Endless Lies (Lies #6) - Ella Miles Page 0,29

best to address Declan directly rather than asking for permission from my father.

Declan looks to Corbin and nods.

We wait until they have left the room before we speak again.

“That was very smart of you to ask Declan instead of me.”

“Why? I’m sure you could have told him not to go.”

“No. I’m raising a leader, not a follower. I don’t give orders. I let him make his own decisions. He knows the world he’s in. He’s seen danger and death. If he’s going to be my heir, he has to learn how to make the right choices.”

“He won’t be your heir for much longer.”

My father leans back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest as he smirks. “You still have two challenges to complete. Two challenges I doubt you are strong enough to endure.”

I’m sure he’s right, but he underestimates what I’m willing to do for my child.

“What are they?”

“The first is to prove that you can kill.”

“Who is my target?”

“Anyone, you can kill anyone. But good luck killing my men; they fight back.”

I frown as my eyes circle the room. They all have guns. I have no weapon. I’m outnumbered. It’s going to be impossible for me to kill one of them.

“They will, however, have no problem helping you round up Corbin for you to kill him.”

I won’t kill Corbin. With any luck, he’s found a way out of here and has taken Declan with him. But if he hasn’t, I have to finish the rest of the challenges.

I have to come up with a plan, a way to kill one of his men even though they have weapons and I have none.

Suddenly, his words resonate in my ear—prove that you can kill.

He didn’t say to actually kill. He might have meant that, but after I’ve proven that I can kill, I’ll argue the point later.

I take inventory of what I have on my body that I could use—a hair tie, a shirt, jeans, and boots. I don’t have much that can be used to kill a person. I need a weapon, but how to get one?

I stand from the table and circle the room, looking for my target as a plan forms in my head. I limp a little with each step, exaggerating the appearance of my pain.

I make eye contact with every guard as I circle. Most meet my gaze with a stoic expression, unfazed by the heat in my eyes or the way I puff out my chest. After walking by four, the next man’s eyes linger on my chest before giving me a wink.

“You,” I say. “I’ll kill you.”

He laughs, and then the whole room breaks out in laughter. They all see me as a weak woman incapable of harming them. Luckily, that’s exactly the attitude I need to be able to gain a weapon and the upper hand.

“Fight me fairly, and we’ll see who’s stronger,” I say.

The man taps his fingers on the outside of his gun strapped across his chest. “We don’t have to fight to know.”

“I know. I’m stronger.” I wink at the man to his left, who laughs at me.

The man I’ve decided to challenge growls at me. He doesn’t like me teasing him. His ego is too small for that, which means I chose my target well. He’s just lucky that the first man I plan on killing isn’t him. I don’t like the idea of killing people, even men who work for the devil. Killing the devil himself; now that’s a different story.

“You wouldn’t last ten seconds fighting against me, especially not now that you’re a cripple.”

“Prove it, then.”

“What do I gain? Everyone here already knows I can beat you. You’re nothing but a weak bitch with an injured leg.”

“You get the honor of killing me, of getting rid of me.” I look back at my father. “I’m sure my father would look highly on the man who finally got rid of the thorn in his side.”

My father nods sternly.

“Fine.” The man unhooks his gun and hands it to the guard next to him. As he moves, I get a glimpse of my target. I don’t want the big gun. I want the one at his hip, the handgun I’ve practiced shooting before. He’s too much of a coward to remove all of his weapons. I suspect he also has a couple of knives on his body. He won’t play fair, which is exactly what I want.

I take a step back as he takes a step forward. I