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“Come on, we’ve been deeper than this, in more shit than this, and we never pulled out.”
“This is different. This is Dante fucking Anderson, and he’s asking you to get his wife pregnant. It’s too far. You’re bringing an innocent life into it.”
“What if I don’t get her pregnant?” I pause. “What if he thinks that’s what I’m doing, but I don’t. It’s not like he can ask her.”
Callie runs her hands over her face. “I don’t know. It’s too risky. This could end very badly.”
“We both know Dante gets what he wants. If it isn’t me, it’ll be someone else. I can string this out for as long as I need for him to take me under his wing. It’s an offer we’d be stupid to ignore.”
CHAPTER FOUR
8 years earlier . . .
TESSA
My mind is racing and I’m struggling to breathe, like my lungs aren’t fully taking in the air. The room feels hot, too hot, and I pull at my shirt to generate a slight breeze. I perch nervously on the edge of the huge bed inside Dante’s bedroom. He stares at me for an uncomfortably long time, adding to the stress I already feel.
“You have no one,” he repeats.
“I won’t say anything,” I mutter, and my voice sounds weak and so unlike me.
“I know.” He takes my hand and pulls me to stand. He gently brushes some hair from my face and then he lowers his mouth to mine. My heart slams harder when I realise I can’t pull away because his hand is gripping the back of my neck. His lips are rough against my own, and his stubble scratches against me. When he pulls back, his eyes are full of lust. “You’re going to stay here, with me.”
“Huh?”
“You’re staying here, jailbait.”
I laugh nervously, waiting for him to tell me he’s joking. When he doesn’t, my smile fades and I swallow the lump in my throat. “You’re crazy.”
“Have you had sex before?”
Panic replaces the nervousness, and I frown. “What’s that got to do with anything?” I pull free and head for the door.
He snatches my hand in his, yanking me back to him. “Are you a virgin?” I shake my head, suddenly scared to be here, trapped in this room with a man twice my age. A man I’ve seen do the unspeakable. “Shame.” He slips my top from my shoulder, and I shrug him off. He narrows his eyes. “I always get what I want, Tessa, and I want you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” I shove him, but he hardly moves. Instead, he grins. “The hard way is fine by me.”
* * *
The next day, Dante slows the car outside the care home. “Hurry.”
“They’ll ask questions,” I mutter, gently running my fingers over the bruise above my knee.
Dante catches my chin in his grasp and pulls my face to look at him. I wince. “Hurry, or I’ll come in there and find you.”
Josey rushes towards me the second I close the door. “Jesus, what happened?” She checks my black eye.
“I got into a fight,” I mumble, turning my head away. “I’m fine.”
“You didn’t come home last night. You have a curfew.”
“Curfews are for kids, and I’m almost seventeen. Another month and you’ll be kicking me out anyway.” I rush upstairs and slam the door. I fall onto my bed and cry hard, pushing my face into my pillow to muffle the sound. I want to tell Josey the truth and beg her to help me, but Dante said if I tell anyone, he’ll kill Callie and Emerson. They’re the only people I truly care about, and after what he did to me last night, I fully believe he’ll kill anyone who stands in his way.
Taking a deep breath, I push to sit up and look around the room I’ve lived in for the last two years. I don’t know what Dante has in store for me, but it’s not anything good. Judging by last night, I’m heading to live in hell.
Present day . . .
I examine the packet of biscuits before placing them in my shopping trolley, then I glance at Nero, who follows a few steps behind. I’ve never been allowed out alone. I spend days either locked up in the house or following Dante around while he does business. This is the first time I’ve been allowed out of Dante’s sight and away from the house, and I can’t deny I feel sick with nerves. When he announced Nero would be my bodyguard, I didn’t realise it meant I’d get more freedom, and now, other questions are plaguing my mind, like why Dante would suddenly ease up on me. It makes no sense. All I can come up with is that it’s a trick and, later, when I return home, he’ll punish me.
Dante gave me a bank card this morning at breakfast and ordered me to do some food shopping. Usually, he takes care of that by ordering everything online. It’s been a long time since I did anything like this. I’m already on the third aisle in the supermarket and I’m finding the whole thing overwhelming. Eventually, Nero steps closer. “Is everything okay, Mrs. Anderson?”
