Page 112 of Perfect Liar
My gut clenched. Bile hit the back of my throat.
What would be written in tomorrow’s papers or reported on the broadcast news?
Will jolted me out of my head with a hard kiss.
“I do love you, Elle.”
I touched his face.
“I know. Tell me again when you come back, Will.”
He nodded, taking my hands and kissing them both, then letting go. He gripped Ben’s shoulder for a moment before joining Ethan and Thomas by the exit.
I steadied myself on Ben’s arm.
My trembling body fell into a cold sweat.
My mind became muddled with horror and panic and awe as I stared at three fierce brothers, standing shoulder to shoulder…
Three men willing to risk their lives to save mine.
Three boys trained by their father to kill.
My heart pounded, beating harder and faster, harder, faster…
I would never forget the image in front of me at that moment.
Will looked over his shoulder one more time.
I straightened my posture and met his eyes, faking confidence to ease some of his worry.
“Let’s get out there and do this,” Ethan said.
His voice smooth, filled with determination while echoing through my head.
And then the Hastings brothers hit the streets of London.
CHAPTER 32
EASTRIDGE
Will’s world spun entirely out of his control for the first time that night…the night he allowed rage to creep into his soul. The very same night he put into motion a war-like strategy that he’d been hanging on to for seven years.
Two hours after Will left the hotel with his brothers, he instructed Ben and Joe to take me back to Eastridge.
We waited up through the early morning hours for word from London. All the while, broadcast anchors delivered breaking news about a domestic terrorist strike. Reports indicated a terror group remained unidentified and at large.
My heart knew it would stay that way for the public—it would always be an unresolved act of violence for the rest of the world, the truth hidden inside another dark lie.
Ben and I sat in the drawing room, tense, not expressing our fear verbally, when our phones rang at the same time. His eyes jumped to meet my nervous stare as he answered his phone, and I answered mine. He mouthed Thomas’s name at me.
And then Will’s voice was in my ear.
“Elle.”
I wept softly, unable to control the emotion any longer.
“Will, thank God.”