Page 35 of Dangerous Secrets

“We need to talk.” He stands, dropping his cigarette to the tile floor and snuffing it with the toe of his boot. I’ve seen the damage done to a few of our bouncers. He’s a strong man. Not many men could take out two bouncers at a time. I take a step backward, my toes curling on the cold floor.

“About?”

“Oh, I think you know what about…” His eyes narrow on me and he takes a step closer.

I warned him about the threat to his life. He should be grateful to me, not angry. Why is he here? What is he trying to prove? “Rome, I…”

“You knew who I was from the beginning?” he asks, still advancing. Each step he takes chills me further. I’m hugging myself out of a need for reassurance and safety now. I may be a trained killer but I’m not too stupid to know when my time has come. He’s come for me, and my gut says he’s not going to have the same pity on me that I had on him.

“Rome, I… Please…” I take another step backward and find my back against a wall. There is nowhere to go in this place. He’s been here enough times he knows where to hide, how to escape, and even where I keep my bottle of liquor.

“Answer me!” he shouts and I jump. I’m shaking, terrified of what he may do.

“Yes, I knew. I was hired to kill you and your brothers.” Trembling, I reach a hand for him, longing to feel the firmness of his chest beneath my fingertips, but he smacks it away, and then he takes a swing, slamming his fist into the wall next to my head.

“Rome, please!” I yelp, clamping my eyes shut. “Ben will hear you.”

“You mean the guy I knocked out? He’s sleeping peacefully in the hallway. We have plenty of privacy.” Rome leans closer and I can smell the stench of tobacco on his breath. “You have some explaining to do, Bianca.”

I open my eyes and meet his gaze. There’s there, but also a hint of hurt. He’s hurt that I would betray him like this, but I had no choice. It was either him or me. And I chose myself. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth.

“I was ordered, Rome. The men I work for... I couldn’t say no.”

He scoffs and takes a step back. “You couldn’t say no? You could’ve come to me, Bianca. I would’ve helped you. I would’ve done anything for you.”

I shake my head. “You don’t understand, Rome. Mickey would kill me and force my brothers to watch. I had no choice.” I tremble as he pulls his hand out of the plaster and it crumbles onto my shoulder, dusting the robe in a fine powder.

Rome’s eyes flicker with something almost unreadable. He steps closer, his hand reaching out to brush the plaster dust off my shoulder. I flinch at his touch, but he doesn't pull away.

“What do you want me to do, Bianca?” he asks in a low voice. “Do you want me to forgive you? Do you want me to forget what you’ve done? That you hid the fact that you're an assassin hired to kill me? Is that what? You think we can just be friends now or something because you warned me instead of killing me?"

“I don’t know,” I plead, my voice breaking. “I just want you to understand. I didn't have a choice.” Tears well up in my eyes and I watch his hand shift to his hip. I know he carries a weapon; it's always there. Fear spikes through my chest and I don't think—I react. I bring my knee up hard into his groin and he grunts and doubles over.

"I'm sorry," I whimper, trying to dart away from him, but he grabs my arm in a tight grip. "You're sorry?" he growls, his voice low and menacing. "You just kneed me in the balls and now you're apologizing?"

I try to pull away, but his grip only tightens. "Let me go, Rome," I plead, the fear in my voice evident. "Please."

He doesn't let go. Instead, he pulls me closer to him, his face inches from mine. "You think you can just hurt me and everything will be okay?" he snarls, his breath hot on my face. "You think you can betray me and then just say sorry?"

I shake my head, tears streaming down my face. "No, I don't," I whisper. "I just... I don't know what to do, Rome. I'm scared." I'm sobbing now, blinking hard to clear my vision. The only thing I can think is that he's going to kill me.

He wheezes and sucks in breath as he tries to stand and I fight to get free. My fingernails claw at his wrist and I scream for help, but with the thumping of the music, no one will even hear me. "Please, Rome..." I free my wrist, but he crawls over me and grabs my neck in one firm grip. His fingers curl around it tightly, cutting off my ability to breathe and he smacks me hard. I grab his wrist in both hands and he shouts at me.

"You're lucky I don't kill you right now," he snarls, his voice low and menacing.

I gasp for air as Rome tightens his grip around my neck, my vision starting to blur. Panic courses through my veins as I struggle to free myself, clawing at his hand with my nails. His grip only tightens, and I feel lightheaded as my lungs scream for air.

"Please..." I sputter out. "I'm pregnant." My words are breathy, barely audible, but his grip releases instantly. His hand lingers on my neck, but he's not squeezing, and I greedily suck in air as if I haven't ever tasted it before.

"You're what?" Rome stands up, his hand pressed against his stomach. He looks at me with a mix of anger and something else, something I can't quite place. I lie there trembling and crying then curl into a ball on my side and pray he just leaves. He could have killed me—and his own child.

"How did this happen?" he asks, his voice calmer now. I sit up and wipe my eyes. Rome is watching me, his expression unreadable.

"I... I don't know," I whisper, my voice cracking. It isn't the reaction I thought he'd have, but at least he's not trying to hurt me now. I wipe my eyes and sit up, watching him pace.

Rome looks down at his feet and his face goes pale. "It's mine, isn't it?" he asks.

"Of course it is," I say, my voice small. "How could you think it isn't?"

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