Free Twisted Desire by Laura Dunaway Page A

so stupid,” she suddenly cried out. “You always told me not to leave the cabin without you, that I was safe with you, but I didn’t listen. I left the cabin, and that happened. I’m so stupid!”

    Hearing her words made me even more enraged. Part of me wanted to go finish Rico off, and the other to hold her and never let go. Instead, I put my finger under her chin and lifted so she’d look at me. “I told you I never wanted to hear you blame yourself for what happened, and I meant it. What happened is not your fault, Penny. I’m not going to say any more on this. You’re safe with me, okay?”

    Her beautiful eyes looked at me as she nodded, and I felt myself exhale. I would never tell her now that she never should have left the cabin without me; she already knew. I also understood why she left, even though it had pissed me off. Once I’d gotten back and saw she wasn’t there, I knew she was in trouble. Rico had become obsessed with her, and while he swore up and down he wouldn’t touch her, I knew better. Having no idea how much time had elapsed since she’d left and I’d come back, I hurried and called Roman on my cell to alert him she was missing and my suspicions that if Rico had come across her, they were in his cabin. Roman had instructed me to head there right away, that he and his main bodyguard, Theo, were right behind me.

    Swearing when I remembered Rico’s room was on the other side of the yacht, I ran faster than I ever had in my life. When I rounded the corner of his hallway and heard her cries, I started pounding the hell out of his door. I broke through easily, and when I saw him on top of her and Penny crying, I lost it on him. For all I knew, I’d killed him. For his sake, he better hope I did.
     
    “Will you please take me back to the cabin?” she asked, wiping her nose on her sleeve. I reached over and got her a tissue, then nodded.

    “Yes.”

    I slid off the table and held out my hand for her. She took it and got down, tightening her robe. Her face was covered in bruises, once again making me seethe with pure hatred.  

    I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, opening the door of the examination room. The doctor was standing at the main desk and looked up when he heard us walking out. His eyes warmed when he saw Penny, which made me feel slightly better toward him.

    “Ms. Santoro,” he began as he approached us. Penny stepped closer to me, making me hold her even tighter to my side.  

    “Please don’t hesitate to come to me if you have any questions or if you need more medical attention,” the doctor continued.

    Penny just nodded.  

    “I’ll make sure she contacts you if something comes up,” I told him. He just nodded and stepped aside, allowing us to walk out.

    I led Penny down the hall to the elevator. She was shaking, and nothing I did eased her trembling body. I clenched my jaw as we waited for the elevator to arrive, with me looking around making sure no one was near her.  

    We finally made it back to her cabin, and I opened the door to let us in. She broke away from my hold and headed straight to her bed, flopping herself down and turning away from me. I stood against the closed door, wondering what I should do.  

    “Please don’t leave me,” she said softly from her pillow. Hearing the catch in her voice, and the fear, almost broke me. This girl had been kidnapped and now almost raped. An innocent thrown into a dirty game. Taking a few breaths to keep calm, I nodded. Breaking away from the door, I walked toward her and sat on that stupid chair. The sea was calm and a striking blue, completely opposite of how it was on the yacht. I wondered what Roman and Theo did with Rico, and I was going to find out. But for now, this girl didn’t want me to leave her, so I wouldn’t. I was going to do everything within my power to help her recover from this.

    “I’m right here,” I told her. “I think it would be good if you took one of