Page 20 of Now You're Mine

I can’t even respond to the absurdity of that last statement, so I don’t. Instead, I lift my arm, indicating the door. “You need to leave now.”

He must realize the futility of his argument because he moves to leave. But he stops just before he’s about to cross over the threshold. “One more thing.”

I roll my eyes and lift my hands, urging him to tell me and get on with it.

“We have some guys posted outside the house, and you might notice them following you around campus. They’re ex-Navy SEALs, so they may look a little intimidating. ”

“Ex-Navy SEALs?” I gape at him, likewhy?“Is this because I turned off my location sharing?” Knowing what I know about Roman, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been tracking me this entire time. It must be why the guys told me to turn my location off after the initiation ceremony. They didn’t want him to find me.

“It’s just a precaution. Roman wants to make sure you’re safe.”

I tilt my head to the side, one hundred percent certain there’s something he’s not telling me. “A precaution forwhat?”

I can see his mind working like he’s considering lying to me. In the end, though, I suspect what comes out is the truth. I have no evidence for that, though, other than a gut feeling.

“Some threats have been made online.”

I swallow. “What kind of threats? Do you think they’re serious?”

He shakes his head. “Roman just wants to be careful, especially after what happened to Bree.”

I push out a breath, unsure what to say, so I just nod in response. I don’t love the fact that some random guys will be following me around, reporting my whereabouts to Roman, but I know people are probably pissed about what I’m doing to the Sacred Sons. So, yeah, I guess some protection wouldn’t be a bad idea. It’s only temporary, anyway. Once I find out who killed Bree, I’m out of here.

As soon as Christian’s foot crosses into the hallway, I slam the door shut, then turn the lock. I should have known Roman would have an excuse for every shitty thing he did to me. He’s so fucking predictable.

But tell me why I want to believe him. Tell me why I want to forgive him, and put all of this chaos behind us. If only it were that easy.

I have the windows open to let in the fresh ocean breeze, but it’s cold, so I walk into the closet and pull out a hoodie from one of the many built-in cabinets. The hoodie is one of Roman’s, of course, and not only is it three sizes too big, but it smells like him. I’m not exactly sure what comes over me, but I bury my face in the fabric and inhale deeply, pulling his scent into my lungs.

That’s when it happens. That’s when I burst into tears, and start sobbing into the hoodie with my whole chest. I scrunch the fabric to my face and scream into it so loudly, I strain my vocal cords.

Everything pours out of me. Every emotion I’ve bottled up for the last few weeks. James. Bree. Roman. The pregnancy. It’s a Tsunami of emotion engulfing me, sucking me under, making it impossible for me to breathe. I’m drowning in the pain.

I cry until my head is pounding, and I don’t have any more tears left. Drained, I move into the bedroom and collapse onto the bed, my head falling onto Roman’s pillow.

I’m surrounded by him.

No matter what I do, or where I go, Roman Rush is a part of me, branded on my heart…

How will I ever find the strength to move on without him?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Roman

It’sthe evening when I finally get back to Rush House. I spent the day surfing, trying to clear my head. Only when darkness fell, did I leave the water and sit on the beach, just staring out at the crashing waves–wondering how I’d managed to fuck up theonegood thing in my life. I must have been out there for several hours because when I finally wander back up to the house, it’s after nine o’clock at night.

I shouldn’t even be here. It’s my own damn house, but the chance of running into Lux fills me with excitement, and that can’t be good. God only knows what I’ll do after she fucking blue-balled me in the study. I had to jack offtwicelast night, and once this morning, just to take the edge off.

I walk into the living room and find Christian hitting some balls around on the pool table, and Lucas on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels.

“Yo,” I say, prompting them to look up. “Where is everyone?”

This place is usually swarming with people until at least one in the morning. It’s still early, and the only ones here are Christian and Lucas.

“Jackson is upstairs, balls deep in some Deb. And Lucas was getting agitated, so I kicked everyone out,” Christian says.

Lucas’s gaze flicks over the wetsuit I still have on. “You just come in from surfing at this hour? Is it a full moon or something?”

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