Deadly Truths: Kiss Her Goodbye #3

by Royce, Rebecca

  He was wrong. “No, he’s not.”

  “Everly, you don’t understand the connection they have. Judson broke rules for her and he never does that. That is his twin sister. He always thought despite all her flaws that she walked on water.”

  Religious analogies aside, they hadn’t seen what I had right before we were all knocked out by whatever gas they’d used on us. She’d touched him, and he’d knocked her hand away. He didn’t like to be touched indiscriminately, and he hadn’t wanted his twin to even touch him. At the same time, he’d held onto me as we were going under. Judson loved me. I didn’t have to compete with his sister even if these were normal circumstances.

  I shook my head. “You guys are wrong. You’ll see. Judson won’t betray us.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Warden sighed. “If you can still see anything other than betrayal everywhere you look, then you’re not as dark as you think you are, Evy.”

  “Or maybe I just see the world accurately this time. I promise you, I’m not beyond seeing the dark edges. Before we get out of here, things will get deadly.”

  Judson strode in. She’d given her brother exactly the right clothes. He was in dark pants and a light blue button up shirt he’d rolled up to the elbows. All three of the men in the room stared at him for a long second.

  I sighed. “We were just discussing whether or not you’re going to turn on us for your sister.”

  I wasn’t lying to any of them anymore unless it was to save their lives. Or if I ever got to do something like throwing a surprise party. Did people even get to do normal things like that?

  Judson sighed and strode to the coffee. “I can’t blame you all for your worry. I’d do the same thing but I can assure you that…”

  Trace elbowed him. “I’m sure we’re on camera. And Everly took your side one hundred percent. Your sister has gotten to see enough of that, I imagine. Let’s not antagonize her anymore.”

  “Good call.” Judson took my hand and tugged me to him. “This is a fucking nightmare.”

  The cursing told me all I needed to know. Jud was on edge. “I’m going to save us all. Somehow.”

  “Everly, she was always…”

  She strode in the room like she walked on air. If I’d wondered about the dress I needn’t have bothered. She was in her own version of what she wanted me in, only her too-fancy-for-breakfast attire was pure white, like she could get married in it. I tried and failed to not roll my eyes.

  “Oh good you’re all here.”

  As if she hadn’t known that. I hated the sound of her voice. “Derrick isn’t here.”

  “Derrick is occupied.” She smiled at me with nothing but pure malice coming from her. “We had quite the reunion last night.”

  I swallowed. She wanted me to think they’d had sex. I didn’t believe that for a second. If she’d actually been in Derrick’s bed she wouldn’t have to brag about it this morning. Being well loved gave off an aura that was impossible to miss. Good sex with him would have made her glow. I knew from personal experience.

  I didn’t doubt they’d had a reunion. Now, I needed to worry about his health. “Is he in the hospital?”

  Trace choked on the intake of a sip of coffee.

  She ignored me. “I’m sure he’ll be out soon. There is food you know. Not just coffee. If you are all going to think to plot escape or my death, you should do it on a full stomach. The sooner you’re all fed we can start the real work of making this work between us.”

  I stared at her. If she wasn’t careful, I was going to put a knife through her eye. I knew how to do that now. I could even try for more accuracy this time. Judson’s movement caught my attention. His hands weren’t steady as he poured his coffee.

  This was going to be hell on him. Derrick, too, wherever he was.

  She wasn’t just another enemy. This opponent came with enough emotional baggage that it could have filled this entire house.

  “We’re in Hawaii?” I changed the subject. “You kept us knocked out a long time.”

  “We are.” She smiled. “But don’t think to get away. One word from you out there or any attempt to escape and one of the guys will shoot you in the head. They’re getting to be much better shots. You took out most of my most experienced men. That was really something in the hotel. I mean, to even shoot your father, Everly.”

  I shrugged. “You might be surprised how easy it is to kill your father. Yours is dead, right? Otherwise we could try it. Too bad. It’s an experience I think perhaps everyone should try. Really, with a gun it’s just point and click.”

