Web of Lies

by Elizabeth Knox

  I have to resist the urge to reach out and run my fingers through his hair, as I usually would.

  “What about you? Why didn’t you follow the family business?”

  He lets out a deep huff. “I’m not like my brothers. I don’t have that lust for power, that desire to cause suffering. I’m fairly certain I’m a disappointment to my father, but I could never do it. I took over the legitimate side of the family’s business dealings because that I could do well— and I do. I’ve earned them a ton of money.”

  “Why didn’t you just leave? Get out and make that money on your own?”

  “Because you don’t just leave. The family isn’t a job. It’s life. There’s no ‘out’. You’re born an Escarlo, you die an Escarlo.”

  That I do understand, even if I’ve never been in that position.

  “Was any of it real?” he asks me, his voice soft. “Between us, I mean.”

  I should lie to him. I should tell him it wasn’t, but I can’t. I won’t. “Yes, Dante. It was all real. I’ve never fallen for a mark before . . . until you. You treated me like a person, not an object to look good on someone’s arm. You were always good to me, and I’ll admit, I was falling for you.” I smile sadly at him. “In another time, another world, maybe we could have been good together.”

  He moves his mouth closer to mine, his warm breath mingling with mine. “Why not in this world?”

  “It’s too complicated. We’ve both told too many untruths.”

  “Then let me uncomplicate it, little bird.”

  Leaning towards me, his lips brush over mine.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dante

  I’m kissing her. I shouldn’t, but I am, and I have zero regrets about the fact. I may have known she was playing me, but that doesn’t mean I was immune to her while we were together. She’s beautiful, soft, delicate and feminine, and when she melts against me, I know she’s into this as much as I am.

  Her opening up to me showed a different side, a side that was wholly vulnerable and taken advantage of. She was a kid, alone, and without parents. This guy groomed her to do his dirty work, and that doesn’t sit right with me at all. I see parallels between my life and hers, and I don’t like it. She was forced to do something she shouldn’t have had to, and she may have come to accept that was her life, but it never should have been.

  So, I kiss her hard and wet, pushing aside my feelings about her life, my fingers threading through the hair at the side of her head. The moan she gives against my mouth makes my cock harden, pushing against the zipper of my jeans. My balls feel heavy as she moves against me, rubbing herself over my crotch in a way that has us both moaning.

  I slide my tongue into her mouth, massaging against hers as the kiss deepens. God, she feels amazing. I want to be inside her now, but I take my time, building her up.

  My hand slides between her legs, and she whimpers as I rub her through her jogging bottoms. This isn’t going to be enough. I need skin to skin.

  I slip my hand under the waistband of her joggers, feeling her abdomen quiver at my ghost of a touch, then I pull her underwear aside to slide my fingers through her slit. She’s wet, and so when I push into her, I meet no resistance.

  I attack her neck, peppering kisses between the column of her throat and her collar bone while continuing to slide my fingers in and out of her dripping pussy. Her nails dig into my shoulders as she pants and gasps.

  From our past experiences, I know where to touch her to make her squirm, and I know the spots that will make her come apart, so I feel her muscles contracting around my fingers.

  When she finally orgasms, her thighs tremble and she buries her head against me as she moans.

  I don’t give her a chance to relax. I quickly tug her joggers down and undo the belt on my jeans, freeing my cock. I don’t have any condoms with me, but I know she’s on the pill. I saw her taking it when she stayed over a few times, before she betrayed me.

  I push that aside. She didn’t betray me, not really. She’s as much a victim in all this as I am. More so, in fact.

  My tee comes off in one movement, and then I push hers up to her chin before she starts to sit to pull it over her head. The hiss of pain from her does not go unnoticed.

  “Are you okay to do this?” I ask. Considering her side must be hurting, I expect her to say no, but she nods.

  “I want to do this. Just be careful of my side.”

  I fist my cock in my hand and give it two pulls, then I slip into her warm, wet, inviting pussy. She gasps, but I push all the way in, until the root of my dick is flush against her. Staring into her eyes, I wait for the small nod to move, and I don’t hesitate to pull back and slide back into her.

  She whimpers at the movement, and I don’t blame her. I’m not going to last long here. My balls are aching and tight, and I can feel the building tension rising from the base of my dick.

  I slam deeper into her, and when I bottom out, she groans my name. And fuck me, if I don’t love that. I want her to always say my name like that.

  As she goes over the edge, I follow her, my cock spurting inside her. I slow my pace, but keep moving inside her for a few beats before I pull free. My cum and her juices stain her upper thigh and her pussy glistens with our combined fluids. I’m not going to lie; I like seeing my cum dripping from her.

  I lean into her and kiss her in a firm, demanding way that tells her who she belongs to.

  When we break apart, we’re both breathless. She locks eyes with me.

  “Until we get this money back, Annabel, you’re mine, do you understand? I own you.”

  She stares at me. “You can’t own a person, Dante.”

  “You stole half a mill. If we don’t get it back, we’re both dead. Can you pay it back?”

