Lie

180 Pages·2020·0.26 MB·english

by  Penelope Sky

LIE
BETROTHED #8
PENELOPE SKY
Hartwick Publishing
Lie
Copyright © 2020 by Penelope Sky
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ONE
HEATH
I , I’ D I’
T WAS LATE AT NIGHT IN THE BAR THE VERY BAR WHERE D AMBUSHED AMIEN THE NIGHT D
intended to execute his old man. I had a scotch on the rocks, not my usual choice, but they were out of
vodka.
Balto stared at me with a rigid expression, his large size blocking out a portion of my view because
he had burly shoulders and his body was a thick mass. Whenever he grabbed his drink, he always
used his left hand, and on his ring finger was the skull diamond identical to my own. “How’s Vox
behaving?”
“I thought you didn’t care about that shit anymore?” When Balto handed over the reins, he’d washed
his hands clean and wanted nothing to do with his former business. He never asked questions, never
got involved, said he was a retired man.
“I care about the men staging a coup against my brother.”
“Not gonna happen.” I had eyes and ears everywhere, spies against spies. Vox wasn’t silent about his
distaste for the new leadership, obviously finding Balto’s decision incredibly biased. Vox was a
brutal man, a soldier who had the cruelty that was required in leadership. He probably would’ve
made a good leader.
But too bad, because it was me.
“Don’t be arrogant. Never be arrogant.”
“You’re the most arrogant man I know,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m retired. I can afford to be headstrong.” He lifted his hand and pointed at me. “You can’t.”
Not too many rulers could get advice from their predecessors like I could. Former Skull Kings
usually handed over their titles when they died. Balto’s retirement was unconventional. But now, I
always had an experienced mind to give me advice, not that I needed it much.
“And Damien?”
That man was a goddamn joke. He’d pissed me off when he pretended to be too good to submit, but
then he got my brother mixed up in the bullshit and that just made me angrier. Then he had the audacity
to threaten me, again, when I was the one who let his sister go.
In his defense, he had no idea about Catalina. “He’s a pain in the fucking ass.”
“Still?” Balto eyed me incredulously, mirroring my reactions because of his identical features. “How
can the man still be a problem? Your job is to eliminate problems. Why is this guy still walking
around and breathing?”
“You were the one who saved his ass.” I took a drink, the ice cubes sliding and tapping against my
lips. I let the booze wash down my throat and into my stomach, the usual burn absent because I’d been
drinking hard for so many years.
“I owed him. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t honor my debts?” His arms rested on the table,
and his shirt was tight on his muscular arms. He wasn’t the leader of an underground army anymore,
but he kept his remarkable fitness at the same level as if he was still in charge.
“You never told me how he saved your life.”
“Doesn’t matter. Deal’s over.”
My brother wasn’t much of a talker. I was definitely more of a conversationalist. “How’s the wife?”
He gave me a glare.
“What? I’m not asking because she’s hot.” I loved to get under my brother’s skin, push his buttons,
and talking about his brunette woman sitting at home was the best way to accomplish that.
His blue eyes darkened noticeably as his fingertips rested on the rim of his glass. He stared me down
like he wanted to slam my face into the surface of the table. But, of course, he never did anything,
because I was his flesh and blood. “She’s fine.”
“Shouldn’t your wife be more than fine?”
“Shut the fuck up, Heath.”
I leaned forward. “Maybe I could teach you some moves. Maybe you’ve gotten a little rusty—”
He slammed his glass down. “I will break this into shards and shove them into your eyes.”
I raised both hands in a form of a mocking surrender and leaned back. “Alright…just trying to help.”
A babe in a short dress came to our table, her eyes on Balto first. “Hey, I’m Tess.”
My brother became a committed and monogamous man when he met Cassini, which was fascinating
because he used to be deep between a woman’s thighs every night of the week. He was either at the
whorehouse or at the bar, picking up a new woman for entertainment. But ever since he settled down,
he didn’t look, didn’t even glance, at someone other than his wife. That was exactly what he did now
as he rejected her. “I’m married.” He brought his glass to his lips and took a drink, his eyes still on
me.
Tess looked at me next. “Please don’t tell me you’re married too.”
I patted my thigh. “Nope. Come on down, sweetheart.”
She smiled as she moved into my lap, her arm circling my neck. “I prefer the tattoos anyway…”
I pulled up my sleeve to my shoulder and revealed my flexed bicep. “Then check it out.” I pointed out
the different images in black ink, knowing women got a kick out of all the demented stuff I put on my
skin. She touched me every chance she got, leaning closer into me like she was already prepared to
sweat on my sheets.
Balto kept drinking, staring at his glass so he wouldn’t have to watch me get frisky with Tess.
She drank my entire glass before she pouted her lips. “All gone.” She got off my lap and stood near
the table. “How about I get us a few more rounds?”
I relaxed into the wooden chair. “Good idea, sweetheart.”
She turned around and headed to the bar.
I looked at my brother again. “Jealous?”
His eyes smoldered in annoyance. “That bitch has nothing on Cassini.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But she’s easy.”
“You’re easy.”
“Is that an insult?” My eyes went to the bar to watch my piece of ass fetch us drinks, but then I noticed
somebody else who looked familiar. With long brown hair, an athletic and petite figure, and rocking
heels that were so high they seemed impossible to walk in, she looked just like my former prisoner.
She was with a group of other women, all similar builds, all wearing short dresses with the intention
