by Jordan Marie
“Come with me, Roman, please. Come with me,” she whispers, the effort to form the words causing her voice to shudder.
Hearing her plead like that makes me know I’m a goner. I surrender to Ana, to everything she is and everything we are together. I may have marked her, but she marked me too, and though this mark might not be seen, it’s so fucking deep that I know she will always be there.
She owns me too.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Roman
“Roman, you didn’t use condoms,” Ana says.
I’ve pulled us up vertical on the bed, but that is as much as I’ve managed. Fuck, I still have my pants on, though admittedly they are gathered about mid-thigh. Ana is on my shoulder, her back to me.
“We haven’t been using those since the day on your balcony, pet. Kind of late to worry about it now.”
“A baby would be a big mistake.”
I’ve been actively trying to get her pregnant and I can’t even put into words how much I disagree with her. In compromise, I don’t comment. I kiss the mark I left on her shoulder and change the subject. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“Ana? What’s on your mind?”
“It’s just been a long day, Roman, and I…”
“What?” I ask, something in her tone alerting me to the fact that I’m not going to like her next words.
“Roman? Do you know where my brother is?”
My body goes completely still. How did I not see this coming? Motherfucker, Banks had enough time with her to fuck shit up after all.
“Why do you ask me that, Ana?”
“The why doesn’t matter, Roman. I’m asking you to tell me the truth. Are you the one responsible for my brother missing?”
“The ‘why’ does matter, Ana. I’m asking you to tell me where you heard it and I want to know now.”
She takes a deep breath, so deep I can see it move through her body, and then exhales with a whoosh as she moves to her back. Her eyes find mine and there’s something in those violet depths I’ve not seen before and it worries me.
“The DEA have a file on you, Roman. They suspect you are working with the Russian Drug Cartel. They have photos of my brother in your club the night he disappeared talking to a man they identify as one of your security men. So, I’m asking you, Roman. Do you have my brother, or worse, did you have him killed?”
She asks me these questions while pulling away and sitting up. Anger drums in my veins along with a healthy dose of fear. I haven’t felt that emotion in a very long time, but I feel it now. I can’t let go of Ana. I will not lose her. Not now.
I growl, getting out of bed and pulling my pants up and securing the button to hold them in place. “Did Banks give you all that info?” Her head goes down and I don’t like that shit at all. She will not hide from me. “Ana. Eyes, now.” She slowly raises her head to me and the tears in them is enough to almost completely undo me.
“Is it true, Roman? Do you have my brother? Is he… dead?”
I could lie. The inclination is to do that. Ana would never know and I’d make damn sure that Banks never got near her again to talk to her. That might have been the wisest plan of action. It’s also the one that would allow her to escape me. I can’t allow that. I’m not letting her go.
So I revert back to what my original plan was all along, the plan my stupid brain concocted after I first saw that picture of Ana. Use her brother to gain what I want: her. The only thing that has changed is that the stakes are higher now. I don’t want her in my bed for a week or two. I want her there forever.
“I have your brother, Ana.”
Her gasp fills the room and genuine shock fills her face. She grabs the sheet, pulling it over her body. That one simple movement speaks volumes and it pisses me off.
I rip the sheet from her, throwing it to the floor. “You don’t get to do that, Ana. You don’t get to cover your body from me. Whatever else is going on, you gave yourself to me. You don’t get to take that back.”
“You lied to me, Roman! I asked you for help in finding my brother! If I mattered at all to you, you would have been honest with me.”
“What would I have said, Ana? Your brother was selling drugs in my club and pissing off the wrong people and jeopardizing my business. He had to be handled.”
“Was he? Oh, God… Did you kill Allen? Answer me, Roman!”
“No, Ana. I didn’t kill him. I was going to, but then I saw a picture of this new dancer that had been asking questions to the wrong people…”
“Oh my God.”
“And I decided I wanted her. So he’s still breathing, pet. Rest easy.”
“Who are you?”
“The man you just begged to fuck you. That same exact man.”
“Everything they said is true. You are a monster.”
I can’t hear this shit from Ana. I’m used to being judged and I don’t give a fuck, but I can’t hear it from her.
“Think what you want to, pet, but you’re still mine and you’re not fucking going anywhere.”
She gets up from the bed, finding the sheet I threw down and wrapping herself up in it again. Her eyes are spitting fire at me.
I must, in fact, be the monster she accuses me of, because I am hard as a rock.
“You can’t keep me here against my will, Roman. If I want to leave, I will.”
“Feel free, pet. But if you walk out of that fucking door, then I’ll have no reason to keep your brother breathing.”
It’s a low blow and sounds so much worse now than it did when I originally came up with the idea, but I’m not about to back down, even when she pales and looks at me with nothing but hate.
“How can you do this?” she asks, tears slowly falling from her eyes.
“You can have the rest of the night to make up your mind, Ana.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“Out, but never fear, pet. As long as you’re in this house, your brother is safe,” I tell her, turning away from her.
