads back to the main parking lot, I tuck my hands in my pockets to keep from fidgeting.

Your plan has enough holes in it to sink you along with the ship, Dex. I get what you’re trying to do, but she’ll take you down with her.

I don’t care. The absolute in his tone stuns me.

You don’t mean that, I argue.

I do. If Lacey tries to come after you again, or uses one of her minions to do her dirty work, then I will release the video. I’ve got my face blacked out, of course. If she decides to out me, then I will go down smiling. It will be worth it if it keeps you safe, and ruins her reputation and pull in this town.

I blink in surprise. Then I blink some more. You’re fucking crazy. No college will accept you with that kind of shit following you around. Dex doesn’t bat an eye, and a chill slithers up my spine. He has always been the risk taker in our group, but this is too much. What he’s insinuating is borderline insane.

Dex’s lips twitch as he leans over to my ear. I might be the asshole who broke your heart, but I am also the man who would take a knife to the chest if it meant keeping you safe. Remember that, Addy.

With those parting words, Dex walks away.

Chapter Two

Did you know that Cupid is thought to be the son of the love goddess Venus?

I back away from Seth, who is busy writing out my paycheck, and talk in a low voice with Cammy. No, that is not information I ever care to learn about. Why are you looking up stuff on Cupid again?

Her eyes light with