Page 53 of Sweet Lies

I loved that holiday. But since everything happened, I’ve hated it because of all it represented. Today, however, I’ll give myself a long-overdue present—their deaths. This will be a good holiday.

Walking slowly to the door, I remember everything that’s happened from the moment Sebastian grabbed my arm to the day he told me Claire had married Alex. I let the pain and rage fill me as I knock on the large wooden door and wait for them to answer. My hand clasps the gun at my side, knowing I won’t get another chance.

The twisting of the door handle alerts me my time has come. Then Elijah stands before me, a glass of whiskey in hand. He has changed slightly, with his dark hair shorter. I had forgotten how tall he really was as he towers over me. He loses all color as he stares at me—his very own Christmas story come to life. Claire appears a second later, inching around him, trying to see who’s at the door. Her hair is now blonde and her eyes a different color due to colored contacts, but everything else was Claire.

“It can’t be,” she gasps. “It can’t.

I lift the gun and pull the trigger.

Elijah glances down at his wound in shock. His shaky legs move back in small steps, and he almost collapses on top of Claire as his body slips to the floor, hand pressed to his chest.

I stare at Claire, wanting her to understand it was me who shot our brother. After all this time, I want her to know I’m alive—that they left me for dead.

My finger itches to pull the trigger once more, but for some reason, I can’t lift the gun. After all this time, I’m finally in front of them.

I glance down at Elijah’s wound and know he’ll live. Right before I pulled the trigger, I moved the gun over an inch. As much as I wish I could be the cause of his death, the old Rebecca is apparently still hanging on for dear life, and she won’t let that happen.

Turning away, I escape into the darkness.

ChapterEighteen

ANDRE

My phone rings as my latest hit dangles from his chains. This one, my latest boss asked me to leave alive so he could finish the job, so I’m just about to take off. The money’s been left where I requested it, so there’s no reason to stick around.

It’s an unknown number—not unusual in my line of work.

“Hello?” I ask.

“Andre. It’s been a while.”

“Elijah Rossi—to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Have you given any thought to what we discussed? Did you hear I was shot?” he adds, as if it were all part of a game.

“Yes. We should speak in person. Who did you piss off?” I ask, wondering if he knows who shot him or if he’s fishing for information I don’t have.

“When and where?” he asks, and I hear him shift as if he’s lying in a bed. “My sister.”

“What did you do to piss off Claire?” It wouldn’t take much, but her shooting Elijah was out of character; anyone else wouldn’t surprise me.

“Wrong sister,” he growls, and for a second, my hand goes to my heart.

Rebecca, what have you gotten yourself into this time?

“I want you to find her. Where and when do we meet?” he demands, and I hear his rage increasing with each word.

“I’ll find you,” I respond, ending the call as car headlights fill the small space of the warehouse—time for me to leave.

I hear the man moan, trying to get words out from around the gag, but I just throw the bag of money over my shoulder and blend into the darkness as the car door opens. I don’t need to count the money—I know it’s all there. It’s never a good idea to short the hitman.

Elijah had called me a couple of weeks ago with a plan to get his empire back in New York, so I’d been looking into the Five Families for him. It was crazy, but it just might work. He had no idea I’d known he was alive, and I played it well, though the shock of finding out about Alex and Claire I didn’t have to fake.

Just talking to him had me picturing Rebecca. I’ve tried to forget our short time together, but like a ghost, she haunts me.

Now her brother wants me to find her, but I already know where she’s hiding. How the fuck am I going to keep her safe from her own family? When Elijah wants something, he gets it, no matter how long it takes. Hence the reason he thinks he can now get back what he lost—he waited and watched till the perfect moment. If he wants Rebecca gone, that’s what’ll happen.

What the fuck caused her to go after her brother? She should have known better or, at the very least, made sure he was dead. Last we talked about her siblings, she wanted nothing to do with them, wanting to stay dead in their world. Something drastic must have happened, but what?

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