Fuck. This was not how I planned my evening out. It gives me one more reason to kill Paul Banks. That shit will be put into action tonight.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Roman
I handled that badly. Fuck. I know I did, but I was blindsided and pissed that she was trying to hide from me. The trouble with being gone on a woman is you react with your dick and not your brain. If I handled my business like this, I’d be broke.
“You look like you lost your best friend. Want me to buy you a beer to cry in?”
“Fuck you,” I tell him, not looking up from my whiskey. “You’re traveling late, Marcum.”
“I got a call from this bastard in Miami. Sounded serious, so I thought I’d come see him.”
“Dangerous, in your line of work.”
“Life’s fucking boring without a little danger,” Marcum says. I turn to look at him. He hasn’t changed much. A little gray around the edges, a few more scars, He’s got long hair that he has pulled back in a clasp at the back of his neck right now. He’s wearing jeans, his leather club cut, and cowboy boots. I respect the man. We might be different as night and day on the outside, but on the inside where it counts, we could be fucking twins.
“How’s the fifteen kids?” I ask him, and he gives me the one finger salute. If you can say anything about Marcum, it’s that he’s a fertile son of a bitch. He has so many kids, he could populate a small country with nothing but his offspring.
“Eight, asshole. And not bad. Even got a grandkid now. Max’s woman Tess had a little girl. Prettiest little thing you’ve ever seen.”
“Hard to picture you as a grandfather,” I tell him honestly.
“I’m fucking awesome at it. Hell, should have tried it sooner. Lot easier than your own kids, that’s for fuck sure.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I tell him, taking a drink of my whiskey.
“That job you wanted, that’s not going to be easy, asshole. That fucker has connections,” Marcum
says, switching to business quickly, which is just as well since I’m not really in the fucking mood for small talk.
“I’m not paying for easy. While we’re on the subject, I have another problem that needs to be dealt with.”
“Jesus, you’re a needy fucker all at once. What brought on all this shit?”
“A woman,” I growl, pouring more whiskey into my glass.
“Say no more. Jesus, brother. Shouldn’t you have learned from my mistakes?”
“She’s a good one, Marcum. She just comes with a fucking load of baggage.”
“Don’t they all,” he sighs.
“Trouble with Cherry?” I ask him, mentioning his latest squeeze. He’s kept this one the longest and she seems to care about him, but then what the fuck do I know about anything.
“Cherry left.”
“What the fuck for?”
“Now that’s the question. Unfortunately, it’s a question I have no fucking answer for.”
“Life would be fucking simpler if you could just keep them tied to the bed all the time,” I growl, draining the last of my drink.
Marcum stands up and slaps me on the back with a laugh. “Amen, brother. Amen. I got your order in. Get Bruno to send me the particulars on your add-on.”
“Will do. Where you headed?”
“Anywhere my dick takes me, brother. Anywhere my dick takes me.”
I shake my head and let him go. I’d like to think he’s a miserable fuck, but the truth is, I’m being led by my dick too, and at least Marcum’s will have a warm place to spend the night. Thoughts of Ana in our room covering her body from me with tears running down her face flash through my head.
Fuck.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ana
I pull myself out of bed. I think I’m still in shock and I didn’t sleep at all last night. Mostly, I lay in bed reliving the confrontation with Roman. I thought I was prepared. I mean the DEA doesn’t send you undercover for nothing. I knew all along there was a chance that Roman did in fact have Allen, but after meeting him and the way we became with each other, it just didn’t seem to fit. How can someone be so good to you, be sweet and loving, and all the while be holding your brother to use against you—or worse, holding him to kill him? What does it say about me that I slept with this man?
God, what does it say about me that I miss him even now?
My emotions are all over the place and I can’t seem to get them in order. My mind keeps going back to the hostility between Paul and Roman. There’s more there than I know, much more than Paul will ever tell me. The man he makes Roman out to be, the man in the file the DEA has is not the man I’ve come to love—sorry, to care about.
Roman has always treated me like I mattered. Then again, how well do I know him? I jumped in head first, led by a quest to learn more about my brother—and by hormones. Definitely by hormones. I need to see Allen. If I can see him, then maybe things will seem clearer.
It takes me a few minutes to get dressed, brush my teeth, and look like I haven’t lain awake all night crying. I’m not sure I fully succeed. By the time I’ve finished, Roman still hasn’t shown. For all I know, he could still be gone. The thought of him spending the night somewhere else hurts me. Not because I think he went to another woman, it’s just… I want him with me. Even now. God, I am messed up.
I walk through to the main room. Roman is sitting on the sofa, his clothes wrinkled, his hair a mess, and there’s an afghan thrown over the sofa as if he slept there. It’s stupid, but thinking that he has, somehow makes me feel better.
He looks up at me when I stop by the sofa. There’s a look in his dark eyes… a heated look, and I fight against its pull.
“Have you decided, Ana?”
“I want to see Allen.”
“I can arrange that, after I have your word that you’ll stay.”
“This is crazy. Do you realize you’re blackmailing me into—”
“Call it what you want. Your word. I want your word.”
