Bury Me with Lies (Twin Lies Duet Book 2)

by S. M. Soto

  I watch the destruction of my words as they hit their intended mark. My dad drops his head down in shame, unable to look at me, and my mother cries. Leaving them both behind in the kitchen, I make my way back toward the front door, hating how stifling the air is here.

  “Honey, you can stay. Please, stay,” my mother pleads. It makes the backs of my eyes burn because where was this mother when I needed her most? Where was she when I needed sympathy, when I needed just one person on my side?

  “I can’t.”

  I continue my trek toward the front door and can clearly hear my mother’s sobs behind me. When I grasp the door handle, I can feel my father standing behind me. I can feel all the unsaid things floating between us.

  “Take care of yourselves, Mark.”

  Yanking the door open, I hurry down the steps and damn near run to the car. Baz doesn’t miss a beat. He allows me to get buckled in before he pulls out of the driveway, and we’re gone. Once the house starts to disappear in the rearview mirror, I finally let out a deep breath. A tear trickles down my cheek, and I let it make its descent.

  “Are you okay?”

  I look in the back seat, watching Ava, as she bobs her head to whatever channel she’s watching on YouTube. Her pink earphones cover her ears, so I know she can’t hear us. She’s too immersed in her iPad.

  “She’s hers,” I say, getting straight to the point. It’s not what he asked, but I’m too afraid to say that I don’t think I’m okay. After finding out the truth, I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay.

  “You’re certain?”

  “Yes. There was never a foreign exchange program. It was all a lie to protect themselves. I still don’t know all the details. They said under the circumstances of how she got pregnant, it was their only option.”

  He pauses. “Do they know, about her?”

  “No.” I press my lips together in a grim line. “And they never will.”

  We have a quiet evening back home with Ava. The scar on her forehead is healing well. She was a bit tired for a few days after the incident, but she is resilient, exactly like Madison was. Baz surprised her with a bracelet, and because he’s as rich and ridiculous as they come, he had a custom medical alert bracelet made for her at Cartier. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to kiss him or slap him. Despite that, all that truly matters to me is that she’ll be safe. That is my main priority as her mother.

  The thought sends a pang through my chest. Because, even though she is mine, she isn’t. Her mother is dead. Her mother would never get the chance to see how beautiful her daughter is, and that hurts. That hurts because I want to give Ava the world, but I can’t. I want Ava to be mine and only mine, and I hate that a small part of me still feels like I am sharing her with my sister.

  Ava seems blissfully unaware of the mess that is her lineage, and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. I want to shield her from knowing the kind of pain I have for the rest of her life. But at some point, I know I’ll need to explain. Even if I am angry with my sister for keeping me in the dark, she deserves to have her daughter know who she is. All the good parts of her that I remember.

  With my untouched glass of wine, I watch the way Baz interacts with Ava. They’re both sitting on the floor, and she’s showing him her drawings. There’s an incredible softness that surrounds him whenever he’s near my daughter, and it makes my chest ache at how beautiful it is. Because Baz isn’t a man who is soft. He’s hard and unrelenting. He must sense the weight of my stare. While Ava is prattling on about this and that, Baz glances at me, his gaze searching my face and eating me up in my loose shirt and shorts. My legs are tucked under me on the couch as I watch them.

  His gaze heats my skin as I feel it trace across my exposed flesh. He glances away, back down at Ava, and his lip quirks as she continues. When she finishes her spiel about wanting to be an artist, Baz mentions something about Brazil that has me straightening.

  “In Brazil, where my family is from, my mom owns an art gallery there. You’d love it.” Ava’s eyes glow, her smile widening. “Maybe you and your mom can come with me the next time I fly down there to visit.”

  My breath catches, and when Ava glances at me, there’s hope shining in her eyes. “That would be so much fun, right, Mom?”

