Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Savannah and I are both staying because she won’t leave me—
Fuck! Savannah.
She should have come back from the bathroom by now.
32
SAVANNAH
My voice finally returns when we exit the stairwell and head to the hospital entrance.
Finally, I find my voice, and my body unfreezes. “Why, Miles? Why are you doing this?”
“Because you were promised to me, Savannah.”
“Why do you want a wife who hates you?”
“Did I say it was what I wanted?” He shakes his head. “You really don’t have a clue how all of this works, do you?”
He’s not wrong.
I’ve tried to distance myself from what my family does.
I hate the whole idea of it.
It took both of my brothers, and I was determined that it wouldn’t take me.
But I’m not strong like Vinny is. Like Michael was.
They were strong…and it took them anyway.
I try to wrestle out of his grip. “Explain it to me, then. How does this work? Why do you need me?”
He doesn’t reply.
Falcon…
Falcon has no idea where I am, and he has no way of finding me.
He’s got other things on his mind. His sister, first and foremost, and then of course the detectives who are hounding him about Abel’s death.
Abel’s death…
They’re going to try to send him back to prison. I know the system. I’ve worked in the system. I know how they look at ex-cons.
No.
I won’t let it happen.
Not to Falcon.
Not to the man I love.
He would do anything to protect me.
And damn it…I’m going to do the same for him.
“Miles,” I say.
“What?”
“If I go with you—if I do whatever it is that you need me to do without arguing—could you do something for me?”
He stops and meets my gaze. “I’m not in the habit of making deals.”
I scoff. “You’re kidding, right? You made a deal for me back in the day, remember? I recall being locked in a conference room while your father and mine and a couple attorneys decided our lives.”
“You’re correct.” He shrugs. “I should rephrase that. I’m not in the habit of making deals with you, Savannah.”
“You mean with a lowly woman?” Women are regarded as chattel in these organizations. It didn’t take long to figure that out.
He doesn’t reply.
“Why are you okay with this? Surely you’ve got someone else you love. Or you could find someone.”
He looks away. “That’s inconsequential.”
“It shouldn’t be. Love should never be inconsequential.”
“It is in my case. Just as much as it is in yours.”
The look in Miles’s eyes is… I can’t tell what it is. Is there someone for him? A woman? A man? A large animal? I can’t tell. He’s cold. Cold as ice, like the blood in my veins.
He leads me away from the entrance and down a more secluded hallway near the cafeteria, which is now closed. “No deals to be made, Savannah. You’re mine, so you’re coming with me.”
“I’m telling you I will come,” I say quietly, “without fighting you. Whatever it is you get by having me at your side, I’ll see you get it. But there is one thing you have to do for me.”
“Did I not just say I won’t make deals?” Flecks of saliva sputter from his mouth.
I gulp back my nausea. “You did. But I could run away screaming right now, and that wouldn’t bode well for you.”
“You won’t do that.”
“Won’t I?”
“You’re forgetting that I’ve known you since you were a kid, Savannah. The day you were born, you were promised to me. I was ten years old. You think I haven’t watched you over the years? You’re meek. Meek and weak.”
I gulp again, summoning my will against his harsh words. “Weak? Meek? Are serious? Did you see what I did to Giancarlo?”
“That doesn’t change who you are at your core. Quite frankly, it’s good that you choose fight over flight. But that doesn’t change who you are. Not on a day-to-day basis. Not when you’re not being threatened.”
Anger courses through me. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” I curl my hands into fists, open my mouth—
Miles clamps his hand over my lips, muffling my scream. “So you’re not meek little Savannah,” he whispers against my ear.
His hot breath makes me want to retch.
“Fine, I will hear you out. When I remove my hand now, Savannah, you’re not going to scream again. Is that clear?”
I can’t speak with his hand over my mouth, so clearly he wants me to either nod or shake my head.
So I do neither.
“You going to answer me?”
Again I do neither.
With his other hand, he wrestles with something and —
I go cold.
There it is. The nose of a gun against my back. He couldn’t have gotten it out of his ankle holster so quickly. He had it in his waistband, underneath his jacket.
Small town hospitals. They don’t check your belongings before they let you in.
Finally I nod.
“Good girl.” He removes his hand from my mouth slowly. I gasp in a breath.