Page 146 of High Reward

I shift so I can pull her into the hug, and the three of us stand that way for a long time.

When we separate, I kiss Grace long and slow. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“The last time you said that I didn’t hear from you for hours and Lili got kidnapped.”

“Sit in Owen’s office and track our locations if you want. There’s surveillance at the warehouse, you can watch the whole thing for yourself.”

That seems to placate her, and I take Lili’s hand and lead her to the waiting SUV.

Lili

I’mnotnervouswhenI step into the room in the warehouse where Phineas is being held captive.

He’s got a wild expression with wide eyes, but he seems surprised by my appearance.

“Well, if it isn’t my whore of a wife. Take a break from fucking that wannabe mobster long enough to come and gloat?”

“I came to say goodbye and to tell you I won’t be mourning your death or attending your funeral if you even have one.”

“So, they’re going to kill me, huh?”

I shrug. “I think I’m going to leave that up to Victor. But let’s just say he’s real pissed about all the scars you left on my thighs.”

“Just wait until he discovers how frigid and distant you can be. He’ll be adding to those scars before the month is out. Or he’ll just have his cartel friends dispose of your body. Why would he put up with someone as used up as you?”

I don’t exactly remember what happens next. But the next thing I know, I feel the hot, thick spray of blood hitting my face as I drive the knife into Phineas’s chest.

I pull it out and then drive it into his throat, red hot rage blinding me. His screams are short-lived as I twist the knife. The squishing sounds should be revolting. The blood spraying all over me, soaking me from head to toe should be snapping me out of this. But it doesn’t.

I stab him repeatedly, venting all the years of abuse that I put up with into his throat, face, and chest. I don’t know how many times I stab him before I hear someone behind me saying my name.

Victor’s hands grip my shoulders as he pulls me off Phineas, not bothering to remove the knife from his flesh.

It’s then that I realize I’m screaming “Fuck you,” over and over at my dead husband’s mangled corpse.

“Shh. Liliana. Shh. We have to leave. We have to get you out of here as fast as we can.”

It takes him shaking me to get me to snap out of it enough to realize what I’ve done.

And I’m unfazed.

I wipe a smear of blood off my forehead before it can drip into my eyes and look down at my blood-soaked clothes.

“Probably shouldn’t walk around like this.”

Victor lets out a relieved chuckle. “No. Owen is already getting the cleaners here. You need to stand very still now. They’re going to take all of our clothes and put us in a decontamination shower while they burn everything. Then they’ll dispose of the body.”

“It needs to be found,” I say calmly. “Otherwise, Miranda will not rest until she finds him.”

“Even from prison?” he asks.

“She has powerful connections, Vic. Don’t count on her being in prison for very long.”

Grace

MygutchurnsasI stare at the video monitor in Owen’s office. I’ve never seen so much blood. Not even yesterday, when Jacob died in the kitchen.

Memories of his lifeless body on the prep table make me gag, and I rush for a trash can. Nothing comes up, but I can’t look at the monitor again.