Page 43 of Twisted Games of Revenge

“Sure has,” she mutters with a sideways smile, and I can already tell she likes him more than she likes Alessandro. But most people do. Alessandro is an acquired taste.

He slings an arm over my shoulders and lets me help him out to Sloane’s car. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Red. A fucking shit ton of it.”

Guilt eats at me again. “I know,” I agree, not ready for this conversation just yet. He needs to sober up first, then I will explain it all. And hopefully, he will forgive me.

Sloane locks up his gym for him then hops in the front, leaving me in the back seat alone with him. I give Onyx directions to the boys’ mansion, and Geovani leans into me, falling asleep on my lap again as we drive.

Sloane looks over her shoulder at the two of us. “Shit, Viv, what do you think happened back there?”

“Me.” I shake my head. “He couldn’t find me. Geovani has a slight stalking obsession, and I ditched all his tracking devices.”

She shakes her head and gives a little sly look to her bodyguard sitting stoically in the front. “Might have fucked with his head a little,” she agrees like she gets it, and I wonder if there is more to her relationship with Onyx than meets the eye.

I’m sure she’s right. Maybe even I didn’t realize how bad it would be if I just disappeared on him. But he did promise me I was on my own, and from the scene I witnessed back there, that was never going to be his intention at all. He thought he was going to be able to spy on me from my new location, and when I just disappeared, he flipped his lid. That’s my guess, anyway.

Chapter 19

When Onyx dropped usoff at the boys’ place, Sloane had some business to deal with at the club, with a huge VIP party she is running this weekend. She promised to be back for me before the end of the day. Alessandro also wasn’t back from Geovani’s apartment just yet, and the other boys were not around, but the guards had been told to let us in.

He’s quiet, unusually so, and I’m sure he wants to lick his wounds alone, but I don’t want to leave him like this. Not until I know he’s alright. I make him a coffee and watch as he drinks it down, staring into space. He looks broken, a shadow of his former self, and that really scares me.

“Can I get you something to eat?” I ask, trying to bring him back to the land of the living.

He shakes his head, and I know he probably needs to just sleep it off. He’s no use to anyone like this.

“Come on.” I hold my hand out to him and lead him up the small set of stairs that take us into the bedroom he was staying in at the front of the house before I left. Then just like the nightwhen he first brought me back to his apartment all messed up, I help him undress and get into the shower.

He stands with his head back against the tile wall, letting the warm water run over his face and his body, his gorgeous, tattooed, ripped body now on full display. I know now is not the time to drool, but I actually can’t look away. Even suffering from the hangover from hell, he still looks edible.

His eyes meet mine. “Red, join me. And take that fucking wig off, you look like Biker Barbie.”

I stifle a laugh, catching sight of myself in the mirror. He’s not wrong. I don’t know what possesses me to do it. Maybe I’m feeling weak after thinking he was dead for a split second this morning, or maybe I just really missed him and selfishly want his body pressed to mine all soapy and hard. But against my better judgment, I strip off the jeans and tank I have on, followed by my underwear, and lastly the wig, letting my long hair fall free over my shoulders. It feels good to have it off.

I walk toward him, his eyes pinned to my body, eating up every inch of me, then I slip under the steaming water with him.

His hands trail up my arms over the fake ink now marking my fair skin. “These better be temporary. If I find out you have destroyed your perfect skin, you don’t even want to know how I will punish you.”

My hand reaches his face, and I run a finger over his busted lip. “You’re one to talk. No need to pull out the belt just yet, these will all come off eventually.”

He rests his head on mine and inhales deeply. “But the lip ring won’t. Lucky it’s a good look on you.”

I laugh lightly. I’m so used to it now, I don’t even think about it anymore.

“What the fuck were you thinking disappearing like that? Anything could have happened to you.” He pulls my body soclose to his, like he just might never let me go again. I can feel how much I scared him.

I roll my lips, not sure if I should tell him or not. “Anything nearly did. But I’m okay, I have Sloane looking out for me, and my knife thanks to you.”

He pulls back from me a little, taking my face in his hands in a way that forces me to stare right into his dark eyes. “Who the fuck attacked you?” he growls out, and I feel the tremor in his hands.

I sigh heavily. How can he see all that just from looking into my eyes right now? I take a step back from him, letting the water soak my hair and run over my eyes. I know he’s about to overreact, and I’m not quite sure how to ease him into this little nugget of information. But I won’t hide shit from him. No more secrets; they only make shit worse for all of us. “After I stole Dani’s car, I went back to Sloane’s club looking for Enzo or trying to find information that might lead me to work out how to destroy him. Some asshole took a liking to me and followed me out of there, dragging me into the back alley behind her bar first chance he got. I later found out he was Wyatt Cross, a dirty cop on Enzo’s payroll.”

Even though we’re not touching anymore, I feel his body tense. “Wyatt Cross.” He spits out the name like he knows him. “He’s a fucking dead man.”

I stare up at him, not sure if I should admit what I did or not. “Yes, he is,” I whisper, dropping my eyes away from his scrutiny.

His hand comes to my chin, forcing me to look back up at him. “You killed a cop?”

“He was going to rape me. I did everything you showed me and fought him off, then he came at me again, and I pulled my knife on him. It was self-defense.”

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