Tangled In Lies (Tangled & Torn #1)

4. Phoenix

Chapter 4

Phoenix

I t would be so easy to kill her.

So easy to walk up to the bed and slit her throat and let her bleed out.

Yet, after everything that happened, there’s still no satisfaction at the thought. No punishment will ever be enough. Nothing will give me back the last three years of my life or the hit my reputation, as well as my family’s, took.

Nothing will ever make up for it.

But making her life a living hell will help some.

She’ll be mine to ruin, and having her become my wife is only the first step, one I know she’ll resent me for with all her being. All while I have a front-row seat to her misery.

I can’t wait.

And maybe this was a long time coming. Who knows? Perhaps we were always inevitable, our life paths chosen long before we ever stepped foot on them.

Everything started falling apart when I got engaged to Connie. Though, to be fair, I knew this might be an issue for Evie. I didn’t anticipate such a strong reaction from her, though, to the point where she put a wedge between her and her sister. I don’t know everything that went on between them, but as far as I’m aware, their relationship went from good to rocky when Evie—no more nicknames, it’s Evangeline now—found out about us.

Then Connie died, and everything went to shit from there. I didn’t even have the chance to pay my respects to her before the police arrested me.

Granted, the charges were warranted, but they should have never happened in the first place. I just wanted to dish out some much-deserved punishment because Chris Wellinger deserved it. Of course, the police didn’t agree with me. My father had groomed me for years, having me do a ton of shady shit for him, but I was never caught. Until that dreadful night.

Unfortunately, this time, the judge couldn’t be bought. To say my father was livid is the understatement of the year. No one ever says no to Spencer Montgomery; it was the reality check he didn’t want or need. I certainly didn’t either.

Evangeline groans on the bed. “What . . .”

Her parents asked me to carry her into the closest guest bedroom after she fainted. Yes, carry , because my dumb-ass reflexes kicked in and overrode everything else when I saw her collapse. I jumped up and caught her before she hit her head on the floor. I should have been so lucky. Instead, I was the white knight everyone was grateful for.

I had to hold her in my arms like she was precious, with her lush curves pressed against me. My traitorous former self came to the surface and wanted to touch her some more, to trace her high cheekbones and grab her hips. Why does she have to be so damn beautiful? I thought all of these old feelings and the desire would be gone forever with how much hatred I have for her in my heart.

She shifts again, lifting her hand to her head and resting it on her dark hair. Her eyes flutter as she slowly blinks them open and stares at the ceiling. I know the second her memories come back to her. She gasps and sits upright, her gaze immediately zooming around the room until it lands on me with wide eyes.

“Welcome back, fiancée .” I push my hands in my pockets and don’t move from where I stand, with several feet between us.

Be nice. You want to keep the upper hand and not let her immediately see all of your cards.

Her head goes left and right several times. “That can’t be . . . No . . . We can’t.”

“Well, it seems like the decision was already made for us, but feel free to try and get us out of it. You can go find Daddy and tell him the business deal of his dreams will go up in flames after all.”

I try to be nonchalant without sounding too desperate. I didn’t expect her to go along with our engagement, but I’m also banking on her dad holding up his end of the bargain. There’s a reason I made sure my father dangled the biggest carrot under his nose we could offer. Dropping our current consulting firm and using Byron’s instead. My future father-in-law doesn’t need to know my father was planning on switching companies anyway.

Evangeline could still say screw it and leave her princess life behind in favor of not getting married to me, but I don’t think she’ll do that.

At least, that’s what I’m banking on. If she proves me wrong and her father can’t convince her, I still have an ace up my sleeve.

Because if she doesn’t play along, I’ll ruin her and her whole family.

No matter how much she doesn’t agree with them, her reputation means something to her. It’ll be tainted enough now that she’s marrying an ex-con.

Her gaze fixates on the wall, her lip tucked between her teeth to the point where it has lost almost all its color. Maybe I will get lucky and see some spilled blood today after all.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Every passing second in her company makes it harder to keep my tone in check.

But she doesn’t need to know any of that yet, or she’ll run for sure.

Agreeing to a marriage with a white knight is very different from agreeing to a marriage with the big bad wolf.

So, for now, I have to hide in my sheep’s clothing.