  She opened and closed her mouth. If she was going to do crazy—and it seemed Alyssa wanted to somehow combine utter lunacy with who could be bitchier—then I was going to do it bigger than she would.

  Alyssa slammed her hand down on the counter, all the façade of calm suddenly gone. “Listen, we are going to get something straight here.”

  Derrick took that moment to come in the room. He had a black eye, and for a second I could only see red. She’d either hurt him or had him injured. No one hurt the men I loved. He must have seen death in my eyes because he quickly came over and wrapped me in a hug from behind. It looked affectionate, and it was, but I understood his second purpose was to restrain me from launching myself at her.

  “You’re still my husband, Derrick. Kindly get your hands off of her while you’re with me.”

  He shook his head and didn’t let go. “I only promised until death did us part. You died. Just because you faked it doesn’t mean the death certificate doesn’t count. You’re not my wife. You’re just some crazy lady who I have to deal with now and probably have to put a bullet in your head. Sorry, Judson.”

  Judson didn’t answer. He watched the whole scene with his eyes wide. So far, and I only had two instances to go by, it was like every time Alyssa showed up part of Judson seemed to check out. I wondered if that was a new thing from the trauma of this whole insanity or if that had always been the way between them. Even he had said Alyssa was impossible to resist, difficult to say no to. I could now see why. She simply plowed forward and demanded she have what she wanted.

  I could admire that if she wasn’t the worst person on the planet. That was saying a lot, considering I was really pretty awful myself.

  “We are going to sit down and talk now.” She looked me up and down like she was really seeing me for the first time. “Are you in your bathrobe?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “I left you a dress. Are you blind? Do we need to get a doctor to see you?”

  I shook my head. “No. I just didn’t like the dress.”

  “I am not dealing with you like this. No one told me you were so obtuse.”

  Who would she have talked to about me? Pretty much the only people who truly knew me in the last eighteen months or so were in the room here, and she hadn’t been conversing with any of them. I almost asked her but thought better of it. There were men with guns, and I didn’t have one. I had to keep that in mind even though I was seriously pissed off. Only children couldn’t get control of their tempers.

  I’d have a temper tantrum later when I was armed.

  “Go put on some clothes,” she ordered me. “And everyone meet me in the conference room. Whether you live or die is up to you. Well, not Derrick and Judson. You two I would never hurt.” She actually batted her eyelids.

  I turned in Derrick’s arms. “You liked that? That was the woman you pledged to love forever?”

  “I was young. I thought she was elegant.” He kissed my temple. “Second time around I decided I preferred a woman who pulled a gun out of my hands and threatened to shoot me.”

  I touched his eye, and he winced. “You need some ice. What happened?”

  “She thought we might get friendly. I stopped it. She decked me. I’ll be fine. It’s nothing.”

  I sighed. “I have to go get dressed. I may push issues before this whole thing is over but not on this. I’ll put on the dress she picked out since I’m to be
her living doll at the moment.”

  “Kade.” A man I’d never seen before entered the room. He wore a black silk shirt that was too big on him and a pair of jeans. His blond hair was shaggy, puffy, like it was too long but didn’t want to grow down, just out.

  Kade jumped to his feet. “Mercer, you piece of shit. What the fuck?”

  The other man had the good taste to look down at his feet for a second. “Kade, I’m in love with her.” He took a step back. “Sorry, Derrick.”

  D laughed. “Take her.”

  “Fuck me.” Judson turned around, gripping the counter.

  I tugged out of Derrick’s arms and walked to Judson. “Come with me. I’ve got to go look pretty. I could use help with the zipper.”

  He nodded but didn’t look at me. “Okay.”

  “Thanks.” I took his hand in mine. “We’ll be right back. Oh, Mercer is it?” The man turned to face me so I spoke again. “I’m Everly Marrs. Is everyone here in love with her?”

  He blinked. “Not everyone. The guards are getting paid but some of us are. Like you guys.”

