Page 158 of Unspoken Lies

She almost bled out. My heart drums with the sound of my love and fear for Rachelle. This woman somehow is going to give me grey hair well before I deserve.

Can you go grey haired at twenty?

Mr. Reyes slowly sips his scotch, completely still as he sits next to me. His muscles are coiled and tense, waiting on me. I’m not exactly being stealthy as I seethe, but he’s not the enemy.

“You’re thinking really hard there,” he says. “Want to tell me why you’re glaring at my daughter?”

“She’s not my issue,” I grumble, sighing as I realize that I’m not making any sense. “She’s been in constant danger, until now. There’s only one more obstacle to her gaining her life back.”

“I’ve been working on that, but it’s been an uphill battle,” Mr. Reyes says.

“Other than the fact that her last name is mine, I hate everything about her name,” I growl, ignoring his amused huff. “It’s a reminder of what we’ve cost her, sir.”

“The fact that this weighs so heavy on your mind makes me proud to have you as my son-in-law. Rachelle deserves the world,” he says.

“She does, and things are better, but I’m still terrified she’s going to decide she’s better off without us,” I mutter.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Mr. Reyes says, gazing down at the amber liquid in his cup. “No one is perfect, and Rachelle understands that better than anyone. I’ve kept a million secrets while juggling everything. At the end of it all, I left her alone for far too long. She needs you all.”

Nodding, I watch the steady rise and fall of her chest, reminding myself that we arrived in time to help her. God, I can’t believe she was baiting the bastard.

“She’s like no one else,” I say finally. “I need a meeting with the Kings Society Council, sir. I have six folders to present to them to argue that it’s in their best interest to forget that Rachelle Denton exists.”

“She’s not married to you in her other life,” he says, chuckling.

“Oh, but she will be. No matter what her damn name is, she’s wearing my ring. I’ll have a ceremony with the rest of our group, manage a way to have everyone involved, but she’ll carry my name,” I say stubbornly.

“I haven’t been able to get anything on all six members of the senior council, what makes you different?” Mr. Reyes asks.

“I own a sex club,” I say with a smirk. “There are women who work at the club who have no problem dominating men and women who come to the dungeon for that type of service. It’s rare that they sleep with them, but there’s a lot they can do outside of that. Lips get loose, and the information is brought to me.”

“Huh.” Mr. Reyes drains his glass as he stares out of the window, his arms crossed. “I suppose that can be very useful.”

“Right? However, there’s one man who has been elusive,” I sigh. “Theo garnered what I needed from Lucius’ private computer server and the dark web. Six folders full of blackmail that’ll be released if anything happens to any of us. Stealing public funds as government officials, shutting down homeless shelters, and fucking prostitutes that aren’t legal, but said they were.”

“Pedophilia is only celebrated in private for the Society,” Mr. Reyes says sagely.

“Correct,” I agree. “However, if all of that information dropped into the hands of reporters and public blogs, their careers would be ruined. No more backers for their careers, the ability to rule taken from them as they’re replaced by a younger generation.”

“What type of generation?” he asks, shaking his head. “Surely you’re not suggesting that you take over?”

“No, and I don’t want it,” I admit. “I’m enjoying what I’m building here in Santa Barbara. I wouldn’t mind permanently putting down roots here.”

“Funny you say that,” he says. “I think I’m in the market for a new house. I’m putting the businesses in Portland in the hands of trusted employees and am planning to move here. I despise being so far away and Liliana’s father feels the same. I miss mywife, and the only way to bring her home is to end any and all ties to the Society that you may have.”

“I don’t want it,” I repeat. “I have been networking with alumni who attended Carlysle Prep to build my allies and connections. I haven’t spent a dime of what the Kings Society has given me. It’s why we started the club. We wanted to get as far from under their thumb as possible. Now, it’s time to cut the cord, convince them that Rachelle’s death debt has been paid.”

“It’s more than time,” Mr. Reyes says. Rachelle makes a sound of pain, and I find myself on my feet before I make a conscious decision to move. “Take care of your wife, Jared. I’m going to go find some pain medication for her. I bet her arms are going to begin hurting her.”

We cleaned her cuts and spread antibacterial cream on them before covering them, but we didn’t have anything for the pain. I bet everything is hurting her. She doesn’t have any bumps on her head outside of the bruises fromel Tigre’sfists, yet those are more than enough to give her a concussion.

Nodding, I move to grab a waste basket in case her stomach decides to rebel, before I walk over to sit next to her.

“Rachelle,” I rasp, my voice low and gentle as I brush my fingers over her hairline.

Her leg is just as bruised from the beating it took from the chair when it crashed to the ground. Christian wasn’t at all careful with her. She told Mr. Reyes everything that happened, recounted every bruise with him.

Her skin is a tapestry of abuse.