Page 108 of Cruel Revenge
I can see it in front of me without him saying it.
Everything I’ve worked for is on the line. Everything I had to do to keep my family going, the way I built the family business back up from the ground after my father went to jail, and then again after I had him killed, it’s all hanging by a thread.
This is the moment I could lose everything.
But I’m not going down without a fight.
I push off the car, standing up straight, hands hanging loose at my side. “If we want to talk about trust, then maybe we should talk about why a hitman tried to kill Skyla.”
Grady smirks and shrugs. “Figured it would be a good way to send her a message. It looks like it was.”
“And now you think I should continue to work with you? When you decided that trying to kill my wife would be a good idea?”
He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Now, now, Joshua. We both know that she’s not your wife. It’s time that you give up the act.”
I press my lips into a thin line. “Yes, she is. I forgot to file the damn papers here. Still, what is it you want to leave us alone?”
“It’s not that simple. And I don’t believe you. As I see it, you took the working relationship we built, and you decided it wasn’t worth enough to you. Which means, I have a decision to make, too.”
Grady paces back and forth in front of me, each step making me feel sicker.
Grady stops in front of me. “The hitman was just a warning. You have twenty-four hours. You marry Emily, I continue to supplyyou, and Skyla lives. You choose not to marry Emily, and I kill you all. Simple choice.”
Scoffing, I rip open the door to my car and get in, slamming it shut.
There’s a rap on the window and as I roll it down, Grady leans closer, smirking, the scent of stale cigarettes on his breath.
The corner of his mouth curls. “If I were you, I would think about what you’re willing to do to keep that fake little wife of yours safe.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
SKYLA
“We need to end this.”Joshua walks into the apartment well after midnight.
My heart beats faster, blood rushing in my ears. “What are you talking about?”
I close my book and set it to the side, getting up and striding across the room to meet him.
His eyebrows are knit close together, and the lines at the corners of his mouth are deep.
He looks like he’s hovering on the verge of a breakdown.
What the hell happened with Grady?
As I reach up to touch his cheek, he grabs my hand.
He kisses the palm before dropping it with a sad smile.
There’s something at war in his mind right now. I can see it in his eyes and in the way he doesn’t quite focus on me, like he’s trying to see through me. Like it might be easier to tell me whatever itis he has to say if he doesn’t have to look at me while he’s saying the words.
I take his chin in my hand, forcing him to look down at me, to meet my eyes. “What happened?”
“We’re going to stop pretending to be married. Stop the relationship, stop living together, just stop all the shit.” His voice is raspy, but his tone is stern.
There’s no room for argument. But not arguing has never been my style.
“You didn’t answer my question.” I press my fingers into his jaw, pulling him closer to me. “What happened when you were meeting with Grady? Why are you trying to be a pussy and back out of this now?”
