Page 85 of Iris' Lying Eyes

His conviction prickles at my skin, and I search his gaze. “You’re insane,” I breathe.

His breath tickles my neck when he chuckles, and I shrink away, my stomach lurching. What’s he done? What the fuck did he do?

Grabbing his arms, I dig my nails into his skin. He glances down, his eyes shining with a fanatical light. “You’re fucking stupid,” he grunts, shaking me. “This is my empire, and I’ll fight anybody for it.”

“If it’s your empire, why is Bastion in charge?”

I’m not prepared and stumble when he drops me to my feet, but the freedom is short as he wraps his hands around my neck. “Careful. I’m already looking forward to this, but I can always make it worse.”

My constricted lungs burn, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of showing my panic. “Do your worst,” I sneer. “You’ll still be the pathetic fucker with a limp dick.”

“Bitch,” he roars, his hands brutal around my throat. Tears build behind my eyes, and I fight to keep them open. Maybe this is the way to go: bait him into a rage, and my death will be quicker.

But no, he lets loose, and I bend over, choking on the ragged breaths burning my chest.

“Anyway, you were a bad girl, Iris. You should have left his mother alone. That was a low blow.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I wheeze.

“Poor Bastion never could see his mom for the useless piece of shit she is.”

Fucking animal. Does he not have any concern for his son?

“Maybe he’ll get it now,” he says, and my stomach sinks.

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, Iris. You did.” He shakes his head, pushing me forward, but I pause until I can feel the heat of his chest and slam my head back, gratified when I hit bone.

Unfortunately, even though he staggers, I’m given no time to regroup because he punches me in the back, and I drop to the ground. My ears ring, and pain explodes across my skin, every nerve firing before settling into an unbearable ache. Fuck.

“Little bitch,” he mutters, and I muster a smile. Tilting my head, I study him before saying, “You’re jealous. He’s everything you’ll never be.”

If possible, his black eyes turn darker, and his mouth forms a forbidding line. I brace for impact, but instead, he chuckles, to which I eye him uneasily. The fucker is unhinged.

He swipes for me, and I scramble forward, but I’m useless on the damn ground. Grabbing my hair, he wrenches my head back, and I whimper, clawing at the dirt. Maybe he’s wrong. Maybe this little bitch is about to make this interesting.

As though discussing the weather, he says, “Bastion’s about to find her dead body, right where you left her.”

I’m focused on the ground around me, and only when his words sink in do I mutter, “What are you talking about? I’ve never met his mother.”

“Haven’t you?”

Does he know? No way. He’s just fucking with me. I did see her once, on a whim. It was after B dumped me at Cyn’s bequest. I hated Cyn for that, even though I knew Bastion did what he wanted and clearly sanctioned the whole thing.

She lived in a rundown trailer two blocks from where I partied with Saul. One night, when he got too wasted to play, I slipped out and walked over.

I don’t know what I planned to do, but my fist banged on that door of its own accord. When she finally opened it, I stared into the weary eyes of a woman who had given up a long fucking time ago. It was like looking into a crystal ball, my future.

Stepping back, mute, I ignored her glazed stare and rushed away. But I’ve never forgotten the defeat in her eyes. How much of that was B exposed to before he was put in the state’s care?

Now his own father has sentenced him to a lifetime of living with the sight of his dead mother’s body. Diabolical.

“What’s your deal?” I ask tiredly.

“Well, little bitch, I guess you wanted to send Bastion a message. Too bad of you to waste drugs on that whore.”

I have no clue what he’s talking about, and I turn my head, but since he’s still got a stranglehold on my hair, the dull throb explodes once more. I’m guessing he doesn’t care if I respond because he continues, enjoying his own story. Arrogant fuck.

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