CHAPTER20
FLYNN
Make his life a living hell.
I can’t focus on anything other than that. Wesley has certainly delivered on his promise because every day of my miserable life, I’ve suffered at his hands.
The hatred burns so deep I almost feel it singe my soul and break it apart before reforming it into something else entirely. I was taken from a mother who would have loved me, even though she had nothing, and made Massimo think he had a son who was responsible for the death of the woman he loved. What a fucking shit show and I have the starring role.
I am silent and it’s only when we are several kilometers aways from Cedar Heights that Louise rests her hand on my arm and says gently, “Are you ok, Flynn? I’m worried about you.”
I merely nod because I can’t trust myself to speak and she says softly, “Please pull over. We need to talk about this.”
Swerving sharply to the side of the road, I turn to her with the madness blazing from my eyes and only the fear in her expression stops me from smashing up my car.
Instead, I ball my fist and bang it onto the steering wheel and shout, “I’m going to fucking kill them both.”
Louisa’s cool hand on my face stops my rant as she twists it to face hers and the large, emotion filled eyes that stare at me with such compassion, douse the flames just a little.
“We got what we came here for. We have the answer you wanted most in the world. Thatwewanted most in the world. You aren’t related to Massimo, Flynn. You’re nothing like him.”
“Then who is my father, Louisa?”
I stare into her eyes with the hatred burning bright in mine.
“I’m guessing I already know the answer to that which doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Wesley?”
She looks worried and I groan, leaning back in my seat. “I would stake my entire bank balance on it. That cunning bastard saw a chance to guarantee his future, and he took it and fuck everyone else.”
“What do you mean?” She looks confused and I snap.
“Good old Wesley, from the kindness of his heart, took an abandoned baby and pretended it was Massimo’s son to save his precious daughter. Fuck that. Wesley saw a golden opportunity and has made Massimo forever in his debt. He raises his son and makes his life a living hell, earning Massimo’s undying loyalty for it. All the time Wesley knows the truth but thinks nothing of using his own son to save his own miserable skin. The fact it was Wesley who subjected Vivian to the most violent rape is exactly what he would do. Hell, he does it most nights for fun and then blows their brains out before they can talk.”
Louisa looks away and I regret my words. Just seeing the revulsion and horror on her face breaks me all over again because I put it there. It’s like a pail of cold water drenching me back from insanity and I reach out and pull her roughly against me and bury my face in her sweet-smelling hair that has the scent of fresh apples.
“I’m sorry, baby, you don’t need the details. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
To my surprise, she holds me with a fierceness that I wasn’t expecting and says firmly, “None of this is your fault, Flynn. You apologize for nothing. We will face this together, and I am always going to be on your side.”
Just hearing the words rebuilds a small part of my shattered soul and as I pull back, I drown in deep pools of emotion. Louisa is staring at me as if she wants to take all my pain for herself and as her lower lip trembles and the tears spill down her pretty face, it brings me back to the thing I want the most.
As I run my thumb across her cheek, I wipe the crystal water away from her eyes and whisper huskily, “It turns out we’re not related after all.”
A tentative smile ghosts her lips, and she whispers, “I think it does.”
I stare in wonder at the woman in my arms and now the possibilities for us have changed, I am keen to move things on. However, Louisa is inexperienced. She must be afraid and so I whisper huskily, “I think we should return to the apartment and work things out from there.”
As I make to pull away, she reaches out and drags me back to her and the slight flush on her face and her erratic breathing are like the greatest aphrodisiac in the world.
“Not before you kiss me, Flynn.”
She blushes as she says the words and I smile.
I can’t help dragging my finger across her plump lips as I say huskily, “Are you sure, baby? Do you really want to step over the line with me?”
“I do.” She bats those thick lashes and looks like a Botticelli cherub. So innocent, so sweet, and so tempting.