Page 41 of Unspoken Lies

“Turns out that guy who drugged me works for elTigre, who is the supplier of the date rape drug, sir. Lincoln Tithers is currently strung up in the Kings’ basement for me,” I tell him.

They will always be Kings to me, no matter what they say.

“Well, that’s nice of them,”Mr. Emil drawls. “May I ask some questions of Lincoln while you continue to cut off body parts? I’m on my way to you, and I tracked you to a house under an umbrella company.”

“Super nifty of them, don’t you think?” I ask, which is code for shady as fuck.

“Very much. May I take over for a bit?”he asks again.

Having that man repeat himself is asking for trouble, so I put him on speaker and set him on a table next to me.

“Your show, sir,” I say.

Mr. Emil asks question after question about Lincoln’s boss, and whenever my hostage hesitates, I remind him that I still can hurt him. Thirty minutes later, I’ve pulled everything out of him that I can.

“I’m outside with someone who wants to see you, Liliana. Don’t play with your food. Kill him quickly,”Mr. Emil grunts before hanging up.

Shrugging, I smile brightly at Lincoln. “The good news is, you’re all done now,” I say, grabbing a knife from the table. “You’ve been a naughty boy, though, so it’s time to say goodbye.”

Striking without any further warning, I shove the knife up through his jaw straight to his brain. He doesn’t even have a chance to scream, and it’s better that he doesn’t. I’m just about over loud noises for the day.

“I need to go see what Mr. Emil needs, and then I’ll be right back,” I say, leaving the knife in Lincoln’s throat. His eyes bulge almost in surprise, and I roll my eyes.

How a stupid fucker has been getting away with raping women for so long is beyond me. I wonder if Livie Zoner is the mastermind here. Yes, in the end he even gave his girlfriend up too.

Pulling off my gloves, I walk to the utility tub to scrub my hands with soap and water.

“You’re very scary,” Elijah mutters as the water runs.

“Thanks,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder at him. “There’s a finesse to this. I took to it really well, and it scratched an itch not even sex could hit, if I was ever interested in it again.”

Turning off the water, I grab a paper towel to dry my hands.

“You’re just going to be a mafia spinster then?” Jared asks teasingly.

“That’s… ew. Never say that to me again, please,” I say, rolling my eyes as I toss the towel in the garbage.

Following me as I leave, I think about his question.

“I had a really good life with the loves of my life, and that’ll have to be good enough,” I finally say. “I’ll happily be celibate for the rest of my life if I can’t have them.”

Their basement also has an emergency exit up into the backyard, where I unlock and open the door to step outside. Still armed, I walk confidently to the driveway, with the Three Musketeers on my heels.

Mr. Emil is leaning against his SUV with his arms crossed as he gazes up at the sky, his sunglasses in place. It’s cool and dry today, the breeze playing with the strands of my hair, temporarily blinding me. Pushing it out of my face, I hear the gasps before I see him.

Ignacio Reyes gazes at me with his heart in his eyes before he slowly smiles.

“How about some love for the escapee?” he says, making my eyes widen.

“Don’t believe him, Liliana, he’s out for good,” Mr. Emil says, raising his sunglasses. “He’s not going to disappear,mija.”

My lips begin to quiver with emotion before the floodgates of tears overflow. My feet are flying down the driveway despite having recently been in the hospital, each step hitting true. My ankles refuse to roll, my mind still whispering that it could be a very cruel trick of the mind.

Maybe I’m in a coma, and all of this has been a fucking dream. I don’t trust anything right now.

Launching myself into Ignacio’s arms, I wait to fall. If he’s not real, he wouldn’t be able to catch me in his strong, cordedarms, right? If he’s a hallucination, I wouldn’t be able to fist his hair before mashing my lips on his, only inhaling when he does, right?

But if he’s real, not hurt or dead, then he’s been ignoring all of my letters.