King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

In the Dark

“G et lost.” I slammed my drink down.

Jared poked his head over my shoulder as his black curls brushed against my cheek. He stepped back and his mesmerizing green eyes locked on mine.

I groaned and twisted my body to evade his touch. “Did you not hear me?” I asked, the venom seeping from my voice.

Could he not take a hint? I wanted some peace and quiet, and his presence did neither for me.

“Ouch. I’m devastated.” Jared placed a hand on his heart like I physically wounded him. And man I wish I had.

A frown expanded across my face as he flashed a smile—one I used to love, but now it only pissed me off. His flirty antics were just plain annoying.

Jared leaned against the bar and looked me over. He didn’t bother sitting down on the barstool. Which told me: he didn’t plan on sticking around, or he didn’t want to wrinkle his tailor-made suit that molded to his muscular physique perfectly.

God, I hated him.

“Clearly.” I glanced past Jared and at his two friends loitering behind. “Hello, Chad One. Chad Two. It’s been too long. I missed you guys.” I gave them an insincere salute, but it looked more like a flick of the wrist.

Chad One scoffed as he turned and muttered psycho to Chad Two.

I didn’t remember their names, and frankly, they didn’t deserve my effort. They were rude to me while Jared and I dated, so why bother playing nice now? Wait ... did they call me psycho?

That’s two for two tonight. Hot damn, I was on fire.

“We need to talk.” Jared shooed the Chads away and proceeded to act like we didn’t break up a couple days ago. “Addy, I miss you. Why haven’t you returned any of my calls?”

“You know why.” I continued to not give Jared my full attention and swirled my glass. The ice swished around, and for a split second it muted everything around me.

“So?”

My eyes widened and I scanned Jared’s face, his dark eyebrows furrowed. “So, what?”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

If I said yes, would he think he’s forgiven? What a dumb question. Of course, he would.

“Fine.”

Jared’s face lit up and he waved the bartender down and ordered my favorite drink.

The bartender plopped the whiskey sours in front of us, gave Jared a wink, and went back to helping new customers.

Unbelievable . I chugged the last of my drink and grabbed the next. I tapped my fingers aggressively on the bar top again—holding my tongue.

Don’t be petty, Addy. Don’t be petty.

“Seduced the bartender already, I see.” Damn it.

Jared’s deep chuckle reverberated in my ears as he brushed his curls back and leaned into me. His gaze didn’t falter. “I seem to remember you liked it when I seduced you.”

Jared pulled the barstool out and sat down.

My face scrunched in disgust. Did I really date a man this full of himself?

A hollow laugh escaped my throat. “So did the other woman you brought into your bed,” I muttered, gripping my glass tighter and stirring the ice.

This was a sign I needed to raise my standards.

Jared ruffled his hair and ignored my dig as he brazenly took a sip of his drink. He remained poised but stayed silent. He glanced at my drink and then back at me. He held a deadpan expression, but it eased back into his normal, flirtatious smirk.

Jared had some nerve to act so nonchalant. My hand itched to dump my whole drink over him. If I stained his suit would that ruin his night like he shattered my confidence?

No, no. I evolved. I didn’t need to seek revenge. I was above that. Kinda .

I banished all my intrusive thoughts and stretched out my free hand, stopping my aggressive taps. “Yeah, past tense. I did. Not anymore.”

I chugged my second drink in a matter of seconds, contemplating if I wanted Jared to keep me company or if I should take my chances with Raagini or the crows. They all sounded atrocious, but I leaned more toward my other two options than him. I needed to choose the lesser of the three evils, or whatever.

The shelves of liquor shifted out of place and my whole body went numb as my thoughts muddled together.

I turned to face Jared, but the room spun around me. “What the f—” I didn’t even hear my head hit the bar top before it all went black.

An endless sea of darkness encompassed me. My body stiffened from the metal pressed against my wrists and ankles. Someone had gagged my mouth and bound my eyes in cloth.

I thrashed and thrashed again, attempting to rock the chair, but the more I tried, the more hopeless it felt.

A rush of cool air caressed my exposed arms, and my heart slammed against my chest like a frantic lion trapped in a cage with every intention of breaking out.

Sleep paralysis. Yeah, that explained everything. I passed out at the bar and now I couldn’t see or move.

A vivid nightmare. That’s it.

Light footfalls echoed around me, and it pushed me over the edge. No, nope . Jared wouldn’t do this to me.

My hyperventilating escalated as the smell of rust and bleach assaulted my nose. It all felt way too real. Too familiar.

The echoes rang louder and quelled my thundering heartbeat.

Yeah, I was going to die. Crazy ex mutilated and dumped ex-lover in the forest because he couldn’t handle seeing her in public, hot and semi-happy-ish.

An icy hand touched my face. It took me out of my thoughts, and I flinched so hard I shook the whole chair. If I could see myself now, I bet I looked like one of those shaky chihuahuas that needed to keel over and die.

