Page 5 of Betrayed
“I can’t use it.”
She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.
The air crackles with the tension running between us.
“Erin…I’m scared,” Cass whispers. “And you should be too.”
“I am.”
“Then act like it!” Her anger strikes like a whip. “You have the key. The way out. Why aren’t you using it?”
“You know why.”
“He’s a mafia boss!” she roars. “We’re nobodies. He has a fucking army. And I’m in a wheelchair.”
My breath stutters. “I’d trade places with you if I could.”
“I know. And I’d never let you.”
Tears fill her eyes. “I thought we had a plan. No more bad men. Just us, safe. You were supposed to protect us.”
“I still can.”
Her eyes flood with tears. “He took my legs, Erin. If he comes back, he’ll take my life.”
Standing, I go to her. Leaning over, I wrap her in a tight hug. “That’s not going to happen.”
Finally, she says, “You’re not just sleeping with him. You care. Which means you have two options here, sis. Either you ask your Romeo for help. Or you end it with him and give them the key.”
Telling him the truth? Tell him about how I was going to betray him and his entire family?
Just like Carlos did to him.
The idea scares me so badly. What will he say? Will he ever want to see me again?
And more importantly, will he still help us?
CHAPTER THREE
Lucian
I pace the floor of my place just like I did that first night, only the tumbler of whiskey I poured is left forgotten on the bar.
Then, I was waiting for a stranger, a virgin, a prize that went to the highest bidder.
A simple transaction. One night. No strings attached.
A dark laugh rumbles in my chest. “God, I was so naïve.”
Thinking I could find a way to quench my thirst, satisfy my need, and never get attached.
Never get hurt.
I didn’t get the shy wallflower I’d bet on.
Instead, I got Erin. A beautiful warrior. A survivor.
The woman who wrecked me.