  “It would. Maybe one day you’ll have your own pieces hanging up there.” Her eyes widen at the idea of it, and she shoots to her feet, running down the hall toward her room.

  “I’ll be back, Mom,” she yells over her shoulder. “And don’t leave yet, Baz, I have one more picture to work on!”

  “Slow down, please,” I yell after her, thoroughly traumatized after her head injury. The last thing I need is her crashing into the wall in her haste.

  Baz pushes off the floor, leaving Ava’s work, and pauses in front of the couch next to me. I arch a brow at him, my lip quirking.

  “Brazil, huh? You know she’s not going to let you out of this. She’ll be expecting that trip.” Pushing off the couch, I crane my neck back to stare up at him.

  Baz chuckles. “I’m counting on it. There’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

  I heave a deep breath, suddenly feeling wary and assuming the worst. “What is it?”

  As if sensing where my thoughts are headed, Baz smirks and shakes his head. “I want to release a statement. About you and Ava. She’s already been pictured while out with us, and I’ll do whatever I can to protect her from the media, but it’s better that I give them something.”

  My stomach twists. “Okay, well, what are you thinking? Just flat-out saying she’s my adoptive daughter?”

  “Sort of. If we’re together, she’s a part of my life and that would make her my daughter, too. Not legally, but certainly in all the ways that count.”

  My breath catches and pressure builds behind my eyes. “Is that what you want?”

  “Absolutely.” I search his gaze, looking for a lie. Looking for a possibility that he doesn’t actually mean what he’s saying. But as we stare at each other, I can’t find a single lie in his gaze. Warmth spills into my chest, and my heart squeezes.

  “What are you saying to me?”

  Baz slides his hand around my waist, drawing my body against his, pressing my front flush with his. His large, calloused hand slides around the back of my neck, and he holds me there. His thumb strokes the delicate skin there, so at odds with the possessive hold. “I’m saying I want you. I want this. I want Ava in my life. I want to protect you both in all the ways that matter. Because I love you and Ava. That’s never going to change.”

  A single tear trickles down my cheek. I push onto the tips of my toes, and I kiss him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I tug Baz into me, pouring everything into the kiss because I’m suddenly incapable of words.

  “Are you going to move in now?” Ava’s voice cuts through the living room, and we pull apart. Her eyes are bright and filled with hope, and despite myself, I laugh. She’s about as carefree as they come.

  Dislodging from me, Baz heads toward her, dropping down to his haunches. “Maybe one day, if that’s what you and your mom want. But right now, why don’t we get dressed, and I’ll take you both out to dinner? A friend of mine owns a restaurant that serves your favorite.”

  Ava cocks her head to the side. “Better than Mom’s spaghetti?”

  I place a trembling hand over my mouth, trying to stop the impending sob that wants to fly free. I’ll never get tired of hearing her call me that. I didn’t think I’d ever get here with her, where she’d love and trust me so much that she’d view me as her mother. It’s the best feeling in the world.

  Baz leans in and whispers loudly, so I can hear, “Way better.”

  “Hey!” I complain, and Ava laughs at my expense.

  Setting my glass down on the table, I spare them another look, my chest full of love and hope, as I head toward the hallway to get dressed. I’m almost to my bedroom when I hear Ava’s next question, and my heart pounds as I wait to hear Baz’s answer.


  “Does that mean you’re going to be my dad now?”

  “Is that what you want? Do you want me to be your dad?”

  There’s a slight pause, then, “Well, yeah. You’d be the best dad ever.”

  A choked sound tumbles past my lips. It’s a sob filled with happiness because Baz’s response only confirms what I know to be true.

  I love this man with my entire heart.

  “There’s nothing I’d love more than to be your dad, Ava.”

  With a scotch in hand, I watch both of them sleep. There’s the low hum of the engine on the jet that most people find soothing, but it’s quite the opposite for me. Holding hands, Ava has her head leaned on Mackenzie’s shoulder while she sleeps, and Mackenzie’s head is resting on top of hers. They look peaceful and beautiful, a golden hint to their skin after the trip we’ve taken.

