Page 59 of Cold

I opened a drawer and dropped the phone into a pitcher of ice water before I padded back to the bathroom. Romare was still standing where I’d left him, his eyes transfixed on a spot on the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

He’s talked to Sergei.

I knew it as much as I knew that my goddamn name was Vito. He’d been speaking to his old captor and he was what? Contemplating killing me again? Ice shot through my veins, but I only helped him into the shower and grabbed some soap.

Are these our last moments together? What will I do if Romare really needs to kill me?

If it were Ama or Gabriele or even Ric, they would slaughter the person who even thought about killing them. But I wasn’t that way, not anymore. I was an old man who had a lifetime of hardship and misery. If Romare took a knife to my throat, could I kill him?

“You know I love you, right?” I asked.

Romare blinked up at me as if he just noticed I was there for the first time. “Yes,” he answered, his eyes watering. “Vito, I love you too. So much, but I-”

“Shhh,” I whispered. “It’s okay.” I wiped away the tears on his cheeks and kissed him. “Just hearing you say that means the world to me,” I whispered. “Knowing you love me means more to me than you realize.”

Do you even love me? Has this all been an act to let my guard down?

When we pulled away from each other, our eyes met and my heart clenched. There was death in Romare’s eyes. I knew that look, the darkness that lay beneath the surface. The dead expression that lingered behind the mask.

And suddenly I was enraged. Why do I have to lose the man I love?

My hand shot out and Romare ducked it. I slammed against the shower wall as he sprinted from the stall. He dashed toward the door, but I grabbed his curly hair and yanked him back. A well-timed roll was all it took for his wet hair to slip from my fingers before he turned and kicked me in the chest.

“Fuck!” I cried out as I slammed into the wall, pain radiating up my back. “Romare!”

He didn’t say a word as he escaped into the bedroom. I tore after him, rage burning through me now. My chest still ached from where his foot had made contact, but I ignored the throbbing and burst into the bedroom.

“Don’t,” Romare said as he snatched up his stuffie and fumbled with it. “Vito, don’t fucking push me!”

I ignored every word. He slipped the knife free from Mr. Whiskers and it popped out. A sharp blade greeted me, the overhead lights gleaming from it. I stepped forward and he shoved the knife toward me.

“Please, Vito,” he begged. “Don’t…don’t make me do this.”

“What happened to Daddy?” I asked.

Romare shivered. “I’m sorry. This isn’t what this was supposed to be, please.”

“So what? You kill me now?” I took a step forward and his eyes narrowed. “For Sergei? And what happens when you go back?”

“I don’t know,” Romare whispered. “Please, don’t move.”

“Or what?” I growled and stepped forward again. “You’re going to kill me?”

Romare’s bottom lip trembled. “If I have to.”

I lunged toward him. Romare’s arm arched and the blade sliced over my chest. I felt the searing, white-hot pain, but I bared my teeth and moved forward. My hand wrapped around his arm and we fell onto the bed as I shoved his wrist to the bed and held it there.

“Wake up, boy!” I growled. “You need to snap out of it!”

“I can’t,” he sobbed. “He can probably hear all of this and we’ll both die,” he sobbed. “But I forgot about them. They helped me and I abandoned them!”

“Who?” I growled. When he didn’t answer, I tightened my grip on his wrist. “Who, Romare?”

“The other boys!” he cried out. “They helped me when I was alone and terrified. It’s not fair that they’re stuck there. Alone and terrified. This is all my fault.” He shook his head. “Let go, Vito. Run. Get out of here!”

My hand lifted his and I dug my nails into his wrist. The knife dropped onto the bed, and I knocked it away before I stared down at him once more. “I’m not leaving you alone. Ever. If that’s what you’re expecting of me, get it out of your head.”

My heart clenched. He’s been trying to do the right thing. But that didn’t mean I wanted to die either.

---