Page 72 of Brutal Legacy

Suddenly, my foot gripped onto a firm but pliable hold. I let out a small sob of relief and transferred my foot to the branch and lowered myself slowly. I moved my hand and searched wildly for another place to hold onto.

“Just a little to your left,” a voice helped from below.

I reached for the foothold, realizing what had just happened. I’d been so intent on finding my way down the tree, I’d forgotten that being caught rendered the entire exercise pointless.

I glanced down and swayed, nearly falling.

“Careful, Signora Conti, you wouldn’t want to trip and fall and ruin your big day tomorrow,” my mercenary’s mocking tone drifted up to me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I was caught.

I froze there until the branch under my foot moved. So, it wasn’t a branch, it was his hand.

“Okay, I’m coming,” I muttered and lowered myself.

His hand disappeared under my foot, and I slipped a few inches, then his arms closed around my middle.

My body pressed against his, his face level with my breasts, my feet swinging in the air.

“Put me down, then,” I demanded hotly. I felt like crying. My only chance to get away was gone. Had there ever really been one? Probably not. Ever since this man had appeared in my life, I’d been trapped. There was never any escape.

A tear dripped down my cheek. I was no stranger to crying since Tommaso died, but lately I’d been setting myself a new record.

His gaze searched my face. He wasn’t as guarded as usual. Maybe it was the late hour, but it felt like his face was softer than normal. Maybe I was just imagining it. It was pretty dark out, with only the light of the moon to reveal him to me. A hint of something sweet and peaty floated to me. Had he been drinking?

“Don’t cry, Georgia.”

His deep voice, so familiar and yet so different, broke my heart all over again. Elio Santori had been my safe harbor. The boy who’d blazed into my life and changed it forever. I’d never feltsafer than I had around him, and when he’d left, he’d taken that feeling of safety and never given it back. But this man was not him. Sure, he looked like him and sounded like him, but he didn’t have his eyes, and more than anything, he didn’t have his soul. The Elio I’d known would never be a mercenary for Renato De Sanctis. Hissottocapo, no less. He might have taken the easy payday and run off on me, but there were still lines he wouldn’t have crossed.

Still, despite knowing that this man had less mercy than a pile of rocks, I had to try.

“Let me go, please… just let me go,” I whispered.

He was still holding me suspended against him. Slowly, his arms loosened just enough to send me sliding down his front. I felt every single ridge of his body.

“You could just look the other way, pretend that I’d escaped… Renato wouldn’t blame you.”

“I’d blame myself when the Ravellis caught you, which they would. The only things keeping you safe right now are me and this place. Without De Sanctis protection, you’re lost. Would you choose that over me?”

“But I’m not marryingyou, am I?”

“And if you were? Would you still be out here, trying to run away?” he pressed.

I changed tack. “I can take care of myself, better than you think. I would be okay out there.”

His thumb rubbed across my lip, startling me and stealing my frantic words.

“It’s done, Georgia. There is no escape, not from here, and not from me. There never was.”

Anger surged in my chest. The fucking unfairness of it all. I parted my lips as his finger brushed past, and it fell just inside. He jerked against me. I swiped my tongue over the end of his thumb and then closed my teeth around it.

I bit down hard, and blood filled my mouth.

He just stood there and took it. He didn’t fight back. I bit down again, daring him to push me away, but he only watched, impassive. Untouchable. I attempted to bite harder, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.

I pulled my head away, releasing his finger, and spit a mouthful of his blood onto the grass.

“Time for bed.” His voice was quiet. He took my arm and firmly steered me toward the house.

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