She finally glances my way at my question, and something that resembles guilt a whole lot flashes in her dark eyes. But she averts her gaze almost immediately to stare at her hands in her lap, so I can’t be sure.

Can’t stand to look at me, my fallen angel? Well, too fucking bad. You made your bed, and now you have to lie in it, sharp thorns and all.

She gives a little nod. “Yes, I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”

Always so polite.

“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt. That could have been a hard fall.” At this rate, I might need to visit my dentist soon for the tooth damage I’ll cause from all the clenching and grinding when I’m in Evangeline’s presence.

Her hand goes to the back of her head like it just now occurred to her she didn’t get injured. “What happened?”

“I caught you and carried you to this room.”

Her breath hisses between her lips at the sharp inhale. “Thank you.”

She pulls the blanket off her body and slowly swings her legs over the side of the bed. “I . . . I need to find my parents.” She clears her throat and straightens her spine. “They can’t make us get married. No way in hell are you and I . . .”

She glances my way and licks her lips.

Finish your sentence, Princess, and tell me how you really feel.

But she doesn’t. Instead, she pushes off the bed and lands on her feet.

She wobbles immediately, and I rush forward and grab her by the arm.

What a fucking white knight you are.

It only takes her a second to steady herself, but I continue to hold her anyway.

“You can let go of me. I’m good.” Her voice shakes the tiniest amount. “Just didn’t think about the heels.”

I nod as if I care.

“Phoenix, I said I’m good. Please let go.” This time, her voice has that signature Caldwell steel back.

“Phoenix, please don’t marry Connie. I don’t know what’s happening, but please don’t ruin her life.”

Three years, and her sharp words still hit home. It’s crystal clear her low opinion of me hasn’t changed a single bit. With my stint in prison, it’s probably only gotten worse .

I draw on every ounce of control I possess and let go of her. One finger at a time.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re stable enough.” I shove my hands into my pockets to keep myself from grabbing her again, but this time to shake her.

She huffs out a breath. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but I didn’t expect this mess to happen today. We both know this would never work between us. I mean, neither of us wants this, and we live in the twenty-first century, for crying out loud. They can’t make us.”

“I’d be willing to try if you are.” The second the words leave my mouth, I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from doing something stupid like laughing at the pure insanity of my statement. My control has already been stretched to its maximum capacity today, and I need to get away from her as soon as possible before it snaps.

Evangeline regards me as if I slapped her. “You can’t mean that. An arranged marriage? Us? Never.”

My dick twitches behind my zipper.

Fuck.

Of course, I’d get off on seeing that fire, that hatred for me and the accompanying misery in her eyes. After all, that’s exactly what I want to see.

However, I won’t deny she’s a total beauty either. She’s always been beautiful, but the last three years have matured and sharpened her features, turning her into a total showstopper.

She shakes her head. “After everything that happened, you can’t possibly want to be near me any more than I want to be near you.”

Her voice is the slap back to reality I needed .

“Going for the throat today, Angie?” My smile slips as I take a step toward her.

She takes a step back.

Good. Maybe it’s time to remind her who I am without spilling my secret. “Maybe the time I spent in prison has helped put some things in perspective for me. I know I can’t change past events, regardless of how much I want to. The only thing that’s left is to move on. Maybe you should try the same.”

Her mouth opens and closes several times, and she doesn’t look away this time.

Our stare down is interrupted when a knock sounds at the door.

“Come in.” The words come out clipped, but I’m beyond caring.

I need to get out of here. Away from her until I can learn how to handle her presence better. This is only a short preview of what I’ll have to withstand when we’re in the same room.

A woman with salt-and-pepper hair opens the door and pokes her head in. One of the housekeepers, if I remember correctly.

She scans over us and swallows, her gaze settling on Evangeline. “I wanted to see if you’re awake and need anything.”

Evangeline smiles at the woman. “You’re the best, Patricia, thank you. I’m much better now. Do you know where my parents are? I need to talk to them.”

Patricia frowns. “I’m so sorry, miss, but your parents have left for lunch. ”

I take Evangeline’s frustrated expression as my cue to leave, desperate to escape from her for a while.

With a casual “Goodbye,” I head toward the door, adding, “I expect you at my place tonight for dinner, Angie,” over my shoulder.

I can’t help myself. I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to dig that knife in deeper.

That’s as much of a promise to myself as it is to my future wife.