Page 94 of Hostile Secret
“Damn fucking right I won’t. I should have ripped his arms off.”
When I slam the door shut to trap her inside the vehicle, she glares at me through the glass.
My dick is angry too. It demands exclusive rights to every part of her. No arguments and no threats from anyone else.
I’m not exactly sure how this obsession began, but now I’m fully invested in trying to get over it. Because as it stands, it’s going to be impossible to let her go.
If I hadn’t replayed the voice message she’d left her brother earlier, that situation in there would have looked a whole lot different.
India had freaked out when her friend told her the new plan. But what’s most important is that she didn’t mention Leo during the call. Not even to a beloved ghost.
I’d heard every word she said and felt the raw emotion that came with it. And that included her admission. What started out as a forbidden attraction had quickly mutated into a problem for both of us.
I feel it too.
Unfortunately, I like having her around me and miss her when she’s not there. In the mornings, I look forward to our conversations and the car ride to school when she chooses a song to suit her mood of the day.
This obsession, this madness in my head, is code red.
I storm around the hood and climb into the driver's seat, immediately slamming my foot on the accelerator. The Jaguar easily gathers speed along the driveway. The only sound it makes are the tires spitting grit out in our wake.
“Is this how you’ll treat Leo when he’s old enough to go out with his friends?” India folds her arms and stares at my side profile.
My heart is thumping. She has no clue what she does to me. “Don’t bring my son into this.”
“Why not?” she counters. “He deserves to have friends.”
“He does have friends.”
“Yeah… kids. What happens when those kids become teenagers?”
“I’ll know everything about the people he chooses to hang out with. At that point, he’ll know exactly what life holds for him.”
“And what’s that?”
“Extreme power and limitless wealth.”
“You forgot about family, Gio. If he’s a Souza, then he should be introduced to your brothers. They’d protect him too.”
She’s right. Papá is gone, and so is his threat. But opening up about personal things isn’t something I know how to do—except with her. I feel like I could trust her with anything.
“When Dré finds out you have a son and you didn’t tell him, he’ll be pissed. I know he will be.”
“He married Sinéad without telling me.” I shrug flippantly.
My twin does crazy, off-the-wall shit all the time. He rarely surprises me. However, marrying a woman––that was unexpected––falling in love with her––that was a bombshell. “So, we’re even.”
India sighs. “Hiding a kid in Blackwater isn’t the same, Gio.”
“I get what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?” she says incredulously.
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“No, Gio. I’m trying to point out that it's okay to trust people you’re close to. I love Dré, and I know he’d put his life on the line to protect his family. He can’t do that for Leo if he doesn't know the little guy exists.”
My hands choke the steering wheel, the temper in me spreading like wildfire. I can’t bring myself to think about it.
