Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Instinct wills me to fight, but I’m terrified of provoking him. Instead, I measure him like prey assessing a hunter, ready to defend myself if he pounces. I’m no match for his strength, but I won’t make anything easy for him.
He doesn’t touch me like I expected him to. He just stares. As he studies the spot on my pelvis where he pushed his knife not so long ago, his expression turns into something ugly. He’s difficult to read, but the emotion that flickers in his icy blue eyes seems a lot like disgust.
He can go fuck himself. I’m not ashamed of the life growing inside me. Yes, I’m single and penniless, but I didn’t plan this. However, I’m determined to see it through.
What’s wrong with Saverio? Why does he keep on studying my body with that mixture of loathing and anger? I cup my hands over my stomach in an instinctive reaction to shield the fragile life I’m carrying from the invasive leering of the murderer facing me.
Saverio isn’t going to kill me. I believe that now. He needs me. I’m his alibi. Too many people saw him near the murder scene. They all witnessed him kissing me. Yet there was a moment when he pressed the tip of the blade against the exact place where the baby is growing that I thought he was going to slice right through me. He must get off on violence, because it made him hard.
Then the people left the bar, and he kissed me. It was a strange kiss, one that was achingly tender while something disturbingly dark and dangerous flowed underneath. He only did it to prevent me from screaming, but the way in which he molded his lips around mine was surprisingly gentle. It reminded me too much of how he held Mr. Lewis in his arms as my boss blew out his last breath. The thought makes me shudder anew.
“How far?” Saverio asks, finally dragging his gaze back to my face.
“What?” I stammer.
“How far pregnant are you?”
“Twelve weeks,” I say through dry lips.
He digests the information before going to the bar, grabbing one of the glasses, and knocking back the wine.
When he speaks again, his voice is level. “Who’s the father?”
What kind of a question is that? He already intruded in my space. He has no right to invade the most intimate part of my life by demanding such personal information.
“That’s none of your business,” I say, my quick temper getting the best of me despite my anxiety.
Nothing in his demeanor changes as he picks my cardigan up from the floor and drapes it over the thin robe around my shoulders. “Let me rephrase that. Where’s the father?”
The strange act throws me off balance. It takes me a moment to command my anger and use it like a weapon. “Why?” Animosity rides on my words. “Do you need to assess the danger?” Maybe if I tell him my lover may show up at any minute, he’ll leave me alone. “He could be here soon.”
“Anya,” Saverio reprimands with a click of his tongue, circling me like a wolf sizing up a lamb. He continues in a suave voice, “You’re a bad liar.”
I swallow when he stops in front of me again.
Holding my gaze, he says with a soft smile, “You’re all alone, tesoro. The old lady downstairs said so herself. What were the words she used again? A dry spell.”
Heat pushes up in my neck. I swear I must be blushing to the roots of my hair.
“No one is coming to rescue you,” he continues. “It’s just you and me, my little liar, so play nice and answer the question.”
I hate that he knows that about me, that I can’t pretend to have a knight in shining armor who’s ready to kick down the door and fight for me. I’m resentful to admit, “It was a one-night stand.”
The muscles around his eyes tighten. “Does he know?”
I blink. “I don’t understand this line of questioning.”
He cups my cheek. “Humor me.”
The touch jolts me. When I jerk back, he lets me go, but he doesn’t get out of my personal space. He stands his ground, waiting. He’s not going to give up until he gets the answers he wants.
“Yes.” It’s too fresh. The admission still hurts. “He knows.”
Understanding bleeds into the cold blue of his eyes as he no doubt sees the pain and disillusionment in mine. “He’s not going to own up to his actions.”
Hiding my humiliation behind a shield of confidence, I lift my chin. “No.”
Contempt transforms his features. “A man who doesn’t take responsibility for his actions is the worst kind of coward.”
Coming from a cold-blooded murderer, the judgment surprises me, not that Evan doesn’t deserve it.
A soft knock on the door startles me.
Saverio tenses. He bites off every word. “Do not move. Do not say a word.”