of having a good time this evening. She ordered a shot right away, downed it, and then threw her arms
in the air to release a shout. “Yaaasssss!”
Shit, it was her.
Balto noticed my sudden change in mood. “What?”
“There’s a woman over there that I think I know.” I continued to watch her hang out with her crew,
hog the bar, and commander the bartender’s complete focus. The woman I’d had on my lap minutes
ago was standing at the bar, being ignored because she couldn’t compete with that group of women.
A few guys stood at one of the tables, dressed in suits like they’d just finished their jobs at the office
before coming to the bar to wind down. One guy in particular was staring at Catalina.
She ordered a vodka cranberry and did a little dance between her girlfriends, shaking her hips from
left to right like she was ready to salsa.
One of the guys approached her, a playful grin on his face, and walked right behind her. He was a
decent-looking guy, but I knew Catalina could do much better. He was about to get rejected, buy her a
drink that would never turn into sex.
But then he did something I didn’t expect.
He squeezed her ass.
Both of my eyebrows rose at the very stupid thing he’d just done. “He just fucked with the wrong
woman…”
Balto turned in his seat to see what I was talking about.
Just as I expected, Catalina turned around and didn’t shrink down at the size of her assailant. Her eyes
were filled with the flames of hell as she slowly walked forward, sizing up her opponent. He was
nearly a foot taller than her.
Did she care? Nope.
One hand was on her hip, and her short blue dress was constructed of straps across her body and in
various other places, leaving lots of beautiful skin to be viewed. With her long hair, bright eyes, and
legs for days, she was definitely the most beautiful woman in that bar. She cleaned up pretty damn
good. “Do you want to die, motherfucker?”
Stupidly, he smiled because he didn’t see her as a threat whatsoever. “I was just trying to get your
attention, sweetheart.”
“Congratulations.” With the same unparalleled speed she’d shown me behind the theater, her hand
moved to his crotch and she gripped one side of his sac through his slacks. “You have my full
attention, asshole.” Then she squeezed.
The guy tried to cover his scream, but he couldn’t. It was unmistakable, even over the music playing
from the speakers. He tried to push her wrist away to free his balls, but when he tried to push down,
her fingers inched closer together. She was like a crab—the more you tried to get free, the harder she
squeezed.
“I’m sorry, does this hurt?” she asked loudly so everyone could hear.
He whimpered, breathing hard through the excruciating pain. He gave a quick nod.
“My bad.” She squeezed his entire sac with all her fingers. “Did I just humiliate you in front of your
friends?” Her voice was filled with sarcasm, and she destroyed his dignity right in front of everyone
in the bar. “You want me to let you go and leave you alone?” She tilted her head and started to talk in
a baby voice.
He nodded, seething.
“Then don’t try that shit again.” She released his balls and stepped back.
He fell backward into his two friends then kneeled over as he breathed through the pain. “Get me
some fucking ice.”
I watched the episode unfold, thoroughly entertained.
Balto turned back to me, slightly impressed. “Is that her?”
I nodded.
He grabbed his glass and finished it off. “I like her.”
BALTO TOOK OFF, and then it was just Tess and me. But I was more distracted by the magnetic
brunette who’d stolen everyone’s attention inside the bar. She didn’t pay for a single drink because
rounds were constantly purchased by her admirers. And she was so free, moving with a self-
assurance I’d never seen on a woman before. She wasn’t conceited about her appearance, and she
didn’t have an inflated ego either. It was hard to describe. She was just confident, plain and simple.
She collected a few phone numbers throughout the evening and stuffed them down the front of her top.
She was owning the night.
It’d been about four weeks since the last time I’d seen her. I’d dropped her off at her apartment, and I
didn’t think about her again. She was just an obnoxious memory I chose not to dwell on. Never had I
ever had a prisoner who was so much work.
It would be easy for me to slip out of the bar without her even noticing I was there. We didn’t have
anything to talk about anyway, and I didn’t exactly look forward to a conversation about the past. But I
found her so interesting, I couldn’t stop staring.
Tess noticed I was distracted. “Do you want to get out of here?”
My eyes stayed on Catalina. “Yeah. I just need to talk to someone first.” I got out of the chair and
walked across the bar until I reached her. She was still surrounded by her girls, talking to a handsome
guy, a drink in her hand and her cheeks flushed because of the booze in her system. “Call me.” She
handed her drink to a friend and pulled out a permanent marker. “Are you left-handed or right-
handed?”
The guy held up his right hand.
Catalina wrote her digits in big numbers across his palm. “That way, you’ll think of me next time…
you know.” She winked.
He smiled before he turned away. “Oh, I definitely will.”
She gave a playful wave before she took her drink back from her friend. This woman was the winner
of the room, owned every guy in sight so there was no one left for anyone else. It wasn’t just her dark
hair, tanned skin, and tight body; it was this infectious spirit that filled the bar with so much energy.
I almost walked away, but now I was more intrigued than before. I walked up to her and stared.
She sipped her drink as she stared at me, taking a few seconds to process my features until she finally
recognized me. “Oh my god, the Skull King?”
And just like that, I remembered why I hated this woman.
“What are you doing here?” She broke apart from her group and came closer to me, not nearly as
afraid as she should have been, considering I’d kidnapped her four weeks ago. Since we were in