Liar : An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance (Sold to The Don Book 2)

by Callie Vincent

  He stared at me down his nose. “So, what is it you’re asking of me?”

  Now or never. “Divorce your wife and be mine, or send me home. There is no in between at this point.”

  Before I could blink to focus my eyes back on him, I felt his hand around my throat. He whipped me around as I squealed in surprise and pinned me to the wall, sliding me up until I was on my tiptoes. I wrapped my hands around his forearms, wheezing for air as my eyes bulged. And as he gnashed his teeth at me, the look that draped over his eyes was almost feral.

  As if the beast inside had finally rattled free.

  “Teo, I can’t--.”

  He growled. “You listen to me and you listen right now. Are you listening!?”

  I nodded quickly. “Ye-yes.”

  He slid me up a little further, freeing my toes from the ground. And as I dangled there, he pressed his knee between my legs. Forcing it all the way against my pussy.

  “You’re mine, Miss Pettigrew. I bought you fair and square. And that means you don’t get to call the shots. If I want you working for me, you’ll do it. If I want you sucking my cock, you’ll do it. And if I want my wife watching while I fuck you until you pass out, that’s exactly what I’m going to get. Learn your place, and learn it quickly. Because I’m not in the mood to trifle with yet another woman who thinks she can control me. Got it?”

  The corners of my vision started to dim. “Got it.”

  His hand released me. “Good.”

  As I plummeted to the floor, I gasped for air. I massaged my neck, trying to get my windpipe to open up as Teo sidestepped me, like I was mere trash on the floor that needed to be picked up. Shock rushed through my body as tears crested my eyes.

  I don’t know how the hell I could’ve been so stupid to think the Devil himself could have ever cared about anyone other than himself.

  And as he walked down the hallway, I leaned against the wall and sobbed.

  21

  Charlotte

  “Stupid bullshit excuse for a man,” I murmured.

  I slid the dresser with all my might until it was in front of my bedroom door.

  “I hope you choke on your lunch!” I roared.

  I pressed my back against the dresser until it jammed itself against the doorknob.

  “You don’t own me, you literal asshole!” I shrieked.

  I barricaded myself inside my bedroom so that even if he used his bullshit keyring to try to get to me, he’d have to chop the damn door down in order to even start trying to find me. After jamming a chair beneath the doorknob and scooting the dresser in front of the rest of the door, I started piling things on top. Clothes and shoes and another chair. Even a fucking mirror I ripped off the wall. And after my body screamed at me to stop, I stumbled into the bathroom and splashed some water in my face.

  Only to be met with the soft black ligature marks around my neck.

  With water dripping down my skin, my fingertips danced along the marks against my skin. I’d never forgive him for this. So long as we were under the same roof, he’d pay for what he had done to me. These markings were a sign of exactly how he felt, and as far as I was concerned he felt nothing for me.

  Not a shred of what I felt for him.

  “You’re an absolute idiot,” I whispered to myself.

  Stay long enough to take down the ring, then run.

  The idea of staying any longer than necessary curdled my stomach. I bent over and heaved into the sink, turning on the water as I spat bile into the steady stream of sink water. I knew that if I stuck around, I’d feel fulfilled in taking that human trafficking ring down. I was finally in a position to do something good in this terrible circumstance, and part of me felt selfish for even considering the idea of squandering it.

  And if I left, I knew I’d never get the information I needed to take them down from the other side of the world.

  You might also love someone who’s part of that trafficking ring.

  It was a theoretical double-edged sword. If Teo was involved in this ring, then he was manipulating me. Maybe he was using me to find holes in the prosecution’s side of things and relaying that information to someone so the holes could be closed. If he was involved with this trafficking ring, maybe I was nothing more than a hired mole, tasked with unknowingly tracking down loose ends in their operation that they’d then shore up.

  While keeping me blinded by money and sex.

  He could be telling the truth, though.

  I stopped heaving in the sink long enough to look at myself in the mirror again. And as much as I wanted to believe that Teo wasn’t involved in this insanity, the marks around my neck told me a different story. They were evidence of an entirely different side of him. A side that didn’t care who he hurt, who he mowed over, and who he had to intimidate in order to get his way.

  So, which side was the real Teo?

  I reached for a towel and wiped my face off before turning off the sink. I tossed the towel onto the countertop and shed my clothes, readying myself for a bath. I needed to soak for a while. I needed to clear my head. And as I ran the hot water, I poured as many bubbles in the claw-footed tub as I could standbefore easing myself into the steaming waters.

  “Oh, yeah,” I groaned.

  And as I leaned my head back, closing my eyes, I dreamt of my life back home. My desk, and my clients who were probably wondering where I was. My favorite fast food joint that had my order memorized and the coffee shop that had my coffee ready and waiting for me at seven thirty every morning. I remembered back to my apartment. How bare it was because I barely spent any time there.

  Then, I thought about Mom, who was probably crying herself to sleep every night because she had no idea where the hell her daughter had gone. Worried, and frightened, and doing everything she could to find me and bring me home.

