Page 58 of Iris' Lying Eyes
“The only person I report to is waiting for my confirmation. I think we’re done here. Let me out.”
He stares at me with a weird glint in his eyes, and I mentally sag when he nods to the driver, and we pull to the side of the road.
Grabbing my bag, I exit and say, “Wait for word.”
The car peels out before I get an answer, which is just as well because I have a feeling I was close to meeting my inglorious death at the hands of a man who would probably pay his grunt to do it.
∞∞∞
It’s been a long-ass evening and once again, I find myself at my childhood home. Maybe I’m tempting fate, or maybe I’m making a choice, but I know I can’t outrun John forever.
He must know by now. So what’s he going to do about it?
I wish I knew that I could trust Bastion with Sam. Hopefully, he won’t change his mind now that I’ve pissed him off. Regardless, B is, hands down, the lesser of two evils.
With Roman’s insinuations, I have to act quickly because there’s too much at stake as usual.
If it were anyone else but B, I’d be pulled in multiple directions, and I hate to say it, but this allows me to focus on everything else, which is a good thing.
Since I missed the actual dinner at the party from hell, I stopped and grabbed a burger, which I scarf down before munching on the fries. My roiling tummy finally eases, and I pull out the letters I found before.
The tenor of the last letter worries me, but there’s shit-all I can do about it now. Did she love him? Was she afraid of him?
I wish she would have told me, but there were so many lies between us. By the end, we couldn’t get past the wall, and she died taking her secrets to the grave.
“You’ve been very bad.”
“Shit,” I gasp, my heart jumping into my throat.
Of course, he’s standing on the threshold, cool as a cucumber, but I see the warning light behind his eyes. I’m fucked. But haven’t I been so from the very beginning?
Even though I knew this was coming, I can’t help the tremble in my limbs as I stand and assume a bitchy tone. “You like me bad.”
I’ll be damned if I take whatever is coming sitting down, even if my knees can barely hold my weight.
John’s eyes flicker, and he glances at my dress before his lips curl. “Pink doesn’t suit you.”
Fucker. Between him and Roman, I should have a damn complex already.
“Too bad,” I sneer.
He cocks his head to the side, and I bite my lip to keep from bowing my own. Just a look and I know exactly what he expects. I may think I’m past his shit, but I know I’m a hair’s breadth away from acquiescing. It’s who we are. It’s who he trained me to be.
“I don’t like your attitude, and I’ll be beating it out of you. But first, where is she?”
Sweat slicks my palms, and I curl them into fists. If I don’t play this right, I die. I may die anyway, but I know it’s a sure thing if I don’t.
“Who?” My nonchalant tone doesn’t fool him, and he steps into the room.
“No games. You think you can survive this? You can’t. Now you better fucking tell me.”
His icy eyes bore into mine, but I raise my chin to hide the resulting flinch, even as fire burns in my veins at his words. I wish I had a gun because I’d shoot him right fucking now.
Stepping to the side, I drop the letter on the couch. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His mouth flattens, and he tosses a picture onto the table. “You playing house with that boy? I thought you learned your lesson the last time?”
Ignoring the image, I raise my chin. “I’m not playing anything.”