Page 44 of Twisted Games of Revenge

Relief washes over him. “Good girl.” He pulls me into him, stroking my now very wet hair. “You did good, Red, really good.”

“Why do I still feel so sick over it? I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted him to leave me alone.” I feel teary, knowing I haven’t been able to deal with what happened at all. “Sometimes at night when I’m trying to sleep, I still see him bleeding out, it’s horrifying.”

He pulls me a little closer. “He got what he deserved in a hell of a lot more humane way than I would have done it. Predators like that are the scum of the earth, Red.”

I let him hold me close as I try to block the memory of him bleeding out from my mind. But the reality is it’s just another scene to add to a very haunting catalogue of the last twelve months. As much as I want to act like a badass bitch like Sloane is, I’m not. Everything I have been through leaves me with ghosts.

He takes a washcloth and squirts some body wash onto it then glides it over my body. I relax into him, enjoying the way it feels to have his hands on me again. When he’s done, I take the cloth from him, soaping up his delicious body. Every muscle is ripped perfection, giving me the urge to run my tongue over his abdomen, down to his… Fuck, he’s hard. And if I wasn’t trying to get him into bed so he can sleep off his poor choices, I would get down on my knees and suck him off right now.

I quickly glance up to him instead, swallowing the lump in my throat and he takes the washcloth from me. He knows what I’m thinking. He’s so fucking hot for me right now, I can feel the heady desire swirling through the air.

I wait until I know the water has run over him enough to rinse him off then I shut it off. Heat is radiating off my face, not from the hot water. He stares at me, his chest rising and falling slowly. When I’m with Geovani, it’s what he doesn’t say that scares me the most. The haunted way he looks at me when I know his mind has gone to some dark place. I take a step away and pushopen the glass door, taking a plush white towel and wrapping it around myself before handing one to him.

“Do you need me to get you anything? Advil for your head?” I offer, thinking he must have the hangover from hell right about now and needing to say anything that’s notI want to fuck your brains out.

“You know I don’t take that shit. I’ll be fine.” He pushes past me, going to the vanity, adjusting his towel so it’s around his waist then squirting some toothpaste on his toothbrush before brushing his teeth.

I have no idea why, but I lean into the tile wall, just watching him do something so normal. So simple. When he’s done, he spits out and spins round to face me. “What?”

I pull the towel a little tighter around my chest. “I’m sorry. I hated lying to you. But I needed the freedom to take control of my life again. And with you boys calling the shots and watching my every move, I never could.”

His forehead creases. “I thought you were lying in a fucking ditch somewhere dead, Red. Sorry is not going to cut it this time.” I can see how furious he is with me; it’s masked behind the pain I caused him, but it’s there.

I’m not sure how to explain this to him, but he has to know things are different now. We’re not going back to the same old controlling stuff where he watches my every move, that shit is crazy and nothing real can come from it. “Sloane was there, she saw what I did the night I got attacked and offered to help me. I have my own place now, the Strykers backing me, and a real plan to take down Enzo.” I can’t help the small smile that paints my lips knowing what I achieved without all of them. “I can do it without you, but I would prefer to keep you in the loop. All the lies and secrets have already caused too much trouble for all of us.”

“You’re not working for Sloane, are you?”

“Just behind the bar when she needs me, it’s not a big deal.”

Panic etches itself onto his face, his eyes wide and unfocused. “I don’t want you working in a sex club.”

“Not you as well. I’m just working behind the bar, not shaking my tits or screwing dudes for cash.”

He captures my hand roughly, his nostrils flaring, his eyes darkening in a way that makes my heart race. “I appreciate Sloane was there to help you, but now that I know where you are, nothing bad will ever happen to you again.” He states it as a fact, his tone unwavering, his eyes locked on me, suggesting he has full control still.

I tilt my head up toward him defiantly. “Why, because you’re not letting me out of your sight?”

“Something like that. You can tell Sloane you’re working for me again and you don’t need her bar job.” His lips twitch up at the sides in that psychotic way only he can get away with because somehow it makes him look sexy as hell.

I yank my hand free from his grasp. “Geo, I didn’t come find you so you could lock me up in your apartment again. I wanted to make sure you were okay. And now that I see you are, I’m going back to my new apartment and my new life to finish what I started.”

“Like hell you are, you just told me yourself you nearly got raped by some scumbag dirty cop. And now you’re working for a known gang member at her sex club. Why would I let you back out there alone for some other cunt to finish the job?” His voice booms off the tiles walls as he loses his shit.

My hands fly to my hips in defense. Is he fucking kidding me right now? I lock my eyes with his, not backing down. He will not control my life, just like I won’t let the other boys. “No offence, Geovani, but because you have no choice, I’m a free woman and I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want. I don’t need you or the Moretti brothers to rule my life anymore.” My voice holds astrong, scary edge to it. I have no idea where it came from, but I like it. I won’t let this man push me around again. No matter how good his real intentions are.

He takes a step back from me, looking stunned. I’m not sure what he expected, but the girl standing before him isn’t it. “So, you’re what, one of the Iron Strykers now?” he snaps back.

I laugh because it sounds so ridiculous. “No, I don’t belong to anyone. Sloane and I have a mutual agreement that we’re working toward, that’s it. When I have achieved what I set out to do, we will part ways.”

He closes the gap between us, trying to cage me in with his large body, but I sidestep him and move into the bedroom. “You already look like one of them,” he seethes, bitterness dripping off his every word.

I’m not even sure where I’m going, since my clothes are back in his bathroom, but I just needed to get away from him for a second. “So I can stay concealed. This isn’t by choice but by necessity. I know you understand that.” My voice is smug because he was the one who came up with the whole secret identity thing last time.

I feel him right behind me, his hot breath on the back of my neck. “The Morettis already found you or you wouldn’t have known I was missing and come looking for me.”

I tug my towel closer around myself, feeling the cool air on my skin and wishing I had clothes on for this conversation. The tension just intensified, and I’m not sure if he wants to fuck me or fight me. Knowing Geovani, it’s probably both. “Yeah, they know who I am. We have come to an agreement.”

“They’re happy for you to keep running around like this?” His touch is sudden and unexpected as his hands close over my arms, and with a not-so-gentle turn, I find myself facing him.

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