Page 14 of Forbidden Fate

Still amazed at her beauty.

And I’m glad I’ve kept my hands clean all these years. Well, clean of murder at least. My hands have done a lot of other bad things.

But I haven’t committed the ultimate sin. And I know it won’t be long before that changes.

I lean down, inhale the woman’s scent. She smells like soap and flowers.

I brush a thick lock of hair off her forehead and then lean down farther, brushing my lips against her soft skin.

I could easily violate her. Take her right here, right now. No one would know, including her.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve done, although it would be the first time I took a woman without her consent.

But not this angel. I can’t. She’s perfection, and no one should ever soil perfection.

I lift her in my arms and carry her toward my car in the garage.

“I promise you this,” I whisper to the unconscious woman. “Even though I’m taking you far from your home, I’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you safe, Robin Bellamy.”

7

ROBIN

“Not again,” I whisper.

Concrete. It’s always fucking concrete. I suppose because it’s impossible to escape from concrete unless you have a jackhammer.

No sink or toilet. Just the dirty old cot.

And damn, I have to pee.

Whoever put me here left a plastic pail in the corner. I’ll have to be nearly bursting before I use that.

Where was I before? What the hell happened?

I was…

My mind is so fuzzy, but then it comes to me. I was skulking around Adriana de la Fuente’s place.

Alone.

That was my first mistake.

Everything bad in my life has happened when I’ve been alone.

Alone, without my big hulking brothers to protect me. Or my father. Or even my sister, who, though I never thought she was as tough as I was, kicked cancer’s ass with strength and grace.

Damn…

Is this going to turn into as big a mess as the one I got myself into back in Romania?

A shiver races through me.

I look around again. Same dark cell, same smelly cot. Bars on one side of my cell, but nothing to see. Just more concrete walls.

I smack my lips. They’re already starting to chap, and God, my mouth is dry. I feel like I’m trapped in the desert, looking for water. I’d drink out of the fucking toilet if I had one.

But there’s nothing. I even look under the stupid cot.