Page 38 of The Devil's Pawn

I wonder if this caused him to come out of hiding from whoever it is that’s after my family. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m here. Not only am I safe from Carlito, but I’m safe from the men after my father too.

Dad was always kind to me growing up, but I knew I was nothing more than another soldier in his army. Someone whose job it was to obey. He treated me like I was his little angel, but also like his commodity, an object to shine and make pretty. I was supposed to remain a virgin until marriage, but little do my parents know, I haven’t been a virgin for a very long time.

To their knowledge, I never had a boyfriend, but I did have a few short-term ones behind their backs. It got difficult to sneak around, though. I was constantly lying and telling them I was going out with friends from work when I was really out with a guy.

The women in my circle are nothing more than toys for the men in their life, whether it’s their fathers or their husbands. Our opinions don’t matter, and our happiness sure as hell doesn’t. All that matters is that we do what we’re told when we’re told. I can’t stand it. And I can’t wait to be away from it forever.

I reach the pool, grabbing a chair floaty from beside it, then climb down into the perfectly heated warm water. Lying over the float, I close my eyes. The sun blazes down on top of me, and I love the heat on my skin.

The music plays from the speakers set around the garden, music I put on before I came out here. Dermot Kennedy’s voice fills my ears; the song “Better Days” hits me right in the heart. A song about finding the light in the darkness. I hope I find my light soon, because the dark has been overpowering me for too long.

Just as I’m about to hop back in the water, I feel a hand grip my inner thigh. My pulse throbs in my ears as my eyes fly open. I find Dante smiling and his tanned, tattooed skin glistening with beaded droplets of water.

“Oh my God, you scared me!” I pant, a hand landing on my chest while my eyes refuse to unpeel from his body.

His legs are hidden in the water as he backs away into the shallow side of the pool while I drift over the deep end.

This is the second time I’m seeing him without his shirt on, but unlike when he got shot, I can actually enjoy the view this time. He shouldn’t wear clothing. Period. His stomach is shredded with an eight-pack, and my fingers are itching to trace his abs. To feel them.

And getting a better view of his tattoos is like looking at a piece of artwork. The ink starts on the right side of his neck, drifting down his shoulder and forearm before finally wrapping around his knuckles. But it doesn’t stop there. The black vines and matching roses also spread over the right side of his torso, with a large skull on his chest, surrounded by black flowers.

It’s as though his body is cast in both light and darkness. A man split between two worlds, caught in the middle with no way out.

“My sincerest apologies, wife. You looked so good lying there, I needed to join you. How was the shower earlier?” He comes toward me, placing a hand on my thigh.

I jerk with a wild stare.

“How did you know I took a shower?” I slap his hand off me.

Has he been watching me? Is he some creep?

I wait for an answer while he combs a hand through his hair, looking a little unsure of himself.

“Dante?” My voice is thick with ire. “You’d better tell me right now. Do you have cameras on me?”

“How mad would you be if I said I did?” He grins.

I snarl, splashing him with water and huffing out a breath.

“I can’t believe this!” My tone is clipped now, inhales rattling inside my lungs. “How could you not tell me you’ve been watching me doing God knows what!”

“I’m sorry, baby. Let me explain.”

“No. Fuck you!”

I try desperately to climb out of the chair, but his palm lands heavy on my knee.

“Let go! I’m leaving! You, this house, everything. I don’t need this. I’ve had enough of being controlled by my family. I don’t need it from a damn stranger.” I fight to get his hand off, but he calmly keeps it there. “You must be some sick perv to be watching me!”

“That’s not it, sweetheart. Let’s talk.”

But I don’t want to hear it. Instead, I try harder to get out of this stupid chair, even as he clutches to me with pleading eyes. But instead, I flip right into the water.

It envelops every inch of me as I tumble into six feet of water.

Down. Down.

Drifting.

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