by Sienna Blake
“Of course I do.”
“If you take him in, you have no chance of finding out.”
“That’s not true.”
“Don’t bullshit yourself, Jules. You’ve dealt with cases like this before. When does the bad guy ever talk to the cops?”
Almost never. These guys were trained not to squeal. They were always more afraid of their “boss” than what law enforcers could do to them. Jail time looked like a breeze compared to their fate if they talked.
I swallowed hard, almost afraid to ask. “So where are we going?”
“Somewhere quiet where we can talk to him.”
I bit my lip, warring with myself. I should take Eduardo in. It was the right thing to do. But…
Roman was right. If I wanted answers, I had to talk to him first. No police station, no cops, no law. A strange rush traveled under my skin. Some part of my brain told me this was wrong, but somehow it felt like the right thing to do. I had always hated how the good guys had to stick to the letter of the law while the bad guys got to scribble lines all over it. Tonight I was leveling the playing field a little bit. Tonight it was personal.
“Just talk?” I asked.
“In a matter of speaking.” Roman shot me a look. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You get to keep your pristine reputation.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Roman pulled into an unlit lot and turned off the engine. The sudden silence in the car was so loud it was pressing into my ears. He switched off the headlights. My world went dark for a moment before my eyes began to filter in the pale moonlight. I flinched when I found Roman leaning into me, staring at me in the dimness, his minty breath swirling around my cheeks. “Jules…”
We could have been two love-struck teenagers parked in a secluded spot on their first date. “Yes,” I breathed.
“Lock yourself in the car.” He climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked around the back, disappearing behind the trunk lid when he opened it.
What? I climbed out after him. “Where are you going?” I skidded to a halt beside him. Eduardo was slung over his shoulder again.
“Get back in the car.” He slammed the trunk closed with his free hand.
“No. You’re not leaving me behind.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “You don’t want to watch this.”
“What are…?” The realization of what he was going to do suddenly became clear through my shock-addled brain. “Oh my God.”
“Did you think I was going to bring him to my apartment for a nice little chat? Make him some tea, perhaps?” Roman gave me a hard look before he strode towards the dark warehouse.
I jogged after him. “Are you going to hurt him?”
Roman turned towards me, gravel crunching under his heel, managing even with a limp body over his shoulder to make it look graceful. “Jules, he tried to take you.” The aggression rolling from him in hot waves made me shiver. “If I have to beat him to within an inch of his miserable life, I will find out who hired him and why. That’s why you’re staying outside in the car.”
“No.”
“If you stay outside you can plausibly deny you know anything about it.”
“I’m already lying to them about you. What’s one more lie?” I blurted out.
What’s one more lie? This was a slippery slope. I was already losing my grip.
Roman let out a growl of frustration. “Inside this warehouse…I might have to say some things…do some things… You shouldn’t witness it.”
I bristled. “I’m not an innocent little girl, you know? I’ve seen my fair share of—”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“Then what is it about?”
His features twisted, etched with anguish. Something was tearing him up inside.
“Tell me, Roman.” I stepped closer to him, pleading with my eyes for him to trust me.
He opened his mouth. Eduardo let out a soft moan.
“Damn you, he’s waking up.” Roman strode forward and kicked at the warehouse door. It crashed opened with a bang that made me jump. He disappeared into the darkness of the warehouse with his burden across his shoulder.
I hesitated at the entrance. Maybe I didn’t want to see what Roman was about to do. Maybe I didn’t want to get involved.
Despite these thoughts, I felt a tug drawing me to follow him. Whatever Roman was about to do, he was doing for me.
But why? Why was he doing this? He didn’t have to get his hands dirty. Least of all for me.
I glanced around at the darkness that seemed to swallow everything around me and shivered. I couldn’t stand being out here alone, I’d rather take my chances inside. I ran in after him.
11
____________
Julianna
The inside of the warehouse was bare, just a few cranes lay dying on the gritty floor, their reaching arms like cancer-eaten bones. Roman must have turned on the lights, sickly pools trickling down from one of the exposed beams, dust motes floating like lost souls in the musty air that smelled sharply of corroding metal. This place hadn’t been used in months.
Roman dropped Eduardo on the ground by a thick studded metal pillar flaking with rust. Eduardo twitched and let out another moan.
Roman spotted me, his shoulders tensing. He strode towards me, brows furrowing. “I told you to stay outside.”
“And I said no.”
He let out an exasperated grunt. “I don’t have time to argue with you. At least make yourself useful. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.” He walked into the shadows.
“Where are you going?” I called after him, the sudden loss of his presence making my hair stand on end.
“Back in a sec.” His voice echoed through the darkness.
I stared around me, my shock feeling like it was rattling awake again. The light above me acted like a spotlight. In the edges of the shadows I swear I could see monsters waiting to jump out at me.
Stop it, Julianna. You’re being silly. There’s no one here except for you and Roman.
Oh, and the bad guy lying on the floor.
Roman reappeared with rope which he thrust into my hands. “I’ll hold him against the pole and you tie him up.”
“What?” I stared at the rope in my hands, now feeling as icky as a snake.