  “Of course not. I don’t have half a million pounds just lying around.”

  “Then you’re mine, Bel. No ifs, no buts. And we are getting that money back.”

  “You want me to steal from my boss to give back to your father?”

  “No, little bird. We’re going to steal from your boss and hand him over to my father.”

  She studies me, her eyes scanning mine for any sign I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have, I don’t know, but I’m not taking the fall for someone else’s actions— not now, not ever. Her boss screwed us both.

  “And then what happens?”

  “We start anew— somewhere warm and off the grid.”

  “Just like that?”

  Her disbelieving tone makes me smile inwardly. She’s so mistrustful. I’ll show her she can trust me.

  “Just like that.”

  “And if we do that, I’m still tethered to you?”

  I stare at her. “I like my women willing. If you want to continue this then I’m open to it, but I’m not going to keep you against your will.”

  She seems to relax a little at this, and I wonder whether she’s ever felt in control of anything in her life.

  I stroke my fingers up her spine and we lie together, wrapped in each other until her breathing evens out.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Annabel

  I wake to a delicious ache between my legs and an empty bed. Where’s Dante? A feel of the sheets tells me he’s been gone for a while, given they’re cold.

  Did he leave me here?

  Scenarios race through my head of being betrayed and getting handed over to Niko Escarlo until I smell something cooking.

  What is that?

  Quickly, I grab some clothes and head into the bathroom to clean up. Dressing in the joggers and tee again, I head downstairs, the smells getting stronger.

  I find him at the stove, cooking what looks like an assortment of tinned food. Hearing me enter, he glances over his shoulder.

  “Come and sit. There’s coffee, although only powdered milk. Breakfast will be a few minutes more.”

  “It smells lovely,” I say, moving to the kettle and flicking it on to boil.

  “It’s all dried or tinned food, bu
t it’ll fill a hole until we can get something more substantial.”

  “It’s fine,” I tell him. “I’ve survived on worse.”

  And that’s not a lie. I have— much worse— and although it’s been a while since I slummed it, I’m not averse to doing so again.

  “So, breakfast and then what? Do we have a plan here?”

  He shoves the spatula through the pan of food and shrugs. “I figured we should pay your boss a visit and demand the money back.”

  “Dante . . .”

  “I know you’re still having trouble trusting me here, little bird, but you and me, all we have is each other. Even if I recover that money, I can’t go home. My father believes I took it and even with evidence to the contrary, he’s not going to let it stand that I was taken in by a pretty face. My life here is done. The only chance I have is to get that money and disappear. And if we do it right, we can disappear just as your boss planned on— we can make sure the blame lies with him.”

  I mull this over. He seems sincere and his words sound true.

  “How can I make you trust me?” he presses.

  “I do trust you. I don’t know why, but I do.”

  He puts down the spatula. “If we do this right, the only winners here will be you and I.”

  “Then let’s do it right.”

  I move over to him and slip into his arms. He kisses the top of my head before he finds my mouth. His kisses are like pure electric and I feel it from my toes up. Between my legs gets damp as I remember what we did last night. It was better than it’s ever been. I think because there were no lies between us. We were Annabel and Dante and we were stripped bare to each other. It was a good feeling, knowing there were no more secrets, knowing he was loving on me because he wanted me, not the idea of me.

  “How do we do that?”

  “I’ve always found the threat of violence works well.”

  Bastian would probably fold like a wet deck of cards at even the mere threat of harm— there’s a reason I’m in the field and not him— but he might be inclined to play stupid.

  “Are you sure you can get him to hand over the money?”

  Dante’s smile is positively scary when he says, “I learnt from the best at how to extract information, darlin’. I’ll get what I need from him. You just have to tell me where to find him.”

  I pause for a brief moment before I say, “I don’t trust a lot of people in my life, Dante. In fact, the only person I’ve ever really trusted is a man who has clearly abused his relationship with me all these years. Please don’t make me regret trusting you.”

  “I won’t.” He smiles. “Come and eat.”

  I move over to the chair and sink down at the table. He dishes up the assortment of food, which actually looks surprisingly good. There are some tinned potatoes and what I think might be corned beef and some other things I’m not sure about, but I dig in with gusto.

  “Is it edible?” he asks.

  “It’s actually kind of tasty, considering it all came out of a can.”

  He grabs a forkful of food himself and takes a bite. “It’s not gourmet, but it’ll suffice.”

  “Are you going to hurt him?” I ask as I take another mouthful.

  “If he tells me what I need to know, then no.”

  This doesn’t sound good for Bastian, but then again, he had no qualms about selling me down the river.

  I put my fork down and stare at my plate for a moment, my emotions and thoughts a hurricane of indecision. Finally, I say, “His name is Sebastian Dayton— at least that is the name I know him by. Who knows if it is his real name?”

  “Okay. And where does he live?”

  “He has a house just outside London. Whether he’ll be there is another matter.”

  He nods.

