“She has no ambitions, dreams, or goals outside of the facility. Refuses to participate in the activities provided. Long bouts of depression. Bad social skills and a lurid sense of the world around her—”
He slaps the file closed, and just as I think he’s about to address what’s in it, he turns his back to me and throws the entire thing into the fire.
The pages catch and burn, and I swallow hard. “Is that supposed to make me feel something?”
“Does it?” Turning back to face me, his eyes lower to my body, something that makes me uncomfortable because I know what I must look like—a terrible mess.
“How are you here?” I whisper, emotion welling in my throat.
Moving forward, he’s stops right in front of me. “Stand up.”
“What will you do if I don’t?” I challenge, and there it is, the slightest flash of something in his eyes that look so fucking black in the firelight, showing me just a hint of the person I knew.
His chest rises and falls in a silent sigh. “Something you won’t like.”
“Go ahead. You don’t scare me,” I snarl. “Nothing you do will be any different to what I’ve already been through.”
Grabbing my arm, he roughly pulls me off the chair and out of the office. Pushing open a different door, we’re suddenly outside and in a private parking lot. He marches me in the direction of a sleek black car. Rain spits at me, and my body shivers from the cold.
“No!” I dig my heels into the ground and pull against him. It only makes him tighten his grip. “You’re not taking me back. I’ll fucking kill myself before you do!”
He slams me up against the side of the car, hard enough to make my spine cry in protest. Water seeps through my clothes and chills my skin. “I’m taking you to dinner.”
“Do you think I’m buying that?”
“Actually, I am.” I shiver when his eyes rake down my body once again. It’s not sexual. He doesn’t desire me. If anything, he looks disgusted, which bothers me more than I like. “If you don’t get in the car, I will put you in myself, and we really don’t want that now, do we?”
Not wanting him to touch me, I open the door and get in. Once I’ve settled over the leather seat, he backs up and slams my door in my face. My teeth chatter as he gets in next to me, and while my instincts scream to run, my legs are like lead and won’t move, knowing what this man is capable of.
He fires up the engine, but before pulling away, he locks gazes with me. Since I arrived at Stonehill, people haven’t looked at me in the eye. It wasn’t long until I realized it was because they don’t want to see me.
Milton sees me, staring at me with eyes I once couldn’t get out of my head. Still can’t. He thinks he has me all figured out, but I’ll have to show him that he doesn’t. “Are you going to behave?” he asks.
“Fuck you.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He turns on the heat and then the radio, backing out of the parking space. After leaving the lot and driving down a private lane, I realize he doesn’t go into the city. He takes old roads instead, avoiding the main ones. Sticking to the shadows like he knows nothing else.
Eventually, we pull up outside a small building in a secluded area with only a few townhouses. The engine dies, and he gets out of the car first, circling around the back and opening the door for me. Once I’m out, his hand falls on my shoulder, probably to stop me from running from him.
Keeping me close, we approach a black building with red accents and dimly lit inside. A place that looks too romantic for the likes of Milton and me. The aroma of food instantly makes my stomach growl as we enter, reminding me that I haven’t eaten all day. Only a few are in the restaurant, and while it should relax me that we’re in public, I know not to be. “Milton?” A tall woman approaches us with a wide smile. Wearing a fitted black dress and killer heels, her hair a deep shade of ebony, skin tan and glowing. As I look closer, it surprises me to see the eyes of a predator peering back. Ones that barely hide a salacious and deviant appetite.
“Bella,” Milton says as she leans over and places a kiss on his cheek. One that’s not too lingering or makes contact.
“It’s been a while.” I shrink under her assessment when she turns to me. “Bellissimo.” She smiles. “Lei è tua?” A muscle works Milton’s jaw, and her eyebrow rises when he doesn’t answer. “Very well. Your business is your own.”
Unexpectedly, she reaches forward and takes one of my blond curls in her fingers. Her eyes soften, tongue dampening her lips.
Fingers snake around my waist and Milton pulls me back against his body, breaking her contact. The heat from his body flares through mine as he says, “A table Bella, please. I don’t have all night.”
Her back straightens defensively, reminding me of a feral cat. “Of course. Right this way.”
We follow her to a table, and I scoff when Milton pulls out a chair for me, as if this is a date or something. “How are the kids?” he asks Bella then.
“Up to no good.” She places menus in front of us, and he flicks through his. “Would you believe my Rika turned twenty just yesterday? And she’s still available if you’re looking to settle down, Milton.”
He smiles at that. “You must be desperate to get her out of the house if you’re offering her to me.”
She laughs and asks, “Drinks?”
“Water will do.” Nodding, she walks away, and he watches her leave for a few
