Page 141 of Only for Him
“Of course,” I say, shifting as the memory floods back: ink dark and lively, eight legs reaching up for my neck.
“Then remember what it meant.” She steps closer, looking me dead in the eye. “You have to keep your distance. To survive in the underbelly, you must never cooperate. That includes with the NYPD.”
“I’m not Bratva anymore,” I growl, but the words feel hollow even as I spit them.
“You can say that all you want. But those marks on your body will always make you Bratva,” she counters, voice steady.
“What are you saying, Rosa?” I spit her name in a way that’s meant to hurt, and it does. She flinches.
Everything in me wants to protect Giselle: from Rosa, the world, the truth. If cruelty is what it takes, I’ll fucking wield it like a weapon.
“The more you chase Giselle down her path of vengeance, the more traces you leave,” Rosa says. “It’s a trail back to you and it’s too noticeable. You’re getting sloppy when you still have Dakota here,Roman.Or have you forgotten about her?”
My chest constricts. Before I can work my way through any of it, an alarm sounds on my computer, cutting through our conversation like a knife.
My stomach tightens as I swivel back to the desk. The screen pulses red with a fresh timestamp. The bug I placed on her phone has, so far, only shown me that she has at least one friend who cares about her.
My eyes flick to Rosa. Does she care about me?Reallycare?
She does. I know she does.
Fuck.
“What is it?” Rosa asks, her brow furrowing.
My blood runs cold as I read the words.
We need to talk about the special evidence you gave me. It’s important.
My hand clenches around the mouse.
Fucking hell. Special evidence? What did she give him? What did I giveher? I know about the prints. But, shit, I’ve given her so much more. More than I’ve even realized.
Because I stopped paying attention at some point. As long as she was here, as long as I was inside her, as long as we were together, I didn’t care about anything else.
“Damn it,” I mutter, air draining from my lungs.
Rosa leans closer, and I show her the message. Her expression shifts from confusion to something darker, anger mixing with a dangerous satisfaction.
“This proves it,” she says, voice thick with conviction. “She’s going to betray you.”
“I can’t think like that,” I insist, refusing to let fear cloud my judgement. I know my little viper. She wants this, and has wanted it all along.
She’ll do anything for this.
Anything forme.
“You can’t?” Rosa takes a step closer. “That’s too damn bad. You have to. She’ll choose her own before she chooses you. So, what are you going to do?”
“I need to let Giselle talk to him,” I reply, and the words stick in my throat like gravel. “I have to trust her. This is a test.”
“A test?” Rosa studies my face, her expression torn between frustration and concern. “You think this is a test for her? This is a test foryou.”
I force myself to meet her eyes. “I have to believe that she can handle it.”
The alarm fades into silence, but the weight of Rosa’s gaze remains. She doesn’t fucking get it, and how could she? I barelyunderstand it myself. I’ve never needed anything so badly, never been so consumed by a woman.
I’ve definitely never thought that death would be preferable to being lied to by a goddamn cop.
