Page 7 of Recaptured by the Crime Lord

He could have. It didn’t even register in his mind that he was going to strike her—he just reacted without thinking.

“You’re out of control.”

“Going to jail will do that to you.” Being caged when he should have been hunting for the new crime lord drove him insane. Not knowing where Lyla was caused him to use the walls of his cell as a punching bag.

“How long were you in?”

“A year. I've been out six months, looking for you.”

“You didn't have to. I'm fine.”

Fine after being stabbed and watching his father be tortured to death? There were shadows in her eyes that would never fade. “So what Carmen said isn't true?”

“Gavin let me up.”

“I need this.” How could he tell her that her presence was the only thing keeping him in one piece?

“I can’t do this, Gavin.”

“You can.” She had to.

“You can’t just show up and take over,” she said and slapped his shoulders.

He didn’t bother to contradict her since that’s exactly what he did and would continue to do without mercy. At eighteen, she claimed him. It didn’t matter what happened in the intervening years. What was left of his soul craved her. She loved him once. She would again.

“What do you want from me?” she asked.

“Everything you promised me.”

She strained beneath him, but had no hope of jostling him. He weighed twice what she did and he was solid muscle.

“You broke your promise to me, Gavin!”

He had and it ate at him. If he listened to her, his father would still be alive and she wouldn’t have run from him again. “Everything is going to be different this time around,” he said against the smooth skin of her throat.

“It doesn’t feel like it. You blackmailed me into marrying you and you’re holding me down.”

“When we get home, I swear it’ll be different.” He couldn’t talk here. He wanted to be in their home, in their bed where he could spill his guts. Knowing that everyone was on the other side of the door made him feel crowded and crazed.

There were three people on the planet he gave a shit about and two of them had been murdered on his watch. He watched life leak out of the man’s eyes that shot Vinny only to find out that he was a pawn of the new crime lord. He dreamed of ways he could torture the man who murdered his father. Some called him a psychopath. Maybe he was. He didn’t have a wide range of emotions unless it involved the small circle of those he loved. With Vinny and his father gone, the only anchor he had was Lyla. He couldn’t function without knowing where she was. He hoped she was ready to take him on because she was the only one who could.

CHAPTER THREE

Lyla

Lyla spent the two hour flight from Montana to Nevada in bed with Gavin. Neither of them slept. Every word out of his mouth sounded as if it pained him. Her struggles and complaints made no difference so she stayed prone, wondering why God hated her so much. When the plane landed, Gavin didn’t move until Blade knocked on the door.

“She’s gone,” Blade said.

“Who’s gone?” Lyla demanded, knowing full well he was referring to Carmen. “Where did she go?”

“To her mother, like I said.” Gavin sat up and paused as if he needed to get his bearings.

“Are you on something?” It would explain his psycho behavior.

“I wish,” he muttered and rose. “Let’s go.”

Lyla stretched and didn’t flinch when Gavin took her hand. After having him lay on top of her for nearly two hours, hand holding was nothing. Gavin led her off the jet and into the dry, desert heat. Las Vegas. She couldn’t escape Sin City, it kept calling her back. Gavin led her to the waiting SUV and once more climbed into the back with her. He wore sunglasses so she couldn’t read his expression. She had no idea what was going on in his head. If they crossed paths again, she expected him to grovel at her feet or be the remote killer he’d been when she left Las Vegas. The man who forced her into marriage was neither. There was something brewing beneath the surface. She didn’t want to find out what it was.

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