Page 61 of Vengeful Lies

“Is she not coming?” my mother asks as she joins me. Sliding my phone into my pocket, I feel the muscles in my jaw twitch. She stood me up. Maybe for payback, I’ll destroy one of her precious guns.

One of my parents’ security guards steps into the living room to announce a new guest, but Jewel bursts in, introducing herself. “Sorry, I’m late. Work wouldn’t let me leave.” She’s still wearing her work attire of black heels and a little black dress.

I stalk across the room and loom over her. She pins me with that challenging stare as I grab her by the hip and pull her to me, crushing my lips to hers. She seems startled and unsure what to do with her hands, but I inhale her, take out my fury on her as I devour her. I drag out her lip and growl, “You’re late.” I’m fucking furious with her.

Goose bumps erupt along her skin, which pleases me to no end. She pulls away from me and holds her hand out to my mother, who is studying us intently. This isn’t going to be easy.

“Nice to see you again, Mrs. Monti. Apologies for being late. I didn’t want this to be everyone else’s first impression .”

My mother accepts Jewel’s hand, looking between the two of us, and I know nothing goes unnoticed by her, so I put my hand on Jewel’s hip possessively and tug her back into me. I don’t know what the fuck a happy couple looks like, but I’m going to kill my little Kitten with touch and kindness. The very things she fucking hates. This will serve as her punishment for being so late. I had a feeling she was going to be a little late, but I didn't expect her to only come for dessert.

“Of course, dear, but you missed an amazing meal. Come, let me introduce you to everyone.” My mother eases her away from me and leads her into the dining room.

Jewel glances over her shoulder quickly and flips me off. The corner of my mouth twitches. I’m irritated that she can make me so fucking angry one minute, then have me smiling the next.

My father makes a point to stand and offer his hand in greeting. To her credit, she doesn’t seem intimidated by him. And he is a very intimidating man.

She and Dutton acknowledge one another with an insincere, “Good to see you.” She walks around the table and shakes everyone’s hand as my mother introduces them.

It’s not until she makes it back around to my side that I notice she’s not wearing her engagement ring. But when I left her yesterday, she was definitely wearing it.

My mother seems to notice the lack of a ring at the same time. Her eyes narrow almost imperceptibly, and I can tell she senses something is off between Jewel and me. She’s one of the top lawyers in the country, if not the best, for fuck’s sake; sniffing out lies is her damn job.

“You still don’t have a ring?” my mother asks. I wrap my arm around Jewel’s shoulders, and she tenses as she lifts her hand.

“Oh, I do. It’s beautiful, but I can’t wear it to work. It’s way too expensive,” she replies, as if that’s answer enough.

“You should wear your ring,” I growl. She eyes me and smiles. It’s forced, and I can tell behind that smile, there are sharp teeth wanting to bite.

I drop my arm and pull out the seat, indicating for her to take it. When she does, I sit next to her, and the interrogation begins.

CHAPTER 31

Jewel

For such a powerful and dangerous family, they make me feel oddly welcome. And I should be the last person they lower their guard around. And that saddens me ever so slightly. I wish I could buy into the same lie that they all seem to be swallowing.

Don’t get me wrong; they have their suspicions, which is obvious with the questions they throw at me. Some I don’t have the answers for, no matter how much Eli and I “practiced.”

I don’t think Eli realizes how lucky he is to have a family that cares so much. Billie is like a pocket full of sunshine. She kind of reminds me of her mother, and Dutton reminds me of their father. But Dawson seems to be more talkative, whereas Dutton is quiet and reserved. Or maybe that’s because Dutton outright doesn’t seem to like me and has no issues with making that known. I don’t blame him. If anything, I respect him since he’s one of only a few who knows and understands me as the threat I am.

Crue, who I was most nervous to meet, has been silently watching his son’s and my interactions for the entire night. Eli and I might have charming words for one another, but I’m sureyou cannot fake chemistry. And I’m not entirely sure if we’ve convinced him.

I fight my natural instinct to push Eli’s hand away every time he reaches out to grab me or whenever his lips are on my neck or hand. It feels like the man’s in overdrive tonight because he’s either trying to showcase how “in love” we are, or he’s doing it to get under my fucking skin because he knows he wouldn’t usually get away with it.

Faking that I like being practically manhandled by him is hard to do when I’m so used to not being touched. It’s not that I hate human touch. It’s just that it’s foreign to me. I never had a mother who hugged or cuddled me, and my father’s love language was spending quality time with me. And by “quality time,” I mean he was teaching me how to shoot. And after he passed away, all I had was Craig. My mother and father had no other family that I know of, and I was old enough to decide where I wanted to live. And Craig has been my surrogate uncle for as long as I can remember. He never had any kids, and he never married. His life was work until it wasn’t. I always thought I was a bit like him, happy to be by myself with my guns. But as I sit around this table and witness their love for one another, I’m a little envious.

I wonder if, in another life, I could lean into something like this. It’s beautifully dysfunctional, but I imagine all of them literally have one another’s back until death.

Hawke and Billie argue over something, and Ford shakes his head at them. And I have to remind myself not to get swept up in it all. I’m basically a loner. Always have been. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll go through life solo.

A phantom.

A killer.

Staying in my lane.

I catch Eli looking at my bare ring finger again. I’d forgotten to put it back on, which made him angry. So there’s no way in hell I’m going to tell him I was late to this dinner because I had to meet with one of my client’s henchmen after work. He’d go ballistic if he knew.

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