Page 20 of Monster's Claim
He lifted her face and gave her a kiss.Shegripped his arm, comforted by the familiar, demanding press of hislips.He released her mouth, running his fingers through the shortstrands of her hair.
“Everything’s going to be all right,”Matthias added.
Lara wasn’t entirely sure about that.
Chapter Eleven
“Lara, I’ve heard plenty of things aboutyou.I’ve decided it’s about time we finally met,” Giovannisaid.
Giovanni Severin seemed like a handsome,nice, and cultured man on the outside, but Lara reminded herselfthat Giovanni was Matthias’s and Marco’s father.The former head ofthe Familia.
“Good or bad?”she asked, deciding to playthe game.
“You’ve voluntarily given us all theinformation you have on one of our ex-bookies,” Giovanni said.
“Skip’s my ex, but I didn’t know he workedfor you guys.I’ve told Matthias everything I know, and there’s noreason for me to hold back or lie.”
Giovanni reached out across the table togive her clenched hands a pat.Lara wasn’t even aware of doingthat.
“In this line of work, I’ve encountereddifferent kinds of people.I can tell you’re not a bad person.Youjust happened to be swept up in someone else’s mess, am Iwrong?”
She fidgeted her fingers.“I never expectedany of this to happen to me.I’m no one special.”
“Then I feel I must apologize on behalf ofmy son.Matthias hasn’t exactly been right as rain since aparticular incident with left him with those scars.”
Lara raised her head, stunned.Angerreplaced her initial anxiety.How dare Giovanni refer to his son asthat?For that matter, Giovanni shouldn’t simply dismiss Matthias’storture as “that incident” as if anyone could survive the hellMatthias went through.
Too tongue-tied and angry, she could onlyglare at the old man, not entirely hearing his words.Giovannididn’t know his son at all.Maybe Giovanni was just like Marco.Both men only took advantage of Matthias as being the Familia’storturer forever.That thought made her see bright red, and Laranever thought she was capable of this much rage.
“I’ll personally make sure you’re taken careof,” Giovanni was saying.
“What?”she asked dumbly.
“We have a special drug I’d like for you totake.Don’t worry, it’ll only help you erase your memories of thelast few days.”
“Erase?”she whispered.As in forgetMatthias entirely?Was Giovanni joking?
“Exactly.You won’t remember a single thingabout this traumatic incident.The next time you wake up, it's asif you’re merely starting a new day.”Giovanni beamed at her likehe was doing her some kind favor.
Giovanni looked down at the table and shookhis head as he looked at her bandaged leg.He patted her arm again,like she was some hysterical female he felt obliged to comfort.“You can trust me, Lara.I’m not a brute like my son.”
A brute?What were her days like before shemet him?Work.Sleep.An empty existence.Even after Skip got sickof her and left, she thought she’d feel liberated, free.The onlytime she felt alive was under Matthias, when she was on thereceiving end of his scorching kisses and possessive touches.
“Don’t talk about your son that way,” shesnapped.“If you ever learn to look past his scars, you’ll see aprotective heart that’s capable of caring.Kill me if you must, butI don’t ever want to forget him.I love him.”
She let out a breath.Love might be too soona word, but she was definitely getting there.Giovanni regarded fora few damning seconds.Someone could shatter the mounting tensionwith a knife.Oh God.Did she just mouth off to the mostpowerful man in the Severin Familia?
Lara prevented herself from blurting out anapology.Instead, she met the old man’s gaze steadily, silentlydaring him to challenge her words.To her surprise, he ended uplaughing, his chest heaving back and forth with the effort.Giovanni wiped the tears of what seemed like amusement from hiseyes.
The weight in her chest lifted at therealization Giovanni hadn’t meant his harsh words about his son atall.Oh, he was good, trying to get her riled up to admit thetruth.Giovanni was probably just feeling her out, trying to readher intentions.
The sound had Matthias running into thekitchen.Her man stared at his father with narrowed eyes.
“What did you say to her?”
“He offered to wipe my memories with a drugand let me go,” she said.
“There’s no such thing,” Matthias said.“Imean, you’ve already been with me for days.That drug only worksfor erasing the memories of the past twenty-four hours.What gameare you playing, Father?”
