Cruel Lies - Ella Miles Page 0,30

us, looking for a ring.

My thumb traces my bare ring finger—a finger that will never have a ring.

I look to Langston. He’s not wearing a ring either. Weird—I guess I never noticed or thought about it before.

“No,” I say.

“I am,” Langston says.

The man pokes his head out of the door as if to ask where his wife is then.

“Dunn,” Langston calls.

Phoenix steps forward. Her head is proud and boisterous as she saddles up next to Langston, gripping his bicep like she owns him.

She does.

“Come in,” he says, opening the door wider for Langston and Phoenix.

They step inside without glancing back at me.

I move to follow, but the old man steps in front of the door, blocking my way.

“Are you married?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“I’m sorry,” he says, closing the door.

I step back, staring at the small house as my hand traces down the door. I need to be inside. I need to know what is going on. I need to help keep Atlas safe.

But I’m not married. And for some stupid reason, my father made that a term in finding the treasure.

I walk back to the front of the house, where Maxwell is still standing. I still don’t understand his motivations or why I decided to tell him where we are. I’m also surprised he hasn’t tried to pull some crap yet.

I hug myself as I stare at the house, trying to decide my next move.

“We could break in. I’m pretty sure we could take that old man,” Maxwell says.

I shake my head. I’m sure we could, but it’s not getting in that would be the problem. It’s getting him to tell us the next clue.

The only way to get inside is if you’re married.

I bite my lip, trying to come up with a different way. My eyes cut to Maxwell, hating my plan.

“Fuck this, let’s go,” I say.

“Where are we going? I thought—”

“We are going to fix our situation so we can get into the house.”

12

Langston

We step into the small one-room house. There isn’t much to see, but a small bed in the corner with some books strewn over it and a rocking chair in the other corner. This man either lives a simple life or doesn’t live here full time.

The door whooshes closed behind us, sinking the room into darkness.

Phoenix jumps, leaning further against me as the room turns pitch-black.

I hear the light of a match striking, and then we can see again as the man walks toward us.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

I frown. If he isn’t even going to tell me his name, I have little faith I’m going to learn much about how to find the treasure.

“I need proof that you two are married.” He turns to Phoenix. “And I need your blood.”

She shrivels back, using my shoulder to shield herself from him—not that I think she should be worried about such a small, frail man.

I pull out my phone, where I have a saved image of our marriage license, and hand it to him.

He nods, taking the phone from me and sliding it into his pocket. Then he produces a knife and stares at Phoenix, waiting.

She looks up at me. “No.”

“Phoenix, he’s just going to draw a couple of drops of blood. He’s not going to cut off your hand.”

She huffs but relents, placing her hand out in front of him. He pricks her finger with the tip of the blade.

He nods his thanks and then disappears out the back door.

“What was that about?” Phoenix asks.

“My guess is he’s verifying our marriage license and that you are a Dunn.”

She frowns and grips my arm tighter.

I want to tell her to relax. She could be outside with Liesel and Maxwell right now, wondering what the hell is happening and being forced to trust me that I’ll tell them what I find out.

I’ll tell Liesel everything she needs to know, but I know she’s not going to trust a word I say.

The man returns less than a minute after he disappeared.

“I’m sorry, but your marriage isn’t valid,” he says, handing me back my phone.

“What do you mean it isn’t valid?”

I take my phone and stare down at the document that I know is legal.

“It isn’t valid.”

“How? I mean, what part isn’t valid? Do we need to legally marry in this country? Is there some type of ceremony we need to do?”

He shakes his head. “I can’t tell you any more other than you need to leave until you fix the problem. Return once