Page 173 of Fall into Savagery

But fuck.

There really wasn’t anything around.

I struggled more with my binds.

Panic made it hard to see.

My vision started to go black.

This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t—

My heart stopped when I heard two sets of footsteps come in.

I paused what I was doing and watched the wide doorway as Agnello came in, along with a smiling Alina.

He took one look at me and laughed.

I resisted the urge to move back.

There was nowhere to go.

We didn’t say anything for a moment.

He looked different.

No longer the powerful man who had haunted my dreams and thoughts, he looked and reeked of desperation.

He wasn’t in his signature expensive suit. Instead, the man in front of me donned a stained white t-shirt, dirty jeans, and greasy, long hair.

He was hiding from the Bratva, and this was what he had become.

He looked older than his fifty-five years.

And I wondered if he ever looked back on his life and regretted all those innocent people he had hurt on his quest for power and more power.

Probably not.

I took in a deep breath when he took a step toward me.

He pulled his hand back without saying anything and slapped me hard on the side of my face.

My cheek vibrated from the effect of the force, and the headache was back.

I tasted metal and sucked on my bottom lip, which I was sure had split open from the impact.

I would have fallen on my face had I not grabbed onto the pole beside me.

“Look at you, you stupid bitch. Everything is your fault. I fucking lost everything because of you. After years of taking care of you, putting a roof over your head, and food in your belly, this is how you repay me? This is how you repay your father?”

My eyes widened in surprise before anger took hold.

He wasn’t my father.

I knew it.

And what was more, he knew it, too.

I had been nothing more than a pawn to him.

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