Page 124 of Savage Hearts

“Just so you know, it wasn’t Declan’s idea. Your boy offered. Threw you right under the bus without batting an eyelash. Cold as a snake.”

“What was the deal?”

“Don’t worry, it didn’t pan out. I’ll let Stavros tell you the details, but the point is, don’t leave thatputoalone with your silverware. He’ll be tinkling like a wind chime on his way out the door.”

“Why would you tell me this? Even if it’s true, what’s in it for you?”

“Eh, you treated me pretty good when I was in that cage. Gave me a little vacation. A little time to think about my future. Plus, bottom line, you saved my life. Like you said, it woulda been smarter for you to let me burn, but you didn’t.”

I narrow my eyes at him. It dawns on me that he’s brighter than he seems.

“You knew I’d come, didn’t you? When you started that fire, you knew I’d show up to try to get you out.”

His smile is faint. His eyes drift close.

“Don’t take this personally, but whoever your friend Malek is that you mentioned, he was right when he said women make a man soft. I’ve seen it too many times now, with homies even harder than you. A man starts getting really good pussy, likelife-changing pussy,he can’t remember what he used to be so mad about all the time. Sound familiar?”

I don’t answer.

Diego doesn’t speak again.

I really hate it when other people are right.

THIRTY-FIVE

MAL

It’s pissing rain when I get back to the cabin a few hours before dawn.

I stand outside the front door in the dark with my hands braced on either side of the frame and my head hanging down, taking a moment to try to cool off.

Every mile closer I drove, the harder it was not to jam my foot onto the accelerator.

She’s the most powerful magnet, pulling me home.

From the moment I left, I’ve thought of nothing else. Through car rides and plane flights and meetings, while driving an ice pick through a man’s skull. Her face was in front of my eyes the whole time. Hovering there. Haunting me.

That’s what I feel like. Haunted.

She’s a ghost who’s moved inside my head and won’t leave.

A sweet, mouthy, maddening little ghost. Who challenges me at every turn and sees the best in me, even when I’m shouting at her that she shouldn’t.

Especially then.

I’ve never met a woman I wanted to strangle, protect, scream at, cherish, fight with, and fuck, all at the same time.

It’s insane.

It’s frustrating.

Worst of all, it’s addicting.

I’m in the grip of a powerful addiction that I can’t shake, no matter what I try. No amount of denial, rage, or bargaining is going to get me out of this.

There’s no rehab for this obsession of mine. There’s no withdrawal, either.

It’s simply a fact: without my fix of her, I’ll lose my fucking mind.