Page 71 of Savage Little Lies

Brendan grabs my arm as he leans closer to me, making the air leave my lungs. “You’re not doing it fast enough. He needs you to work faster.”

“He’s told me that a million times over the phone,” I grit out, wincing as his grip tightens until it aches.

“Consider this visit extra motivation,” Brendan replies.

I grab his wrist, sinking my nails into his skin. It doesn’t break his grip, but he’ll have something to remember me by later. “I don’t need motivation. I’m getting it done. It’ll be all over soon.”

And I’ll be gone like a shadow in the night. Never to be seen again.

There’s a gnawing ache in my stomach at the thought of never seeing Dmitri again. But it has to be this way.

“Your father has been more than patient with you, girlie. You’re making us sit around with our thumbs up our asses because you want to play secretary!” Brendan snaps.

“Do you know what going undercover means? I have to be a completely different person and gain his trust if I’m going to pull this off,” I argue.

“You don’t have to gain his trust. If you’re smart enough, you can just trick him,” Brendan hisses at me, his body nearly crashing into mine as Daniel whips a hard left turn.

I glance past Brendan’s head to look out of the window, seeing that we’re on the outskirts of the city in a rundown area of abandoned buildings and trash-filled, empty lots. “Where are you taking me?”

“Nowhere,” Neal replies just as he slams on the brakes, the car coming to a stop. He turns around to look at me with a cold expression on his face. “Get out.”

My eyes widen. “What? I don’t even know where we are!”

“Well, while you figure that out and find your way home, you can think about what we told you,” Brendan says before opening his door and slipping out.

A second later, he reaches in and grasps my arm, dragging me out of the car without giving me a chance to even get my feet underneath me. I lunge for my purse and hit the asphalt hard, skin scraping before I get to my feet.

“What the hell?” I shout as I rip my arm away, bewilderment flaring up within me.

Brendan turns to face me as the other two remain in the car. “You’re running out of time, and I don’t think you want to see what happens if you don’t deliver.”

“Dmitri postponed the wedding. I have more time than you think,” I grit out, my fingers curling into fists. There’s no way that I could win a fight against all three of them. I’m so fucking furious that Sean sent his men to threaten me.

Brendan shakes his head, his dark curls becoming even more disheveled. “Doesn’t matter. Get it done.”

As I watch him turn away from me to get back into the car, my rage burns hotter, searing through my entire body. I have tried so hard to appease my father and the rest of the family.

But nothing works.

I will never be anything to them. I was a disappointment the moment everyone found out that Sean O’Malley had a daughter instead of a son.

“Hey! Stop! You can’t just leave me out here!” I snap as I grab Brendan’s arm.

“Thanks for the cash.” Brendan thrusts his arm out, slamming his elbow into my stomach to knock me backward.

I lose my balance and fall onto my ass with a pained huff, the air leaving my lungs. Pain radiates through my body as I stare up at him in shock and anger.

Brendan glares down at me. “Don’t be stupid, kid. That’s how people get killed.”

All I can do then is watch him get in the car before Daniel speeds away, leaving me in a part of town that I don’t need to be alone in, taking my money that was supposed to be for a fresh start.

This doesn’t only feel like a warning. This feels like a punishment.

If I don’t get out, this will be my life.

I quickly glance around, seeing only a few people lingering around the area. When one of them looks my way, uneasiness creeps up the back of my neck. I need to get out of here.

For some reason, calling Dmitri crosses my mind. He’d come, but he would be suspicious of the circumstances. And that would ruin everything.