Page 123 of Dark Romeo

How would you see Roman again if you were being watched?

I shoved that inappropriate thought aside. “I don’t need a bodyguard,” I said firmly, “I have a gun.”

“If somebody’s trying to kidnap you?—”

“It was probably a random attack,” I lied. I hadn’t told them about the attempted rape.

“And if it wasn’t?”

“I managed to thwart the attempt last night, I will thwart the next one if it comes.” My voice began to rise. “I will not be made a prisoner.” Again.

My father looked at Espo, obviously trying to garner some support.

I stared at him with my own unspoken plea. Please, Espo. Don’t let him cage me.

Espo took his time in speaking. “Obviously when she is at work, I’m with her,” he said. “Julianna’s building is secure. As long as I escort her home after work every day and she doesn’t go out alone at night, I don’t see why she needs a protective guard. There’s no evidence that Julianna was even targeted.”

I had lied to them. I had told them that I had saved myself. I’d made myself sound like a regular G.I. Jane when in fact it was Roman who had been the hero last night. I wondered for a second what they would say if I told them the truth.

Probably have me committed.

My father sank his face into his hand and rubbed at his forehead.

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” I said. “Besides, I know you’re short-staffed. You don’t have a man spare to guard me. How would it look to voters if you took a uniform off his normal duties to play my shadow because of one random attack?”

My father leveled his stare at me. His lips pressed together. He didn’t like it but I could see the resignation on his face. “Don’t go around alone at night again, okay? I’ll come to your place for dinner from now on.”

I nodded, relieved that I had managed to escape with my freedom. Espo and I stood to leave.

“Espinoza, can I have a moment alone with my daughter, please?”

Espo nodded and left the room. I lowered myself back into the seat, my nerves jumping with anticipation. What did he want to talk to me about?

Does he not believe my story?

My father sank back in his chair, his amber eyes watching me carefully from under his bushy brows. Suddenly he seemed so much older now than I remembered him ever being. I could see the weariness in the bags under his eyes, in the permanent crease between his brows. This job was a set of thick chains slung across his shoulders, weighing them down.

He finally spoke. “I promised your mother that I would look after you. That I would raise you right. Protect you when you needed it.” He let out a soft laugh devoid of any amusement. “I don’t know whether I’ve done a very good job.”

I straightened in my chair. I wanted to launch from my seat, run around the desk and throw my arms around him. That’s not how our relationship worked. “You did the best job a father could do. But I’m not a little girl anymore. Some things I need to take care of myself. Some things I need to decide for myself.”

For some reason, I thought of last night when I let Roman into my bed.

Some mistakes I needed to make by myself.

* * *

When I finished work, Espo drove me home. I tried talking to him on the way but he answered in monosyllables. I knew something was up.

He pulled up outside my apartment building.

“You gonna tell me what’s up or do I have to beat it out of you?” I said with a light teasing note to my voice.

Espo glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and pursed his lips. “You gonna tell me what really happened last night or do I have to beat it out of you?”

I froze. He knew something. I forced a confused look on my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He turned his torso to face me completely. “You’re telling me you fought off two grown men with just your fists and your gun. And they both happened to get away before you could cuff them.”

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