Page 2 of Perfect Liar
Ethan shook his head, took out his mobile phone, and searched his contacts.
“You know, I think I’m going to do that. Time is money, and I’m wasting quite a lot here trying to reason with your stubborn arse.”
As my brother walked away, the dog followed on his heels.
“Good. And get that dog something to eat,” I said.
He raised his hand, gesturing over his shoulder.
I turned back to the art studio and watched Ellie show her work to another woman. She slowly traced over her brushstrokes to demonstrate the technique she had used.
The clever little smile on her lips concealed a secret, one I guessed she would never share.
I checked my watch.
The sun would set within the next hour.
She would walk home alone.
And I would follow her.
My late father had trained my brothers and me to be his soldiers of fortune, his killers.
Thomas was two years younger than me, and as hard as we had tried, Ethan and I failed to protect him. John was quite young when our father died, so he never endured the same abuse we had.
As a military intelligence agent, our father had supplied counter intel and conducted assassinations for the government. In return, the ministers whitelisted him, protecting him from prosecution for his crimes and for the hits that lined his own pockets.
For the hits he had made to honor his agreement with Edward James.
All the while, those ministers kept a running tab, accumulating credit against my father’s sins like cash in their bank accounts. But when my father died, his debt wasn’t wiped clean—it landed on the backs of my brothers and me.
So did the promise to protect Edward James’s daughters.
Now, my name appeared on that fucking whitelist, and I went along with it, but managing the situation differently than my father had. I made sure the ministers owed me, not the other way round. The arrangement helped me keep Ellie safe.
It all came back to her.
Everything about her haunted me…her stunning green eyes, her smile, the way she sang when she thought no one was listening, the sway of her hips when she walked.
John followed me into the kitchen, tapping me on the shoulder to draw me out of my thoughts. He leaned against the counter and stared at me with a smile on his face.
“I think you’re going to meet her this time,” he said.
After pulling on my shirt, I nodded.
“Wait for Ben and stay together at the festival. Be alert but do not engage without me.”
John picked up his mobile from the table.
“Yeah, I’m good. I can blend in quite a lot better than you.”
I kissed my brother’s forehead, then jogged out to my car.
Stonington’s annual festival packed the streets, but it was a small town, so it didn’t take me long to find Ellie. She and her friend pushed through the crowd and settled on a curb near the pub where they worked to watch the parade.
Ellie waved and blew kisses to a little girl dancing on a moving stage.
The crowd shifted and blocked my view.