“Would you prefer to hold up his weight while I tie him up?”
I stared at the 200-odd pound dead weight in the form of an unconscious man on the floor. “I guess not.”
Roman grabbed Eduardo under his arms and hoisted him up to sit against the metal pole. “Do it.”
I eyed the man and the rope. Where were my damn cuffs when I needed them? Okay, tie the man up with the rope. I’d seen this done countless times in the movies. This should be easy. I began to uncoil the rope around the man, but Roman was in my damn way. I had to tuck my arms around him to get the coil of rope around the man and the pole without tying Roman up too. Being this close to Roman, my arms around the width of his warm muscular torso, his scent in my nose…it was muddling my brain.
Rope. Bad guy. Stay focused, Julianna.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Roman said sounding amused.
I let out a huff. “Excuse me if I have no experience tying bad guys up.”
“You’d make a terrible criminal. Remind me never to hire you.”
I gawked at him, almost dropping the rope.
He rolled his eyes. “Kidding. I’m kidding, Jules.”
Finally, I managed to tie the rope around Eduardo’s torso and arms securely enough to the pole so he couldn’t move or get away.
I brushed my hands and stared at the man I had just tied up. Jesus Christ. What the hell had I gotten into?
Roman was staring at me, a dark look in his eyes.
“What?” I asked.
He shifted his weight. “What you’re about to see…the man I’m about to become…he’s not…”
I suddenly understood. Roman hadn’t wanted me to follow him ins
ide the warehouse because he was afraid of what I’d think when I saw him do what he had to do. He was afraid that I’d run away screaming, that I might never look at him the same way again. For some reason, Roman Tyrell cared what I thought of him.
“I know, Roman,” I said simply.
His eyes widened as if my answer surprised him, as if he couldn’t believe what I was telling him. I let him study my face for signs of a lie. When he was satisfied, relief flittered across his features, a warmth glowing that I thought might have been lost to me. “Jules…” he said so softly, it felt like a caress across my heart. There was so much that was unsaid, from both him and me.
“Just do what you need to do,” I told him.
Roman nodded, before a hardness closed over his features creating that same cold mask I’d been introduced to in the interrogation room. He looked terrifying with the light casting down on him from above, cutting shadows across his features. He looked callous, without remorse, almost…evil. Alarm bells rang out inside my body. Run! my instincts screamed.
I forced myself to stand my ground. This is not Roman.
Roman knelt in front of Eduardo, who was moaning, his head rolling to one side. For a single moment I felt sorry for the man who was about to wake to a nightmare. Just for a moment. Until I remembered what he had tried to do to me.
Roman slapped Eduardo across his face, the crack echoing into empty space.
Eduardo let out a cry, his eyelids flickering. “What the fuck,” he mumbled. He began to struggle against his ropes, his face twisting with rising panic as he rose to consciousness. His eyes snapped open. Then grew into two bloodshot moons. “R-Roman Tyrell.”
In that moment, I almost felt jealous of Roman. Imagine having that kind of reputation, that kind of power that went with your name or your face. As a woman I had to fight for every ounce of respect from other men, especially with guys that I arrested or interrogated, and unfortunately, with other male police officers that I worked with.
Roman’s features were diamond hard, a bitter disgust curling his lips. I realized he hated being seen as a monster, although he played the part so well. He hated his reputation, his last name.
How long does the world keep telling you who you are before you stop fighting it?
“You know who I am,” Roman said in an even tone. It wasn’t a question. A mere statement of fact.
The man nodded, his head jerking like one of those bobbleheads on a dashboard.
“You’ve heard what the Tyrells will do to men who displease us?”
The man swallowed hard. Then nodded again.
“Then you know that I can be the devil or I can spare you. That choice is up to you.”
“W-What do you want?” he stuttered.
“I just want to talk.”
“Talk?”
“I will know if you’re lying to me. Let’s start with your name.”
“Toni.”
“Lies!” roared Roman. The man flinched as if he’d been struck. Roman fisted his hand into Eduardo’s shirt and twisted, choking him with his own collar. “Didn’t I tell you I would know if you are lying? Let’s try again. What is your name?”
“E-Eddie.”
“Good. Very good, Eddie. Eduardo Sanchez, isn’t that right?”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “How do you—?”
“I know your name, your social security number, your driver’s license number, which bank you use, your home address. I know you have a wife, prettier than you deserve, and you have three kids, all girls. I bet they’re a handful.”
Eddie’s eyes became saucers and his lip trembled. My stomach turned to see a grown man reduced to such raw terror.
Roman nodded as if to confirm, yes, he knew all this. Yes, Eddie, you should be very scared. “I know all this and more. But what I really want to know is who sent you to kidnap her?”
“I–I don’t know.”
Roman’s chin dropped an inch. He let out a heavy sigh. “I had hoped, Eddie, you would not disappoint me so soon.” Roman pulled a knife from a strap on his side. He held it up between himself and Eddie. Holy shit. It was a thick, glittering, double-edged blade, one side serrated, the other smooth. The kind of blade that hunters used to gut animals.
