Page 132 of Liar

“What?” I gasp.

The air thins and the room starts to spin.

“Sign your name on the line.”

“No,” I grind out. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’ll forge them. Do as I ask,” he orders in a flat, familiar tone. No emotion. All business.

I glance at the blank lines at the bottom of the paper. Hers andHis.“You haven’t signed it.”

His jaw tightens but he offers no explanation.

I lift my chin then rip the papers in two. “A divorce isn’t possible without my cooperation.”

“Anything is possible.”

“Except us, it seems,” I murmur, bitterly.

He rubs his hands across his face. “Fuck.” He’s got an almost feral look in his eyes. Like after our exchange on the beach but worse. Duplicate copies are tossed on the bed beside me. “Sign the goddamn paper.”

I lift them up and toss them into the air.

The mattress shifts beneath me, throwing me off-balance. I pitch into him. He grabs hold of my waist and hauls me onto his lap.

“Let me go.”

“I’m trying to.”

I flinch. “Why?”

“I can’t protect you and do the job I’ve sworn to do. When you’re ready to move on, the divorce papers will be waiting.”

I push against his shoulder. “I love you, damn it.”

“Sh. I know. But in time, you’ll forget me.”

My heart punches a hole in my chest. “And you? Can you say the same?”

Silence. Profound yet blessed silence. For once, it gives me hope. Until he stands, gently sets me on my feet, then whistles.

Footsteps echo outside the bedroom door.

My eyes go wide.Run. Escape.

“Let me go,” I scream.

“I am. I fucking am,” is his harsh response.

The bedroom door is flung open. “Boss?” a Lobo says. A man I’m less familiar with. Not Javier nor my brother.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes.”

I struggle against him, but he holds me tightly. “Is what ready?”

“Are my things in the car?” he demands, ignoring my question and the punches I’m landing with my one free fist. It’s pointless. His back is a brick wall and his heart pure stone.