Page 64 of Vengeful Lies

At her.

At myself.

At these raw emotions clawing at my chest that I don’t entirely understand. And for some reason, they’re only rearing their ugly head because of this woman.

My family is everything to me. And the reminder that she could hurt them or disappoint them in any way butts heads with the idea of simply using her. Tonight, only momentarily, I wondered what it might be like if my family accepted Jewel as my real wife.

It wouldn’t be difficult for her to fit in. As quickly as it entered my mind, I closed that thought down, knowing it’s not reality.

Perhaps it’s the guilt for tricking my family with this ruse because I know it’ll certainly break my mother if she ever finds out this is a lie. Four months from now, when I either kill Jewel or pay her so much money so she can flee and never see my family again, how will it impact them? Perhaps it’s best I only have them around her for necessary events so they don’t become too attached.

I never really considered how other people mightfeelafter this marriage. I’ve been focused on my empire, which is now within reach.No,I insist to myself. I’m not burdened by that. This is a means to an end to take over the family business. No more, no less.

I open the driver’s side door and slide inside.

I grip the steering wheel tightly to keep from placing my hand on her knee. I become strangely addicted to the idea of being able to touch her whenever and wherever I want.

We sit in silence for the entire drive to her place, the tension palpable. She’s removing her seat belt before I even pull over.

“Wait, Jewel.” But she’s already out of the car and slams the door in my face.

A tic flares in my jaw as I wind down the window and call out to her. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow. You’ll be shopping for a wedding dress!”

She flips me off without looking back, and I curse under my breath.

This fucking woman is driving me insane.

“Fuck!” I slam my hand down on my steering wheel, for some reason considering how much of an asshole I might actually be. I’ve never questioned how that might be a bad thing until now.

But seeing her eyes glisten with the hint of tears, knowing she would never cry, made me realize I pushed her too far tonight. And I’m already trying to figure out how to make it up to her.

The next question is, why am I even trying to make it up to the woman who’s supposed to kill me?

CHAPTER 33

Jewel

I’m an idiot. I don’t know why, for even one second, I considered crossing paths with Eli Monti. When I had to meet with one of my client’s men tonight in a sketchy alleyway, I was prepared for the worst. I’d agonized all day as to what I should provide in the way of intel. I needed to give them enough information that I appeared to still be in the game but not enough to jeopardize the current balancing act I was doing.

I wanted my guns first and foremost. I didn’t give a shit about my reputation compared to that. But even that’s a lie; I fucking love my job and don’t want it threatened because of this asshole. My saving grace is that I’ve saved a lifetime’s worth of money. If I truly wanted to, I could retire.

I angrily scoop into my caramel swirl ice cream as I sit in my bed, fucking fuming.

It might be easy for Eli to lie to his family about us, but it’s not my thing. I don’t get close to people. The reality of our wedding now happening within the month has me freaking out. I know it’s not real. I know not to take it personally and that it’s a business transaction at best. But I still have no idea how I’m going to pull this off. I scoop another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth and internally curse as a brain freeze takes over.

Stop being stupid, Jewel. Really think about this.

I purposefully removed my engagement ring tonight before meeting with my client’s man. I don’t know how closely they’re following me, but I didn’t want them discovering my engagement to the man they hired me to kill. For all I know, they might already know, and perhaps that’s why they’re asking for intel.

I couldn’t see the man’s face because he was wearing a mask. I tap the back of the spoon against my lip, thinking. If I can figure out who that man is, maybe it will give me a lead about the identity of the person who wanted Eli targeted in the first place.

Not that I care if they’re targeting the Monti family. Okay, maybe I like Eli’s mom a little, but her son most definitely should have a hit on him just for being the biggest asshole in the history of the world. But I need to understand who I’m working for now that I’m caught in the crossfire.

I grab my phone and call Rory. They answer on the second ring.

“I bought a yacht with the money you’ve been sending me lately,” they say instead of a greeting. I smile.

“Maybe you should offer me to join you sometime,” I reply, making them snort. Then, I get down to the reason for my call. “Can you look into any gangs or organizations known for wearing masks?”

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