  “Eat up, little bird. We have work to do.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Annabel

  Driving to Bastian’s house to do terrible things to him feels like the worst of all my betrayals. I’ve known this man for years. The fact he sold me out doesn’t matter. My conscience is in overdrive.

  I watch out the side window of the car as the world passes by in a whirl of motion and I feel Dante’s hand on my thigh.

  I turn to him.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I feel terrible doing this.”

  “The man set you up to take the fall for him,” he says, squeezing my leg. “Don’t feel a hint of remorse.”

  “I know I shouldn’t, but he did save me from the streets.”

  “To use you for his own benefits, Bel. Not because he cared about you, and I’m sorry, I know that will hurt to hear, but it’s true.”

  It is true, and it does hurt.

  “Let’s just get this over with.”

  “I’m sorry, little bird. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

  “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Everything in my life is a lie. Why should this be any different?”

  It doesn’t take long to reach Bastian’s house. Dante parks the car a quarter of a mile from the property and we make the final trek on foot. I pray the entire walk that I haven’t sold out the wrong person and that Dante isn’t playing me. I don’t think he is, and I’m usually a good judge of a situation, but he fooled me already, so I can’t be sure.

  Either way, as much as I want to deny the facts, they’re clear to see. Bastian must have sold me out for Niko Escarlo to know so fast the money was gone and where to find me. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

  I shake myself mentally. No point worrying now. What’s done is done.

  “Before you go in, I want to speak to him,” I say, coming to stand in front of Dante.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Dante—”

  “He might hurt you.”

  This melts some of the steel around my heart.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You're injured, Bel.”

  “You’ll be there if he tries something.” I cup his face with my hands. “I trust you.”

  He dips his head and takes my mouth gently.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you.” The heartfelt promise makes my stomach flip-flop.

  I believe it when he says it. I don’t think he will let anything touch me.

  Getting into the house is surprisingly easy. The patio doors onto the garden are open, so we slip into the room. If I was not here to harm Sebastian, I might mention his crappy security efforts.

  My heart pounds as we stand among ornate looking sofas that probably cost a fortune, listening. It’s quiet. The familiar room has pangs attacking my stomach.

  Dante pulls his gun and holds it ready in his hand as we move into the house. Moving from room to room, my heart is in my throat.

  Where is he?

  Is he even here?

  I’m about to give up hope when I hear a noise from his study. I peer through the gap in the door and see he’s sitting in the window in the big armchair that overlooks the west end of the gardens. Dante starts to move, but I place a hand on his arm and shake my head.

  Then I point at my chest, indicating I’m going in and that I’m going alone. He doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t stop me when I reach for the handle and push the door open. Bastian twists towards me as I step inside the room, pushing the door to, so he can’t see Dante waiting, although I’m sure he hid himself the moment I moved.

  “Annabel!” Bastian looks surprised to see me. Shocked would be a better word, actually. It confirms to me that he did, in fact, sell me out. Bastard. “What are you—”

  “Doing here?” I interrupt. “Why? Thought I’d be dead by now? Out of the way? A fucking footnote!” I throw my hands in the air. “What the hell, Bastian? I did everything you asked. Hell, I loved you like a father, and this is what you do to me?”

  He pushes his fingers through his salt and pepper hair and for the first time in a long time, his composure breaks.

  “You weren’t supposed to figure it out, silly girl.”
>
  “Yeah, I gathered that. Why?”

  “Because, darling, you wanted out. I couldn’t have you out there knowing what you know about me, about our dealings.” His frame, which I thought was once strong, suddenly looks lank and weak. Maybe it’s because I’ve been around Dante and he’s the other end of the scale. He’s tall, broad and strong.

  “So you sold me out?”

  “Well, what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t kill you myself, could I?” His voice drips with derision. “You’re a loose end, Annabel, and what have I always taught you about loose ends?”

  I grit my teeth. “Cut them down.”

  “Exactly.” He stands and when he does, I see he’s pointing a gun in my direction. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, but I needed you out of my hair, and this seemed like a good way to do it. Two birds, one stone— you know how it is. I get the money; you take the fall. It was the perfect plan.”

  “You forgot one thing, you bastard,” Dante’s voice snaps from behind me. “You forgot about me.”

  A crack fills the air and then Bastian goes back on a foot, collapsing against the back of the armchair. His hand flies to his shoulder, but blood pours between his fingers. For a moment, I stand transfixed, watching the bright red liquid gush freely.

  He shot Bastian.

  Holy fuck, Dante shot Bastian.

  My brain finally kicks into gear and I rush to recover the gun he was holding from the floor and point it at him.

  When I twist back, I see Dante has his gun pointed at Bastian.

  “You shot me!” Bastian wails.

  “I’m going to do worse than shoot you if you don’t transfer all the money to Bel’s accounts.”

  I almost drop the gun. He wants to transfer it to me? He trusts me not to run as soon as I have it? I want to see his face, but he’s focused on Bastian, who laughs at this demand.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Without taking his eyes off Bastian, Dante says, “Bel, can you wait outside? I need to have a moment with him.”