Page 145 of Volatile Obsessions

“I’m going to fucking kill him!” Rome roared savagely, recapturing me back into the present with a jolt.

It was only then I realized I’d been sobbing, trembling, and judging by the way Rome shook too, I knew I’d probably mumbled some of it aloud along the way.

He’d relived that with me, and now, it was likely Vic was about to find himself six feet under.

Reigning myself in, I wiped the tears off my face and slipped off my desk. “Listen to me—he’s not worth it.”

“How can you say that?” Offense shined through his demeanor. “He abused you, Lux! Took advantage of you when he knew all about you! Ripping him apart is damn well worth whatever karma throws at me!”

No, it’s not.

Call me selfish, but I wasn’t willing to risk him. His life was more important to me than ridding this world of Vic Kane.

“It’s okay—I’m okay!” I tried again.

“It’s not okay, no, you’re obviously not okay either! You just pushed me away because of it!”

“I didn’t mean to! The memory flooded me out of no where and I freaked.”

“Do they happen often?” he questioned testily.

I shook my head. “No. After it happened, I spiraled for a short period. Started having day terrors again, night terrors too. But they stopped suddenly…”

“What made them stop?”

The silver-lining.

I’d never been more thankful for our obsession with one another until that very moment.

“You,” I admitted, closing the distance between us, my arms coming around his middle.

Rome’s head nearly snapped off his neck. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Dealing with you, with my confusing, underlying feelings for you, literally kept it all at bay. I guess that’s why I spazzed just now. Being here, on the desk, even in a completely different situation, sprung it to the surface with a vengeance.”

“Is this why you two weren’t on speaking terms?” he pressed on, sliding his hands to the back of my neck.

I nodded.

“So why not just fire him then?”

“I didn’t know how. I was afraid he’d snap, run to the cops.”

“I get that,” Rome sympathized, “but you need to fire him, baby. I don’t want him within a foot of you.”

Neither did I, but again, it went back to the fact that Vic would flip his shit, whether or not he’d been around much lately. The man was a vengeful bloke, and knowing our history—a history I was not about to share with Rome right now—he’d try to destroy me in every way he could.

Imagining the havoc he could wreak in mere hours was truly frightening.

I could lose everything I’d worked so hard for.

End up in prison…

“Rome, I can’t. He’ll ruin everything, I know he will.”

“Make Roscoe do it. He’s technically your right hand man now, correct?”

Another nod.