I slide toward him and sit on his lap, wrapping my legs around his waist. He grabs me instantly, and I grip his face so that we can see each other in the eyes.
He says, “I don't want to hurt you anymore.”
“You won't. You can’t.”
“You don't know that. If you play that role you will have to fulfill all my requests, even if it means denigrating yourself. I can't do that to you, not again.” His eyes are filled with remorse.
“I don't care. Let's just focus on bringing Dante home.” I say, and I can see love and passion all over his face. This is as important for me as it is for him. This is his little brother we’re talking about. I will do anything in my power to help him. I don’t care if I have to kill a million people or just pretend to be a stupid slave.
I’ll get the job done.
“Fuck, I love you so much, it hurts.” He surrounds me with his big, sturdy arms and rests his forehead on mine. I allow my body to feel every inch of him.
“I know.” I smile. Not just because his words make me happy, but also because I just won this battle.
Chapter Forty-Seven
BRUNO
After agreeing like an idiot to Sarah's demands, I keep bathing her, quietly, intimately.
“I know is a little late to ask this, but I need to know something.” Her body is tense, and I feel something heavy coming my way.
“Go ahead.”
“Did you… Do you have a girlfriend or something?” Her voice is low and cute.
My mouth curves into a smile.
“No,” I whisper. I understand now why she said it was late for that question. We just fucked each other like two wild animals. “You?”
“No.” But something in her tone tells me I should keep asking. I collect answers for a living – this should be easy.
“I need to know why and how you contacted Rage.” Fuck, the urge to say that comes out of nowhere. But damn it, he’s obviously involved in her life more than I like. “I explicitly asked you not to do that because I did not want him around you.” This I assert in a cold and serious manner.
Sarah remains silent for a few seconds, as if she’s thinking of the right answer because she knows she can’t lie to me. “If I was the one disappearing, wouldn't you ask for help? I think you would.”
Well, shit, that is the right answer. In fact, when Carter was kidnapped, I had no other choice but to do that exactly.
“Yeah, but, why him?”
“It was by chance. I saw him riding his bike one day. I recognized him and saw an opportunity that I didn’t let go. At first it seemed like a dead end, but he ended up being a great ally. Like I mentioned before, I would not have made it through this journey without his help. Because of that, I now think of him as more than an ally. He’s a friend to me, and I would like you to respect that friendship.” As I'm about to protest, she turns around and puts her fingertips on my lips. “I did what I had to do to survive without you. You cannot judge me for this, so please just accept that it was something out of your control.”
The seriousness and inflexibility in her words hurt me, but she’s right. Who I am to disapprove this new friendship? Certainly no one, but I can’t pretend I’m able to wield control over her anymore, even if my mind explodes, and all I want is to beat the shit out of him every time I imagine they were both in the same fucking room.
I have to keep my fucking mouth shut about it.
And that’s what I will do.
Or try to do…
After I rinse her shiny black hair, I wrap her body with a fluffy towel to stop her from shivering, then dry her body with it. That’s when I notice several bruises and cuts all over her body.
“What happened here?” I ask, when I see a fresh wound on her waist.
“That one is recent, I got it when we fought the pirates over the Red Sea. I hadn't realized that a bullet had grazed me, until the Frenchman pointed it out to me.”
It still amazes me the things she’s been through to get here, how she put his life at risk, all to get to me.
