Page 79 of The Complete Truth Duet
I swung my gaze around the yard, searching for Drew. He’d handled Dante once and nobody had died. Maybe he could do it again. I blew out a loud breath of relief when I found him prowling our way, a dark scowl hidden beneath a plastic smile.
“What’s up, brother!” Drew called out on his way over.
As Dante turned his unfocused eyes away, Penn whispered in my ear, “Go. Lock yourself in your apartment.”
I swallowed hard. If they tried to keep me from Dante, something he viewed as his property, it would only exacerbate the situation. The easiest and safest way was for me to face him and take whatever he wanted to dole out until his drugged-out mind got bored or passed out.
“No,” I replied. “I’ll handle this.”
Penn grabbed my arm, hauling me against his side, and seethed, “The fuck you will.”
I glared at him and then snatched my arm away. I could argue with Penn later, when Dante was gone and we were both still breathing.
Slapping on a smile, I stepped forward just as Drew arrived at Penn’s side. “I didn’t know you were coming over. Can I get you a drink?”
He chuffed. “A drink. A fucking drink.” He glanced around, searching for an audience, but the women had wisely scattered. “I find one of my fucking whores riding the janitor and the bitch asks if I want a drink?”
“I wasn’t—”
“You making him pay, Cora? Swear to God, you better not be giving my pussy out for free.”
Penn hit my back, but I gave his hand a quick squeeze, silently begging him not to do anything stupid. Insults from Dante were a way of life. They didn’t bother me. Though, if the suffocating rage firing off Penn was any indication, he could not say the same.
And Drew, well… “You got something to say, or are you just here to listen to yourself talk?”
“Shit, are you fucking her too?” He waggled his finger between Penn and Drew. “One in each hole, or are you two taking turns?”
Drew laughed like he actually found Dante humorous.
Meanwhile, Penn jerked, his straining chest getting even tighter at my back like it was costing him a great deal of effort to keep his hands at his sides and not planted in Dante’s mouth.
I gave him another squeeze, whispering, “Please don’t. He’ll leave in a minute. Just wait.”
Penn didn’t reply, but he didn’t move, either.
For me, it was a huge victory.
Getting Dante the hell out of there would have been an even bigger victory.
“So, what can I do for you? Did you need something?” I asked.
He turned to me and smirked. “Oh, right. So here’s the thing. I had a chat with Chrissy yesterday. I don’t know if you remember her, but apparently, Marcos turned her out a while back.” He scratched the back of his head. “That bitch is crazy. Made my damn ears bleed, she was talking so much. She wanted to come back, went so far as to lie to me and tell me you were keeping one of my personal girls as a pet.”
The blood in my veins caught fire as the air in my lungs turned to sludge. But I fought it all back, showing him no fear as I scoffed, “What? That’s nuts.”
He smirked. “Yeah. Some bullshit about a redhead. I didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about, so I decided to stop by and check in. See if you knew.”
I could barely think with the thundering of my heart in my ears. “Nope. I’m just as clueless as you.”
He shoved a hand into his pocket. “That’s what I thought. Cause you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
I shook my head, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach.
He grinned sardonically. “’Cause you remember exactly how much you have to lose, right?”
“Right,” I breathed, nodding repeatedly.
He tipped his head at Penn. “Like, say, you start fucking this asshole and get the idea in your head that maybe you don’t belong to me.”
“Oh for fuck’s—” Drew started, but I threw a hand out to silence him.
Stepping away from Penn, I forced a smile around the fire in my throat.
They were words I’d said before.
Words I’d once believed.
Words that had nearly destroyed me.
Words that I now knew were the biggest lies I’d ever told.
“I belong to you, Dante. I’m not sleeping with anybody. I would never disrespect all you’ve given me like that. I’m a Guerrero. Always and forever.”
He smiled, sick and twisted. “Lies have consequences, Cora.”
“I know. But I’m not lying.”
He held my stare, searching with glassy eyes.
I stared back, showing him nothing but the truth he wanted to see.
“Okay. As long as we’re clear.” He turned on a toe and drunkenly staggered toward the parking lot.
That was the exact moment I realized something was wrong.
Seriously, terribly, gravely wrong.
Dante never gave up that easily. Not until I had paid hand over fist for whatever he’d so much as thought I’d done.