They removed their hand from my cheek, and chills edged down my neck. I couldn’t stop trembling as the sudden presence of others surrounded me.

“Where’s the old hag?” a gruff voice demanded, cutting through the stillness of the air.

The erratic beats of my heart started again, pounding harder against my chest. Thump, thump, thump, thump— like white noise—blocking out everything so I could slip into oblivion, or so I really fucking hoped. Anything was better than this.

If the man expected me to answer ... he had me gagged and blindfolded—I couldn’t speak or defend myself even if I wanted to.

The room fell silent again, but I knew people still hovered around me.

The cold draft surged stronger through the room. The autumn breeze nipped at my fingertips and sent goose bumps all over my bare skin.

They tore the cloth from my face; light blinded me until my vision refocused.

I gawked in horror at the man looming over me. His alabaster hair shone like the moon descending to earth, lighting the grungy warehouse in his wake. The men and women surrounding him paled in comparison. Overshadowed by his otherworldly brilliance—it was disturbing. He resembled the God of Death ready to reap the carnage he had instigated.

Only one thought occupied my mind.

What does a man like this want from a broke, slightly delusional girl like me?

A gnawing pain cemented itself within my stomach the moment when our eyes met.

I knew instantly if I didn’t find a way to escape those amethyst-colored eyes fixated on me, I would probably die in the most gruesome way possible. And I really wanted to live and not end up as an episode of Dateline .

“Anyone care to explain this?” the man asked again without raising a single decibel, but it carried throughout the room regardless and resounded off the steel walls.

One of the bulky men with slicked-back brown hair and yellow, slitted eyes carried himself with an immovable stance like a gargoyle; his massive build and crinkled face looked just as menacing. The blonde woman beside him had a similar, formidable pose but she also remained stiff as a board.

My gaze went back to the man with alabaster hair as he crossed his arms; his black tuxedo shifted as he lifted his sculpted jaw. His face pinched into a grimace.

No one dared to respond to the man who made the earth tremble with two simple questions.

The eternal silence ate away at me until Jared’s grating voice scraped against my ears. “Ryas said she was the one who had it.” He paused, fidgeting before he worked up the courage to speak again. “You promised you would let her go when you got what you wanted.”

Of course Jared camouflaged himself in the corner. I swear if I died because of that cheating bastard I would rise from the depths of hell and haunt his pathetic ass until he croaked.

I gave Jared the nastiest glare I could conjure despite my circumstances, but he avoided me like a spineless prick. Typical .

I didn’t dare glance back at the man standing before me and kept my focus on Jared, but Jared’s continued silence made me increasingly more nervous.

What did Jared even mean when he said I had it? The stupid key?

From the corner of my eye, the alabaster-haired man turned to Jared. His face twisted in disdain as his domineering posture became more apparent. He looked down on Jared like an insignificant bug he could squash whenever he desired.

“It’s a pity I have to repeat myself. I said I would consider it. Now my generosity is wavering.” The man didn’t give Jared any more attention as he looked back at me.

I wished to disappear or melt into the chair so I wouldn’t have to face the man any longer. I mean, couldn’t he continue to take out his animosity on Jared? That would be a win for the both of us. Fuck up his night, dude, not mine.

The man untied the cloth and ripped it away from my mouth.

In a low voice, he said, “Where is it?”

My mouth hung open. I wanted to say something, anything, to get out of this situation, but I got the feeling if I did, he wouldn’t appreciate the killer jokes that would spill out of my mouth like vomit.

I gulped. My mouth turned bone dry despite the words aching to pour out.

A flicker of light resembling a purple flame appeared in the man’s eyes, and he snatched the necklace off my neck.

I gasped from shock or flinched or maybe both before I realized what he had taken from me.

The man glowered as he turned to a lady in a midnight blue dress and black heels. “Valeria, get rid of her.”

“Of course.” The woman, Valeria, smirked, appearing from the dark; her blonde hair almost reached the cement as she bowed.

Jared took one step closer. “Wait you said—”

The man clicked his tongue and stalked toward Jared, glaring.

“What happens to someone who refuses to follow one of my orders ?” Malice dripped from the man’s voice as he gripped Jared’s shoulder. All the color drained from Jared’s face as he stammered to speak, but ultimately stayed tight-lipped. The man laughed and bent down, inches from Jared’s face and whispered, “Good boy.” The man let go of Jared and snapped his fingers, and the others faithfully followed behind him as they walked out of the room.

Where in the mafia hell was I?

Jared mouthed the words I’m sorry and followed reluctantly behind them.

The reality of my situation sunk in, and betrayal and anger hit me all at once like a festering wound, worsening the farther Jared walked away from me.

“You coward!” I screamed.

I cursed and cursed at Jared again until his black curls disappeared from my view, and my voice went hoarse. Until I no longer heard his footfalls echo throughout the warehouse.

Until my anger turned into desperation.