Page 28 of Savage Don

“Why am I at your place?” I ask. Shutting my eyes, I try to fight back the pain and the dread.

This may be bad, but it can get worse.

“Because that’s where I brought you after I saved your life.”

“You didn’t save my life. That boy wasn’t going to kill me. He’s not like you. Death has meaning to regular people.”

“How do you know what I’m like?” Ray asks. Before I can blink, he’s snatched the glass out of my hand and started to fill it up with water again.

“The tattoos. The arrogance. I recognize a mafia goon when I see one. You killed a college kid last night—you said so yourself—and this morning your biggest worry is getting me to drink your poisoned water.”

“I assure you, it’s not poisoned,” Ray says, taking another sip for himself.

“It doesn’t matter if it is or not, it’s your water, so it’s corrupted.”

“Do you think I corrupt whatever I touch?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ve touched you. Three times now. What does that mean?”

“It means I’m in trouble.”

A Cheshire grin fills out Ray’s handsome face, lifting up his heavy cheekbones in a way that makes my heart twitch.

“See, you didn’t even take notes, and yet you knew the answer. Am I a good teacher or what?”

“You’re no professor.”

“Never said I was.”

“I doubt you work for the university either.”

“Alright, that was a lie. You got me.”

Filling the empty glass again, Ray pushes it towards me. My dry throat begs for the relief, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction. Still, it doesn’t take long for me to give in.

“What do I win?” I ask, after taking a deep sip.

In response, Ray takes a step back and makes his way over to the venetian blinds. With a surprising grace, he rolls them open. “You win a little bit of light.”

I almost drop the glass in my hands from the harshness of the sun. But it’s not just the brightness that harasses me. It’s that it serves as a reminder to just how fucked I am, no matter what.

“I was hoping you meant that metaphorically,” I mumble, lowering my head and shutting my eyes.

“I did, but I’m not one to pass up a bit of theatrics,” Ray responds. Even though I can’t see him anymore, I can still feel the air shift as his giant body steps back towards the bed.

“What kind of light are you willing to shed?” I ask, my heart clenching weakly.

Being kidnapped has never once been out of the question for me. I’m the daughter of an Italian don. It could be said that it was always my duty or my fate to play the part of a damsel in distress.

Still, I’d foolishly managed to hold onto the hope that maybe I’d manage to escape that life before I could get dragged away into another.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Ray asks, his deep voice surprisingly light. It doesn’t sound like he’s trying to intimidate me or make me feel small, even if he only has to stand next to the bed to do that.

“I want to know why I’m here.”

“I told you, Franny. You’re here because I saved you from being raped by some frat boy.”