Page 136 of Savage Don

And what the hell was Sonia talking about?

Fucking hell.

My skull starts to throb as the weight of it all becomes too much to bear.

Father’s comments, Sonia’s revelation, Ray’s secrets.

They threaten to tear me apart from the inside out.

My mind is racked with guilt and dread and regret and uncertainty. All of that shit whips around beneath my skin like a hurricane, shredding me with shrapnel.

Still, through the storm, through the pain, through the fear, one troubling thought stands out.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

29

Ray

“Follow me.”

The last thing I want to do is push Francesca any further. But she needs to be distracted, and fast.

Otherwise, she’ll get sucked into the twisted quagmire of what just happened.

It went about as well as it could, but I underestimated Sonia’s pettiness… and Francesca’s, too.

Too many personal secrets were revealed: Sonia fucking the bodyguards—if Domenico didn’t already know—whatever that was with Francesca’s mother; and worst of all, my shameful history with that harpy that Francesca has been forced to call a step-mom.

I was hoping that I’d eventually be able to reveal it all to Francesca in a gentler manner. But now, I can see the gears spinning behind her glistening hazel eyes.

She’ll want to know. But now isn’t the time.

I just bought her, and I won’t allow Sonia to corrupt our first true moment together.

“What the hell was that all about?” Francesca shouts after me, as I turn and start to march away. Her voice breaks from an over swell of emotion. Still, she follows after me.

“It was a clean break,” I tell her, not bothering to look back over my shoulder at her.

Keep following me, kitten. I’ll melt all of the bad stuff away. Just get yourself to the bedroom, and I’ll take care of the rest.

“That was not clean,” Francesca croaks. “That was horrible.”

“Separations usually are.”

“I thought you wanted what’s best for me?”

That stops me in my tracks. Abandoning the route back to our bedroom, I turn around and wait for Francesca to catch up. Then, I grab her by the shoulders and stare deep into those stunning hazel eyes.

Fuck, she’s gorgeous.

And she’s mine.

But it’s not as simple as that. I need her to want this as badly as I do.

“I do. Trust me when I tell you that what just happened was for the best. You don’t want to hold onto any sympathy for those people. Whatever happens to them, it should not concern you.”

“He’s my father,” Francesca rasps, tears welling up in her eyes.