Page 100 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

“I asked if you were okay?” Monique told him.

Was he okay? No. He was far from okay. But there was no point in burdening her with his problems.

Raz sighed. “I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”

“You seemed to have drifted away just now. Were you thinking about Cas?”

Raz nodded. “I’m trying to wrap my brain around all of this. But I can’t. I don’t know how to help him. I’m his big brother. No matter how angry he makes me or how irritated I get with him, I’m still supposed to protect him. I didn’t protect him this time. I made things worse. What kind of brother am I?”

“The kind that’s human,” Monique told him. “The kind that makes mistakes, owns up to them, and apologizes for them. You’re a good brother, Orazio. As soon as you realized what had happened, you owned up to your mistake and apologized. You didn’t do as she did and tried to make excuses. You’re a brother who cares. And maybe that’s why Cas couldn’t tell you what happened. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing you could do. He felt helpless and was trying to keep you from feeling that way, too.”

“But I’m his brother...”

“He’s your brother also. And just like you want to protect him, he also wants to protect you. That’s what family does. Well, most families. I wish my family was like that. I wish I had a brother who cared about me and wanted to protect me. A brother who would shield me from people who wanted to hurt me.”

He could hear the longing in her voice. There was a void in her life, a void he could fill. He could be her family. He wanted to be her family. He would be more than happy to shield her from the dangers of this world.

“You may not have a brother to protect you, but you have me,” Raz whispered. “You’ll always have me if you want me.”

“Raz, don’t...” Monique started, only to have him interrupt her.

Orazio moved to stand in front of Monique when the elevator dinged, and the doors began opening.

Facing her, he told her, “Listen, Rosa. I’m not perfect. My family isn’t perfect. In fact, we’re fucked up in many ways. So many ways. But we protect the ones we love. Everything you’ve heard about my family has some truth to it. That doesn’t mean you have to fear us. You definitely don’t have to fear me. There are worse people in the world than us.”

“I never said there wasn’t, I just...”

“We aren’t bad people,” Raz insisted as the doors tried to close.

Since he was blocking them, they reopened.

“You’re blocking the doors,” Monique pointed out. “We can continue this conversation in your suite.”

“Are you leaving me?” he asked, angry with the way his voice shook on that last word.

“Raz, let’s go inside.”

“Are you leaving me, Rosa?”

She stared up at the ceiling and sighed, clearly exasperated with him. It was that look that made the level of his panic increase. She was going to leave him. The proof was there in her posture and her expression. That was the look of a woman who didn’t want to be bothered.

“Rosa, I...”

Her glare landed on him. “Let’s go in the room and talk. Please, Orazio. I’m tired, and I want to sit down.”

He stepped out of the way but held his hand against the elevator so the doors wouldn’t close while she was exiting. Eyesforward, not meeting his gaze, she strode off the elevator and headed straight for the lounge area. He followed behind her.

His fucked up mind was already reverting back to his old ways as he tried to formulate a plan to make her stay with him. Perhaps Toya was right. Perhaps these rooms did come with complimentary kidnappings because Orazio was tempted to keep his Rosa there by any means necessary.

At least until she believed him when he said his family would never bring her harm. She sat down on the small recliner. Too riled up to be seated, he leaned against the wall across from her and folded his arms over his chest. A slight smile crossed over her face.

“You’re pouting like a spoiled brat,” she told him.

Raz frowned. “No one has ever called me a brat before.”

She cocked her head to the side. “And? What are you going to do about it?”

“If you were mine, I would spank you. Are you mine, Rosa?”

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