Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

32

Savannah

The house is silent as we resign in our separate bedrooms. The argument from earlier still has silent tears running down my face. I scold myself for missing dinner again, but it was a mistake. Is it still a mistake if you repeat it three times?

But no matter how much I justify my actions, my heart still aches when I recall the look of heartbreak on Huxley’s face. He had that look when I first ended things with him. Even then, I ruined us, hoping to take Xavier down. Huxley found it in him to forgive me once. Does he possess enough strength to do it again?

The bed feels empty without him next to me. I hug his pillow, inhaling his faint lingering scent. I stare at the door, wishing for him to walk through and tell me he was just angry and upset I missed dinner. I close my eyes and dream that he kisses me and tells me we can get through this.

But that doesn’t come.

My broken slumber vanishes when my phone buzzes with the fourth call in less than ten minutes. I’m in no mood to entertain him right now, but worry that something has happened to Elise forces me to bring the phone to my ear.

“I’m outside.”

He hangs up.

I check the time and sigh. It’s three in the morning. What could Xavier possibly want? My instinct warns against attending, as no good will come of it. Especially with Huxley.

However, I have sacrificed too much to reach this point. I can’t give up now because I’m heartbroken. With that reasoning in mind, I climb out of bed and quickly get dressed. I stare at Huxley’s closed door and wonder whether to tell him I’m going. Deciding against it, I climb down the stairs and leave the house.

Xavier’s car is too warm.

“Good to see you, Miss Hayes.”

He’s chipper for someone who has lost every single round.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to show you something.”

He taps his fingers against the steering wheel.

“I was thinking about that hypothetical question you asked me. And I have one of my own.”

I roll my eyes.

“What’s that?”

“Hypothetically, if you had to choose between Ray and Elise, who would you choose?”

“Elise,”

I instantly answer. A shiver runs down me. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. What about Ray or Mia? I mean, you’ve known her for longer, but he’s your husband.”

“What have you done?”

He looks at me like I’m an idiot.

“What could I possibly have done? Is your husband not at home sleeping?”

I take a calming breath because he’s right. I witnessed Huxley close the bedroom door, leaving Xavier no chance to extract him quietly from the house.

“Why are you asking me such stupid questions? I wouldn’t ever have to choose.”

“Hypothetically,”

he over enunciates.

“If you really had to choose.”

I shrug.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,”

he mutters.

“I trust you’ve been looking after my diamond.”

My eyes drag over him. There’s an amusement in him I can’t explain.

“It’s in a safe place.”

“And where is that?”

I chuckle at him.

“Nice try.”

“You can’t blame a man for trying. I will need that back now. I’ve lent it to you long enough.”

At that, I burst into genuine laughter.

“Lent? You mean I outsmarted you? I stole it from right under your nose.”

“That you did.”

He parks the car.

“And I’m about to steal something from you.”

He exits the car and walks around to open my door. He walks slightly ahead of me.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about this game of yours. And I kept wondering how you did all of this on your own. I thought Ray must be helping you in some way, but that wasn’t enough. I mean, you both spend so much time at XR Securities, it would be impossible to make moves in places I’m not looking.”

When he holds the door open to the abandoned building, my feet don’t move. There’s a sinking feeling in my chest and adrenaline is telling me to run as fast as I can.

“What do you want?”

“My diamond.”

That diamond is the only physical proof I have that he murdered his mother. It’s the only leverage I have on him right now.

“You’re not getting it.”

“I figured you might say that. So here’s another hypothetical. Mia or Jordan?”

He doesn’t wait for me as he disappears into the building.

I chase after him.

“Xavier! What are you talking about?”

The panic starts in my toes until it’s flooded my chest and takes away my ability to breathe.

He stops outside a door.

“Mia or Jordan? Choose.”

I shake my head.

“I’m not doing that! This is between me and you.”

He grabs my throat and chokes me.

“You’re the one that invited them to the table to play. Their death is going to be in your hands.”

He squeezes tighter. “Choose!”

I know Xavier well enough to know he’s not bluffing.

“I’ll give you back your diamond,”

I beg.

“Let them go. They are innocent in all this.”

His blue irises turn to ice as he scowls at me.

“I’m about to steal your innocence and taint you with the paint of blood.”

He lets go of me and opens the door.

“Let’s play, Savannah!”

Mia and Jordan, on the far side of the room, have their hands, legs, and mouths tied. Their tear-streaked faces and quivering voices send a chill down my spine, as the fragments of my heart splinter into a million shards. I run towards them and try to untie them, but I can barely see anything through my tears.

“I’m here,”

I reassure them.

“I’m going to get you guys out of here. He wants the diamond.”

Mia’s muffled plea is my name.

“He will not hurt you,”

I cry. I turn to Xavier.

“You won. I’ll give you your diamond! Let them go!”

He walks over and unties their mouths and instantly the room is filled with their cries.

“You shouldn’t trust the promises of a liar,”

he scolds them.

“Get up, Savannah.”

When I don’t move, he yanks me by my hair to my feet. “Choose.”

I shove him as hard as I can.

“Choose what? I won’t choose which one gets to live!”

He pulls a gun out from the inside pocket of his suit.

“Perhaps you have misunderstood the rules. You’re going to choose which one you’re going to kill.”

Mia lets out a scream and begs for her life.

My chest feels tight and I can’t breathe.

“You’ve made your point. I concede. I’ll drop my court case. I’ll leave London and you will never hear from me again. Just let them go.”

