Page 128 of Volatile Obsessions

I sighed, resigned almost, and shook my head. “It’s a pathetic story. I could really do without retelling it.”

“I don’t think you’ve got much of a choice. You made me dish out my past even though you knew I didn’t want to.”

“I didn’t make you. I asked you to.”

“And I complied, despite cringing the entire way through. C’mon, Rome—you know I’m not going to judge you. It’s only fair,” she pointed out, using the exact words I’d thrown at her just last night.

Was fair point if I’m being honest. I’d seen the way it physically hurt her to rehash the shit she went through, yet she found the strength to tell me, all because I’d asked.

Would it be so bloody difficult for me to do the same?

“Please?” The softness of her voice pulled me away from my anxiety-driven thoughts.

On another amenable sigh, I leaned onto my knees and raked a hand through my hair.“I have a love-hate relationship with the letter L.”

One of her sleek brows arched curiously. “What?”

“I sound crazy, I know—but the people who made Roman King the man he is today, the man you see in front of you, their names all started with the letter L. They were either taken from me, or fucked me over.”

“Who are they?”

“Leigh-ann, Leo, and Liza,” I counted each on a finger. “Leigh-ann was my mum. Leo was my best friend. And Liza,” I paused, gauging her reaction, “Liza was my ex.”

At the mention of a past lover, Lux sat up a little straighter, crossing one leg over the other. “I’m listening.”

“My mum was a single mum. Young, boyfriend left her and the kids type of story. She turned to the pole, and while she did make money, we still struggled. Her addiction basically ate a lot of her paychecks, leaving just the bare minimum to scrape by.”

“What was her vice?” she asked.

“Coke,” I answered in disgust. “I won’t touch that shit because of her.”

“It’s bad news,” Lux agreed, prompting me to nod thoughtfully.

“Well, between that and the long hours she worked at the club, I was left responsible for my little sister at least ninety percent of the time.”

“Did she have an L—”

“No,” I chuckled. “Her name was Sio. Siobhan.”

Lux smiled as she mulled it over for a moment. “Roman and Siobhan. I think they mesh well.”

“I like to think so, too.” A small smile tore across my face as well. “Anyway, Sio and I obviously spent a lot of time together. Mum helped when she could, but for the most part, it was just her and I. I was a good kid back then.”

“What happened?” Lux hedged, leaning all her weight onto one hand.

“Mum started getting beat on at the club. Every week she had new bruises, and for the more prominent they were, the less her boss let her work. Said it was bad for business. By this point, I was about fifteen or so, and I wanted to help—that’s how poorly we were doing. So I started looking for jobs after school, all quick cash, and eventually, I found Leo and his family.”

I’d met Vic around that time as well… But I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t bring myself to admit it then.

To come clean and confess.

It was too. Fucking. Soon.

Swallowing down that monster sense of guilt gnawing at my conscience, I continued. “The Milani’s were mafia, drug-trafficking was their trade. They gave me work, I started selling, running the streets to protect their territories—”

Lux lifted a hand, bidding me to pause. “Where did this all happen?”

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