Inevitable (King Crime Family #2) - J.L. Beck Page 0,70

arms free, I sink my nails into his face, scratching his cheek as deep as I can.

One second his body presses mine into the thin mattress, the next, his weight is lifted off me. My chest heaves, and my heart races as I scurry to sit up.

Eli scoots away, smirking at me. I want nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, but my body is petrified and utterly confused.

“What the fuck was that?” I stare at the deep scratches I left on his face. One is bleeding. Eli wipes the blood off with the back of his hand and chuckles.

“A little show, kitten. Something to convince Mack I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”

“You asshole! Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I didn’t know how good of an actress you would be. I didn’t want to take any chances. Don’t worry, this was very believable. It bought us some time. Plus, I wouldn’t have to do any of this if you had listened to me and kept your mouth shut.”

He is frustrated with me, and looking back at it, I guess I couldn’t blame him. I was dumb to think this situation was similar to the one I’d gone through with Enzo. My defiance will win me nothing with Mack.

“I won’t do it again,” I say, sounding completely defeated. What happened to the strong woman I once was? Am I finally considering I might die? I’m not weak, but staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. I don’t want to die.

His bright green eyes shine back at me. His face holds no emotion, and I wonder if I’m safe with him.

“You’re right, you won’t. There won’t be a second chance, Amara,” Eli says, blowing a breath and sitting down next to me.

I wrap my arms around myself. Cold air hits my chest with only a piece of fabric draped over the right side of my boob. My shoulder and upper arm are completely exposed. The room is cold, and a shudder runs through me as the air settles deep into my bones.

“What do we do next?” I’m hesitant to even ask, but knowing seems better than not knowing.

“Nothing. You sit here and pretend like I’m hurting you. If he thinks I’m lying in the slightest, he’ll kill both of us,” Eli warns. “You got that?”

“Yes,” I say, wanting to cover up. I feel too exposed, but more than anything else, I’m scared.

“He’ll come, Amara. He always does.” The way he says it makes me feel like he knows Enzo more than I give him credit for.

“How do you know? What’s your past with him anyway? And whose side are you on?” I pepper him with questions.

He stares at me blankly for a moment before smiling.

“There is no side, kitten. Just the winning and losing. I go with whoever has the best fighting chance.” As his words enter my mind, and I repeat them to myself, I slowly understand what he is saying.

“You traitor. You fucking, lying traitor,” I yell, my voice full of fire and rage. He isn’t choosing a side, he’s playing both. The fucker is playing both teams until he knows who is going to win.

“Shhh…” he whisper-yells, placing a hand over my mouth to shield any further yelling on my behalf. I glare at him with the need to slice him open.

“I’m not a fucking traitor. I work for myself.”

Slowly, he removes his hand from my mouth, and the need to throw obscenities in his direction is almost as strong as my curiosity.

“So all that talk about Enzo being family, about you hating people who don’t value that bond, that was all bullshit?”

“No, I won’t kill Enzo, and I won’t hurt you unless I think I have to. I’ll still try my best to get us out of here alive. But, if Enzo ends up getting killed today, I have no problem working with Mack in the future.”

“If Enzo gets killed…” I can barely say the words out loud. “If he gets killed today, what do you think Mack will do with me?” I don’t even know why I ask, it’s obvious he doesn’t care about me. He doesn’t care if I die.

“I already told you, I’ll protect you the best I can. Now relax, and shut your mouth before Mack hears this.” He gives me a cold stare and motions for me to lie down.

I want to protest, but something tells me he won’t budge on this. He’s made up his mind, and I