Page 41 of Queen of Vice

He simply shrugged, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I can see his handprint around your neck, babe."

My hand instinctively went to my neck, where I could still feel the faint remnants of Mateo's touch. I had tried to make it fade, but I hadn’t had much luck.

Melody frowned, stepping closer to get a better look. "He wasn’t too rough with you, was he?"

I didn’t want to lie to them, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit what had truly transpired just a few hours ago, either. It was too raw, too confusing to even put into words. So, I compromised. “Last night was intense, but I was… accepting of it.” I lifted my hand to show them the ring that now adorned my finger. "I got this today."

“He really proposed to you?” Peyton asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

“Not that there's anything wrong with you. You’re one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever met, but babe, the man has been with plenty of women. What the hell did you put on that man for him to wake up and wife you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound hollow in my throat. Peyton had gotten it all wrong, and we both knew it. He was trying to lighten the mood, to pull me back to the surface because he sensed I was sinking too deep. He’d always been good at reading me.

“It wasn’t my sex-kitten moves,” I quipped dryly, managing a small smirk. “This is part of our deal, Peyton. He’ll bring Eva to me, or me to her, but it’s contingent on us having a whole engagement ceremony. It’s all... transactional.”

Melody sighed, running a hand through her long hair. “A deal... Of course, it is. That makes more sense.”

“That still doesn’t sit right, El. You deserve better than being part of some arrangement,” Peyton argued.

“Better?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “This is what I’ve got, Pey. If it means getting Eva back, I’ll do it. We knew he wouldn’t be doing this out of pure kindness from the start.”

Melody sat down beside me; her eyes filled with concern. “El, if it’s too much... if you want out...”

I shook my head, more resolute than I actually felt. “No,” I said quietly but firmly. “We agreed he was my best shot at finding Eva, and he’s promised to bring us back together. Even if I wanted to run, where would I go that he wouldn’t follow? And what would he do to the people who helped me try to leave?”

The weight of my own words pressed on my chest. Mateo wasn’t a man you escaped from; he was a man you survived. “I have to see this through. I don’t have another choice.”

Peyton, who had started pacing, finally stopped, a mix of frustration and understanding in his expression.

“Ya know, that twisted bastard may be a lot of things, but he does keep his word. Some underground honor code or whatever. Which, honestly, I can’t believe is a thing considering what these people get up to.”

Melody shook her head. “Yeah, but that ‘honor code’ is soaked in blood, El. You’re in so deep already.”

“I know,” I whispered, the enormity of the situation sinking in. “But like I said, I don’t have a choice.”

Melody softened, resting her hand on my arm. “Then we’ll be with you the whole way, no matter how dangerous this gets. But you have to promise us you won’t shut us out.”

I blinked back a surge of emotion, swallowing hard as I looked between the two people who had stood by me through everything, even miles apart. “I won’t,” I managed to say, my voice hoarse, knowing it was another lie. There was something less dangerous I could offer up, though.

“We need to figure out why he’s helping me. I get the whole value thing, but there has to be more to it than that.”

Peyton gave me a lopsided smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Okay. We can add that to figuring out how to navigate this ‘engaged to a crime boss’ thing without getting ourselves killed.”

Melody let out a short, humorless laugh. “It’s going to take more than navigating. We’re going to need a damn survival guide.”

I gave a weak chuckle. “How did you two get brought here, anyway?

“Oh, I was walking through my living room adjusting some morning wood and nearly had a heart attack because he sent people to my doorstep like I owed him a debt, but then he mentioned it was to celebrate your engagement and my ass damn near levitated to get here.”

“I just got a text from a random number and then shortly after a car arrived,” Melody added, giving Peyton a bemused look.

I shook my head, trying to make sense of Mateo’s angle, rubbing the back of my neck. “I haven’t spoken to my uncle or grandmother since last night. They aren’t aware of this yet.”

Peyton crossed his arms and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Honestly, it’s better to wait before telling your uncle. You know how he is. He’ll probably have a meltdown," he said bluntly. "He’s a controlling scumbag. If you tell him now, he’ll try to get in the middle of this—and that won’t end well for anyone."

I frowned, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I’m not exactly eager to tell him anything. But what about my grandmother?"

"Your grandmother’s been through hell, Elena. Maybe it’s better to wait until things are more settled before telling her too."

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