Page 52 of Lord of Punishment

“Yes.”

“How did you get away from him?”

Why should I tell this man how I’d managed to free another monster’s clutches?

“Tell me, Georgia. I’m not fucking around with this. The man is dangerous. He’s decided to make my family a target. As you might imagine, that doesn’t sit well with me.”

There was a genuine sound to his tone, a look in his eyes that suggested he wasn’t lying.

“I had a friend who helped me. She managed to get me a new identity. Cash. Credit cards. The house here. I had no other choice.”

“Feds?”

“I don’t know for certain, but I think so.”

“Interesting.” He looked away briefly, shaking his head.

Another tear slipped past my lashes.

“They don’t want something for nothing, Georgia.”

“She said she could get fired for helping me.”

His laugh was far too bitter.

When he pressed his lips against my cheek, capturing my tear, I trembled more than before. What was he doing to me? Did he want me to be terrified of him and of what he could do? Well, he’d succeeded. I wanted to push him away, to break the intense connection we continued to share, but I couldn’t find the courage.

He rolled his lips across my jaw, capturing my mouth. I pressed my hand against his chest in a failed attempt to stop his actions. The draw to him was too powerful, the desire furrowing inside keeping me paralyzed. My pulse was thudding in my veins, the sick churning of my stomach as horrifying as the moment.

As Sabatino swept his tongue inside, I wrapped my hand around his shirt even though I knew succumbing to the kiss was a fatal error. He wanted me to feel weak for him. What we’d shared was toxic, the monstrous man exactly the kind of person I’d tried to avoid. I was breathless, escaping from my wretched reality for a few seconds as he dominated my mouth.

When he broke the kiss, he rubbed his thumb back and forth across my lips again, only this time he used more pressure until I whimpered from pain. “If you’re being truthful with me, Georgia, then I will use everything I have to keep both you and your boy safe. That I promise you. However, if I find out you’re lying to me, I assure you that I will make you regret your decision to cross me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, you’re coming with me.”

“I will never go with you. No. I refuse.”

His presence became even more oppressive. “Don’t make me do something I could possibly regret, Georgia. I don’t like to crush precious things, but I have a business and family to protect.”

“Business. You’re nothing but a horrible predator, a big bad wolf with claws.”

“An excellent analogy and you would be right. However, I doubt you’re the kind of woman who wants to provoke the beast. Didn’t you learn that years ago?”

“You’re such a bastard.”

“Yes. I accept that term freely. However, I’m much worse than you think.”

“If you’re trying to scare me, you’re not going to succeed. After what I went through, nothing can nearly as much as that… freak. What am I going to do while I’m there? Be your slave?”

“As I said, provide me with assistance.” He widened his grin and I bit my tongue.

Why had I allowed him to get to me, to peel away my layers? “Where will we live?”

“With me, of course. I have a large estate and don’t worry. Dillon will have everything a growing boy deserves.”

“He doesn’t belong to you.”

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