Page 178 of In Love with a Ruthless Man

Click.

And the video began to play.

Meredith Grayson came to life on the screen, sharpening her knife in front of Fawn’s face, so, so close that if she had breathed just a little deeper, the knife would have cut her.

No.

God.

No.

But the prince and his fawn’s nightmare had just begun.

His stomach curled as Meredith Grayson began to taunt Fawn.

“Do you know why they call me Tic Tac Toe?”

“Are you scared?”

“Do you have any idea what I’ll do to you if you don’t give me what I want?”

“Do you understand why you’re here?”

“Do you think anyone will come rescue you?”

And with every question, Meredith would bring her knife close to his angel’s face, so damn close that if Fawn had nodded or shaken her head, the blade would have cut through her skin.

“Smart,” Meredith marveled. “You’re definitely one of my smarter guests.” She put her knife away. “Too bad you’re not smart enough when it comes to men.” She pointed to the wall behind her, where a colored photo of the prince was taped. “That man doesn’t give a shit about you, and yet here you are, embroiled in his troubles.”

Fawn’s eyes widened, and so did Meredith’s smile.

“Wondering about my vocabulary, aren’t you?” The woman lifted her knife again. “I was a teacher in a prestigious culinary school, top three in my state actually. But then I was laid off and—-” Meredith shrugged. “I found another way to make my skills handy.” She ran a finger across her blade, murmuring confidingly, “This blade has killed twelve persons, but I’ve also spared the lives of at least thrice of that. Do you know why?”

Fawn shook her head.

“Because they realized that I had the better offer.” Meredith began playing with her knife, tossing it up in the air and catching it by the handle before tossing it back up. “The people who hire me think I use force to get what I want.” Her lip curled. “Which is stupid. Everyone knows these things can’t be done by force.”

“I don’t understand—-”

Meredith stopped playing with her knife, and her crazy black eyes began to dance. “You will. In fact, we’re going to play a game. We’ll play tic tac toe on your face, and every time you lie to me, I’ll mark your disgustingly flawless face. Tell me the truth, give me what I want, and I’ll let you go.”

Fawn whispered, “I don’t know anything.”

“LIE.” Meredith suddenly made a buzzing sound, similar to game show buzzers, and Fawn jolted against her restraints.

“You know something.” The knife moved up, pointing straight to Fawn’s eyes. “I can see it in your eyes. You know something.”

Fawn didn’t answer.

The prince followed Meredith’s gaze.

The prince looked into Fawn’s eyes.

Ah.

God.

She had known something.

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