Page 25

ABI
Colter’s eyes meet mine, and I once again try to convey a million things in my expression.
Please.
Help.
Get me out of here.
And like every other time, his seafoam green eyes hold nothing in them. No sign of whether he plans on letting these guys kill me or if he wants to kill me himself. He keeps lying to Manic-eyes, orLorenzo, but I can’t tell if it’s working in anyone’s favor. Lorenzo looks more and more pissed by the second, and if they hadn’t threatened my son’s life the moment they threw me in this horrifying basement I would be tempted to tell Colter to stop talking.
“She’s my fiancée,” Colter says.
Lorenzo turns his head to face me, and I freeze. My gaze glues to Colter, and every muscle in my body stiffens.
Fiancée.
“Is this true, Abigail?”
My spine shivers at my name on Lorenzo’s lips, and it takes everything I have in me to look his way. I suspect my life depends on it. I’m not sure what exactly Colter’s game is, but I know I’m now playing it.
“Yes.”
He lifts a brow and studies me. “Why lie then? Why would you claim not to know him?”
My earlier conversation with Manic-eyes enters my mind, and I try to remember everything I said. Most of it was the truth. I don’t even know Colter. This is all a misunderstanding. I won’t tell anyone if they let me go.
That’s all useless for me now. They won’t care if it was a misunderstanding, and they won’t just let me go.
I exchange a look with Colter then swallow as I turn to Lorenzo. “Colter said it would be dangerous to tell you that I knew him… H-he told me I should leave town last night, in case you found out about me. He gave me the fake ID and told me to dye my hair and come back a couple months after the election… That’s the truth.”
He continues to stare at me, but speaks to Colter. “You’ve gone to extreme lengths to keep us from knowing about her, yet she seems to know all aboutus.”
“She’s the love of my life, of course I told her about my family.”
“As your family, don’t we have a right to meet the lovely bride-to-be?”
“You know damn well why I didn’t tell you.” Heat is laced in Colter’s tone, and Lorenzo’s lips crook up ever so slightly like he’s happy to get a reaction from Colter. He’s still staring at me, but there isn’t anger anymore. I’m not sure what it is, but I hope not to ever have to see it again.
“Settimo won’t be happy to hear your fiancée is a stripper. It won’t look good for the press.”
“She’s a waitress at a club, not a stripper… She doesn’t work there anymore, and we won’t announce anything for months, maybe even a year. No one will know she exists.”
“Except for us,” Lorenzo says, finally taking his eyes off me to look at Colter. There’s a thinly veiled threat laced into his voice unmistakable to everyone in the room. He exchanges a look with the guy who stuck the needle in my neck and they both turn and begin walking toward the door.
Lorenzo pauses and looks back over his shoulder. “I won’t be explaining this to Settimo. You’ll need to do that yourself.”
Colter nods. “I’ll be expecting his call.”
Lorenzo shakes his head. “He’ll want to see you.” His lips lift in a smile. “Come to dinner on Sunday and you can explain it then. It’s been too long since you joined us.”
Colter’s back is to me so I can’t see his expression, but judging by the smirk Lorenzo gives, he isn’t happy.
Lorenzo turns and begins to walk again, and when he gets to the door, he glances back. “And Colter?”
“Yes?”
“Bring the fiancée. I’m sure everyone would love to meet her.”