Page 45 of Blood and Lies (A Twisted Duet 1)

He tugged me hard against his chest, angry eyes glaring down while he tightened his grip on my elbow. I flinched.

“Do not speak of things you know nothing about.”

“I miss him too.” There was no rhyme or reason for me saying those words, but I wanted—no,neededhim to know that even though the Carlo I knew wasn’t the real Carlo, I still missed him. In a way, I mourned him too now that I knew he’d been dead all these months.

“You know nothing of my brother. The Carlo you knew was a lie.”

“Which only aggravates my wounds even more, the fact that the person who told me day in and day out that he loved me lied to me.”

“That makes you a fool.”

I lifted my chin. “I might be a fool for trying to love someone even though he lied to me, but at least I’m not blaming anyone else for my pain.”

A slow smile crept up at the corners of his mouth. “Do you think because of what happened in the shower that you know me? That it changes things? That you now have the right to pry into details of my life?”

“That’s not—”

“Do not think for one second that because I came on your motherfucking stomach it changes anything. You are still the woman responsible for my family’s loss. You are the reason I hate the fucking memories whenever I look out that goddamn window. And you are still the woman who will pay for my brother’s death,” he leaned down closer, “with her life.”

The anger in his eyes swirled like black smoke, his words piercing my chest like a thousand daggers. My retort burned the tip of my tongue, but I knew I had pushed this man far enough…for now.

Within seconds, he had hauled me out of his bedroom and down the hall. For a few moments, I was sure he was angry enough to want to take me back to the dining hall, to let Vico finish what he started with his belt. But he didn’t.

The relief that flowed through me when Castello took me back to my room rather than the dining hall was indescribable. I never thought I’d be glad to go back to the room that had become my prison. There was no way I would have been able to survive another round of being exposed to all those men—especially Vico.

Castello stopped in front of the closed door with a security padlock and glanced my way. “Turn around.”

What did he think I could do with the security key? It wasn’t like I had a keypad on the inside of the room.

I turned around, looking down the hall. For a second, I pondered the thought of running, trying to escape. But where would I run? I didn’t know the house, and I definitely didn’t want to risk ending up in the dining hall of horrors again. And with all the men currently occupying the house with their whiskey and cigar breaths, I was much safer back in my room, locked and tucked away.

I clutched the towel tighter around me. “You believe me.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Excuse me?”

“You believe Carlo lied to me.”

“What gives you that idea?”

There was a beep and the door opened.

“In your room, you said the Carlo I knew was a lie. So you believe me?”

Castello grabbed my arm. “Whether I believe you or not, it seems like lies swarm around you like flies, little mouse.”

My skin tingled under his touch as he dragged me inside. I mentally cursed my body for reacting yet again—even after the scalding words he had spat out at me moments ago.

Closing the door behind us, Castello led me toward another door, but not before I noticed the huge monitor to the right, which was currently turned off.

“Is that where you sit and watch me?”

He glanced at me. “Ignorance is bliss.”

I cocked a brow. “Knowledge is power.”

“Not for you.”

He pushed a red button, and I heard the familiar sound of air escaping before the door opened. Castello stood to the side. “After you.”

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