  She does miss me, right?

  Her muffled shrieks and screams echoed through the walls and it made me sick to my stomach. As I sat in my chair with my body turned toward the wall, I smelled lunch getting cold behind me. But, I couldn’t stop looking down at my hand.

  The hand that almost killed Charlotte.

  “What the fuck was I thinking?” I murmured to myself.

  I squeezed my hand into a fist and cocked it back. I leaned forward in my seat and let out a piercing war cry before slamming my fist against the metal wall. Over and over, I beat my fist against the unyeilding material as I stood to my feet. I gnashed my teeth as the pain ricocheted up my arm, unlocking my chest so I could breathe for just a moment.

  And when I collapsed back into my chair, I closed my eyes.

  “She’s making me weak,” I whispered.

  As much as I wanted to run after Char and apologize, I couldn’t. That woman was making me weak, and it had to stop. I couldn’t run after her and soothe every wound that popped up. I couldn’t continuously stick by her side just to catch a glimpse of her smile.

  This is why marriages in my lifestyle are arranged.

  I swiveled back around to face my desk and pushed lunch off to the side. I had too much work to do, and it was the only thing I could think of that might distract me from my anger. If closing myself off from Char was the only way to keep me focused, then that’s what I’d have to do. I had an empire crumbling around me, and the last thing I needed was some woman with a tight pussy distracting me.

  You know she’s more than that.

  I shook the thought away from my head and jiggled my computer mouse. I threw myself into documents and surveillance pictures, taking notes and updating files. I had files on everyone of interest to me. Lorenzo. Rosana. My employees. The heads of the businesses I helped to fund. I knew their every move, their every habit, and their every vice. I kept tabs on past clients, past enemies, and the families of those who had been slain working for me.

  My power came from the information I wielded.

  But, that power and information were being threatened.

  I knew what I had to do, I just had to stomach th
e strength to do it. I had an empire to bring back together and a wife I needed to bribe into silence. And until those two things happened, Char could wait.

  Whether she waited upstairs, or in the fucking basement.

  What if she tries to escape again?

  As my fingers flew across my keyboard, I grinned to myself. I knew she wouldn’t attempt to escape again. After all, the last time she went running away from me she ran right into the arms of the enemy. And it had almost gotten her killed. That was enough to frighten anyone away from trying that again.

  But, just to be safe, I sent out an email blast to the whole of my security team.

  Guards,

  Be ever vigilant for threats and surveillance. We’re being watched, but that doesn’t mean we can’t watch back.

  Guard Team Three: start regularly patrolling the outside of the building. One man posted in back, one man posted on either side of the house.

  Guard Team Four: I want you stationed on the roof. Switch out your pistols for your rifles and monitor all incoming traffic.

  Stay alert,

  M. Emiliano

  Even if Char could get past the guards patrolling around the house, she’d never get past the guards on the roof. And if she protested? She could go straight back into the basement.

  Maybe then, she’d understand her place in this house.

  And maybe then, I’d understand my place as well.

  22

  Charlotte

  I drew in a deep breath and rolled over, sprawling out over the bed. I sighed and yawned, pulling the covers over my head so I could go back to sleep. Having the cell phone, even though it was locked down, helped me to keep track of the days as they passed. And with it being a Saturday, I was determined to sleep in.

  Until a knock came at my door.

  “What?” I groaned.

  A voice didn’t answer me, though. Only another knock against the door.

  I threw the covers off my head. “What do you want, Teo?”

  A deep voice rumbled through the door. “Not Teo.”

  I blinked. “Then, who is it?”

  I heard something shuffling around, as if someone were trying to slide something underneath the door. And when I saw a package slide across the hardwood floor toward the bed, I furrowed my brow.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  But, all I heard were footsteps walking away from my bedroom door.

  “Hello?” I called out.

  Curiosity pulled me out of my bed and I walked over to the package. The manila envelope had a small bulge in it, and I held my breath as I picked it up. I looked at the door and saw it was still barricaded. But, the slat between the bottom of the door and the floor was just wide enough for something like this to slip through.

  Things got more interesting when I turned it over, though.

  “Go into the bathroom?” I asked.

  Those were the words written on the front of the envelope. ‘Go into the bathroom’. And while I knew this was probably a set up for something that wasn’t good at all, I couldn't help myself. I looked around before creeping into the bathroom and locking the door behind me.

  Then, I proceeded to rip the package open.

  When I tipped it over, out slid a phone. It was a brick of a phone, too. It reminded me of those first generation Nokia phones that could only dial numbers and store ten contacts at a time. But, as I stared at it, I noticed something had slid into the bowl of the sink.

  A small white piece of paper I picked up and flipped over.

  Miss Pettigrew,

  Call the number saved in the contacts.

  I furrowed my brow deeply and picked up the phone. I navigated to the contacts and didn’t see a name saved to the number. Only a string of digits I didn’t recognize. The number clearly wasn’t American in origin, which severely limited who could be on the other end.

