Vengeful Lies

For such a powerful and dangerous family, they make me feel oddly welcome. And I should be the last person they lower their guard around. And that saddens me ever so slightly. I wish I could buy into the same lie that they all seem to be swallowing.

Don’t get me wrong; they have their suspicions, which is obvious with the questions they throw at me. Some I don’t have the answers for, no matter how much Eli and I “practiced.”

I don’t think Eli realizes how lucky he is to have a family that cares so much. Billie is like a pocket full of sunshine. She kind of reminds me of her mother, and Dutton reminds me of their father. But Dawson seems to be more talkative, whereas Dutton is quiet and reserved. Or maybe that’s because Dutton outright doesn’t seem to like me and has no issues with making that known. I don’t blame him. If anything, I respect him since he’s one of only a few who knows and understands me as the threat I am.

Crue, who I was most nervous to meet, has been silently watching his son’s and my interactions for the entire night. Eli and I might have charming words for one another, but I’m sure you cannot fake chemistry. And I’m not entirely sure if we’ve convinced him.

I fight my natural instinct to push Eli’s hand away every time he reaches out to grab me or whenever his lips are on my neck or hand. It feels like the man’s in overdrive tonight because he’s either trying to showcase how “in love” we are, or he’s doing it to get under my fucking skin because he knows he wouldn’t usually get away with it.

Faking that I like being practically manhandled by him is hard to do when I’m so used to not being touched. It’s not that I hate human touch. It’s just that it’s foreign to me. I never had a mother who hugged or cuddled me, and my father’s love language was spending quality time with me. And by “quality time,” I mean he was teaching me how to shoot. And after he passed away, all I had was Craig. My mother and father had no other family that I know of, and I was old enough to decide where I wanted to live. And Craig has been my surrogate uncle for as long as I can remember. He never had any kids, and he never married. His life was work until it wasn’t. I always thought I was a bit like him, happy to be by myself with my guns. But as I sit around this table and witness their love for one another, I’m a little envious.

I wonder if, in another life, I could lean into something like this. It’s beautifully dysfunctional, but I imagine all of them literally have one another’s back until death.noveldrama

Hawke and Billie argue over something, and Ford shakes his head at them. And I have to remind myself not to get swept up in it all. I’m basically a loner. Always have been. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll go through life solo.

A phantom.

A killer.

Staying in my lane.

I catch Eli looking at my bare ring finger again. I’d forgotten to put it back on, which made him angry. So there’s no way in hell I’m going to tell him I was late to this dinner because I had to meet with one of my client’s henchmen after work. He’d go ballistic if he knew.

“Do we have a wedding date set?” Honey asks.

All eyes turn to us, and I look up at Eli as he squeezes my hand.

“Well, we were thinking of eloping,” he answers. I can tell from his parents’ expressions that that is not an option. “Jewel doesn’t like crowds,” he adds, and I’m certain he’s purposefully antagonizing them.

“We could make it small and intimate, just us and your family,” Rya suggests. Eli is stroking his thumb over my hand as I take a mouthful of champagne.

“I don’t have any family,” I reply, and everyone falls silent.

“Oh, apologies.” I can see the sadness enter Rya’s gaze. I don’t want anyone to feel sad for me. I’ve had a great life, and apart from this little hiccup of marrying a mafia boss’s son, I will continue to have a great life. Once I have my guns, that is.

Surprisingly, Dawson interrupts. “That’s okay. Neither did I. It’s a joy being able to make your own family.” He presses a kiss to Honey’s knuckles and looks at his children. A somber mood takes over the table.

“With that said, we’ve decided to marry within the month,” Eli announces.

My throat constricts as I inhale sharply, immediately feeling suffocated. His mother’s eyes widen in excitement. He said everything would happen quickly, but it still doesn’t prepare me for the intense feeling of being sent to the gallows.

