Page 69 of Blood and Lies (A Twisted Duet 1)

With a hard jerk, I let go of her arm and took a step back. The anger I felt was something I couldn’t describe. It burned, but at the same time it fucking stung as if someone had stabbed me in the back with a thousand knives.

She turned, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. I ignored it. The sight of her tears did nothing to tame the wild beast inside me.

I grabbed all the sheets from the floor and stomped to the door.

“I’m sorry…sir.”

I froze, her words shoving those thousand knives deeper into my back. “Not yet, you’re not.”

And then I closed the door, my insides numb. Glancing down at one of the sheets in my hand, at the image of my brother, I knew I was lost. Why? Because for the first time in my life, I hated my brother. You could call it jealousy, envy, call it fucked-up-ness, but I hated him so fucking much that I wished he was still alive so I could drive a goddamn stake through his heart. This was what I had become, a man who mourned his dead brother yet hated him too.

I blamed her. I blamed myself. I blamedhim.

Chapter 21

TATUM

The second he closed that door, I knew my fate was sealed. The man who left my room was no longer the man out for blood, but rather a man who had been hurt—by me.

I knew something shifted between us during the last few hours; I just didn’t know what it was. But whatever it was, it had to be big. For Castello to act so…sohurtby my drawings, he had to have felt something…for me. I didn’t know how that was even possible. Yet something definitely changed. He was different, and I no longer saw hate when he stared at me. His touch, the way he held me in his arms felt good, like he wanted me there. And I wanted to be there. I wanted him to hold me, to take me, make me his, and protect me.

How’s that for irony?I wanted the one man out to harm me to protect me. I was such a fool. Did I think Castello, the man who spent the last few months plotting and planning my demise, would actually change his mind? And why—because he cared for me?

Stupid, naïve, little Tatum.

I slipped down the wall until I hit the ground. That was when I realized I had allowed myself to hope. I had read more into what happened between me and Castello than there really was. I grabbed hold of something that wasn’t there…hope. But that hope was gone now. It got ripped away from me by a few stupid drawings.

I tried to think back to when I drew those portraits. My mind was twisted and jumbled with so many things that I couldn’t even remember myself having one simple, coherent thought. I always lost myself in my art—especially when my heart and mind were tormented by things I couldn’t make any sense of.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, my soul mourning, my heart aching. Aching for what? For him—for Castello? Did it really go so far that my heart had somehow grown a part of it all? That was absurd.

Clutching my knees to my chest, I leaned my head against my arms and cried. I cried for him, for myself, for Carlo, for everyone who got hurt—who lost something.

The sound of escaping air swooshed through the room, and I jumped up, my heart almost leaping out of my chest.

“Castello.”

The door opened, and I sucked in a breath when I saw the man in front of me wasn’t Castello.

“Who are you?” I pushed my back flat against the wall, adrenaline surging through my veins, my heart hammering in alarm.

The man glanced from one corner of the room to the other, his hands casually tucked into his pants pockets.

“Nice little room you have here.” He stepped in, his slicked-back dark hair shining under the lights. He shrugged. “It’s not one of the most elegant rooms in the house, but I guess for someone like you, it would do.”

The malice that oozed out of him, the threat that slithered along with every word he spoke, made my skin crawl. This man had trouble written all over him…trouble for me.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” He stepped forward and held up his hand, a creepy smile plastered on his malicious face. “My name is Nicollo Fattore. I’m the big boss’s cousin.”

I didn’t shake his hand. I didn’t want to come near him since every alarm bell went apeshit inside my head.

“How did you get in here? What do you want?”

He pulled back his hand and lifted a brow. “You sure are cheeky for a girl in your position. Has Castello not beaten any manners into you yet?” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Oh, that’s right, he didn’t have time to teach you any manners since he was too busy fucking you.”

My body went rigid, fear curdling in my stomach. This man wasn’t here to make conversation, and he sure as hell didn’t come here to help me.

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