Page 144 of Filthy Liar

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

ZAVIER

My ears rang as Stefano’s goon hit me again, blood dripping from my lips and onto the floor. My body ached from being roughed up, and they’d only been playing with me so far.

My wrists burned from the restraints, the chair they’d put me on being solid metal so I couldn’t even try to throw it around to break it.

“Stop playing dumb with me,” Stefano growled from close by, running his hands down his fancy suit as he stepped closer, silently motioning to the goon to leave us alone. “You know exactly what information I’m talking about, Lopez.”

“I don’t,” I spat, trying to sit up better, ignoring the sharp pain in my wrists as the rough rope burned. “I’ve told you again and again, Ander never spoke to me about your private business stuff. I didn’t even know I was moving drugs for you, or I never would’ve touched it.”

His hand snaked out to grab my chin tightly, pain blooming under his grip where bruises had been forming from the punches.

“This has nothing to fucking do with my bastard son, and everything to do with you, your daddy, and the Demons. If you think this game you’re playing will get you killed fast, it won’t. I will hold and torture you for fucking years if that’s what it takes.”

“What the fuck does me moving drugs have to do with that piece of shit and his crew?”

“Everything!” he bellowed, his grip tightening to the point I thought he’d break my damn jaw. “We had a deal, kid. You and that prick stole from me!”

“I didn’t!”

He backhanded me, his ring cutting my cheek and leaving a burning sting behind.

“You can’t deny our deal!” he snapped, gripping my face hard again. “Who’s idea was it, hmm? Did Kristoff come up with it, or you?”

“Come up with what? I really don’t understand what you’re so mad about. I never made a deal with you and my father, I was too busy running from that fucker myself.”

“You looked pretty cozy sitting on your Demon throne. Who can you hide behind now? They’re all fucking dead and left you to handle the fallout.”

I frowned, assessing his face. He was serious. He thought I’d made a deal with him.

There was only one reason for this confusion, and that fucker was still causing me grief from his grave.

“Fucking Jeremy,” I scowled, wincing as his fingers dug into my jaw.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“Jeremy,” I repeated. “I had a twin brother who was Kristoff’s good little bitch boy. It must have been him.”

“No, I specifically dealt with Zavier Lopez, not Jeremy. You can’t pull that trick on me,” he snorted. “I worked with you for years, so I think I know who I was dealing with.”

“Doing what?”

He stared blankly at me for a moment before releasing me and stepping back to eye me.

“Okay, I’ll play your game. You and Kristoff approached me, remember? You wanted in on my skin trade business and said you could move bodies through the States for me. It came to my attention that you had been skimming money off my profits by increasing the costs on the down-low and taking the extra. That wasn’t yours to take, Zavier.”

Nausea swam in my gut as I stared at him, and I wanted to throw up. “I’ve spent the last year helping women and kids who were trafficked. I never would’ve worked in that business, it’s disgusting.”

He chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. “You’re a great actor, Lopez. I’ll give you that. What have you told my son?”

“It. Wasn’t. Me.”

It made sense now how Ander knew so much about the skin trade and deals being made. That fucker had the damn information from the source.

“If it wasn’t you, then why have you been running from me?” he scoffed.

“Um, your guys ran me and Raven down. Kind of made me not want to be welcoming to you,” I replied dryly.

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