AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’s never been meek, not since the moment I met her. Isabella Balestra burns with an inner fire unmatched by none, and I always thought it would take a special kind of man to be able to step into her flames and survive. Thrive.
Right now, they’re guttered as I keep my arms on either side of this meek shell of a woman. As though she’s trying desperately hard to remember the backbone she used to have.
My worry ups another notch.
“You said you trusted me, Ricardo, but here you are, almost causing a wreck,” she says. “Just leave me alone.”
I wave my hand blindly to the side, gesturing to the empty country road. “What did you give him? Hmm? You were supposed to wait for me to get the information in order. So what did you give him today? And don’t even think about lying to me.”
“I gave him what he asked for. Not the real deal.” She narrows her eyes on me. “I had Archie give me fake plans. Exactly as you suggested.”
Except Drago wanted more than the plans, didn’t he? The plans were only a step to see how well Isabella would comply.
Does she know it now?
I crowd closer to her, caging her against the smoking hood of her vehicle, trying to get myself under control, but I can’t because I’m fucking scared. For her. It’s all for her. My heart damn near beats out of my chest.
“And what did he ask from you?” I want to know.
Nothing she gave would have been enough. Only a test to see how far he can get her to bend and stretch before something is destroyed inside of her, along with the rest of her loved ones.
“I’m handling it, Ricardo,” she tells me.
And she is beautiful enough to steal my breath. One of the reasons that drew me to her in the first place. Her long mahogany hair is soft enough to make me forget myself when I bury my hands in it, and those wide hazel eyes. She’s always looked at me like I’m the only man in the world, and there is nothing so humbling or so terrifying.
Today, she’s shucked the dress for a pair of casual pants and a shirt that shows off entirely too much cleavage for my peace of mind. Tall and willowy, strong and delicate, a mixture of dichotomies in a beautiful package with those lips ready for me to kiss her and seal whatever deal she’ll ask of me.
“That’s not an answer,” I force myself to say.
She doesn’t fight against me. Not even a little bit. She forces her body to go slack even as I crowd her closer yet, her spine straight. She never backs down with the posture.
“I got into this mess. As you’ve already told me a thousand times before. Now I’m going to get out of it.” She’s insistent, and yet she never raises her voice.
I want her to.
“You and I are in this together.” What about that is hard for her to understand? “I have it covered. If you don’t trust me, then we’re no closer to a solution. I thought I made it clear to you when I decided to fuck you in front of him.”
Her breath catches in her throat, her pulse throbbing at the side of her neck. “You don’t have to be crude.”
“Don’t you know me at all, sweetheart?” I drop my voice lower, hoping to play on her nerves. “I’m not the good, kind man you want me to be.”
She opens her mouth to automatically argue and then snaps it shut.
“I’m not the guy who is going to tell you what you want to hear, and yes, I rub people the wrong way. I’m abrasive, I’m crude. And I get shit done the way it needs to get done without cutting corners. You went over there without talking to me, and worse. You fucking lied to me.”
“It’s not a lie,” she insists.
“You told me to my face you’d wait at home.”
“Well, I’m sorry.” She juts out her chest to push against me, and her hands move to her hips in the space between us. A small measure of defiance. “I told you I’d wait, but I knew what I had to do, and so I went there. I got the job done the way I needed to get it done, and if you’re so content to make threats and call me names, then just do it. Call me every name you’ve ever wanted to call me.”
I hate the way she throws my own words back in my face. “You're not ready to hear them. Trust me,” I say.
“I’ve done a lot of trusting you.”
“And where has it gotten you? Is that what you want to say?” Her mouth forms an O when I grab her by the back of the head and yank back. Her eyes widen even further. I thread my fingers through her hair tight. “Where has trusting me gotten you, Isabella?”
She tries to pull back from me, and I secure my grip. I’m not sure what I’m expecting. Certainly not the way she lifts her elbow and slams it against my ribs. She’s in the wrong spot, but a twinge of pain rises from the area regardless.
