All Chapters of The Perfect Lie : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 21The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine, the cold wind biting at Lena's skin as they emerged from the collapsed tunnel. Her lungs burned from the sprint, her heart pounding in her ears, but she didn't relent. Couldn't relent.Noah grasped her wrist and pulled her with him, his gaze raking the row of trees with calculating coldness. His gun stayed at the ready, the tension in his stance unbroken. Evelyn trailed a few steps behind them, patting her coat into place with the same malignant calm with which she always did everything as if their near-miss with death had been no more than a trifling incident.Lena's heart continued to flutter, her mind trapped in a never-ending cycle of Damien's words."Vincent Mercer is not an arms dealer. He's the one in charge."A ghost. A hushed name in the darkest corners, someone whom no one had ever seen and lived to talk about.She clenched her teeth. They were no longer attempting to flee from Damien. They'd stepped into so

Chapter 23The warehouse air was thick with tension. The suffocating burden of betrayal pressed on Lena's chest, but she gritted her teeth and kept breathing. Keep thinking.Her own mother. Evelyn - the woman she'd been afraid of, disliked intensely, and obeyed without question - had been running the show.Behind Damien; behind the hunt; behind it all.And Vincent Mercer—the man said to be behind the scenes in control—was offering her a deal. A way to kill Damien, to finish what she had been trying to escape for so long.A pretty little present, nicely packaged.Lena was no fool.Contracts with the devil came with sharp teeth.But currently, she did not care.She gazed at Evelyn, her tone unyielding though her mind reeled. "How long?"Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "More specific, darling."Lena's fists bunched. "How long have you been playing games with me?"Evelyn exhaled a sigh, waving an imaginary speck of dust from her sleeve. "Since the day you were born."The words strike like a blo

Chapter 25 The fire had consumed itself by the time Lena, Noah, and Damien stumbled away from the wreckage. Smoke poured into the night, thick and acrid, overlaying the scent of blood and burned wood.Lena's body protested, every step a battle against exhaustion. Mercer had attacked them. That much was clear.What wasn't clear was why.He might have killed them stone dead, but he hadn't. He'd only given them time to escape.A message? A game?Noah kept pace beside her, gun in hand, his eyes flicking up the street for risk. Damien limped to her other side, gasping for breath."You didn't have to let me go," Damien snarled.Lena did not look at him. "I know."Noah exhaled a harsh breath. "Yeah, well, let's not pretend like this is some sort of feel-good reunion. We still need to get the hell out of here before Mercer calls in cleanup."Lena's mind raced fast, cutting through the haze of exhaustion. "We can't go back to the safe house. It's been breached."Noah nodded. "I have a place.

Chapter 27 The SUV sped down the empty highway, city lights dwindling in the distance. Lena gripped the wheel in her fists, her heart pounding. The blast had given them minutes, but those were not nearly enough.Mercer sat quietly beside her, his hands trembling against his leg. He wasn't the calm, invulnerable kingpin now—he was a man running from death.Damien, seated behind Mercer, reloaded his gun. “That was sloppy.”Evelyn smirked. “It was effective.”Noah, next to her, glanced at the side mirror. “We’re not alone.”Lena flicked her eyes to the rearview mirror. A black car was tailing them.No headlights. No noise. Just a silent shadow creeping closer.Carrow’s people.Lena gritted her teeth. “Hold on.”She yanked the wheel, sending the SUV swerving off the main road onto a dirt path. The tires kicked up dust as the vehicle bounced violently over the uneven ground.The black car followed.Noah leaned out the window and fired. The gunshots echoed in the night, but the driver didn

Chapter 29 Lena's heart was pounding in her ears. The Black Circle had them surrounded. No cover, no escape. The suit guy moved forward, hands in pockets like he didn't have a worry in the world. "You've been causing problems." Smooth, relaxed voice. Too relaxed. Lena gripped her gun harder. "And you are?" He grinned. "Call me Kane.". Evelyn snorted. "I'd rather call you dead." Kane was unflinching. His men closed ranks, guns in hand. "Mercer thought he could get away. He was wrong. You helped him, so you're a problem." Lena's mind spun. They were outnumbered. Outgunned. Think. Noah took a step nearer to her, his hand extended toward his belt. A knife? A distraction? Damien's expression hardened. "You're an employee of Vincent Mercer?" Kane smiled kindly. "Mercer? No. He was an employee. Until he was a liability." His gaze cut to the back of Mercer's dead body. "Seems you took care of that for us." Lena was sick. They hadn't saved Mercer. They had done exactly wha