Page 15 of Traitor
“Anything for you, ma’am.”
I giggled as I leaned against the wall. “Oh, you’re such a dear. Listen, remember that little talk we had about what my husband would do to Lorenzo if pushed to his limits?”
“Yes.”
I sighed. “Well, he’s surprised me a little bit. I know he’s already given the command to your head of security to infiltrate Lorenzo’s home. Possibly to snatch up little Miss Charlotte and take her back to the beach house. Or some nonsense like that.”
“Do you have orders for me, ma’am?”
I felt my nostrils flare. “Volunteer as an aid on the team. You guarded Charlotte the entire time she was with my husband. I’m sure you can talk yourself onto the team. And when you do? Your orders are simple.”
I paused for effect just to keep Lyle on his toes. Then, I cleared my throat.
“I want you to kill Charlotte Pettigrew and make it look like an accident by Lorenzo.”
* * *
After tumbling down the stairs and trying my best to avoid the bulk of the trauma imposed upon me by the concrete steps, I sighed. I didn’t even bother pushing myself up off the ground. All I wanted to do was lay there and drown myself in the puddle that soaked my cheek. I curled my knees up to my chest and rubbed my wrists. I hated being chained up down here, but those fucking handcuffs were murder on my skin.
Nevertheless, I eventually picked myself up and stumbled around until I found the ratty cot that had been afforded to me from day one. I dropped onto it and laid down, closing my eyes to try and block out the rest of the world. The light down in this basement was sparse, to say the least. There wasn’t much of a difference between my eyes being open and my eyes being closed. But, with nothing else to do but roam around, I’d gotten pretty good at figuring out where everything was.
The furnace.
The water pipes.
The water shut-off valves.
The massive, grate-covered drain that led down into the sewers.
“Maybe I could pry it open with something,” I murmured to myself.
“Gotcha,” a voice hissed.
Out of nowhere, I felt a pair of hands wrap around my throat. My eyes bulged and my hands flew to the person’s wrists, and I quickly figured out that it was a man. There was a man in this basement with me, and I had no idea where the hell he’d come from.
“Help,” I choked out. “Somebody—please.”
The man’s hands squeezed tighter and the little bit of light that was afforded to me down here started to dim. I curled my fingernails against his skin, going so far as to feel his own blood dripping down my fingers. But, the growling man didn’t release me.
“Teo,” I wheezed.
“Not even he can save you now,” the man growled.
I recognize that voice.
I tried my best to focus my eyes and relax. And when my body went limp against the bed, I felt him release his grip just a little bit. I drew in a big breath of air before the man cursed to himself, tightening his grip in an effort to take me out for good.
Then, he dipped down just a bit too close to my face.
“Lyle?” I choked out.
Suddenly, there was a crash in the distance. I heard Lorenzo shouting upstairs as footsteps stumbled around on the floor above my head. I felt Lyle’s grip loosen even more as the outline of his head looked up, and I knew then and there that the commotion wasn’t planned.
“Fuck you,” I hissed.
I slid my knee between us and pressed against his groin, causing Lyle to pull away from me. I pulled my foot back and shoved my heel against his dick as the sound of tearing fabric and his helpless gasps of air hit my ears. Fuck him, fuck this, and fuck everything about this entire god damn island.
But, I didn’t even get to my feet before Lyle’s hand fisted my hair.
