21. Heard it From a Friend

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P L A Y L I S T

Heard it From a Friend - Lolo


Perry had some decisions to make. As much as he loved fucking Bethany, she was becoming a bit too clingy. Probably time for him to do one of his disappearing acts. Women in love were so gullible. They wanted to believe whatever lies men spouted. And all men did. Even if it was as innocent as telling a woman her ass didn't look big in a pair of jeans—still a lie. Just as he'd done with Zari, he could claim an out of town business trip, and Bethany or any woman would take him at his word.

Of course, he'd been careful. None of the babes he'd bedded knew about his condo in Midtown, and they wouldn't. His sanctuary. Downtown and uptown views from every room. Private entrance. Twenty-four-hour security. Hell, he'd even used one of his many aliases to buy the place. It was amazing what money could do. Fake identities came easily with the right people in place. Besides, after the scandal of his father's trial, Perry couldn't afford to keep his name. Well, not his last name. Sometimes he had to think to keep everything straight.

Chaim Witz owned the condo. Stanley Eisen signed the lease on his apartment. Eric Mensinger owned a private island in Dubai, and Thomas Thayer recently opened an offshore account. He chuckled. Nobody could claim he didn't have a sense of humor.

So far, everything was in place, but luck would eventually run out. Dad had taught him that, along with how to swindle people. The more money people had, the greedier they got. Sure, they gave a lot of it away; hell, that's how he'd gotten much of what he had. Helping starving children in third world countries loosened purse strings quicker than anything.

Zari's discovery had thrown a kink in his plans. Of course she had to go through his things and catch him with Bethany. He'd had a strict timeline, and until she left town it had all been in place, but once that happened, adjustments had to be made. Sometimes when he'd had too much to drink, a twinge of guilt niggled at him.

Zari was innocent, but then again, Perry's mother hadn't known about his father's sins, yet she suffered until she couldn't. Once he turned eighteen, Mom figured he could take care of his sister. She'd said so in the suicide note.

No, innocent or not, Jake Davis and Matthew Kline had sent Perry's father to prison and indirectly caused his mother's death. Zari's father was dead, but the lawyer deserved the same kind of pain. Besides, it wasn't like Zari was ever going to be a significant contributor to society. She couldn't keep a job or a partner, and her only ambitions were writing stupid songs. Yeah, the world would never miss her. But Kline would, and Perry knew all too well how it felt to lose the people he loved most in the world. Everything he'd done in life was to get to the point he could make that happen.

Well, he couldn't wait much longer. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, he'd make a trip to that podunk town and bring her back home.

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