Liar
Sold to The Don Book Two - An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance
Callie Vincent
Copyright © 2020 by Callie Vincent
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is intended for readers 18+
Contents
Liar
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
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About the Author
Liar
Forgiving him will break you…
I thought Mateo Emiliano was only a monster.
But he’s worse—so much worse.
Because he’s also a liar.
And I should hate him.
Hate him for everything he’s done to me, but most of all, for making me want him.
Any rational woman would be desperate to get away, especially after this latest revelation, but I can’t seem to fight this storm of hate and desire that keeps pulling me back.
He says I make him weak.
That I lower his bloodlust.
Grow his mercy.
But instead of letting me go and freeing us both from this brutal passion… he tightens his hold.
When both of our worlds begin falling apart, and the choice falls in my lap, will I choose to save my dark captor—or end him?
Liar is the second book in the dark mafia romance trilogy, Sold to The Don, from author Callie Vincent. This book contains dark themes and is intended for readers 18+
1
Charlotte
Sweat trickled down the spine of my back and my knees wobbled as I stood there, staring down the silenced barrel of this woman’s gun.
There was no way Teo was married. Not by a fucking longshot. I mean, he’d been here with me the entire time. He didn’t wear a ring. Hell, he didn’t even have the tanline of a ring on his finger!
Then again, he does leave at night sometimes.
The woman shook her gun at me. “Take a seat.”
I blinked. “What?”
She pointed to the bed with its barrel. “Do as I said.”
I eased myself down onto the edge of the mattress as the woman walked up to me. She towered over me, looking down her nose at me as if I were some common whore her husband brought back to have a bit of fun with. I knew different, though. Teo and I had a connection.
Right?
“So,” the woman said as she lowered her gun to her side, “tell me something.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you start with your name?”
She grinned. “Rosana. Emiliano, of course.”
“Of course,” I said flatly.
The woman giggled. “Ah, don’t be so upset. It’s easy for me that look like my husband to deceive other women. I’m assuming that’s what he’s done, right? Deceive you? Trick you?”
“Keep me hostage against my will.”
She waved her hand in the air. “Semantics. Trust me, if you knew everything that happened behind closed doors, you’d never step out your front door.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?”
She ignored my question. “You’ve been the first threat to my marriage in the almost nine years Mateo and I have been married. You know that, right?”
I shrugged. “I don’t give a shit what I am. All I want to be is a free woman.”
“And I want you gone. I want you out of my life and out of my marriage. Once we recoup the investment we’ve sunken into you, that is.”
My mind raced so quickly that I had a hard time forming my next question. But clearly, Rosana came prepared with what she wanted to tell me.
“Let me do us both a favor and lay out some facts really quickly. Yes?”
I shrugged. “Not like I’ve got a choice since you’re armed and I’m not.”
“I won’t shoot you if you don’t give me a reason to.”
I pointed up at her. “And there’s the resemblance. I see why you two are married now.”
She grinned devilishly down at me. “I love my husband, Miss Pettigrew. He’s my entire world. And while our marriage wasn’t necessarily one of peak circumstances, we’ve grown to respect one another in many, many ways.”
I clicked my tongue. “Right.”
She sighed. “I’ve loved Mateo ever since I laid eyes on him all those years ago. We grew up together, you know. My family and his family. Our fathers are best friends and our mothers do lunch--.”
“I get it, I get it. The two of you are intertwined and I’m the outsider. Jesus.”
“In another circumstance, that type of talk would’ve earned you a bullet to the head.”
I snickered. “At this point, I’m wishing someone would simply shoot me and get it over with.”
Rosana sighed before she sat down next to me. And immediately, the air in the room changed. She went from hostile to understanding in the blink of an eye, and I didn’t know if it was an act or if she genuinely had a heart.
“Charlotte--may I call you ‘Charlotte’?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure. Why not.”
She nodded. “Charlotte, my husband is a confusing man. This isn’t the first time another woman has been in the picture, but it definitely is the first time he’d rather spend time with this other woman than with me.”
I slowly looked over at her. “I thought you said I was your first disturbance in your marriage?”
She shrugged. “You are. Those other women weren’t a threat. Mateo got things out of his system in a couple of weeks, came home, and we’d get back on with our lives. That’s simply how a man like him works. No one woman can satiate him, but his heart can only belong to one person. It’s why I let him do what he does. Purchase what he needs. Because at the end of the day, I know he’s going to come back home.”
