Page 81 of Deadly Secrets
Am I really playing?
Their relationship seemed straightforward, yet she had the nagging feeling that Roman was serious when he called her his girlfriend.
They were certainly enjoying themselves, but it was more obvious than ever that she didn’t fit into his world.
I’ll have to try harder.
Because, more than anything, she really wanted to be part of his life.
And that included his family.
And she wasn’t one to give up easily.
She snuck into the house to find a bathroom and discovered a hallway lit with matching chandeliers and adorned with family pictures stretching back many generations. The older, larger ones appeared hand painted and were displayed in gilded frames.
Money, money, money. Everywhere she looked, it was on display, even in the family portraits.
She found herself staring at one particularly severe looking woman, dressed in a flowing gown with layers of gold necklaces draped around her neck.
“Scary, isn’t she?”
Felicity emerged from a room off the hall. “That’s Mother’s great-grandmother. She was a countess or something.”
“She’s quite imposing. Is your mother’s side Greek?”
“How’d you guess?”
“The jewelry. The design on her pendant has a Hellenistic flare to it with the entwined snakes around the emerald. The designer probably based it on a popular piece from that time period.”
“How do you know that?”
Brooke shrugged. “I spend most of my time researching history and culture and have no life of my own.”
“From what Roman says, it sounds like you have an awesome life.”
“Roman is kind.” She moved down the row of pictures, smiling at a couple he showed up in. Formal family pictures, his high school graduation. None of them showed his boxing fame. She came to a large photo of a man who looked much like Roman, with dark hair and vivid blue eyes, in a military uniform with a US flag in the background. “This must be Percy.”
Felicity joined her. “Roman told you about him?”
“A little. He looks like Roman.”
“Roman idolized him. At least growing up. When Percy enlisted, Roman went a little crazy.”
It really wasn’t any of her business, but she couldn’t keep herself from asking. “How so?”
“Percy was the oldest. He took care of all of us when we were younger. Roman was only thirteen when Percy enlisted, and Roman had a hard time in school, always getting into fights and stuff. Percy taught him to fight, which horrified Mom, but I think Roman felt like Percy had his back, you know? Then Percy left right before Roman hit high school. It was hard on him. On all of us, really. Roman was a hellion for most of his high school career. Mom and Dad actually considered sending him to one of those military schools for awhile.”
“I had no idea.”
“I was just a kid when Percy left. I barely remembered him. He did so many tours, he missed all of our graduations. High school, college, Candy’s wedding, mine, the birth of our kids, all of it. Then he came back and things got even worse.”
War did that to people, families. “I know Roman tried very hard to help him.”
“Help. Yeah. I guess you could call it that.”
The derision in her voice made Brooke face her, struggling to keep the instant defensiveness out of her voice. “Roman did what he thought was best.”
“By getting Percy wrapped up in one of his cases?” Felicity made a disgusted sound. “I know you’re consulting for Roman’s team, and I wish you all the best with that, but he should have never gotten Percy involved in that Underground Order case.”
