Page 142 of Tangled Kisses
My heels click across the marble floor, every step echoing like a countdown. My thoughts spiral.
Think, Reese. What can I do? Maybe if I can get a message to Griffin. Just one sentence. A warning. Something.
Seems Vander is adept at reading my thoughts.
“Don’t even think of slipping a message to one of your little friends,” he hisses before accepting a glass of champagne from a server. “Because I swear to God, I’ll make you watch as I gut them. Slowly.”
So this is what it feels like to be an animal caught in the steel jaws of a trap—still alive, still drawing breath, but with the knowledge that the end is coming.
Even if I screamed right now, even if I broke free and ran straight to the cops, it wouldn’t matter. He’s already promised he’d kill everyone I love, and I believe him. Vander doesn’t bluff. He hates me too much to let me win. Hell, I wonder if he’ll even letmesurvive.
Which leaves me with no choice but to abide his demands.
I pivot and scan the crowd, my gaze screeching to a halt on the debonair man standing across the room.
Griffin.
So blissfully unaware that his life hangs in the balance, a puppet controlled by a madman.
So damn beautiful in every way, and for a moment in time, he was mine.
He looks up.
Our eyes meet.
He squints slightly, no doubt wondering about the man standing next to me.
You’ll find out soon enough, my love.
I lift my hand in a small, almost dismissive wave—don’t draw attention, look away, please—but it’s too late.
Vander follows my gaze. “Oh,” he says with mocking interest, “so that’s him? You weren’t aiming very high, were you?”
My fury rises like bile in my throat. “You already know it’s him. Why bother asking?”
“Because I enjoy watching you squirm.”
“You despise me.”
He nods and checks his watch, his smile curdling into something cruel. “And I’m a bad enemy to have. Five minutes, Reese. You’ve had enough rope—now I’m pulling the noose tight. I should kill the man on principle, and I’m this close to doing it. Don’t push me.”
“Stop,” I hiss. “Just please stop. I beg of you.”
“I’m getting a whiskey. You will take care of this situation.Now.”
And with that, he turns and walks away.
Leaving me alone.
Leaving me with five minutes to crush my dreams.
And destroy the man I love.
I duck into a quiet hallway, my heart hammering in my chest. I need air. I need a second. I need?—
God, I need my phone.
But of course, Vander took it.
