Page 54 of Filthy Liar

“What’s going to happen to him?” I ask.

He jerks his chin. “Anybody in this house who isn’t wearing a Dark Horse MC vest is going to die. Some today, some we need information from. That one we need info from.”

“But not Conrad?” I ask.

He hums. “Conrad betrayed us. He took our property. Conrad doesn’t live past today.”

I can’t deny that I like the sound of it all. I’ve never been one to wish death on anyone, but if anyone deserves it, it’s Conrad. It’s all the men of the Southern Mafia. I hate them all. And I know it makes me a bad person, but I don’t think I care too much.

Allowing Rim to pull me out of the house, I walk away, and I do not look back. Those people are assholes. I want nothing to do with them, and if they’re obliterated, it’s really doing the world a favor.

Rim guides me toward a pickup truck. I watch as he pulls the door open, then he stands to the side and allows me to climb up. “Let’s get you to your man,” he murmurs before he closes the door.

Snapping my seat belt on, I close my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. I’m free. At least as free as I can be. The driver’s side door slams, and I look over at Rim, who is starting the engine.

“Can you take me home instead?” I ask

“Home?”

Nodding, I clear my throat. “Home,” I whisper. “I just want to get into my own bed.”

The way he eyes me, I know he thinks I’m a bitch, but I’m not sure I care. I need to be alone. I’m not sure I want to see Humble. He lied to me in more than one way, and I’m pissed off about it.

I need some space.

To be perfectly honest, I need to be alone in general.

I just need to breathe.

In and out.

Freely.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

DILLION

“You sure thisis what you want?” Rim asks as he pulls the car into my driveway. I assume that one of the men from Humble’s club moved my car from the bar to here. I should thank Rim, but I decide against it, because…

“How long was I gone?” I ask, staring at the front door of my house.

He doesn’t say anything immediately. I don’t look over at him. I can’t take my eyes off my home… or rather, my brother’s home. I’m selling it. There is no way I can continue to live here.

Not that I ever really was comfortable living here to begin with. This is my brother’s home. Not mine. Nothing about Pineville is mine, and I’m not even sure why I thought I could make it here. That I could be part of this world.

Even though I’m sure that all the men who took me will die, I’m still not comfortable living here. If they knew where I worked, they absolutely knew where I lived, too. And if any of them weren’t caught, does that mean that they’ll be after me eventually?

Because at the end of the day, as much as I want to be special for my secret lover, for Humble, I was lied to about everything. Nothing in my life is real, and I don’t belong.

Someone thinking that they own me isn’t the same as belonging.

And I don’t want to be a possession.

I was born into a life where the men thought of me as nothing more than property. It’s not what I want for my future. It’s never been what I wanted.

“You were gone for almost a week.”

---