Roman placed it to Eddie’s neck and pressed, a small line of blood appearing. Eddie let out a whimper. I bit down on my lip. This isn’t the real Roman.
“Let’s try again,” Roman said, his voice growing hard, “who sent you to kidnap Julianna?”
“I don’t know.”
The blade pressed a little deeper, and the line became a trickle. “One more time, who hired you?”
“I swear, I—”
“Open up.” Roman pinched Eddie’s broken nose, making him yell, and shoved the end of the blade in his open mouth. Eddie choked on the flat of the blade pressing down against his tongue, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth where the blade cut him, tears shining in the corner of his eyes.
“Roman,” I cried, my hands flying to my chest. Dear God. Was he going to kill this man in front of me? I’d seen the coldness of death dozens of times but I’d never been present for a live execution. My stomach curdled as the air suddenly filled sharply of urine. Eddie must have pissed himself.
This isn’t Roman. He’s playing a role.
He’s playing it too well.
“See this lovely lady?” Roman growled. “Thank her. Even though you tried to rape her, she wants to spare you. She is an angel. I…” he leaned in close, barely inches from Eddie’s face. “I’m no angel. I am the devil made flesh. And I would kill for her.”
I would kill for her. My body broke out in shivers at his admission.
I stared at Roman, but his focus was on Eddie. The only hint that he realized what he had just admitted was a slight pause before he continued. “You will tell me what I need to know or I will cut you into pieces starting with your useless tongue.” Roman grabbed Eddie’s wallet with his bladeless hand. He flipped it open and shoved the picture of Eddie’s family in his face. I remembered seeing that picture when we had gone through his wallet earlier. It must have been a Christmas photo, the five of them gathered at the foot of a sparsely decorated tree. “After I’m done with you, I will feed you to my dogs. Then I will find your wife and I will fuck every single one of her holes until she’s cursing your name. And your beautiful daughters, they will watch. They will watch and they will know that it was your fault. That you could’ve saved them but didn’t.”
My blood curdled. Eduardo made a sobbing noise around the blade and it cut into the corners of his mouth even further.
Roman snatched the knife out of his mouth. “What was that?”
“Okay, okay.” Eduardo’s eyes glistened with wetness. “I’ll tell you. Please, leave my family out of it.”
Roman didn’t relent. He jammed the tip of the blade under his chin. “Then. Start. Talking.”
“I don’t know who hired us…” he coughed and spat out blood. “We went through a handler.”
“Who is your handler?”
“Please,” he mumbled. “He’ll kill me.”
Roman paused, a heavy silence where the only sound I could hear was Eddie’s wheezing and my own blood pumping in my ears. “Tell me who your handler is and I’ll give you and your family safe passage out of Verona. You’ll have a chance to live. Refuse to tell me and your chance dies here.”
“You’re lying.”
Roman leaned in. “I swear on my mother’s memory. If you know anything about me, you’ll know how much my mother meant to me.”
“S-Safe passage?”
Roman nodded. “Safe passage. And cash to get you started wherever you end up.”
Eddie swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing across the thin wound on his neck. His left eye was now almost swollen shut so it was only his heavily lidded right eye that skittered over Roman, not daring to look at him directly, as he calculated the odds of his choices.
Finally, he nodded. Smart man. I wou
ldn’t take my chances against Roman Tyrell either.
“Your handler’s name.”
“I don’t know his real name. Just that everyone calls him…G-Goldfish.”
Roman’s eyes fluttered shut. “Fuck,” he muttered, under his breath.
Goldfish. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. Obviously it meant something to Roman, something bad, but I couldn’t ask him about it now.
Roman recovered himself, his face turning hard and cold again, wiping away any trace of his previous flash of emotion. “Why do they want her?”
“I don’t know. Tate and I were just hired to grab her and take her to a drop-off point. I swear to God I don’t know anything else.”
Roman leaned in close, almost as if he was about to kiss the man. “If you’re lying to me…”
“I’m not.” Eduardo winced. He must be in a lot of pain. “I swear.”
Roman glared at him for one long, hard minute. Then he nodded and pulled the knife away. I let out a sigh of relief. My knees suddenly felt wobbly.
This whole time I’d barely breathed. This whole time it had felt like time had slowed. Like I had been shoved underwater, watching everything as if through a dream. Now the trance smashed to pieces and every sound grated on my nerves; Eddie’s wet breathing, the grit underneath my shoes, the echo of Roman’s knife as he slid it back into its sheath.
Roman held up the picture of Eddie and his family between their faces, stabbing the photo with a blood-smeared finger. “I’ll keep this, just in case.” Roman shoved the photo into his back pocket before he dropped Eddie’s wallet onto his lap. Eddie slumped against his ropes.
Roman stood and spun. The second his gaze found my face, he winced. I must have looked shaky and pale. I certainly felt it. Like if the wind blew too hard I might have blown away.
Roman tore his gaze away from me and strode out of the warehouse, a dark storm raging in his eyes. I stared out after him.
What should I do? Should I go after him?
“After I’m done with you, I will feed you to my dogs.”
I wanted to stay in here, to hide. God, I never wanted to look at him again.