Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“No, you can’t hide from this. Your parents lied to you,” he says.
“So did you,” I say through gritted teeth.
He holds up a hand. “I never lied to you, Harper.”
“But you knew the truth, and you kept it from me!” I growl. “That’s no better than lying.”
“Knowing it won’t change what happened,” he says.
“I could’ve saved him!” I yell, balling my fists. “My real father.”
He frowns. “Igor? Save him?” He snorts. “He’s the man who put you up for auction in the first place.”
My eyes widen, and my whole body turns numb.
The auction? Igor? No … he’d never do that to his real daughter … right?
“Yes, that’s right, kitten. Your real father sold you,” he says.
“No, he didn’t know I was his daughter,” I reply, trying to make sense of this.
“Does it really matter, though?” Marcello lowers his head to look at me from underneath his lashes. “In the end, I was the one who bought you. And I have zero regrets.”
He places a hand on my hip and pulls me closer. My mind is twisting and contorting with thoughts and emotions I can’t place. It’s too much to handle. I thought I could deal with it, but I can’t. I’ve been shoving it away ever since I saw Frank alive, when he took me and I caused the vehicle to crash into the water … but the facts never stopped swirling in my mind.
And now that I’m here, gazing straight into the eyes of the mobster who knew exactly who I was from the moment I mentioned my parents’ names, I can’t stop shaking with rage.
This may be a safe house … but I am not safe here.
Not with him.
And as he pulls me closer into his embrace, I drift off further into darkness. “Don’t let this come between us, kitten. You’re far too valuable to me.”
“I am not a pet,” I say.
“You are far more than that.” He groans. “Come. This day has exhausted me. You must be tired too after everything you’ve been through. Everything you’ve learned. And our bout of sex.”
Tired doesn’t even begin to cover it.
He tries to coax me to the bed, and I let him. Tears well up in my eyes, but I push them away.
I let him because I have no choice right now. If I were to fight him, it would end in nothing but more hardship. Maybe even pain and bloodshed.
So I go along with it as he picks me up and carries me into his bed, where he pulls the blanket over us and wraps his arms around my waist, spooning me like a protective lover.
“Good night, kitten …” he murmurs, pressing a sweet, gentle kiss to the back of my neck.
But I don’t sleep.
I don’t even close my eyes.
Not as his body starts to warm up mine, not as his light snoring takes over the room, and not as he’s lulled into a deep sleep.
No, I wait until I’m sure he’s fast asleep before I nudge his arms off me and get up. My heart is racing as I put on my clothes as quietly as I possibly can. They’re still half wet, but I don’t care.
My eyes have already homed in on the only thing that matters—a key lying on his nightstand. The key that unlocks all the doors in this safe house.
I tiptoe to it and whisk it off the nightstand, careful not to wake the sleeping mobster.
Because that’s just who he is, and no matter how many times he kisses me, I must remember that. We come from two different worlds, him and me. And for a moment, I forgot that I don’t belong in his. That I can’t be a part of this kind of evil.
Even though I’ve fallen head over heels for this man … this man who stole my heart when it wasn’t something I was willing to give away.
But he did it anyway, and look where it’s gotten us.
Beaten. Betrayed. Wounded.
And he thinks I can move past all of that … just by asking me to.
I shake my head and stare at the man lying on the bed, the man who still believes I’m going to be here tomorrow morning.
“Goodbye, Marcello,” I whisper as I bite my lip, wishing I could kiss him one last time before I leave. But kisses only make goodbyes harder, and I don’t want to risk waking him up.
So I spin on my heels, and with a single tear rolling down my cheeks, I run.
###
The end … for now.