Page 85 of Torched

“So you do know her.” It’s an accusation that only makes his grin expand.

“And you’re also smarter than she painted you to be.”

“What? She didn’t tell you that either? That bitch,” I mock as I try to wiggle my wrist to freedom while hiding them behind my knees. “But then again, she never even mentioned you, so at least I’m a little higher on the list than you are.”

“Funny.” He throws the core of the apple against the wall, then gets up, showing his full height. Now that I fully can take him in, I realize he’s not just bulky. No, he’s tall as well. He looks like a fucking sequoia when he stops in front of me, then squats down.

“I’m too special to make the regular list, sunshine. I have my own list.”

“The shitlist? That’s where most of her men go. I’m sure you heard what she did to Liam.”

“I’m not on the fucking same list as Liam Carrillo,” he snarls, his green eyes flashing with fire. My heart tells me to fear him, to beg him for mercy, since I have no clue how far he’s willing to go. But my mind seems completely in control, my confidence sky high.

I release a chuckle on a breath when it clicks in my head.

“Oh, my God, Dax,” I taunt. “Do you have a crush on Cristina Reyes?” He doesn’t reply. “I have to tell you, she’s a risk because she doesn’t have a good track record with men. She tends to fuck them over when she gets what she wants and, well, you seem like a decent guy. Let me warn you because whatever you’re doing, it might seem like a good idea now, but really, it’s the worst ideaever.”

“You talk a lot.”

“I’ve heard that before, yeah.”

He searches my face. His eyes are intimidating, like a shark, but he keeps a straight face. He has the kind of look that assures you he could snap your head off in the blink of an eye.

“You don’t know shit about Cristina.”

“I know she’s a two-faced whore?” The smile it comes with is quickly slapped off my cheek when he connects the back of his hand with it and my head snaps to the left. The burn has me gasping for air, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of hearing me in pain, so I keep my lips pressed firmly together.

With my nostrils flaring and my eyes turned into a lethal glare, I slowly turn my head back to face him.

“If you push, I’ll pull, sunshine.”

“You mean when I push, you slap my face? Real men don’t have to hit women,” I spit.

He lifts his finger in a reprimanding way, his mouth tilted in a smile. “Nah, the saying is: real men don’t hitrealwomen. But you’re nothing more than a little girl trying to play in the big league.”

He gets up, laughing down at me.

“You’ll see just how big I am when I get myself out of these things.”

“Which will benever.” Dax turns around, unimpressed.

“What did she promise you!?” I call out to his back. “Because whatever it is, you’re not going to get it! She’ll never give you what you want!”

He gives me a wink over his shoulder before he says, “I know.” His entire body turns to face me again as he holds up a pendant. On it hangs a small trillion cut diamond, glistening in the small daylight inside the cave. I recognize it vaguely, like I’ve seen it before, but I can’t really remember where. “You didn’t really think she was coming for you, did you?”

Not particularly, no.

“She’s coming for this.”

“What is it?” I frown, but it flattens out quickly when I recall one of the few times I went to visit Callie in Granada when we were little.

“The last thing her father gave her.”

Oh, damn.

30

LIAM

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