Page 20 of Tangled Lies

“I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I was just doing as I was told.”

The guy was blabbing like that would save him.

“Didn’t know what?” Jett asked, a trickle of blood covering the pristine blade.

“I didn’t know the fight was yours. I was just told to make sure?—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence as Jett slammed the blade into the guy's thigh and he screamed.

I glanced at Margaux and expected her to be freaking out. Instead, she winced but otherwise stood quietly. Talon walked closer to her, talking loud enough for me to hear.

“Princess, is this your first time watching someone bleed?”

I expected one answer, but that was not what she said.

“No.”

I was pretty sure everyone in the room turned to glance at her. Yeah. Maybe she was talking about her parents. Maybe her uncle was doing something else he shouldn’t. Time would tell.

“Princess, want to join in? This shit almost got Jett killed in the ring.”

Talon’s words triggered said guy and the show was about to begin if he kept denying.

“I swear. I was just told to fix the fight. I didn’t know he would be fighting any of you. I didn’t know.”

Jett pulled up his shirt. We couldn’t see it, but the guy could.

“Yeah. Thanks for the new scar asshole. Good thing I moved at the last second or he might have actually punctured something that mattered. I think I’m done talking. So, let’s do something fun. You say it wasn’t you?”

The guy was feverishly nodding.

“Great. Then maybe let’s send a message to whoever thinks they can fuck with fights.”

Knox grabbed the fabric of the gag and wadded it up, shoving it in the guy's mouth from behind. He held the guy's shoulders, keeping him still. We knew each other pretty fucking well and all knew Jett’s next move.

The guy’s shirt was cut open and the words ‘don’t fuck with us’ were carved into his skin. His screams were muffled by the gag, keeping them to a low annoying background sound. I was much more interested in the woman that I was supposed to marry. I didn’t think she had a clue about that little detail. It had all been arranged when she was a minor and before her parents could raise her to legal age. I’d hated the plan originally, but now? I needed to be cautious before anything else.

The screams stopped.

“He passed out?” I said under my breath.

I reached into the desk for the smelling salts.

“Here.” I moved to Jett and helped wake the asshole up.

“Move faster. He doesn’t appear to have the tolerance for violence.”

I moved back to my spot, curious how this was going to go.

“Fine. You’re no fun,” Jett said. His words didn’t match the way he studied the guy, insanity written all over his face.

Jett pulled his fist back and slammed it into the guy's face. A satisfying crack told me his nose was good and broken even before the blood ran like a waterfall.

“Fuck. Really? The floors are going to be a bitch to clean. Now what are you trying to get from him?” I asked.

Jett wiped his hands on his black shirt.

I sighed. “Alright, if you’re done, get him out of here. I’ll clean this up,” I said.