Page 160 of Tangled In Lies

“You clean up nicely.” He smirks at me like we’re best buddies. “Are you excited?”

I don’t respond, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it, laughing to himself.

“Fine. Have it your way and pout.” He grabs my dangling handcuffs and clicks the second one in place. This time, without the chain though. Waving his gun toward the door, he hollers, “Let’s roll. Your bride will be here soon. Back downstairs.”

I pause when I walk through the doorway into the basement, and blink. Black balloons are tied to some of the wooden beams, and a congratulations banner is hanging from the ceiling. A chill coils up my spine. It looks terrifying.

“Do you like it?” Tyler gives me a shove from behind. “I wanted to make it special for you.”

“You’re sick.” The words are out before I can keep them in. I know better than to make him angry, particularly when he presses a gun to my back.

Tyler chuckles. “Is that what you think? That I’m sick?”

I whirl around and lift an eyebrow, trying to appear unbothered. He doesn’t need to know that worry and alarm are clawing at my throat.

Straightening my spine, I sweep my arms to gesture to the morbid wedding scene. “Why else would you do something like this?”

He shrugs like I’m overreacting. “Maybe I have my reasons.”

I want to close the distance between us. Spit in his face. Make him cower in fear. Instead, I force my feet to remain in the same spot. “What reason could you possibly have for something fucked up like this? And I’m not just talking aboutkidnapping us. I’m talking about all the games you played with us foryears. You killed Connie. Youkilledher, Tyler. You put me in prison. You tortured Eve for years, and then you planted a bomb on my car that almost killed us.”

He rolls his eyes. He fucking rolls his eyes. “You’re a little dramatic right now, don’t you think?”

I’ve never wanted to murder someone with my bare hands like I do right now.

If I wasn’t handcuffed, I would take my chances and jump him. And he knows that.

I still can’t help but lean closer. “You think I’m alittledramatic?”

The words come out low and menacing, and Tyler sighs. “I’m marrying Evie and you. Isn’t that what you wanted? To be honest, I thought you’d be happy about the wedding.”

This son of a bitch.

He knows getting married under duress is straight out of a nightmare.

“Fine.” His chest heaves on an inhale, and he checks his watch. “The girls will be here soon, so let’s make this quick. You’re clearly hung up on this, so I’ll let you get in one hit. That’ll make you feel better.”

I rear back, unable to hide my surprise. “What are you talking about?”

He puts the hand with the gun behind his back and beckons me forward with the other. “Come on, I’ll give you one freebie. Hit me.”

Shaking my head in disbelief, I stare at him. He can’t be serious.

He shrugs. “Fine, I’ll go first.”

Before I can register his words, he swingshis fist at me. He catches me so off guard that I don’t have time to move out of the way entirely, and he connects with the side of my head.Shit.

Since I’ve participated in countless prison brawls, instinct takes over, and I push him back far enough to hit him with my cuffed fists. Once. Twice. Three times. He gets another hit in too, this time clipping my nose before cold metal touches my temple.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Hetsksand taps my temple with the gun prior to hitting me hard enough with the butt of it to force me to my knees.

“Naughty, naughty. I saidone.” His breathing is harsh as he paces back and forth.

When I stop feeling like I might pass out, I glance up at him. It takes a herculean effort to keep my mouth in a straight line at the sight of him. Blood is trickling from his nose onto his white shirt, and his left eye is slightly swollen.

Satisfaction courses through my veins strong enough to dull the pain of my injuries and that I probably don’t look much better than him.

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