“Fine. I’ll stay,” I tell him, my stomach churning. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I do know I have to stay either way… for now.
“I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contract.”
“Contract?” I ask, confused.
“You don’t think I’m going to take you at your word, do you, Ana?”
“Roman, I don’t have a law degree, but I’m pretty sure contracts built on blackmail are useless.”
“You’d be surprised what money can do.”
“Money and the right crook for an attorney,” I tell him, unable to believe he’s serious about any of this.
“Whatever, it won’t be an issue, because you will stay.”
“Roman, I think maybe…”
I stop when he gets up and comes to stand in front of me. His hand goes to my neck and he pulls my face up to him.
“You gave yourself to me, Ana. I told you I claimed you. Maybe you don’t understand exactly what that means, but you should.” His fingers trail down my neck, pulling my shirt loose and smiling. I know he sees the dark bruise that he left there when he bit me last night. Just remembering it makes a shudder of need vibrate through me. I know Roman doesn’t miss it when his lips graze my ear. “You can fight it, pet, but your body knows who it belongs to. It craves me even now.”
I fight against the lure of him. It would be so easy to give in, to lose myself in him. I can’t. I need to keep my head straight. I should have been doing that a long time ago. I try to pull away, but Roman tightens his hold on me. “Roman, I want…”
“I bet if I touched you right now your pussy would be soaked for me.”
“Roman…”
“Am I right, Ana?”
He is. I can’t tell him that. I refuse to tell him that.
“I want to see Allen now,” I tell him, my voice monotone, and it takes everything I have to hold my body rigid and sound like I’m unaffected. I know he can tell it’s a lie, but it makes me feel marginally better. His eyes lock with mine and I see disappointment on his face as clear as day for just a split second and then it’s gone.
“Fine. Grab your coat. It’s chilly outside.”
I take a breath and step away from him. I wasn’t sure he would give in this easily. Now, if I can just make Allen listen to me without blowing my cover.
Chapter Forty
Ana
I follow Roman down the stairs to where he’s holding Allen. Each step I take, the nerves of the unknown increases. Roman and I haven’t said a word to each other since we left the apartment. I’m not sure why he’s not talking, but I have nothing to say. I’m feeling so lost. In such a short time, Roman has become this rock on which I lean. I’ve never had that in my life, not really, and Roman filled a void I didn’t know I had.
We make it down a hall to a large cemented area. Even the walls are concrete. The doors are made of steel just like the ones you would find in prison. Roman has the guard unlock the padlock so we can go inside. A part of me wants to run and hide, but instead, I force my feet to move forward. I see Allen. He’s lying on the bed, his right hand chained to a cable that runs across the room, allowing him to go from the bed to a small bath area. My stomach churns because it’s basically a large dog-run, except the cable is longer and more extensive.
“How did I know it wouldn’t be long before you showed up, sister dearest?” he says, and the guilt hits me again. Allen is three years younger than me. I was a kid myself, but he didn’t fare as well as I did with mom’s boyfriends. He blames me. I didn’t protect him enough. I didn’t take care of him. I tried, but I obviously failed and that has done nothing but make him hate me.
“I’m sorry, Allen. I didn’t know,” I whisper lamely.
“Yeah. You seem to not know a lot of shit when you should. Kind of like your boyfriend. Right, sister dear? Imagine my surprise when Roman didn’t know that you were a…”
“Allen,” I yell, trying to stop him before he can reveal to Roman that I’m a cop.
“What a selfish bitch you are.”
“That’s enough, Stevens. I told you to show respect when you talk about your sister. That goes double for when you’re talking to her. She’s the only reason you’re still breathing,” Roman says from behind me, causing me to jump.
I look over my shoulder at him. He’s standing completely still looking at Allen with hate and anger. He’s doing it again, taking up for me when no one ever has before. That funny feeling in the pit of my stomach I get when Roman is around picks up. How can I not be drawn to this man? I touch his arm gently, turning into him. “Can I talk to him alone, Roman? Please?”
The one simple gesture catches Roman by surprise. I read it in his eyes. Seeing the state that Allen is in is jarring at first, until I realize one thing: Allen’s not high. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him where his eyes weren’t glazed over and he didn’t have that crazed look he gets when he’s coming down off his last high. I don’t know what exactly Roman’s endgame is, but I do know right now that he’s helping Allen. Call me stupid a million times—but that’s what I see here, and I think Roman’s doing it for me. Maybe Roman senses the way I’m softening, because he bends down and kisses my forehead.
“I’ll be right outside, pet.”
“Thank you.”
“Pet. Isn’t that precious,” Allen sneers after Roman leaves the room. “Boy, if he only knew the real you, right sis?”
“What’s going on with Roman and I is none of your concern.”
“Wait? Are you really slumming it with the biggest criminal in Miami? Gee, I bet your boss loves that. I’ve already gathered Anthes doesn’t know what you do for a living. I take it your boss doesn’t know about your dating activities either.”
My heart speeds up like crazy. What if Roman can hear what is said in the room? I try to change the subject. “You’re looking better.”