Page 64 of Deceitful Oath
I feel her nod against my chest. “Good, so trust me on that, at least. Why don’t we go upstairs and talk about this some more? Because honestly, we’re pretty out in the open here.”
She lifts her head off my chest and looks around, dazed, but pulls herself up. I jog over to the car, grab her duffle bag, and we head into the elevator. She refuses to look at me the entire way up, focusing on her face in the mirrored walls as she wipes her eyes and nose.
When we get upstairs, she heads straight to the bathroom, and I recline on the sofa, nervously waiting for what happens next. She finally emerges, her face scrubbed clean and her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Memories of waking up next to her in the morning hit me in the gut, making me want to double over.
I will get her back. No matter how long it takes, or what I have to do, she’ll be mine again.
I pat the spot next to me lightly, and she accepts, slowly making her way over and perching uncomfortably on the cushion. She looks so broken and defeated that I can’t bring myself to tell her anything more tonight.
I curse my past self for all the hell I put her through—getting her fired, flooding her apartment, wanting to kill her.What a goddamn fool I was.
“So…”
“So,” I echo, sighing. “I’m the head of the Romano family, recently came into power after my father’s death. We trade illegal goods on the mafia side and produce construction material on the legal, tax-paying side. We try not to kill peopletoo often unless they fuck with us. I’m not really evil unless I have to be.”
She stares at the floor and nods. “And the whole story about your mother?”
“That was all true,” I reply, my voice tired and soft. “She really was wonderful and we really did go to Route 42 often.”
“Okay,” she accepts, crossing her legs and leaning back against the pillows. “So, just checking again, you have no motive or desire to kill me?”
“Absolutely none,” I confirm. “The only thing I want to do is protect you because I…I care about you…a lot more than I expected I would.”
“And I’m safe here? With you?”
“The safest you could be anywhere in the world right now,” I confirm. I gently place my hand on her knee, testing her reaction. She doesn’t pull away, but I feel her body stiffen, so I quickly pull back.
“Can I have some time?” she finally asks. “To think and clear my mind?”
“Luxy,” I turn to her, willing her to look at me. When she finally does, I smile softly. “You can have all the time in the world. I do want you to stay with me for the time being though, because I don’t know what that fucker Mancini has going on right now. You’re safe here with me.”
She nods and slips off the couch, heading down the hall. My heart skips a beat imagining her climbing into my bed, but she stops at the guest bedroom and slips inside, locking the door.
“I love you,” I whisper softly to the closed door, testing how it sounds coming from my mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lux
I’m sprinting through the mansion, slamming doors open and close, desperately searching for a way out.
Dominic, or Rafael, is everywhere.
Every room I run into holds more and more Rafaels.
I scream as they melt away into the floor, the blood-red puddle circling my ankles and pulling me down.
“It’s me! It’s me!” they scream in unison, their features contorting.
The skin peels away from their faces, sliding down their expensive identical suits.
I scream, running, searching for the real thing.
I sit upright with a gasp, pressing a shaking hand to my clammy forehead.A dream, it’s just a dream.
I flop back onto the bed, burrowing myself into the pillows. But the room is too large and unfamiliar. Shadows play on the walls, sneaking in through the windows, making me see things that don’t exist.
An engine roars somewhere on the street below, making me jump.