  It was their first time in Brazil, so I wanted to make it memorable for them. I plan on taking them back often, but as far as first impressions go, they love it there as much as I do. The culture and the people there are different than they are here, and it was beautiful, watching both of my girls take in the one place I’ve always considered to be an oasis.

  My girls.

  I never thought I’d get to a point in my life where a woman would mean so much to me, let alone two of them. But that’s exactly what’s happened. Mackenzie and Ava are my life. They are my heart and soul, and I’ll go to the ends of the earth to protect them. I find myself wanting to spoil them and give them everything. Ava is innocent and bright-eyed with an uncanny love for art and swimming. Mackenzie is as feisty as she is broken, and she is the strongest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever encountered. She reels you in with those stunning eyes and holds you captive with her heart. She is beautifully broken, slowly piecing her life together, and it is fascinating to watch her do it. Watch her overcome the pain of her past. I want to show her the world and give her the world while I am doing it.

  The trip went as perfectly as I had hoped it would. That is, until just a few days before we boarded the flight and I got the news from Dan. The good in my life always seems to be clouded by the bad.

  Mackenzie and Ava met my parents and my mom’s family in Brazil. It was love at first sight for them all. Especially my mother. She’s fallen in love with Mackenzie and has already started calling Ava her Neta, claiming her as her granddaughter. Blood relation or not. I am even more surprised that my father approves. He didn’t say it in words, but he didn’t have to. We are the same. I know what approval on his face looks like, and though I don’t need it from him, I appreciate it.

  Things were a bit awkward with Mackenzie and my father at first. He pretended he had no idea who she was while she knew that wasn’t the truth at all. It was obvious she was holding a lot of anger back still, but she was working through it. Learning to let the things in the past go that she now has no control over. By the end of our trip, Benedict and Mackenzie were on the same wavelength as they discussed her publishing deal, and he praised her for being a shark. There is nothing he approves of more than savvy business ventures.

  As promised, my mother took Ava to the art studio in Rio while I hung back with Mackenzie and fucked her senseless in the villa I own on the beach. I bought it when I racked up my first hundred million. It’s been a prized possession of mine since. It was the first time I wanted to share that piece of my paradise with someone else. And it’s no surprise that someone was Mackenzie. She is mine, and every time I’m inside her, I have this insane need to fill her with my cum and have her scream my name because it is music to my ears. The way she comes is beautiful, and the way her pussy feels wrapped around my cock is heaven.

  She still tries to hide pieces of herself from me. The scars that now litter her body, because of the accident, are what she’s most ashamed of. She works overtime to shield them from me, so I go out of my way to worship the imperfections on her skin. The scar that travels the length of her abdomen is the hardest to look at, not because of the brutality of it, but because it’s a reminder of everything I could’ve lost.

  I’m in love with this woman, scars and all.

  I could tell on the last few days we were there that Mackenzie and Ava didn’t want to leave. I understood the feeling well. It was leaving paradise for the real world, something none of us wanted to do. If I could stay here with them, keeping them safe from the Savages, the media, the people out to print stories and bury us in lies, I would. But that isn’t our world. That isn’t my world.

  The cabin lights are dim, the sky outside a blend of purples and oranges as the sun sets. My gaze narrows on the wispy clouds that we’re coasting through, my gut clenching with anger and worry. Dan called just a few days before we left Rio because of an incident at the resort. Zach had gotten onto the property and vandalized what he could before he was dragged away by security.

  This wasn’t his first outburst. They’ve been happening more and more frequently. He was ranting off to the media about theories, about Mackenzie and me ruining an innocent man’s life. He’s angry and lashing out because, slowly, I’ve stripped them of everything he ever relied on me for. His actions were the main reason I wanted to fly to Rio with Mackenzie and Ava. I wanted to give them that reprieve, but I also wanted a moment with my father, so we could talk.

