All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Now there’s this thing, one made for one purpose only: to make her pay for killing my sister and me.

A long shriek comes from my right.

My feet freeze to a halt, and then they’re running toward the sound of their own volition.

Reina.

That’s Reina’s voice.

What the fuck did she get herself into this time?

I focus in case she shrieks again, but there’s no sound.

Fuck.

She better not be dead.

My athletic body kicks into gear as I cut the distance in record time. I might have stopped playing football three years ago, but I never quit running or working out.

It’s the only thing that clears my mind and chases away the damn black thoughts swirling in my head 24-7.

The smell of smoke assaults my nostrils as fire erupts in the middle of the forest.

Near the flames, two bodies come into view from between the trees. I hide behind a trunk and kill my flashlight.

The man is wearing a suit, appearing buff and big, but his face is shadowed and turned away as he drags someone on the ground by the hem of her T-shirt.

Reina.

He’s dragging an unconscious Reina. From the slight view I can get, I make out her battered face and how her lifeless legs slide on the filthy ground.

My muscles turn tight as my fists clench by my sides. How fucking dare he touch her?

I’m about to move when another man emerges from behind the cottage, wiping his hands on his black hoodie. “I got the other one, Boss.” He motions at Reina. “What are we going to do about that one?”

“Use her as bait. There’ll be only one Pakhan.”

Russian accents. Are they the mafia?

What do they have to do with Reina?

This could be about Gareth Ellis’ relationship with the mafia, but they shouldn’t come after his daughter.

Doesn’t matter. I have a fraction of a second before they take Reina away to God knows fucking where.

Reina’s life is mine.

Fucking mine.

No one gets to take her away from me.

I retrieve my phone and search for sounds then hit play on the loudest volume. The sound of sirens erupts in the otherwise calm forest. It’s far away at the beginning but keeps getting closer as the seconds tick on.

Both men freeze.

“Blyad!” one of them yells. “What are they doing here?”

“What are we going to do, Boss?” the other man asks.

“We’ll come back for her. We have what we need.” He kicks Reina away and a whimper spills from her lips.

My fist tightens with the need to snap his fucking neck.

Both of them run around the burned cottage, and Reina remains there, unmoving. I hear the sound of car tires crunching in the distance, indicating that they’ve left.

I jog to Reina and crouch in front of her, keeping the siren audio working.

She’s on her stomach, face down. The fire from the cottage in the distance lights the deep blue bruises on her face and arms. Her blond strands fall on her face, camouflaging her swollen eye and cut lip.

Those motherfuckers.

I stroke the hair off her eye and she whimpers in pain.

Pulling my hand back, I search in her pocket and retrieve her phone. Sure, I could’ve used mine, but I don’t want her to know I saved her.

I’m not her savior. I’m her worst nightmare.

I put the phone to my ear, and a woman picks up immediately.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“A girl has been attacked in the forest at the edge of Blackwood. She’s unconscious but still breathing. Trace her GPS.”

“Who are you, sir?”

I stand up, looking down at her. “A hunter.”

I cut off the call and remain by her side until actual sirens come to the site.

That’s when I retreat to the shadows and disappear.

But she’ll find me in her hospital room as soon as she wakes up, and she’ll fucking tell me why she was escaping.





Present





I stop in front of the cottage. The signs of the fire that ate it a few weeks ago are still visible through the blackened walls and the police tape.

Human remains.

The other one.

The police and those men’s words still echo in my head. Reina is in too deep if she’s involved with the bratva.

And they were from the bratva. Alex thinks so, too; I confirmed it when I heard his conversation with his adviser the other day.

He just doesn’t want to take any steps as long as Reina remains untouched and under his care.

The question is, what the fuck is she doing here knowing exactly the threat to her life? Alex made sure to warn her. I heard him countless times.

Stay in crowded places, Reina.

If you remember anything, let me know first, Reina.

I’m going to get you security, Reina.

Of course, she refused the latter, brushing him off with a smile—a fake one at that.

She’s become so fucking stubborn, it’s maddening.

I release a breath as I walk up. She’s been avoiding me these last couple of days, but fuck that.

Me being a part of her life is a non-negotiable fact.

Even when I was in England for the past three years, I was always an undividable part of her life.

I lurked under her skin and breathed down her neck.

She’s been doing the same, but fuck it.

I stop at the threshold of the cottage. It’s dark and humid inside, still smelling of the soot and the smoke from that day.