  I didn’t know who or how this worked for Alyssa, but I could promise him—although I would say nothing for the sake of not giving anything away—that they were nothing like us. I loved these men, heart and soul.

  I wasn’t sure Alyssa had either of those things.

  * * *

  The dress fit like a glove, and Judson noticed. That much he responded to. He had otherwise not said a word since we’d gotten in the bedroom. When I tried to speak, he put his finger to his mouth. We were being watched, and so far what we’d all said had been pretty innocuous, things she would expect us to say. He didn’t want me continuing. We weren’t safe just because we were in our bedroom.

  But this was a huge problem, because if we couldn’t communicate, how would we ever work together on any attempt to get out of here?

  He walked up behind me, zipping it up. I felt the slight tug of the material as the dress tightened on me.

  Judson bent over and kissed my neck. “You make that dress. It’s stunning on you.”

  “Are you okay, J?” I used the letter on purpose. I knew we were in that kind of tension. The Letters kind of stress.

  He breathed against me, and when he spoke, it was in a whisper. “E, I feel like I might explode, like every bit of me is destroyed. When this is over, whatever is left, I don’t know. If we live through this, feel free to lock me up because I will be crazed.”

  I turned and hugged him to me. I answered him the same way he had, a whisper in his ear. “Hold on to yourself, Judson. When this is over, we’ll put you back together the same way you put me back together.”

  He stared at me for a moment. “She’s my sister. How could she have done this? How could she have let me think she was dead? Fake her death? I mean… fuck. Fine. Fake her death. Tell me. That’s my twin sister. We shared life before we had… consciousness.”

  “I don’t have an answer for you. But we’ll figure it out. I promise we will.”

  He nodded. “Turn around. Let me look at you?”

  I stepped back and spun so he could look. I should have hated the dress. It was open straps in the back so some of my skin showed through. The evidence of the beatings I took in Ben’s basement was evident, viewable by anyone who saw me. Yet, right then I didn’t care. They were my battle wounds, and I was going to war.

  It also wasn’t lost on me that Judson had called me E. It was a result of me calling him J. I understood why it happened. And yet, he’d sort of just made me a Letter.

  I could do this. I could be E.

  I kissed him on the lips. “You can stay in here. Take a nap. Don’t go to this meeting. Why bother? You know she’s just going to poke at all of us.”

  “I need to be there. This is my torture, and it’s being plunged on all of you like some kind of virus, like a plague. I won’t leave any of you to do this alone. You’re my woman. And they have really become my brothers, even if that is really fucked up.”

  I didn’t let go of him. “If you’re coming, then you can’t fall apart. Not now. Not until later. That sounds cold, but we have to be. Right now, we’re not allowed to feel anything about this. If you can’t do that, then stay here.”

  I wouldn’t baby him. Judson wouldn’t do that to me in the same situation. Sometimes you needed the person who loved you to tell you to suck it up and deal. He could stay here and have a breakdown, but if he came with me, we were J and E.

  That was how this worked.

  He nodded at me. “Got it.”

  I really believed he did.

  16

  There were similar decorating styles between Judson and his sister. They both liked clean lines and big open spaces. It was ridiculous to notice things like that given the circumstances, but life was made in the small details. Maybe it would matter.

  We sat around the table, the six of us and Alyssa with her four men. She used to have eight. That was bizarre to think about. How on Earth had she managed that? I couldn’t fathom it. I was barely treading water loving these five men. How did she make sure they all got what they needed from the relationship? I wasn’t at all sure I was doing that.

  She and I could be besties, comparing notes. How did a woman love multiple Alliance men at the same time in this modern world where they had to pretend to be people they weren’t? But she was a psycho bitch—and I hated that word but it applied—and I wouldn’t ask her for advice on what kind of gum to buy, let alone how to love anyone.

  I stared at them all. It wasn’t clear to me that she loved anyone at all. Or maybe she did. I didn’t know her, and I hoped I didn’t have to.

  For a bad person with a plan, she didn’t say much.

