by Ella Miles
Haven’t read Enzo and Kai’s story yet?
I should have run away, found a new life, and started over.
Instead, I returned.
To find the man who sold me.
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Haven’t read Zeke and Siren’s story yet?
She saved me. And now, seeing her about to be sold to the highest bidder, it’s my turn to save her.
One-click Sinful Truth for FREE >
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Vicious Lies Chapter One
Liesel
I will kill you.
I read the words on the piece of paper in my hand. Who puts death threats in the mail anymore? It seems archaic and old-timey. There are so many better ways to send a threat: a phone call, a text message, an email.
An in-person act of violence really sends a message too, if you really have the balls.
Why write a letter?
Because he’s a coward.
I consider tossing the letter in the trash and not taking the issue any further, forgetting that it even happened. But I didn’t survive this long by tossing away idle threats.
I will kill you.
This isn’t the first time someone has made a threat like this against me.
I will kill everyone you love.
Again, not new. I just thought I was passed this part of my life. I thought I was done living in this dangerous, vicious world. One where there are no winners—at least, I never win. I just survive.
I thought, just like letter writing, this part of my life was buried in the past.
I tap my painted red nails against my desk as I read the letter over two more times. Nothing hints at who the author is. There is no name scrolled across the bottom. Like I thought—wuss.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t hints of who my enemy is. The way the letter is scribed tells me it’s a man who wrote it. It was scribbled quickly with a pen almost out of ink on a piece of computer paper. This note was written last minute; it wasn’t thought through.
And it didn’t arrive in an envelope in the mail. It was stuffed loosely into the mailbox. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found fingerprints.
Whoever sent this is an amateur, or at least, wants me to think he’s an amateur.
I’m not an amateur. As much as I never thought I would know how to hold a gun, fire a weapon, hunt down men, rescue myself, I’ve never had a choice in the matter. My entire life I’ve lived in a cruel underworld of men who controlled everything. Men who had no right to own anything. Men who ruled with guns and darkness in their hearts, taking no prisoners. Taking what they wanted without concern of whom they hurt.
I used to be a princess in a world filled with dangerous men. I used to have friends who would protect me above everything else.
But things started slowly changing when my best friend, Enzo Black, fell in love. And then Zeke, my other protector, fell in love next. It’s only a matter of time until Langston, the playboy of the group, falls in love.
I could call any one of them to take care of the man who sent this threat. Enzo, Zeke, or Langston all have the power and abilities to handle this man without lifting a finger. That’s what they do—kill dangerous men. They protect their family, which used to include me.
Until they failed me.
Until they fell in love.
Until I decided I didn’t want to be a damsel in distress, waiting for a man to come and rescue me.
I saved myself.
I picked up every broken, shattered piece and put myself back together, painstakingly, piece by piece.
I’m whole now—even if the pieces don’t fit together the same as they did before.
I’m a survivor—that’s the term used to describe me. It’s a term I hate, because I didn’t just survive, I thrived. I fought back; I rescued myself. I’m a fucking knight in red high heels.
So while I could call my friends to save me and take care of this, I’m not going to. I haven’t asked any one of them for help in years, and I’m not going to start now.
I lift my glass of scotch from my desk and swirl it around until the single ball of ice shifts in the glass, making a delicious rattling sound before I take a sip. I’m a woman in a man’s world, but that doesn’t mean I let the men rule me anymore. I won’t give any man power over me—never again.
So that leaves me two choices. I can toss this letter in the trash and ignore it completely. There is a large chance whoever sent it will never grow enough balls to actually act on his threat. Or I go back into the world I never thought I would enter again.
A world of danger.
Cruelty.
Vows.
And lies.
A world that once consumed me. A world that turned me into the cold, heartless woman I’ve become. A world that took everything from me, yet gave me my power.
I thought I was done.
I thought this chapter of my life was over, buried.
I could leave it alone. For years, I’ve done everything I can to stay out of this life. To stay away from the evil that lurks in the night. Not because I’m afraid of the darkness hurting me. Not because I’m afraid that the man making the threat will actually succeed. Even if he did succeed, I’m not afraid of death.
No, I’ve stayed away from the darkness because I haven’t wanted to become the villain I’m capable of being. Once the darkness surrounds me, I’ll no longer be the princess. I’ll become the evil queen. Once I let it in, there is no way to get it out. That’s why I’ve put up walls around my heart, to keep the vile out, the wickedness I can become.
But why?
Why can’t I turn into the evil queen?
My friends and family are gone. The only man in my life is more than capable of taking care of himself.
I shouldn’t go back to this life.
I should crumple the letter up and toss it into the fireplace to burn.
I should forget the threat until it comes true.
But I feel the walls lowering around my heart. All the men in my life are able to stay safe and protect those they love, because they don’t fight the worst parts of themselves.
Enzo is a controlling bastard, who rules his world by loving Kai.
Zeke protects those he loves no matter the cost it inflicts on himself.
And Langston hurts others to protect himself.
All three men have done more than survived; they’ve become kings. They’ve languished and destroyed their enemies. They’ve gained enough power that no man dares to make threats like this.
It’s time I try their tactics.
I toss the rest of the scotch back into my throat before slamming the glass down on my desk with a sinful grin across my red-painted lips.
The evil that I locked in my heart is free. I’m going to use every bit of its power to take care of this threat myself, so no man or woman will ever threaten me again.
Grab Vicious Lies Here!
Also by Ella Miles
LIES SERIES:
Lies We Share: A Prologue
Vicious Lies
Desperate Lies
Fated Lies
Cruel Lies
Dangerous Lies
Endless Lies
SINFUL TRUTHS:
Sinful Truth #1
Twisted Vow #2
Reckless Fall #3
Tangled Promise #4
Fallen Love #5
Broken Anchor #6
TRUTH OR LIES:
Taken by Lies #1
Betrayed by Truths #2
Trapped by Lies #3
Stolen by Truths #4
Possessed by Lies #5
Consumed by Truths #6
DIRTY SERIES:
Dirty Obsession
Dirty Addiction
Dirty Revenge
Dirty: The Complete Series
Aligned: Volume 1 (Free Series Starter)
Aligned: Volume 2
Aligned: Volume 3
Aligned: Volume 4
Aligned: The Complete Series Boxset
UNFORGIVABLE SERIES:
Heart of a Thief
Heart of a Liar
Heart of a Prick
Unforgivable: The Complete Series Boxset
MAYBE, DEFINITELY SERIES:
Maybe Yes
Maybe Never
Maybe Always
Definitely Yes
Definitely No
Definitely Forever
STANDALONES:
Pretend I’m Yours
Pretend We’re Over
Finding Perfect
Savage Love
Too Much
Not Sorry
Hate Me or Love Me: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Collection
About the Author
Ella Miles writes steamy romance, including everything from dark suspense romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat to contemporary romance that will leave you laughing out loud or crying. Most importantly, she wants you to feel everything her characters feel as you read.
Ella is currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy five year old black lab who is scared of everything, including her own shadow.
Ella is a USA Today Bestselling Author & Top 50 Bestselling Author.
Stalk Ella at:
www.ellamiles.com
[email protected]
