Vicious Lies (Lies 1)

d back,” I order.

For once, Liesel listens as I squat down to stare at the bastard. I should be thanking him. He gave me a reason to be in Liesel’s life again.

Then I heave him up over the railing and watch as his body falls down the twelve stories and hits the sidewalk below.

There is a soft screech that reaches our ears from up here.

People will believe it was a suicide. I’ll take care of the security cameras so no one knows we were up here with him.

Even if the police don’t believe it, they won’t trace his death to us. And if they found out someone in the Black family was involved, they wouldn’t care. They know they have no power against us. We rule wherever we go.

I grab Liesel’s arm—she trembles at my touch, and then I lead her back inside, off the balcony. Just because I can convince the police of anything doesn’t mean I want to deal with them.

Liesel doesn’t comment on how I decided to deal with the body. She may not have spent her life killing, but she’s watched me kill. She’s watched Enzo and Zeke. She’s seen as much death as I have. She’s felt as much loss.

She’s just as broken and fucked up as I am.

I stop us in the hallway, and I cage her in, putting my arms on either side of her head. She doesn’t act like she’s trapped, though.

That’s because she’s not. My tricks don’t work on her, just like hers don’t work on me.

“We’re done then. I won’t see you again for six months or more. And when we both go to our friends’ birthday parties for their kids, we won’t speak to each other. Yes?” Her voice is sharp, full of authority.

She’s my rival in every sense. Even if I was okay with her suggestion, I wouldn’t let her win this easily.

I lean in, our faces inches apart until she can feel the power of every word I say to her.

“We aren’t done, baby. I did you a favor. I killed for you. There was a time I would have done it for free, but not anymore. Now you owe me a debt.”

Her nostrils flare, her pupils dilate, and her heartbeat jumps in her throat.

I drag my eyes down her body one last time—over her perfect blonde curls, down her sharp clavicles to her full breasts, over her lace-covered stomach, drooling as I continue down her hips to the slit revealing her toned legs. She’s every man’s dream—but she’s my nightmare.

“I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want your money.”

She takes a shuttered breath. I have no doubt that her panties are soaked.

I let my eyes darken. I let my voice deepen. I let every bit of the menacing beast inside me roar to life. The part of me that scares most people, but will only turn Liesel on even more.

That will confuse her even more than she’s already perplexed.

She thinks I came for her, and I did. She’s terrified of what I could do to her. And she should be because I’ll take more than she can ever imagine.

“You owe me a debt, Liesel Dunn. You’ve owed me a debt for a long time. And soon, I plan on collecting.”

7

Liesel

I owe Langston a debt.

He thought those words would scare me. He thought he could just demand I give him whatever he wants because he killed for me.

I don’t think so.

He calls me huntress, but I’m so much more—lawyer, badass woman, queen. I don’t take orders from anyone. I don’t owe anyone. Especially not an egotistical man on a power trip who negated our agreement when he killed Fitz instead of letting me do it like we agreed.