“That’s so soon! We have to start planning immediately.” Rya and Honey start discussing catering. I want a hole to open in the floor and swallow me down so I never have to be in this situation again.

Eli shifts my hand to his cock beneath the table, and I immediately whip my head in his direction, stunned.

The others begin to talk amongst themselves as he smirks and leans toward me. “Breathe,” he says quietly. “You look like you’re about to kill someone.”

“I am. Specifically you,” I whisper-shout back.

“This isn’t like a shotgun wedding, is it?” Billie asks excitedly.

“What?” My head snaps in her direction.

“No, Jewel is not pregnant. But not from lack of trying,” Eli clarifies. I hit him in the shoulder, and he chuckles.

“That’s so soon,” Crue pipes in, and it draws everyone’s attention to the head of the table.

Eli levels his father with a stare. “Well, Jewel knows how important our family business is. And I know without any doubt in my mind that Jewel is the perfect fit for my empire. It doesn’t make sense to wait.”

I feel the noose slowly tighten around my neck again. I notice the way Ford and Dutton look elsewhere. Hawke gives us two thumbs up. Those three are the only ones at this table who are aware of our lies, and I’m certain that after the wedding and Eli gets everything that he wants, it’ll cause a rift between his family. Whether he wants to acknowledge it or not. Won’t they feel betrayed when they discover this is all fake? Or is this simply how things are done in the mafia world? Marry, discard, and move on to the next.

A month doesn’t give me long to get out of this situation and find my guns.

Fuck. Am I really trapped?

What happens when the order to finally take out Eli comes? I glance around the table as they offer congratulations, wondering what will happen when they find out I killed their son after they welcomed me into their home.

I can’t breathe.

Fuck.

Crue stands with his whiskey in hand. Everyone falls quiet as he holds his glass up to make make a toast.

“You’ve been the bane of my existence since the moment you were born,” Crue starts.

“Crue!” Rya reprimands. Oh, is this his father making a joke? It seems everyone else is just as unsure about his humor as well. Now I know who Eli gets it from.

Crue continues. “But you’ve proved your ambition and ability to take over the business time and time again. I couldn’t be any prouder. So I guess congratulations are in order for you both. And I’m looking forward to my retirement.”

I shouldn’t be a part of this.

I have no right to be sitting by his side, nor do I want to be. This is a place for a real doting fiancée. Not one who has every intention of stabbing him in the back once I get the all-clear to do so.

Eli squeezes my hand, pulling me back to him as if aware of where my thoughts have flooded.

Everyone focuses on Eli as he stands, perfectly dressed and poised, and I wonder, truly wonder, why he hasn’t already found a wife. Why has he dragged me into his games? These might not necessarily be good people. The majority of them are killers, not that I can talk. But even I can tell this family is special.

If he wanted to sleep around, I’m sure Michelle would have let him, as long as it meant she got to become Mrs. Eli Monti. He could have any obedient wife, so was he truly opposed to being weighed down in commitment like me? Is that why he thinks I’m the perfect fit? Because we’re both so disposable to one another?

He nods his head, and everyone claps. Eli smiles at his father, and I’m hesitant to let him bring my hand to his lips as he looks down at me adoringly. I know that look has to be fake. His light eyes emit something into me that I choose to accept as bravery as I stand on weak legs to join him.

I shouldn’t be here.

This isn’t my place to stay.

After sticking to the shadows for so long, it feels strange to be in the spotlight.

Especially beside a man like Eli Monti.

“We’ll make you all proud. I look forward to owning New York.” He salutes his father, and his mother looks extremely proud. I notice Dutton take a large gulp of his drink as if swallowing his revulsion, and it’s then that I truly agree he might be the only smart one at the table.

Then Eli’s gaze shifts to me. “To a happy marriage.” He salutes again, and I offer a tight smile, wishing for the world to swallow me whole.

“To a happy marriage,” I repeat, and the sinister smile on his perfect fucking lips widens.

I have a feeling I may not make it out of this alive.