Page 54 of Twisted Lies

“Haha. Everything is fine. How do you feel about the day?” I ask, trying to get out of the limelight.

He shrugs. “It went fine. It would have been better to have more people there, but that would take longer to plan. The sooner I’m a full member, the better for all of us.”

I nod, looking out the window.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s not what you dreamed of for a wedding.”

“I really never dreamed of it,” I answer.

“Really?” he asks, surprised. “I thought most women dreamed about this day.”

“Not me. Never really saw the point. Never thought I would get married. I’ve moved around a lot.”

“Ah. Well, if we get married again, we’ll do it better next time,” he says, lifting my hand to his lips for a kiss.

“You’re saying you want to marry me again? I really must be doing this whole marriage thing well, and it’s only been five minutes.”

“Have you not figured it out yet? I have you in my clutches and will never let you go.” There is a twinkle in his eyes as he speaks but also a hardness to his words that makes me believe them. I should be fearful as this was not part of our deal, but I don’t feel fear. I feel something much different. I push my body into his and enjoy the closeness. His arms wrap around my body, and I close my eyes.

It’s only a short drive, but I end up falling asleep. I’m jerked awake by the stop. Opening my eyes, I see we’re back home. Chris appears at the car door, opening it. There’s a sense of urgency in his facial expression, and I sense my new husband tense.

“Boss. We have a guest,” Chris states grimly.

His jaw clenches at Chris’ announcement.

“Who…” I start to ask but am interpreted.

“Lily, go upstairs for a few minutes. I’ll come get you shortly,” Elijah says curtly.

“I’m not a child,” I snap back, and Chris’ eyes grow large at my words. I realize my mistake. Getting into it with Elijah when we’re alone is one thing, but in front of his men is a completely different matter.

His hand grabs my arm, pulling me in front of him; his fingers grip my skin.

“When I give you an order, you take it. You made that agreement weeks ago and sealed it today. Go. To. Your. Room. And. Wait,” he growls. Yanking my arm free, I return his look but do as he asks, returning to the house.

* * *

ELIJAH

“Who is it?” I bark, pissed. Out of all the times for there to be an issue, it had to happen right now.

“One of Daniel Ferrari’s men. He was sniffing around. He’s not said much. We were waiting for you to get back to dig in deeper, not sure how you want us to proceed.” Nodding, I follow him to where they had chained up the man. Antonio had already started roughing the man up, but no permanent damage had been done.

“Did he say anything?” I ask, wanting to be caught up as swiftly as possible.

“Nope. Just yapping about how he won’t talk. Yada yada yada. Just a waste of breath since we all know he will. It’s a little matter of pressure,” he says, smiling as he moves forward and pushes his finger into the man’s left eye. He screams in pain. The man tries to get away in a useless attempt. He’s hanging from the ceiling by ropes that won’t break. Chris hands me a long knife. Stepping forward, I get into his face.

“You’ll talk. You will tell us everything we want to know. The only thing you have control of is how quickly all this ends.” Lifting the knife, I shove it into his right mid-thigh. To his credit, he doesn’t scream. He hisses, and his eyes roll in the back of his head. Pulling out the knife, I do the same action to the other leg, pulling it out a second later.

“Why did Daniel send you? What is he looking for?” I demand, holding the knife close to his eye. He stays quiet, and I smile at his defiance. Good. I could use the outlet. Slicing from his eye to jaw, I wait for the feel of the steal cutting skin to sink in before moving up to his hand and slicing, removing a finger. He howls in pain.

“Why did he send you?” I ask again. This continues for an hour before he finally speaks.

“He wants you dead and the information you have on him destroyed.”

“What were you supposed to do?” I ask, wanting all the details.

“Gather all the information I could. Try to get a man on our side. If you were here, take care of you and the girl,” he says quickly, as if hoping fewer things are removed from his body.

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