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Sabatino took a deep breath, closing the distance once again. He cupped my jaw forcefully, pulling my head toward him. “Talk to me. Trust me enough.”
“It doesn’t matter any longer. He’s out of my life for good. I left him and that life far behind years ago.”
“Then why are you frightened?”
“Why? Because he threatened my life. Suddenly, you appeared out of nowhere and I had no idea what to think.”
“Is that why you’re holed up here in this house, never doing anything that you want to do with your life? Is that why you’re living in a small town in the middle of fucking nowhere? Is that why you don’t have any pictures including of friends, Georgia? And is that why you’ve kept mementoes of your past life in a box you keep hidden including from yourself? You color your hair to keep from being recognized. Don’t you? You wear cheap clothing because you think that’s what you deserve. Right? Am I getting any warmer?”
“Stop it. Just stop it. You don’t know anything about my life.” I was horrified at what he was saying to me because no one had ever put the circumstances of my horrible life into that kind of brutal perspective before. I tried to get out of his hold, but he was determined to find the answers. Tears welled in my eyes all over again. No. Fuck, no, I couldn’t allow this to happen.
“I know enough to realize when a woman has been terrorized and is still afraid that one day, the man who abused her will find out that he has a son. He gave you that scar, Georgia. Do you know that it’s a symbol?”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he growled. “It’s a gang symbol. That means you’re right in that the father of your child, the man who abused you, beat you, and carved his gang symbol will stop at nothing to get you back. Nothing.”
“A gang symbol like the gang you’re probably in?” I spat the words before I realized what I was saying. “Drugs were found on that boat. Drugs. If you aren’t a DEA agent, which I doubt, then you’re part of the problem. A horrible, disgusting problem.” I was shocked at the vehemence in my tone.
He took a deep breath, staring at me with the cold eyes I’d seen only a day before. God, I really was stupid bringing him into my life and my home.
“Drugs,” he repeated.
“Yeah. Do you know what could happen to my son? Bastards like that don’t take kindly to people knowing they are drug runners or whatever they’re called these days.”
I could tell he was remembering additional details. My God.
“While that might be the truth,” he said more quietly than I’d anticipated, “I have never and will never hurt a woman or a child. That’s not something you can say about this man who gave you Dillon.”
“I don’t know what you’re capable of and neither do you.”
The ugly tension swimming between us was as debilitating as everything else.
“I suppose you’re right, or at least if that’s what makes you feel safe then by all means allow yourself to think that way. The truth is I might be the only person who can stop the nightmares and the hunt.”
“By becoming the same kind of man, right?” I challenged. “By killing him.”
“If that’s what it takes to ensure that he never lays a hand on you again, then I have no qualms about crushing his windpipe between my fingers.”
“That makes you just like him.” I backed away so he couldn’t grab me again, moving quickly into my bedroom, pulling open my nightstand drawer and reaching underneath where I kept my emergency stash of money. My little protected area wasn’t secure by any means, but it was something anyway. After grabbing a few hundred-dollar bills, I stormed back into the kitchen, slamming the money down by the burner phone I’d bought him.
He didn’t say anything, even though I wanted to dare him to go ahead and tell me more about what he intended to do so I could easily turn my feelings into hatred. “I was so stupid to allow you to come into this house. I trusted you with two little beings that mean more to me than my own wretched life. My son and my beautiful dog. Here’s your money to buy you enough time to secure your memory and make some calls. Take that and the phone.” I grabbed my keys and purse, heading toward the door.
“Where are you going, Georgia?” he asked, the sound just like I would have imagined he’d use.
Possessive.
The man had to be out of his mind if he believed I would ever allow him to learn anything else about my life. I’d fallen into the abyss of stupidity now twice. It would never happen again. “I’m picking up my son and taking him out to dinner. When I return, I expect you to be gone. And Sabatino, or whatever the fuck your real name is, I don’t ever want to see your face again or I will contact the sheriff.”
I took long strides toward the door, caught off guard by the softness in his voice just as I opened it.
“I assure you that powerful men whether good or bad will stop at nothing to keep what they believe belongs to them. He will find you one day. And he will kill you.”
I hesitated before walking outside. Why did that sound as if he’d also laid claim to what didn’t belong to him?
CHAPTER 14
Sabatino
