Page 7 of Sinister Lies

“Uh,” I said, thinking it over. “It’s the weekend, so it doesn’t really matter as long as I’m back before curfew.”

“Ok, cool. Are you ready to go now?”

“Almost. I need like five minutes to see if I can track down someone who has Finn’s number.”

“Guess it’s your lucky night, then.” She let out a chuckle as she began fumbling through her purse, pulling out her phone a moment later. “I have it right here.”

I watched as she scrolled through her contacts, tapping his name and showing me the display.

I blinked, both shocked and thrilled that she, of all people, had his number.

“I-uh, didn’t know you and Finn were friends.”

“We're not really friends,” she abruptly replied as I began punching his number on my phone, “but Damien gave me Finn’s number when I got hired and told me to call him if I ever run into any trouble. I’ve never had to use it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to save it just in case something did come up.”

Huh.I wonder why the Hell Damien didn’t do that with me when I first got hired as a waitress.

“Yeah. That makes sense.” I hit the CALL button and pressed the device to my ear. “Thanks, Bunny. I’ll meet you outside in five.”

She nodded. “Kay. Sounds good. I’m in the blue Saturn parked out back.”

I waved her off and when she was gone, I stalked around the locker room, ensuring nobody else was close-by to hear the conversation. Except…

Finn didn’t answer. He forwarded my call to voicemail after the fourth ring.

What the fuck?

I tried again, then again, each time with the same result. What made it worse was that his voicemail wasn’t active.

“Shit!”

I rubbed a hand down my face, my heart pounding harder the more the worry nestled low in my gut. My only other option was to text him.

Maybe I’d be three for three on my lucky streak and would hear something back soon.

Four

Jace

Sweatbeadeddownmyforehead as I heaved in hard breaths and released them, repeating the process several times as I watched my father approach me, a feral look in his eyes.

The doctor tended to me hours ago, already having disinfected and patched my gunshot wound. But when he was gone, instead of unstrapping me from this unbearably stiff exam table, Father decided to prove just exactly how much he despised me.

“Dad, please,” I rasped, coughing, my weak body unable to handle any further trauma. He’d beaten me despite the damage Sharkey had already inflicted, insisting that I was a traitor and had arranged for the Harvest to be intercepted tonight. He wasn’t wrong, but I fucking refused to break and admit to my deceit. I’d rather die than sell Finn and the Ravagers out.

“It’ll be better if you just come clean,” he said, my enlarged eyes widening in utter terror as I watched him pick up a blow torch.

“I didn’t do anything wrong! Fuck, Dad, I’m your goddamn son. Why won’t you believe me!?”

“It’s simple.” Dad stalked closer to me, murder flashing through his eyes. “You and Finn are the only ones who knew about the Harvest. You really expect me to believe that a masked crew of vigilantes ambushed you? I’m a lot of things, but a fool isn’t one of them.”

He ambled closer, aiming the flames toward me like he was about to melt my fucking face off.

“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” I screamed, thrashing against my restraints as I forced my head away from the torch. “Fuckingplease.If I really betrayed you, I would’ve admitted it by now.”

He stopped moving then, scrutinizing me as a stream of distraught tears rushed down my battered face. If I thought I hated him before, it was even worse now. He was a goddamn monster. It was bad enough that he made me rape an innocent woman, but I frankly didn’t understand how any man, a father for that matter, could ever do something as horrible as this to his own child. His own flesh and blood.

Truth is, he didn’t view me that way. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I saw everything for what it was. If he truly loved and cared about me, none of this would’ve ever happened. He wouldn’t have murdered my mother, made me assault Vicki, and I wouldn’t be strapped to this table, on the brink of joining them in death.

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