  And with Teo already having given me a phone, I figured this wasn’t from him.

  Don’t do it.

  But, I did what I always did and disobeyed my gut reaction.

  I dialed the number and held it up to my ear as I stepped into the tub. I pulled the curtain closed and blocked myself off from the rest of the world as the phone rang and rang and rang. For a little while there, I thought it might actually shoot me to a voicemail. Or, simply go unanswered. Until the line on the other end clicked.

  Revealing a voice I was all too familiar with.

  “Ah, Miss Pettigrew.”

  I blinked. “Lorenzo?”

  He chuckled. “I like my name on your lips.”

  I furrowed my brow tightly. “How did you get this--?”

  “Let’s just say not everyone in Teo’s small army is completely loyal to him.”

  So he does have a mole. “What do you want?”

  “Your ear for a few minutes. Do you have some free time?”

  I snickered. “Got nothing but that while I’m here.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  I folded my arm over my chest. “So? Spit it out.”

  “I’d like to offer you the one thing Mateo won’t.”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “A decent orgasm?”

  He barked with laughter. “Oh, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days.”

  “I’ll deal with the punches as they come.”

  His laughter stopped. “I actually want to offer you a chance to escape.”

  I paused. “Come again?”

  “You heard me. I want to offer you freedom. A chance to leave.”

  I nodded slowly. “And the catch?”

  “I’m going to be paying a visit to Mateo within the next few days. Leave with me, willingly, and I’ll take you straight to the airport.”

  “Well, forgive me if I don’t believe you after our last encounter.”

  He sighed. “I do owe you several apologies for that, Miss Pettigrew. Drinking has never looked good on me, and it brings about nothing but pain whenever I do indulge.”

  Teo’s never apologized. “All right, say I believe you. You know Teo’s not letting me go without a fight.”

  “Which is why I’d come with an entourage.”

  “That will only provoke him. I’m sure even you know that.”

  “You leave those semantics to me. All I’ll need is your cooperation when the time comes. And if you can give it to me? You get your freedom.”

  I licked my lips. “Just like that?”

  “Just like that, Miss Pettigrew.”

  I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. More than anything, I wanted to believe him. But, I didn’t trust myself enough to determine whether I wanted to believe him out of desperation, or factual information. On the one hand, Lorenzo Lucchese had been very kind to me, excluding our last interaction. The way he portrayed himself to me was in stark contrast to the person Teo described to me on a regular basis.

  His anger is toward Teo. Not you.

  I drew in a deep breath. “Question.”

  “Anything you’d like.”

  I sat down inside the tub. “Why don’t you trust Teo?”

  He paused for a while and it put me on edge. “I suppose because no one in this lifestyle is ever who they seem to be on the surface.”

  I blinked. “That doesn’t paint you in a faithful light right now.”

  “I understand. But, it’s simply the truth. Mateo seems kind to you, but I’ve got pictures and videos and signed agreements that would make your toes curl in all the wrong ways.”

  “Like what?”

  “Haven’t you been wondering if you’re the only woman he’s ever purchased?”

  Shit. “You’re telling me there’s others he’s brought home?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, yes. Believe it or not, Mateo Emiliano is one of my V.I.P. clients.”

  That can’t be true. “You’re lying.”

  “You can believe what you want. But, just because you have a belief in something doesn’t mean that belief changes the facts at h
and. You are the woman he’s paid the most money for, sure. But, don’t think for one second that you’re the only one.”

  The thought made me want to hurl. I’d been dragged into this world of haunted houses and manipulative tactics that felt more like a funhouse of mirrors than anything else. It was dizzying, the amount of information I had to sift through. It was exhausting, constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure my life stayed intact.

  “Another question,” I said.

  “Of course.”

  I cleared my throat. “Are you familiar with who my mother is?”

  He chuckled. “Everyone in my lifestyle is familiar with who your mother is. But, not for the reasons you think.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. “What does that mean?”

  “Fulfill your end of this bargain, and I’ll gladly hand over the seven bursting files I have in my office on your mother.”

  He’s bribing you, stay alert. “Or, you could hand them over as a show of good faith.”

  “I could hand one over as a show of good faith, but then you’re simply going to have to trust me.”

  I scoffed. “Like I trusted Teo?”

  I chewed on the past tense version of that word as a small part of my heart broke off and fell to my toes.

  “My turn for a question, Miss Pettigrew.”

  I swallowed hard. “Shoot.”

  “Don’t you ever wonder what Mateo is up to whenever he leaves the house for the night?”

  I snickered. “He goes home to be with his wife.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  I paused. “Are you telling me that’s not the case?”

  “I mean, I’m sure he does that sometimes, sure. But, Rosana’s marriage to Mateo was nothing more than a joining of powers. A marriage of business, not of love. You really think a man like him wants to spend his nights with a woman who doesn’t even sleep in the same room as him?”