  I looked around. Next to her was Marcus. Bland Marcus who no one could understand how he did things or why he did. Well, it all made sense now. He wasn’t. He was the face in front of Alyssa. Alyssa who couldn’t be out front both because she was a woman and because she was technically dead. Next to her on the other side: Mercer. Alyssa and her M men. I could do a whole word play with that if I had the time to contemplate such things.

  Mercer had probably been the one to take over the elevators in the hotel, to lock Kade out. He was the reason the Letters couldn’t get to Derrick and me that day. But my father could. He’d be the person to get a definitive answer from on that subject. I chewed on my lip. Not now but maybe someday.

  I didn’t know the other two or who the four she had lost were, only that she’d had them and that I garnered quickly from Kade before we sat down. Mercer had let that much slip.

  Alyssa placed her hands in front of her, and she linked them together. I stared at her nails. She had a French manicure. How had she had that done? She’d been stuck inside a house and hadn’t come out. Oh, wait. That was probably bullshit. Mercer could outplay Kade. At least for now. Kade would figure this out, of that I had no doubt.

  “You have been nothing but problems for me.” She sighed, her shoulders going up and down. I knew she was considered beautiful, that Derrick had wanted her, that she was glamorous, but right now she just looked brittle to me, like she hadn’t had enough time in the sun or never smiled. Her dark hair was long and silky, her cheekbones high. I would have killed for her perfect-for-clothes figure. And yet… the look altogether wasn’t working for her. Alyssa looked like a woman about to break.

  I just had to push her over her edge.

  One way or another.

  “How so?” Trace asked her. “Because the last time I checked, I was minding my own fucking business and you had someone shoot me. You killed the mark I’d been working on for years. Warden, too. I’d say you’ve bothered us a lot more than we bothered you. We didn’t even know you were alive.”

  She waved her hand in the air. “You killed four of my loves. You two are still here. In the end, you’ve hardly even been inconvenienced. The whole thing brought lovely Everly right back to you. How… charming.”

  Trace opened and closed h
is mouth. I took that chance to jump in. “We killed four of your loves? How did we do that? Last I checked, we hadn’t killed anyone except…” The truth dawned on me. “The hotel. Ben and the other Alliance council. Were you with the entire Alliance council? Were you with Ben?”

  Her facial expressions remained solemn. “I loved Ben very deeply. I am who I am because of him.”

  “He is who you used to fake your death.” Derrick sat back in his chair. “They kept me tied up, while they hurt you. And then they dumped your body in front of me.”

  “Well…” She scrunched up her nose. “They dumped a body in front of you. It wasn’t me, and you didn’t look that closely. I don’t blame you. It was horrific looking. Ben gave me a look-see before he brought that poor girl in.”

  A muscle ticked in Derrick’s jaw. “You planned it with Ben from moment one?”

  “Oh no, my darling. Of course not. I screwed up. I went to him, trying to work with him to improve your situation, gave away my knowledge of the Alliance, and he tortured me. Just as you thought. Just as he did to sweet Everly over there.”

  This woman made me want to choke on her bullshit endearments. Sweet? I’d show her sweet when I choked the life out of her body. I shot Judson a quick look. He stared at his sister, and I couldn’t get a clear reading from him how he was doing. I’d told him to hold it together, which I knew was asking a lot. Was he doing it? Maybe I couldn’t just kill her. This was his twin sister. He might want her alive and somehow rehabbed.

  Fuck this entire situation. If someone was dead, they should stay dead.

  “So he tortured you and then you ended up having sex with him?” This was the first time Judson had spoken since we sat down. He narrowed his gaze as he asked his sister the question. There was no emotion to it otherwise. He might have been asking her what car she decided to buy.

  She smiled. “I turned his desire to hurt me into his desire to fuck me. It wasn’t that hard. Well, I shouldn’t say that. Ben didn’t have sexual desires at first, not that I could tell. I managed to bring him around. I’m that good. In the end, we loved each other. For a while, I worried you were about to do the same thing, Everly, considering how you seem to be collecting men.”