Legacy of Lies (Empire of Lies 3)

I don’t say anything. I’ve been fine—actually more than fine with the thought of him getting back at people if they’d hurt him somehow, and I’ve tried to justify that whenever I touched myself and envisioned his face. But the idea that he is capable of killing whoever, whenever is a hard pill to swallow.

“You should, however,” he says, still talking, “take this as a forever lesson to follow my fucking instructions, if you enjoy living. It’s either that, or Option B.” He starts the car again, and all of a sudden, those last six words from his lips trigger a haunting memory from our honeymoon. And now, I finally have the urge to jump out of the goddamn car.

He suddenly locks the door and picks up his speed, as if he can read my mind.

“How did you find me in the woods the first time I got away from you?” I ask as images of our honeymoon starting to play in my mind.

“That’s a very odd choice of question for this moment,” he says. “I don’t believe it’s your turn in the question game yet.”

“Answer me,” I hiss. “How did you find me at the exact point, the exact tree?’

He remains silent.

“How about here in Mexico, then?” I say. “I’ve switched rooms more than once and this isn’t the resort where you told me to go. How did you know?”

“You mean, outside of the fact that you stole my fucking bank account information and used it when you booked the first room?” He rolls his eyes, and then he looks over at me. He lifts my left hand and taps the ring. “You never took it off. Despite everything, you never took it off.”

“I don’t understand…”

“I do remember saying, I’ll always find you.” His voice is terse. “I meant that, so I made sure there was a way to do so.”

I’m silent for several seconds, slowly realizing that there has to be some type of tracking device in my damn ring. My heart jumps, ready to say, “See? He was protecting you the whole time! Take him back right now and discuss the issues later.”

I open my mouth to say something along those lines, but logic catches my tongue.

“Wait a minute,” I say. “If that’s true, why did you take the ring away from me on our honeymoon, on the day you kidnapped me? You weren’t sure whether you were going to go through with saving me at that point, were you?”

“Meredith…”

“Be honest,” I say, on the verge of losing my sanity all over again. “You had second thoughts right after I married you…”

“Yes.” He pauses. “I did.”

“Are you still having second thoughts?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I was,” he says. “This conversation is over for now.”

“It’s over forever,” I say. “Just take me to the airport, so we can be done with each other once and for all.”

“That’s exactly where I’m fucking taking you.” He drives a little faster on the highway, and I wipe away the last stream of tears I plan to ever cry about this fucked up excuse of a relationship.

I should’ve seen this shit from the very beginning…

Meredith

Before

The last night of our honeymoon

Heavy waves are rolling over the white-sand beaches, and the low tide is revealing coral colored seashells and abandoned flip-flops. There’s a summer storm brewing in the distance, but for now, the skies are bright blue.

For the past several days, Michael and I have flown over the islands of Key West, swam side by side in the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, and fucked the nights away in hidden corners and alleys.

I’ve lost count of how many times he’s brought me to orgasm with his mouth, how many times he’s owned my pussy on the balcony and made me scream his name. Sex with him is a dream, and I never want either of us to wake up.

I can’t believe this is my new life…

I walk over to the penthouse balcony and breathe in a deep whiff of the salty ocean air. Settling onto a hammock, I pull down my floppy hat and pick up my tablet—pressing play on our wedding video. I’m blushing with every development onscreen, as if I wasn’t there in the leading role a week ago.

Onscreen, Michael and I are dancing in the grand ballroom. My custom black dress is sparkling under the dim lighting, and he’s holding me tightly against his chest. His fingers are secured around my waist, and he’s whispering how he can’t wait to fuck me when this is all over. The wedding guests are standing around and watching, smiling and applauding as he dips me low.

Bringing me up again, he pulls me close and presses his mouth against mine for a long, deep, and highly inappropriate kiss that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.