Page 42 of The Sin

I put a hand up when he looked at me. “I’m a slow drinker, thanks.”

“The man I killed was a Grabough, nephew to the big man,” he went on. “They were out for blood, and I was happy to give and take it. James knocked some sense into my fifteen year old brain. Getting myself killed wouldn’t help Amelia, or any of the girls who came after. I had to be smart about it.”

He spooned asparagus stalks and fish onto his plate and nudged the platter closer to me. “There was a lot of heat on me at the time. The Graboughs wanted vengeance. The Protectorate wasn’t happy that a warden-trainee had gone after vigilante justice on their turf, although they weren’t prepared to go in themselves and stop the trafficking ring.”

I picked at a piece of calamari with my fork and dipped it into a bowl of sauce. “What about the wardens?”

“Most of them are of the opinion that what happens in The Smoke, stays in The Smoke,” he said. “They weren’t impressed with me, either. James sent me into the wild to cool my heels and wait out the heat.”

My jaw went slack. “Are you serious?”

Roman shrugged. “I went looking for Amelia.”

“You didn’t find her.”

“It’s a big world out there.” He popped a forkful of food into his mouth and chewed. “Anyway, that’s why I wanted to talk to you. When I returned, James and I put a plan together.”

The puzzle that was Roman slotted into place. “Getting you promoted into a senior position.”

“That’s the first step in getting the Eastern Coalition to grant authority to the wardens in The Smoke,” he said. “The Protectorate can keep Gardens, but I want everything else.”

“That’s a huge task.”

“The Families have ruled too long without any accountability. I intend to put an end to their atrocities on my watch, but only High Wardens get a seat around that table.”

So much about him and his ambitions made sense now. “That’s why you’re gathering evidence against the council members.”

“My methods are not ethical, I get that, but I will do this by any means, in Amelia’s name. So whatever you intend to do or say with regards to that evidence, please think of the next girl that can perhaps be saved.”

“I never planned to do anything,” I assured him. “I will never breathe a word of it to anyone. That’s a promise.”

He looked at me a long minute, then gave a slow nod of appreciation and acknowledgment.

We ate mostly in silence for the rest of the meal, listening to the soft music. I understood why Roman liked to come here, why he’d need to depress. There was so much ugliness in this world. Pain around every corner.

My gaze kept sliding to him, again and again. He’d shown me his vulnerabilities tonight, sliced himself wide open and let me in, and I was in trouble. I could feel my heart swelling, the cracks un-cracking, the million shattered pieces un-shattering and sweeping back inside.

He caught one of my looks and it seemed to settle into his features, melting away the glass-cut edges. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to have to kiss you.”

He was teasing. It was there in the lilting drawl and the warmth creasing into the corners of his smiling eyes. But there was gravity there was well, anchoring the playful tease to a promise.

“You wouldn’t dare.” My pulse fluttered as I sent him a cheeky grin. “We’re in public.”

“This public can handle a kiss.” He winged a brow at me. “It’s not like I’ll be undressing you.”

He’s not being serious, I told myself. Roman doesn’t flirt. And yet, wasn’t that exactly what we were doing?

“The last time you kissed me, you ran.” That wasn’t a low shot. It was my version of commitment to the flutter in my pulse and this new thing between us, whatever it was. “You didn’twantto want me. That was never because of Amelia, was it?”

He had a lot of emotions where Amelia was concerned, but I hadn’t picked up a long-lost love vibe. He wasn’t pining over a woman he could never have.

Roman pushed his plate aside and turned to me, squaring one knee on the booth between us. “What happens with you and me has never had anything to do with Amelia.”

“Then what was that about?” I had to know. We could be as playful and flirty as all hells, but this would never be just a game. “Your ego? You couldn’t ever want me because you hadn’t wanted me as a wife in the first place?”

He didn’t take offence. “It’s much worse than that.”

“Now I’m intrigued.”

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