His eyes lock on mine, wild and angry and dark.He breathes in sharply.“I’ll do one better.”He moves to the passenger door of his car and yanks it open.“Get in.”
I blink.“What?”
“You want to understand?”he says roughly, words edged with challenge.“I’ll show you.You’re coming home with me.”
I don’t move right away but his expression dares me to.
I slide into the seat without a word.
Ronan doesn’t say anything else as we drive into the night.But something volatile is building, like he’s going to explode and I’ll be picking up pieces forever.
This is most definitely going to end in a mess.
The question is whether it’s his or mine.
CHAPTER 10
Ronan
She hasn’t saida word since we left Silvercrest.
Not a damn word.
Not that I want her to.The silence suits me fine because I’m still seething.Not just from her cornering me with Lex, dragging some hollow confession out of me like it was supposed to fix anything—but because it worked.
That’s the worst part… it fucking worked.
Lex looked at me like maybe he didn’t hate me anymore and that should be a relief.It should feel good.
But it doesn’t.
It feels like exposure because Francesca stripped me bare for the world to see.It pisses me off and mixes up my insides.Is she really this nice and empathetic or is she simply looking to do a good deed for the day?
She says she wants to understand me and I’m going to let her choke on the truth of my life.She’ll soon realize I’m not just cold—I’m carved from a glacier.
The drive from Silvercrest to Woking winds through narrow country lanes and sleepy English villages, the late-March light slanting low through bare trees and hedgerows beginning to bud.
I grip the steering wheel tighter, the leather groaning beneath my hands.I don’t look at her when I say, “We’re almost there.”
Francesca doesn’t respond.She shifts in her seat and stares ahead as the iron gates come into view, the profile of her face incredibly beautiful.
I punch in the code.The gates groan open, slow and theatrical, like even they’re reluctant to let us in.I’m equally reluctant to enter, but it must be done.
The estate comes into view and from the outside, it looks like a home.Granted, a really fucking big home, but there’s a warmth to it.
All a facade though.
I park in front of the main entrance and kill the engine.The silence presses in again.
She turns her head toward me, brows lifted.“You live here?”
“No.This is my mum’s home.My dad bought it for her a few years ago.I’ve got a place in London, but I stay here sometimes when…” The words trail off because I’m not sure exactly what possesses me to stay.
“Your mum needs you?”she guesses, finishing my sentence for me.
“She always needs me,” I reply, unable to mask the bitterness.“But more so when I need to be at Crown Velocity to train or help evaluate upgrades.Since the Silvercrest Global Prix is in two weeks, I’ll be based out of here until then.”
She studies my face for a beat, then unbuckles her seat belt and gets out.No further questions.Definitely no fear and that makes me admire her a bit more.
