Page 10 of Still Burning

As I stood up, he tugged me closer to his side.

I glanced back at Nina, who was drinking her beer with apleased grin on her face. When she saw I’d caught her watching us, she waved her beer at me.

“Don’t mind me. Carry on,” she teased, then put her cigarette back in her mouth.

My cheeks heated instantly, and I shifted my attention back to Rome. The hard edge of his jawline wasn’t as tight as it had been when he arrived. He seemed more relaxed now. I was curious about what this private information was though. I was hoping that he was taking me to his room to share it with me.

4

Tex

It was a lie. One I had been ordered to tell her. I hated it. She was innocent, and Marlana Newbury had proven it. Liam said she’d be safer if she didn’t know, but I disagreed.

If this had been Liam’s order, then I’d break it. But it hadn’t come from him. It had come from Blaise Hughes, who still didn’t trust Salem and her connection to the Irish drug traffickers. Having Liam’s life in any kind of jeopardy wasn’t something Blaise Hughes would allow. If anything happened to Liam, then Blaise’s wife would be devastated, along with their sons. It wasn’t the club he cared about protecting. It was Liam. Even if Liam wasn’t here, they could easily trace him to Devil’s in Ocala.

The trackers hadn’t been destroyed. Blaise had ordered that they be taken to a location where four of his men met Liam, Micah, and me with Salem’s things. The four men were taking the items and hiding them in spots around the restaurant that the Landiagos owned. They used it as a front for the business they held in the back rooms. A couple of them lived there to oversee things, never leaving the place unattended.

If Brady Murphy came looking for his former sister-in-law and found her at the Landiagos’ headquarters, then it would likely end in gunfire until they killed each other off. It would end our issues with both, and Salem’s safety would be guaranteed. We’d be letting them clean up our mess for us. It was brilliant andpossibly insane.

I should be able to tell Salem the fucking truth. She deserved to know she’d been lied to during her marriage. That she’d never truly known her husband.

There was also that desire to kill any love she might have for the man. I didn’t like thinking there was a part of her heart that I couldn’t have. She’d had mine for most of my life. I was jealous of a dead man, and there was a chance I would be until the day I died. If the past eighteen years had shown me anything, it was that it would take death to end this thing I felt for Salem. Maybe not even death. Hell, even my soul wanted her.

When I looked down at her face as she peered up at me with as much curiosity as there was anxiousness in her blue eyes, she made my damn knees weak.

I didn’t want to tell her this bullshit I’d been told to tell her. Just like I hadn’t wanted to read over the text messages Levi Shepherd had pulled from her phone, along with all the numbers she had called from it. That had been more deception. I didn’t want any of that between us, but given who she had been married to, there was no other choice.

I cupped her chin in my hand and ran my thumb over the beauty mark on her face before beginning. A small smile tugged at her mouth, and right now, I just wanted to kiss it. Not blurt out a bunch of made-up shit that Blaise Hughes had told me to tell her. He wasn’t even my goddamn boss. I wasn’t in the Mafia. I shouldn’t have to answer to him.

But most men did when he commanded it.

“There were trackers in the soles of your shoes, the lining of your purse, and in your phone. Someone went to great lengths to know where you were at all times.” That was the only truth I could tell her.

The way her eyes widened and her entire body stiffened, I realized maybe this was for the best. If that had upset her, thenthe truth would be more than she could handle.

“We believe it was Kendrix. But we have no way to prove that since he’s dead. There is a chance it was the Landiagos. The day that they walked into the bar might not have been the first time that Lord got a look at you. It is very likely that he had been keeping Kendrix under surveillance, and he’d seen you. He could have put the trackers in place to help keep up with Kendrix, or it could have been that he simply planned on taking you when he was ready.”

Her gasp came with a shiver, and I reached behind her to place my hand on her back and pull her closer to me. I didn’t want to scare her, but, fuck, there wasn’t really any other way. The truth was just as scary.

“He didn’t get you, and now I have you. No one will take you. Not from me.”

She blinked, and her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. The uncertainty and worry in her expression didn’t ease up. I’d hoped that would make her feel more secure, but she seemed even more worked up than before.

“We have men working on finding out how the trackers got there. But until then, you stay here with me. Is that so bad?” I asked, grinning at her, wanting to ease her.

She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to my chest while she frowned. “I…that’s…that’s not so bad, but how long? I mean, the men here, the others, they’re not going to want me to just move in. They’ve been accommodating so far, but I was here with Pepper. She is family. I’m—”

“My family,” I interrupted her.

She’d been that long before they had been.

Her eyes shot back up to meet mine. The emotion brimming in them made it clear how little she believed me but wanted to. The damage that I’d done eighteen years ago seemed to be something I would fight against for a while. She was insecure—God knewwhy. The woman had nothing to be insecure about, but she had always clung to any security that was within her reach as a young girl.

As a woman, she was afraid to accept it. I’d done that. Me.

“I know you’re scared and that trusting me is hard for you. But I want you with me. I just got you back, and even if trackers hadn’t been planted in your things, I’d have found a reason for you to stay with me.”

Her eyes searched my face, as if she was seeking out any untruth to my words. Once, I’d sworn to protect her. Love her. Never let her feel unwanted or alone again. And she had believed me. Put her faith in me. She was afraid to do that completely now.

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