Page 62 of Deceitful Oath
I should just call the police.
But Lisa’s text message and the rage in her eyes when she came home, stops me. I might be making the wrong move, but I don’t want to involve myself in anything shady—not when I finally have a real job and a chance at a good life.
I look down at my phone and type 911, but I can’t bring myself to press dial. Instead, I scroll to Dominic’s name and call him instead. A dark thought lingers in the back of my mind, and I need to know if I’m right.
“Lux?” he answers, confused and pleased.
“Do you know Rafael Romano?”
Silence.
Finally, he coughs, clearing his throat. “Where are you?”
I glance up, reading the sign. “Bus stop at 33rd and Eastmore.”
“Stay there,” he says, his voice different than I’m used to. It’s darker, edgier, and it makes me shiver. “Are you safe?”
“I have no idea.”
“Fuck,” he growls. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I curl up in the seat, pulling my hood over my head and tugging it closed. My mind races with the possibilities of what everything means but I can’t ground myself enough to make any sense of it.
A dumpster slams shut in an alley nearby making me jump out of my skin, magnifying my paranoia.
I take a deep breath and pull out my phone again to distract myself. Slowly, I type Rafael Romano into the search bar. My eyes scan the page eagerly.
Entrepreneur. Mysterious billionaire. CEO of Ventura Inc. Sexy philanthropist billionaire donates millions for new children’s hospital.
What in the world?
A car horn interrupts my sleuthing and I glance up, spotting Dominic’s SUV speeding down the dark, empty street. I springup and jump in as soon as he pulls up, locking the door immediately. I glance over and he’s staring at me, concern written all over his face.
“Tell me everything,” he says, pulling away from the curb and hurtling us down the road. My mind is too overwrought to ask questions, so I tell him the entire story—Lisa’s relationship to Carlo, the dead man in the mansion, the Rafael Romano remark.
He sighs deeply, staring at the road. I watch his knuckles turn white with the force of his grip on the steering wheel. Finally, he clears his throat and glances over. His eyes are full of apologies, deep enough to drown in.
“I’m sorry, Luxy,” he says softly. “I haven’t been honest.”
It hits me. The truth hits me so hard that I almost throw up in the passenger’s seat of his ridiculously expensive SUV.Too expensive for a screenwriter to be able to afford, honestly.
“You don’t know Rafael Romano,” I say slowly, my hand gripping the door handle, ready to run. “YouareRafael Romano.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rafael
I grip the steering wheel so tightly that I worry it’ll snap for a second. I loosen my hold. I feel her eyes boring into the side of my face, daring me to deny it. But there’s no denying it.
She knows the truth—although how much of it, I’m still not sure. So, I play it safe.
“Why do you think that?”
“So, you’re actually going to deny it?” she asks incredulously. “Just tell me the truth, Dominic…Rafael, whatever your name is.”
“Yes, I’m Rafael Romano,” I admit. I pull the car into my parking spot and turn it off, swiveling to face her.
If I’m going to tell her the truth, I need to see her. I need to read her face because try as she might to hide it, I’ve spent too many hours studying that face. And nothing gets past me. I’m still unsure about how much I should reveal when she interrupts me.