“Stealing is a crime. You must pay for the consequences. Choose.”

I shake my head as I struggle to catch my breath.

“I won’t do it. You can’t make me. I won’t kill my friends for your entertainment. You’re sick. Their lives aren’t a game!”

“Choose!”

He takes a calming breath and straightens his suit. When he looks at me again, it’s with a smile.

“Choose, or I will kill them both. It’s up to you. Save one and kill one. Or I’ll kill them both.”

“Kill me, Sav!”

Jordan shouts.

“I am so sorry! This is all started with me. If I never … oh god. Why did I tell Elliot to borrow that money from Cam? Just tell my parents that I joined Elliot in Bali.”

His howl makes my knees turn to jelly.

“Tell them I’m happy in Bali. Promise to tell them that, okay?”

“You’re not going to die,” I cry.

Xavier circles Mia and stops behind her. His fingers tuck her hair behind her ear, which only makes her scream some more. He wipes her tears as he shushes her. He cocks the gun and presses it to the back of her head.

“Mia, it is.”

“No! Please. Don’t kill me.”

“Kill me, Sav! It’s fine.”

I back away from him. A string of no slips past my tongue. “I won’t.”

Xavier’s face holds no emotion.

“I’ll kill them both. You know I will.”

“I’m sorry,”

I cry.

“I’m sorry I put you in this position. I’m so sorry.”

Xavier’s cold stare burns holes in the side of my face.

“Tell them how you could have saved them.”

“What is he talking about, Sav?”

Mia cries.

This is just to torment them.

“He’s lying.”

Xavier laughs.

“You sacrificed your life for a liar.”

I stare at him in disbelief.

“The only liar here is you.”

He abandons Mia, his nostrils flaring.

“I promised to put this all behind me. I promised to forget all about the diamonds. I promised to let it all burn. All you had to do was choose me. And you didn’t. So this is your only choice now.”

“I won’t do it!”

I scream.

“I said I’ll give you the necklace back! What more do you want?”

He drags the gun down my face.

“I want to see you burn. Final choice?”

He holds to gun towards Mia.

“Last chance to save her.”

A reel of my memories with Mia flash through my mind. I see the first time we met in EspresSoul and laughing with her about the customer who poured hot coffee all over himself. I feel the warmth of her friendship when I cried to her about Elliot and his gambling. I feel the gratitude that came over me when she got me a job in the strip club. I see the two of us sitting around my living room, drinking cheap alcohol and laughing until our stomach hurt. I feel her determination at helping me take Xavier down. I am choking on the memories of the only genuine friendship I’ve had. Mia fills the sister-shaped void in my life.

Grabbing the gun from Xavier, I point it at Jordan.

“I’m sorry,” I cry.

He’s still crying.

“Just do it. I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes. I was the one that ruined your relationship with Elliot. I’m the one that got him into gambling. I’m the one that roped him back every time he tried to be better for you. Think of that Jordan when you pull the trigger.”

I squeeze the metal tighter.

“I’m sorry!”

I turn to Xavier. “Please?”

“I would have given you the world. I would have saved you. But you wanted me to be the villain. And the villain must burn your world.”

“I do this, and Mia lives?”

“Return my diamond, and she lives. You have my word.”

“How can I trust you?”

His lips are at my ears.

“I don’t think you’ve got a choice, Miss Hayes.”

My breath comes out shaky. I wonder how easy it would be to turn the gun on him. It’s not the ending I want, but at least no more innocent lives will be lost.

Xavier must be able to read my mind, because he smiles.

“You shoot that gun at me and this whole place goes up in flames. We’re all dead, including Elise.”

I turn my head to look at him.

“Where is she?”

His lips press into my temple.

“You will never know.”

I shake my head.

“You’re lying.”

The pads on his fingers trail my collar bone.

“Are you willing to take that risk?”

My cry comes out strangled. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The sound of the bullet being fired has me dropping the gun to cover my ears. There’s a ringing echoing inside me. Or maybe that was Mia’s blood-curdling scream. My legs give in, but before I can fall, Xavier is holding me up.

Jordan is convulsing on the ground, but Xavier holds me hostage. I’ve never seen such life within him. He forces me to stand there and watch Jordan’s blood and life leave his body. Next to him, Mia is painted with splatters on his blood. She thrashes in her chair as she begs Xavier to let her go.

Xavier takes a deep breath just as Jordan lets out one final exhale. He bends down to pick the gun up.

“You should never trust the word of a liar,”

he states calmly before lifting the gun and firing a shot.

And then there is silence.

Mia’s head falls forward and her body goes limp.

The anguished cry that escapes my lips reverberates, filling the world with a heavy sorrow. Xavier releases me and I’m running towards her, but there’s too much blood pouring out of her to make it stop.

“No. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Mia, no. No. No. No. Get up. Stop playing around!”

I turn to Xavier.

“What did you do?”

He tucks the gun back inside his pocket.

“You said if I chose one, the other would live.”

My scream of pain echoes in the empty room.

“I’ve evened the playing field. It’s just you and me at the table. The queen of hearts versus the ace of diamonds. How ironic, considering the queen’s heart is broken and the ace’s diamond is stolen.”

I charge towards him, ready to kill him with my bare hands.

“I’m going to kill you!”

He takes his pocket square and wipes off the small smear of blood my hands left on his face. He tosses the dirty fabric at me.

“I’ve only just begun to play. Let the real game begin, Miss Hayes. Welcome to hell.”