Page 93 of Wrecked By You

I slowly shifted my gaze to him. What had I ever seen in this man? Except I knew the answer. An adroit con man had duped my seventeen-year-old self. Mateo was an expert in manipulation, and with my teenage hormones raging and the desire to rail against authority in full flow, I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.

Chloe was the only good thing to come out of my relationship with Mateo. As much as I hated him, I’d never regret her. She was my angel, my princess, my reason for living.

But Johannes had been that for me, too. Our relationship had been a slow burn, an inching toward the inevitable. My future.

And now he was gone. Killed under the orders—or maybe by the hand—of the man I’d brought into his life.

Mateo would pay. I’d see to it. Somehow, I would escape this prison, and I’d go to the police and tell them everything I knew about Mateo and his associates and his dirty money. Not the local police. He probably had them in his pocket. I’d go to the Feds. They’d listen to me.

One way or another, I’d see Mateo rot in hell for what he’d done. Vengeance was an unforgiving bitch, and I intended to give her free rein. To ruin this fucker. To make him wish he’d never laid eyes on me.

I picked up a dollop of mashed potato and tossed them at Mateo’s pristine black shirt. “You fucking eat it.”

His eyes flashed, both hands forming huge fists. I flinched, readying myself for a punch. He’d never laid a finger on me, but there was a first time for everything, and the venomous look in his eyes told me I was edging closer.

It didn’t matter.

He could do what he wanted to me. I’d never surrender. I’d never again be the stupid, gullible, naïve girl he had coaxed away from her parents and corrupted with his enormous house and fancy cars and luxurious lifestyle.

You were right, Mom.

I’d given up my family for him, thinking he was the love of my life and that I knew better than my parents when it came to my happiness.

Such is the ignorance of youth.

Once all this was over, I’d pluck up the courage and reach out to them, try to make amends for cutting them so abruptly from my life, for withholding their only grandchild, and hope they had enough love in their hearts to forgive me.

“You want to do this the hard way, Eloise?” Mateo smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Fake. Just like his love for me. “Your choice.”

He reached for a napkin and haplessly brushed globs of mashed potato off his ruined shirt. Standing, he picked up the tray and handed it to a waiting guard, then swept from my room without giving me a second glance.

I waited for the lock to turn, then forced myself to sit. I’d scoured every inch of this room for a weapon and come up empty, but I’d been thinking about this all wrong. I couldn’t fight my way out of here. Mateo had too many guards for that plan to work. I had to be more cunning than that.

But how?

I ran my hands through my hair, snagging a nail on the hairpin that held my thick hair out of my eyes.

Yes! Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?

Removing it, I padded over to the door and dropped to my knees. I hadn’t a clue how to pick a lock, but sitting here wallowing in my grief and burning with the need for revenge wasn’t going to help me find Chloe and get the hell off this property.

Action. That was what was needed. The feeling that I was doingsomethingto help myself rather than waiting for Mateo’s next move.

If Mateo had a guard standing outside my room, I’d know in seconds whether this plan had a chance of working. He’d hear me playing with the lock, and he’d open the door. And if that happened, then I’d know not to waste any more of my time, and put my efforts into forming a new plan.

I inserted the pin in the lock and wiggled it about, more to make a noise than an attempt to break free. The door remained locked.

Still with the ego, Mateo.

He’d left me unguarded, resolute in his belief that I was helpless.

Screw you.

I played with the lock for a while, growing more frustrated as my efforts proved fruitless. Whenever I’d seen this on TV, it had always looked so easy.

It wasn’t easy.

You’re not giving up.