“But, you don’t know that with me?”
I hated how hopeful my voice sounded. And by the anger wafting behind Rosana’s eyes, she clocked it as well.
She didn’t address it, though.
“Miss Pettigrew, let me put it to you in a way I think you might understand: I’ve been married to Mateo for a long time. And if I have to file for divorce because some American woman wants to come in and place her nose where it doesn’t belong, it’s going to ruin Mateo. You care about him, right?”
I blinked. “Sure. I care about the man keeping me chained up in his beach house.”
“You don’t look very chained up right now, up here in this apartment.”
I started mindlessly rubbing my wrists. “What’s your point?”
She crossed her ankles. “If I have to file for divorce
, I take half of Mateo’s life with me. Money. Possessions. And influence. For a man like him that’s worked his entire life to get to where he is, it would ruin him. And all because you simply couldn’t keep your dress on. Do you really want that for my husband if you care about him so much?”
I swallowed hard. “You said it yourself, he’ll fuck around with me and then come back.”
“That’s what I’m banking on. But, I want you to understand what’s at stake for him if he gets swept away in all of this. I love Mateo, but I also know my worth. Like you know yours. And if I have to walk away, that’s what goes with me. Half of his money, half of his stuff, and half of his life.”
The thought broke my heart. “I get it.”
She smiled softly. “Good. I’m glad. There’s still much to be done before you can be released, but I’m sure--with time--all plans will be revealed.”
I furrowed my brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”
She shook her head. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that your mother didn’t accept our ransom note.”
So, it’s true? “I’ve heard.”
Rosana patted my knee. “It’s just business, Miss Pettigrew. Once we can get our money, you’re free to go. I’ll see to it myself that you’re escorted to the airport, put on a plane with every shred of clothing I’m sure my husband has purchased for you, and you can be on your way back to your life in the States. I’ll make sure, personally, that you aren’t harmed anymore than you already are.”
I blinked. “If Mateo’s doing so well, why does he need the money from some ransom?”
She stood to her feet. “This has been years in the making, Miss Pettigrew. I don’t owe you an explanation, I’m simply giving it to you because I know how my husband works. He enjoys keeping people in the dark, hence the tactics to get up here and meet you myself. But, now that we’ve had a chance to meet, I know what my next step is going to be.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
Her eyes leveled with my own. “Making sure you make the proper next steps so we can all get our lives back.”
2
Charlotte
I watched Rosana saunter out of my room before she placed two of her fingers between her ruby red lips. She blew a very distinct whistle, with three short pulses and one long blow. And as it sounded, I heard bootsteps trampling everywhere around the house. My eyes widened as men of all shapes and sizes stormed through the door, gathering in what was technically the living room space of this little apartment Teo had shoved me into.
And when I saw the sheer number of men at her disposal, my soul dropped to my toes.
This entire family is armed to the teeth.
Rosana’s voice pulled me from my trance. “Remember, Miss Pettigrew; we all have plans in play. Make sure you're on the right side of them.”
I nodded mindlessly. “I know.”
She handed her gun off to the brutish man behind her. “Good. And whenever you see Mateo again, try not to mention this little meeting, will you? He’s lucky he wasn’t here when I stormed the place to come find you. Otherwise, I might have actually put a bullet in his knees.”
I swallowed hard. “Right. Okay.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Have a nice evening, Charlotte.”
I wasn’t sure how long it took them to get out of the house. Or if they were really gone at all. But, once I heard the door to my apartment close, I felt tears trickling down my cheeks. I’d come to trust Teo. I’d come to enjoy his presence and the way he treated me. I’d come to trust his words, and his actions, and the care he seemed to take with me.
And he’s fucking married?
I sniffled hard and wiped my hands down my face. I stood on my wobbling legs and waddled toward the bathroom, needing some cold water in my face. I needed to sober up. I needed to pull myself out of this trance. I needed to wrap my head around what the ever-blessed fuck just happened, and I needed to do it quickly.
Because I didn’t even know Teo was gone, much less when he’d be back.
After splashing some cold water on my face and dabbing at my skin with the softest towel I’d ever touched, I stared at myself in the mirror. The bags beneath my eyes had grown more prominent and I could’ve sworn I’d lost some weight. I sat the towel down onto the marble bathroom countertop and ran my fingers through my hair, gingerly seeking out the knots to untangle.
I felt myself growing more restless.
“Married?” I whispered to myself.
