Page 86 of Thorns of Blood

Marissa exchanged a look with her sister-in-law.

“You were forced too?” I asked.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sorry,” Brianna stated calmly, crossing her slim legs. “But it isn’t exactly the right way to go about it.”

“Well, my man didn’t force jack shit,” Marissa chimed in.

Brianna chuckled. “Probably because he’s scared of your crazy ass.”

A sad smile graced her lips. “Although, if he had, maybe we would have gotten together sooner.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” I said, which sounded so lame, but there was no retracting the words.

“You’re right,” Brianna agreed, her expression turning dreamy. “The main thing is that everything turned out for the best and Mateo sure makes me… happy.”

“And Declan is an insatiable beast.”

They chuckled and I smiled. Something about their openness drew me in, made me feel less alone. It was clear they loved their husbands and were happy, and here they were, sharing that withme?

“Can I ask you something, Liana?” Brianna’s voice was low, hesitant.

“Sure.”

“Was your reason for staying hidden really about revenge?”

Marissa leaned over. “It's freaking brilliant if that was your plan.”

I shrugged. “When we first escaped, my main goal was surviving. But as I got back into business, I did enjoy taunting Santiago and Perez. Letting them think I was coming for them, so they were forced to live in fear every second of the day…”

Just like they made me and Amara live in fear.

Their lips parted at my answer.

“I wish we knew you when we had to get rid of that body,” Marissa muttered.

My eyebrows rose in surprise, not quite following. Brianna added, her tone hushed, “It’s a long story, but the gist of it is that my ex tried to kidnap my daughter. We killed him, then disposed of the body.”

My heart thumped. “Didn’t your husband help you?” I turned to look at Marissa. “Or yours?”

Brianna waved her hand. “It was a few years before I even met Mateo.”

“And Declan and I weren’t on speaking terms at the time.” Marissa shrugged. “Anyway, it was his cousin, so it would have been a bit tricky to ask him to help us get rid of the body.”

A shocked laugh escaped me.

I decided at that very moment that I liked these two. A lot.

And as we made plans to meet for lunch next week, I realized they might not be so different from me.

THIRTY-ONE

GIOVANNI

Isat in the chair, letting my mind clear and my fury ebb. I thought a shower would do me good, but even that couldn’t extinguish this anger boiling inside me. Knowing sleep wouldn’t find me, I pulled on a pair of pajama pants and stared at the darkness surrounding my property.

I should have known that my mother wouldn’t let the news of my marriage to Lia rest. It took her no time at all to sink her claws into Cristiano and attempt her manipulation, as was clear from that disaster of a “family” dinner.

Curse that fucking woman.