Page 51 of Cunning Lies
Patricks stiffens, realizing his mistake.Yeah, I know your family lied to me.I curl my fingers one by one, readying my fists. My knuckles crunch in the gloves, but I keep myself steady.
Not yet.
“Yeah, that’s because Dadthinksshe’s a virgin,” Patrick says, trying to clear his mistake. “But trust me, man. You should get your dick checked.”
I keep my face pleasant. “Yeah?”
“Vi lied to my dad, and now she’s lying to you.” He shakes his head. “Everyone lies, but lying to your uncleandyour husband? That’s unforgivable.” He gives a nervous laugh, making it a joke between us. Like we’re on the same side. The despicable little shit is throwing his cousin on the ground like she’s a piece of trash, and I want to stomp on his skull until it’s pulp beneath my feet. “I can make it work for you, though. Dad is susceptible to blackmail, and if we work together, I can—”
Does his stupidity and lack of respectreallygo so far as to blackmail his father, or is this another messed game he’s using to fuck with me?
“You’re willing to turn on your own father?” I ask. “Everyone lies, huh? You’re even willing to lie to your own family, aren’t you?” I lean in closer. “Have you lied tome?”
Sweat beads Patrick’s forehead, and he glimpses around like someone is watching, but forces himself to lower his shoulders, keeping it cool. He knows he may have just exposed his family as a bunch of liars, but he’s still trying to make this deal work, to pull one over on me. That greedy, stupid son of a bitch.
It’d almost be admirable if it wasn’t so fucking infuriating.
“That’s not what I meant,” he says quickly. “My family is just messed up, you know? My dad has wandering hands. My cousin is a fake virgin—”
“And what does that make you?”
“Your next biggest seller.”
His grin is wide; he truly believes it. He’s got balls to be saying that right now, and confidence like that is a good quality in the criminal world. But my skin tingles, boiling on edge. I imagine hanging him by hooks between his toes, dipping his body into a vat of acid as he screams bloody-murder, the skin curling away from his bones, his eye sockets receding until there’s nothing left but a blackened skull.
Niceis not giving into my impulses.
Niceis not torturing him to death.
“That’s nice,” I say. “Nice.What a fucking word.”
“I can be nice. Let me prove it to you,” Patrick says eagerly. “Give me a chance. Tonight.”
The fake smile falls from my expression, replaced by darkness. He wants a chance.A fucking chance.I grit my teeth and stare down at Patrick, and finally, his pupils narrow.
He knows he’s in danger, but it’s too late now. My hand is already on the gun.
“You lost your chance when you laid your hands on her,” I say.
Before he can open his mouth, I hammer him to the ground. I press my shoe to his throat, crushing his windpipe while he chokes, sputtering over my shoe’s leather. He grabs at the sole and I use my knife to pin his hand to the ground, nailing him to the cracked asphalt. He wails like an animal, and I chuckle. For the hell of it, I knock the back of my gun into his forehead. The contact point swells like a horn. He whimpers, and my chest expands with power.
“Tell me,” I say. “Who are you working for?”
“What the fuck?” he manages to say. “I-I-I just want to sell, man.”
I should interrogate him more. Torture him. Get him to spill his guts.
But I take another knife and stab it into his stomach, twisting it around like his guts are soup. I press the gun’s muzzle to his forehead.
“P-please,” he stammers.
Nice.I can be nice.
I shoot him in the forehead. The shot echoes faintly, dulled by the silencer, and a splatter of blood strikes my cheeks. My blood vessels widen, letting that comforting heat simmer through me. I look down at the piece of shit lying on the floor. Lifeless blond hair. Blood streaming down his temples. Reflective white teeth. He’s a useless corpse now, just like when he was living.
I store my gun in my holster. Vi is going to be pissed at me for killing her cousin, but this is worth it. Fuckers like him don’t deserve to live. And when I took her as my wife, I made an oath to protect what’s mine.
Nice is giving him an easy death.