As I untangled my hair and braided it back, I racked my brain as to any sign that I might have missed. Something that should’ve blatantly told me about his marital status that I had overlooked during my hours of starvation and wariness. I felt more confused than ever before. I shouldn’t have even been feeling anything except anger towards a man like Teo. I mean, after all he had done to me for the sake of ‘saving’ me, that alone had earned him a bullet.
Yet, all I wanted to do was curl up to him at night.
I’ve fallen for him.
The second the thought crossed my mind, tears started flowing once more. I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces as I stumbled back to my bed and flopped to the mattress. I wanted to roll up in the blankets and never come back out. I wanted them to suffocate me so I could try this thing called ‘life’ all over again.
I didn’t know where the hell to go from here. But, I knew one thing for certain:
I’d never fully trust Mateo Emiliano ever again.
“Miss Pettigrew?”
I knocked on the door softly as a woman stood behind me with a tray of breakfast.
“Miss Pettigrew, it’s time for us to eat.”
Yet, every time I knocked, I was met with nothing but silence.
I jammed my hands into my pocket and pulled out the spare key to the room. I slid it into the lock and turned it, freeing the door from its clasp. The door eased itself open and I saw the blanket bunched up on the bed. I saw a pair of toes peeking out from beyond the lower hem of the down comforter and cocked my head as I checked the time on my watch.
It was almost ten in the morning.
So, why the hell was Charlotte still in bed?
“Miss Pettigrew,” I said.
I watched her shift in bed before curling her legs up. And as I watched her toes disappear, I waved at the woman behind me.
“Take the food back downstairs. Leave us be.”
As the door closed behind me, I started loosening the tie around my neck. I walked over to the side of the bed and kicked off my shoes before placing my knee against the mattress. She groaned as she shifted, her body moving away from me as she wiggled to the middle of the bed.
And after discarding my tie to the floor, I slid out of my coat.
“I’m coming to get you,” I said playfully.
Charlotte groaned. “Hmmm?”
I grinned. “I’m coming for what’s mine, Miss Pettigrew.”
In a flash, she threw the covers off her, and the wild look behind her eyes gave me pause. I’d never seen that look in her eye before. Not even when I came stumbling into the basement with a knife sticking out of my side. And all at once, as our eyes connected, the look on her face quickly morphed into one I was familiar with.
She looked up at me as if I were a monster.
“Uh, hey there, Teo,” she said breathlessly.
I blinked. “What’s wrong?”
She sat up. “What do you mean?”
I cocked my head. “I won’t ask again. What’s wrong, Miss Pettigrew?”
She snickered. “I’m tired. I had a late night, and I’m still tired. What do you think is wrong?”
I studied her face. “You’re lying to me.”
“What?”
I moved like lightning, wrapping my hand around her throat. “You’re lying to me, Miss Pettigrew. Now, what’s wrong?”
I gripped my hand around her throat so tightly that she began to choke. Her eyes widened as I watched her cheeks turn red, and all I wanted to do was squ
eeze the fucking truth out of her. Everything felt off since I’d come home this morning. My bodyguards were more curt with me than ever before. There was a lingering scent I couldn’t place. And now, Miss Pettigrew was acting as if I were some sort of monster.
She looked at me as if I were some sort of monster.
“Teo, please,” she gasped.
“Talk, and I’ll let go.”
She nodded quickly, so I released her throat. I watched her heave for air as I pushed myself off the bed, standing upright at her side. I loomed over her as my shadow cloaked her body. I slid my hands into my pockets, hoping and praying they’d have a reason to stay there.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.
Charlotte refused to look up at me. “I had some nightmares last night, okay?”
I blinked. “What?”
She sighed. “Nightmares, Teo. I had them, and it kept me up and pacing pretty much all night. That’s why I look like shit right now.”
She’s still lying. “What did you have nightmares about?”
And when she looked up at me, I watched that fear return back to her gaze. While I knew she was lying straight through her perfectly straight teeth, the fear behind her eyes was true.
Someone’s frightened her. “If you don’t talk to me, I can’t--.”
She quickly sat up in bed, exposing her naked breasts to me. “Just get in here and let me feel you.”
My eyes dropped to her puckered tits as my hands slowly slid out of my pockets. Maybe this was the right road to take. Maybe if I could soften her with a few kisses and a very nice orgasm, she’d be more prone to tell me the truth. So, I dipped myself back down and captured her lips in a kiss.
Liar : An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance (Sold to The Don Book 2) Page 1
