Page 25 of Savage Hero

They should be safe…for now.

But what if I’m here for a week? A month? What then?

Who’s going to take care of my family?Athena knows where I keep some of my money, but that will barely be enough to see them through the week.

And what the fuck is Donny going to do when he can’t get hold of me and he hears Bryan is still alive?At least no one knows where they are. I’ve made sure of that.But Donny has connections. How difficult would it be to track them down?

I fall face-first on the bed and punch the mattress as hard as I can.

Fuck!

Chapter Thirteen

Savage

If Vito hadn’t phoned when he did, I might have done something I seriously regret, like leaving the crying baby right there in the fucking hallway I’m busy pacing and letting someone else sort her out.

There’s asmellcoming from her diaper and I’m pretty sure I won’t find a pile of chocolate mousse in there.

As soon as my phone vibrates in my pocket, I rip it out.

“Tell me you found someone,” I snap.

“You’re a sick fuck, you know that? I mean, bro, I’ve got fetishes too, but breast milk? That’s…that’s fucked up, even—”

“Where is she?”

“Relax, bro,” Vito laughs. “I found your goddamn titty nurse. She’s downstairs in the kitchen with me. I knew you wouldn’t take pics, so I got—”

I end the call. Princess hiccups and then starts a new round of cringe-inducing shrieks as I hurry across the hall and down a narrow flight of stairs.

A woman in her late thirties is standing awkwardly beside Vito when I burst into the kitchen through a service door, the howling baby balanced on one arm.

“Savage, Matilda. Matilda, Sa—” Vito begins, waving his hands in the air between us.

“Here.” I hand her the howling thing, relief flooding over me when the nurse maid takes her without question. “Feed her.” I wave a hand. “Change her…things.”

“Sí, señor,” Matilda says before disappearing down the hall toward the servant’s quarters.

“Christ,” I mutter, smearing my hands down my T-shirt like the baby leaked poop all over me. The smell was bad enough, I actually checked to make sure.

Vito has a finger in his ear, wiggling it around like he’s gone deaf. “Got a pair of lungs on it.”

“It’s a girl.” I inhale deep, shake my head. “He told her to stay.” My hands are on my hips as I turn to Vito, shaking my head. “He told her to fuckingstay!”

“Maybe he always wanted a daughter.” Vito shrugs and takes out his phone. “I mean, it’s not like she’s got somewhere else to go.”

“She can live on the street for all I care!”

“Woah, that’s a little harsh, even coming from you, Savage.” Vito frowns at me. “I mean, she’s a little young to be—”

“She’s old enough to disrespect me.” I lean closer, giving extra weight to my words as I drop my voice to a rough whisper. “Old enough to throw fuck-me eyes at me every time she sees me.”

Vito’s face drops. Then he shakes his head and claps a hand over his eyes. “When did we stop talking about the baby?”

I slam my fist into the marble countertop. Disappointingly, it doesn’t crack. “This is serious, Vito. I can’t have her here. She needs to go!”

“So tell your papa that—”

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