Page 20 of Deceitful Lies

The sound of her tears slows to ragged breaths, but she holds me as closely as I hold her. Slowly, Paige looks into my face, and I don’t hide how worried I am. I let her see how I really feel. My sad expression is unmasked. Paige parts her lips, holding her face up to mine. I kiss her gently and eagerly. My tongue parts her lips, and her mouth is willing. I pull her body hard against mine, and that electricity I thought had disappeared travels through us again.

“What have I done to you?” I whisper.

“Nothing,” she replies against my chest. “You’ve shown me the awful truth of this world. That’s all.”

Paige slips out of my grasp and walks over to the window. She stares blankly as she calms her breathing. I walk over to her and pull her into my arms again.

“I’ll do it,” I whisper. “You’ll have proof, Paige.”

***

It doesn’t take long for Dmitri’s men to find the first man on Paige’s hit list.

No one is expecting it, so no one is hiding. After a few drinks in the bar, the fool brags to my spies about the old days. He brags about Cynthia Reyes and how many times he had her. He brags about the times he made her wimp husband watch while he fucked her in their marriage bed.

In the back alley of the bar, Seryozha, eager to return to my good graces after the intransigence at the wedding, shoots the man in the head.

I wait in the garage for Dmitri to return. From the outside, the garage looks picturesque. A country carriage house set up on a swell of pristine grass. A gray structure with white-painted trim and double doors reminiscent of a barn. But it holds no cars, tools, or garden equipment. Inside, the contents are quite grim within the soundproof walls.

Natasha stands outside on watch, chain-smoking her thin cigarettes as Dmitri returns with a box. Paige sits at a plain wooden table where we normally question our captives. A lone light bulb hangs from a cord above her head. She rubs her hands together nervously, and her foot bounces quickly against the concrete. She looks like a scared rabbit waiting for a fox to grab her throat. Good. I hope we will only have to do this once.

Dmitri holds the cardboard box out to me, but I shake my head and motion toward the table. The only indication of surprise is a raised brow on his scarred face. He places the shoebox in front of Paige and takes a step back. He waits like I do for her to take off the lid.

Her hands tremble as she reaches for the lid. Paige tears it off quickly, like an old Band-Aid stuck fast to the skin. Paige gasps when she sees the severed finger and pulls the box closer. She stares at it as if it’s an unusual trinket from an ancient land. She gingerly reaches for it, and with a quick movement, it’s in her hands.

She holds it up, studying the ring on the finger. And her disgust is replaced with a look of triumph. Then Paige does something unexpected; she pulls the ring off the finger and tosses the finger back into the box. She smiles at me. A look that curls the corners of her lips in a savage way. Then slips the dead man’s ring on her index finger.

“Thank you, my dear.” She pecks me on the cheek and walks out of the door, leaving it open. Seconds later, I hear laughter as she and Natasha examine the prize.

My blood runs cold, and I slam the lid back on the box. Dmitri looks at the ground. Is he as shaken as I am? The Paige that I snatched that day would never have acted like this.

Someoneshowedher how to be cruel.

There’s a savagery in Paige now, a savagery that I’ve only seen in one other woman.

Talia.

Chapter 13

Paige

I can’t get that awful image out of my mind. That gross finger in the box will haunt me all night. I can’t believe I picked it up, but I had to. I had to prove that I could be more than what they all expected. That horrid ring is in my dresser drawer. I slipped it off as soon as I was alone, not wishing to touch it any longer than I needed to.

But in addition to horror, there’s also a thrill, knowing that I finally have the power to take care of my family.

I can be strong.

I can be ruthless.

Just like Andrei.

All night, I think about it. I barely get any sleep. I don’t know what Andrei thinks, but he stays on his side of the bed.Did I go too far?

When I step out onto the terrace for breakfast, Eva and Emma are already waiting. I watch as Eva dotes on Emma, asking her about what she likes to do and suggesting they leave the stuffy old house and go out this afternoon. Emma agrees happily, saying she’d love to spend time with Eva. Andrei frowns slightly at his mother’s suggestion, but I smile, seeing how willing Emma is to earn Eva’s approval.

“Paige, you look lovely in your new dress.” Eva is the only one who smiles as I approach the table.

Andrei pulls out my chair and I sit down, crossing my legs. He kisses my hair, barely pressing his lips against me. Is this it? Now that I’m what they expect, will he treat me like a wife and not a lover? I banish the thoughts from my head and reach for the coffee.

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