Free Crossing Lines: A gripping psychological thriller (Behind Closed Doors Book 3) by Erin Cawood

Caleb, no one else is supposed to know our relationship isn't real.
    “Mel,” I step forward, fighting to stop the discomfort from showing on my face as I wrap my arm around Krystal, holding her in an intimate embrace from behind that instantly feels wrong. She doesn’t belong there. But I push the discomfort further down in order to pull her to me; we touch from shoulder to thigh, and she sinks into the embrace as though it’s completely natural to her.
    A deep growl rumbles at my heel. The dog bares her teeth at me, raising the hairs on my arms. But Krystal simply snaps her fingers again, wrapping her arms over mine to reinforce the embrace.
    I swallow against the fear. Where was I? Oh yes, getting rid of Mel. “My time with Krystal is ticking away very quickly.” I continue turning my attention to Mel. “Do you have anything too important to wait until morning?” I ask. She looks from me to Krystal before shaking her head. “Then …” I rest my chin on Krystal's shoulder before meeting Mel's eyes again, “can I have her all to myself?”
    The young personal assistant glows the same amusing shade of crimson that Krystal had. She directs her eyes in every other direction but ours. “Yes, of course. I'll tell you the rest in the morning.” She twists on her heel and runs up the stairs two at a time, calling over her shoulder. “Goodnight!”
    Once she’s gone, I step away from Krystal. “Why do I get the feeling you told her to lie to me?”
    “Because I did,” she replies simply. “And believe me, she wasn’t happy about doing so.”
    “And let me guess, you pulled rank on her as her boss and made her do it?”
    “Don’t,” she grimaces, “I know what I'm doing and I know it’s wrong, Darryl. I’m not proud of forcing the people I rely on to do my bidding. But this intervention has to be this way, and when you meet Julia you’ll understand why.” She steps toward the house. When she notices I haven’t moved, she turns around. “What?”
    “You have a stalker too?” I ask.
    “No. I have Wayne, pretending to be a stalker.”
    “And you know this how?”
    “I know Wayne. Now, would you like to come in?”
    “Not really.” I settle back against the car again. She’s not being straight with me, and this whole thing will only work if I know everything there is to know. "I want to discuss this thing you have going on with Rylan's brother, because I'm not here to—”
    “You don't think highly of me right now, do you?”
    My gaze jumps up at her impatient snap. I meet her piercing stare. It’s the first time I see right through the 'I don't give a damn what you think' shield. She does care. It matters to her more than she’ll ever admit. Conflict seeps into my gut, twists with my need to be frank with her. No matter how much I know, she can take whatever I say; I know it won’t roll off her like she’d have me believe. She'll pretend it has. But I won’t, and I don't want to be that kind of honest with her because … she's the one person in this world who understands. It’s been thirteen years since Faith ran from her abusive husband, Calvin, and despite everything that’s happened since, Krystal is the only person who treats me like I’m still … well, me .
    I keep my gaze on her expression. “You haven't given me a lot of reasons to think highly of you lately.”
    A ripple of hurt shivers through her expression, but all she does is shrug. “That's alright, D. I don't like me much either.” What? My eyebrows shoot skywards and she hisses, “Don't look at me like that. Self-loathing comes with the job. If you lose a part, you weren't good enough. If you get a bad review, you weren't good enough. I'm a big girl. I can take it.”
    “A conversation for another time, maybe?” I wait for her nod of agreement before moving on. “So, about Dex and the other guy living here. It’s Julia’s brother, right?”
    “Don't be condescending, Darryl, you know very well where I stand on