Page 100 of Cruel Secrets

Martina sinks in around herself a little, shoulders slumping and gaze dropping to the table.

I’m not falling for the act.

She may listen to Noah without question, but I’m not stupid enough to think that she’s going to defer to me. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit.” I flick the safety off but keep the gun on the table where she can see it. “You’re going to tell me the truth now, or I’m going to have to hurt you, Martina. I don’t want to do that, but I will.”

“You may care for my daughter, but how do I know that you’re not going to kill her?”

Gritting my teeth, I lean forward. “Why would I kill her? You, on the other hand, are pushing the limits of my patience. When did Noah leave and what is he driving?”

Footsteps echo in the hallway and Martina tenses, glancing back toward the door.

It pushes open and Gia’s sister walks in, her shrewd gaze passing between the two of us before settling on me.

“You can’t be here,” she says, her tone low and dangerous as she strides toward the table and drags out a yellow chair to take a seat. “You’re going to get us all killed just for showing your face here.”

“The sooner you tell me when your brother left and what he’s driving, the sooner I leave you.” I shift my attention to Zoe, knowing the power shifted the moment she walked into the room.

Zoe smirks and nods to the gun. “You planning on doing something with that?”

“I will be if you don’t start talking. If anything happens to Gia—if Noah so much as touches a hair on her head or even looks at Bianca the wrong way—you’re going to be the first one to die.”

Martina gets up and scampers out of the room, the door swinging shut behind her.

I glance at Zoe. “Do I need to worry about her going to alert Noah?”

“Unlikely. She’s starting to see what a fucking psycho he can be.” Zoe crosses her arms, eyes narrowing. “Noah left an hour and fifteen minutes ago. Driving a green sedan. Something from the nineties but I don’t know what.”

Zoe arches an eyebrow, a silent challenge to me. She wants me to be the one to make the first move, I can see it in her eyes. If I attack her, she has a reason to kill me, and Gia won’t be as upset with her for it.

At least, that’s what she thinks.

It’s clear that everyone thinks less of Gia and what she’s capable of.

I stand, shoving back from the table, picking up the gun and putting the safety back on. As I slide the gun into the leather holster, Zoe leans forward, her red-painted nails drumming on the table.

She bites the inside of her cheeks before nodding. “You might be good for her.”

“I don’t care about your opinion, and to be honest, if I had things my way, Gia wouldn’t have any contact with you or the rest of your family for the rest of her life. She would be better off for it. None of you have any interest in actually protecting her or Bianca.”

“Don’t tell me how I feel about protecting my sister. There are other things going on beyond what you think is happening.”

“Are you going to tell me anything useful, or are you going to continue to be cryptic for the sake of wasting time?” I glance at the watch on my wrist. “My brother is going to be here in less than ten minutes.”

“From what I hear, you’re the killer in the family. I’m not scared of Aiden Lynde. He might be the leader, but you were the one who was built to be the enforcer.”

I brace my hands on the table, leaning closer to her. “Then you should be scared of me. I have no reason to let you live.”

“Noah crossed out of the city and hit the highway twenty minutes ago. Got stuck in nearly an hour’s worth of traffic on the Upper East Side after an accident.”

I can still catch up with him.

Zoe stares at me—or rather her gaze has a way of making me feel uncomfortable just standing in front of her. It’s like she’s seeing every part of me, even the ones I try to hide deep beneath the surface where I’m sure that nobody is ever going to find them.

I don’t like it.

Her fingers keep drumming on the table, her body tense. It seems like she’s torn between saying too much and not saying enough.

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