Page 20 of Liar

Diego slips out of the room, and my knees buckle. I reach for the doorframe for support. Life as I know it is irrevocably changed. Everything I wanted has gone up in smoke. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

I struggle to draw a calming breath.

Behind me, there’s a faint noise. A low toned “tsk, tsk.”

I spin around.

The Bastard is seated nonchalantly in a chair in the other room. Suit-clad legs stretched out before him, elbows on the arm rests, lips drawn tight, eyes searching.

Dios mío.

He heard everything.

4

“Come here, Luciana.”

The Bastard’s silky tone alarms me as much as it excites me. I hesitate, unsure of his intentions. “What do you want with me?” I manage to say without fear and the whirl of mixed emotions I’m feeling.

He snorts. It’s a reaction that could mean a lot of things. Disgust. Disbelief. Disinterest in once again having to deal with me.

I raise my chin. “You like to play games.”

“I said come here.” His tone is curt, demanding.

“And I’m not one of your soldiers, who jumps when you command.”

“That might be true, but your brother soon will be.”

I gasp. Hearing my worst fears come from his lips.

“And I’m not a man accustomed to playing games he can’t win.”

The Bastard rolls to his feet, not waiting for me to disobey him a third time. He’s on me before I can consider heading to safety. I step backward, my spine to the doorframe. He places his hands on both sides of me, caging me in. I force myself to look him in the eyes. Murky-brown eyes. Deceitful eyes. Hiding his lie within. “You promised,” I hiss.

“I did.”

“And your word means nothing to you?”

His lips tighten. “My word means everything.”

“So, you won’t be accepting Diego’s oath?” My brother will be humiliated, but he’ll get over it.

“His allegiance is one of the few I genuinely want.”

I flinch. “No.”

He raises an eyebrow at that.

“You promised to do what is best.”

“I did.”

“Then turn him away. Let us go. Leave us alone.”

His eyes flicker across my face, not missing a thing. “I can’t,” he softly responds.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Wanting him to go away yet yearning to feel the heat of his big body. He so close he’s practically pressed up against me. An inch or two more, and we’d be connected.