Page 5 of Killian's Vengeance

I suddenly remembered being at my sister’s place, flashes of what happened next rolling through my mind. The man who had broken the door down. Him threatening and restraining me, shoving a gag in my mouth and throwing me on the bed. Then I remember the strange way he stared at me, his dark green eyes focused and intent through the eyeholes of the mask, as he injected me with some drug to knock me out.

Jesus, what was this about? I tried to imagine what I might have done to someone to make them do this to me but came up empty. I’d lived a pretty boring existence before today, and I doubted someone would resort to something like this over aggressive driving or cutting in the bathroom line at a bar.

Then it hit me. Lily.

This had to be related to Lily. Of course. Had she known this would happen? I wanted to say no, but unfortunately it was all too easy to believe she had. Her unexpected generosity was much easier to understand in light of all this.

I looked down and found my ankles similarly restrained but was relieved to see I still had my clothes on. Unfortunately, I desperately needed to use the bathroom. There were two doors in the room, one of them most likely led to a bathroom.

Now, I just had to find a way to get out of these cuffs. I examined them and saw that they had simple enough buckles, I just couldn’t figure out a way to unfasten them. It didn’t take me long to give up on trying.

I lifted my head and looked around the room. It was fairly large, but windowless with pale gray walls and low, recessed lighting emanating from the crown molding. It contained the queen-sized bed I was currently shackled to, a nightstand, a large, wooden wardrobe with drawers at the bottom, and a couple of pieces of equipment on the other side of the room. I thought it was gym equipment at first but realized I didn’t recognize any of it.

A multitude of questions flooded my mind. Where was I? Was I somewhere other people could hear me? Should I yell? Would I get in trouble if I yelled? Would they kill me? Would he kill me?

The biggest question rattling around my brain was whether I should tell them I wasn’t Lily. Would they kill me immediately if they realized they had the wrong person? I imagine they would, considering the lengths they went to in order to kidnap Lily in the first place. Well, kidnap me.

I dropped my head back on the bed, defeat and depression overwhelming me. I had a feeling I was dead no matter how I played this.

Before I could completely sink into despair, the door was flung open and a man entered, presumably the man who grabbed me from Lily’s. His identity was confirmed as he walked closer and I saw the same intense, dark green eyes I’d seen glaring down at me in Lily’s apartment.

I would have considered him wildly attractive if I’d seen him in any other context but this. His dark hair was cut very short on the sides, but slightly longer on top and contrasted dramatically with his emerald eyes. His features were sharp and angular, and his nose had a slight bump, as though it may have been broken in the past. And he was huge, which I noticed when he barreled in the door at Lily’s. My eyes wandered his wide shoulders, strong, sleekly muscled arms and a lean waist all encased in a close-fitting, black t-shirt.

Yes, he was definitely hot. Stupid hot. I had a fleeting thought that he’d be wonderful to photograph, already imagining him in black and white and how the light would play off the harsh lines of his face.

Unfortunately, he was looking at me like I was practically demonic, his eyes narrow and cold, his mouth compressed in a tight line of disgust and disdain.

What the hell had Lily done to this guy?

He folded his strong arms over his chest and stared down at me. “I’m hoping we can skip the annoying bullshit where you pretend you don’t know why you’re here.” His husky voice sent chills through me, but I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or desire. Even his stupid scary voice was sexy. Why did he have to be so hot and terrifying at the same time?

“I’d…I’d like to know why.” Lily probably did know why, but I sure as hell didn’t.

His jaw flexed. “Okay, play it that way. We know how you set up Mac, how you got him killed. You need to tell us where your boyfriend is and what Mac found out about you two.”

I gasped, my eyes bulging, anxiety ricocheting through me like pinballs. Murder?

What the fuck, Lily!

“I…I…um, well, I…” I had no idea what to say. How did I defend what he thought Lily had done? What Lily could have truly done, because, honestly, this accusation was not as shocking as it should have been. Oh, god, should I just confess that I was her sister?

He leaned over me, his hands bracketing me on either side of my head. “That’s what I thought. There’s nothing you can say to defend yourself, so save your fucking excuses. Just give me the information I want. Who is your partner and what did Mac find out about you?”

I stared up at him, wishing I could give him something, anything, to get a reprieve but I knew practically nothing of Lily’s life, let alone the people she spent time with.

I was momentarily distracted by the clean, strong scent of some manly smelling shower gel. He must have just taken a shower. It smelled so good, I closed my eyes and slowly inhaled, looking to calm myself down in some way. When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me oddly, his dark eyebrows pinched together in a seemingly bewildered expression.

He suddenly stood up, his expression now forbidding and angry. “Don’t even try your bullshit on me. I’m not Mac. I won’t fucking fall for it.”

I opened and closed my mouth, wanting to ask what “bullshit” he was referring to, but feeling like he would be even more angry if I asked.

Once again, his arms crossed over his broad chest and his expression was about as friendly as a nest of rattlesnakes. “You have one minute to tell me what I want to know, then I start providing encouragement.”

Shit. Who the hell knew what that meant? Torture? Maybe. Probably. By his expression and considering what he was accusing Lily of doing—definitely. I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified he’d kill me if he realized I wasn’t Lily. I needed to stall. Somehow.

“Look, I’ll answer all your questions if you just allow me to go to the bathroom.”

He scowled at my request and cocked his head as if determining my sincerity, a fair instinct considering I was lying about answering his questions. His eyes felt like two laser beams boring into my skull and searching out my deceit. After a long moment, he moved to my restraints, apparently agreeing to my offer.

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