  I needed to know he and my mother would be there to step in and protect Mackenzie and Ava in the event something ever happened. Because I’m not pulling any more punches. I am paying a good amount of money to put Zach and the rest of them away in order to protect my family.

  Benedict offered to get rid of them another way, but I refused. This is my mess, these are my brothers, and I’m not going to be a coward and make someone else do the dirty work for me. I’ll get rid of them, once and for all, if they continue to threaten the safety of my family.

  And that’s exactly what I plan to do once we land. I need to make the necessary moves to remove the Savages from my life.

  I shift on the bed and reach an arm out, but I’m met with cool sheets. At that, my eyes spring open. It takes me a second to realize where I am and why the bed next to me is empty.

  I’m in the penthouse. Not at home with Mackenzie and Ava.

  Home.

  When did her place become home to me?

  I split my time between the penthouse, my house back in the Hidden Hills, and Mackenzie’s place in Calabasas. It’s not ideal, but we aren’t in a place where I feel like uprooting Ava’s entire life into my home is a smart decision. She needs the stability and the familiarity of her own place, and I am well-versed enough to understand. I don’t like it, having to spend so much time away, but it’s become the normal as of late. It’s the only thing that makes sense right now—staying at the penthouse when I need to work late and staying at Mackenzie’s when I miss them.

  It is also something I plan to discuss with her eventually, once we take the next step in our relationship. I want to be with them at all times, and when things fall into a less hectic routine, I’ll discuss moving them in, but for now, I’ll have to deal.

  After the flight, I had Dan follow Mackenzie and Ava home, while I headed into the Hidden Hills back to the resort, to the damage and the mess left for me to pick up. The damage wasn’t as extensive as I thought, but it was enough that clearly shows Zach is desperate. He’s grasping at straws, and soon, he’ll have nothing. They all will. None of them are safe from my wrath.

  I felt betrayed.

  Betrayed that they’d lied to me for years and got me to protect them. I was angry at their audacity to try to take my woman from me. Though it was my last conversation with Vincent that didn’t sit right with me. He’s always been the most hotheaded and unpredictable, but he seemed like he was fraying at the edges. And he seemed angry that Zach would pretend to be him, as if he didn’t have a clue. When asked about that night, I expected him to remain silent. Only he didn’t, and the truth was much worse than I wanted to believe. Everything was adding up. And all of it was bound to break Macke
nzie’s heart again, so I’ve been holding it in. Keeping secrets until I can protect her and her heart from everyone that wants to hurt her.

  Anything to protect her.

  Pushing myself upright, I lean back against the headboard, my overactive brain already diving into work and figures. Chances are, I won’t be falling back to sleep anytime soon. Whenever I sleep with Mack at their place, I don’t have this problem. I sleep soundly, but whenever I’m not with her, I can’t sleep. All I can do is think. It keeps me up the whole night as I try to find ways to fix this, to make everything right, while running Kings and the resort chains.

  I haven’t heard from Vincent in so long, and that in and of itself is incriminating enough, but the rest of the guys…it feels like everything is falling apart because I fell in love with the girl who was wronged by my group of friends. My brothers.

  I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I see a shadow move toward the bed. My eyes widen when I realize it’s Mackenzie.

  “Mackenzie? Where’s Ava?” I ask, glancing around as though she’s going to suddenly appear. Without answering, Mackenzie perches on the edge of the bed, near my legs, staring at me. She cocks her head to the side and watches me.

  As we stare at each other, I can’t help but feel like something’s off, something different about her right now. She’s not the same. I can’t seem to put my finger on it. A small smile curls on her lips and the hairs at the back of my neck stand at attention because it’s a smile I’ve never seen from Mackenzie.

  “I see it now,” she says, and even her voice is different. I narrow my eyes, looking her up and down, trying to figure out what the fuck is happening.