Page 99 of Vengeful Lies

CHAPTER 53

Jewel

I’m going through the small collection of photos of my father and me. There are a few of my mother and me when I was younger, too, but I ignore them. I’ve never entirely had the heart to throw them out, but neither do I care for her in any capacity.

I have the last of my items packed and plenty of cash stuffed in my bag. Craig has organized a private jet for me. He hasn’t told me the location of where I’m going, which was always the plan if one of us got in trouble. I sling the backpack onto my shoulder and look at myself one more time in the mirror. I’m more determined than ever to flee the country.

My deadline to offer Eli’s body is in twelve hours. By then, I’ll be out of the country, and no one will be any the wiser to where I am.

I hear Craig rummaging in his gun closet. I frown, stepping out behind him as he holds a rifle and opens the door. “Wh—?” The question dies on my tongue.

Eli is standing there, looking like a deadly god, as he always does. But, for once, his hair seems a mess, and the shadow of scruff on his chin is heavier than usual.

His gaze finds me where I stand frozen in the hallway, then moves back to Craig. Eli offers him his hand, and Craig looks at it, confused.

“I’m Eli.”

“I know who you are,” Craig says, then goes to slam the door in Eli’s face, but Eli wedged his foot between the door and the jamb despite the crushing force Craig used to close it.

“I’m going to try and do this nicely, but I must confess, I’m not in my right mind at the moment,” Eli says with a smile that is anything but sane. “I understand you’re important to my fiancée, which is why I haven’t blown out your brains for keeping her from me. But I don’t know how long I can continue to be so patient.”

Craig points the rifle at Eli, and I’m shocked by how quickly everything is happening. “I can make this easy on you, kiddo,” Craig says to me. “I can take the shot, and you take the body.”

Eli smiles insanely as he steps forward and presses his forehead to the muzzle of the rifle. “Yes, Jewels. What will it be?”

“Stop it,” I grit.

“Stop what?” He raises a cynical eyebrow with his hands in the air as if he’s doing nothing wrong.

“Playing mind games with me. You need to leave.”

He laughs. “Me? Playing mind games withyou?!Want to explain why I woke up drugged with no trace of my fiancée this morning? You can imagine why I’m at my wits’ end.”

“Just let me go! Find yourself a perfect little wife, and stop tormenting me!” I shoot, pulling out my father’s gun and pointing it at Eli.

He angles his head toward me, then approaches me as if hypnotized by the point of my gun. Craig tracks him the entire way, but Eli treats him as if he’s irrelevant.

“I’m not letting you leave,” Eli states.

I scoff. This arrogant asshole. “I think it’s the other way around. All I need to do is put a bullet between your eyes, and it’s done.”

“So why don’t you?” he asks, coming closer. I take two steps back.

“Stay where you are!” I demand, trying to keep my emotions in check. I made up my mind. I didn’t expect him to find me so soon.

“The way I see it, Kitten, you could’ve easily killed me in my sleep last night. In fact, you’ve had a lot of time and opportunity to kill me, haven’t you? But you haven’t.”

“Maybe you’re not the only one who enjoys playing with their prey,” I say, and I hate how my voice wobbles.

His smile stretches despite his eyes being anything but friendly. “Leave us,” Eli commands to Craig.

“I beg your fucking pardon?” Craig steps forward. And that’s when I realize Craig is definitely about to kill him.

“Wait!” I shout, and it tears at me to see how the two snarl at one another. “We’ll go outside.”

“I don’t want this asshole being in your head for one more second,” Craig angrily says.

“Mmm, yes. I much prefer being between her legs,” Eli says with an antagonizing grin.

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