Page 23 of Cold

Romare sailed that way before he came right back. "Yes. There's an exit door and I unlocked it."

"Good boy," I said absentmindedly as I went back to my work. "Now, come over here."

"I can't," he whispered.

My gaze flickered up. "Why not?"

"I...I don't know," he said, his words a whimper. "This isn't my fault." His eyes met mine and he seemed to plead with those gray depths. "Vito, this isn't me."

Nodding, I crooked a finger at him. "I know that, but you still need to come here."

Romare walked over and stood beside me. "Do I need to do something?"

I used the side of my hand to lift his chin. "No. Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm okay."

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you lying to me?"

"No," he said and quickly shook his head. "I wouldn't lie to you!"

The panic that filled his face made me stand up straight. I yanked Romare against my body and held him there. Found another trigger.

"Shhh." I snapped off my gloves and pushed my fingers through Ro's hair. "Help is almost here and we'll talk about all of this later."

Romare nodded, his curls bouncing. I stroked his cheek and turned when there was a knock on the door.

"Stay there and don't move a muscle."

"Okay," Romare whispered.

I walked to the door and let my men inside. They got right to work without having to be told what to do. All of them had worked under me long enough that they understood their parts and played them well.

"Time to go, Romare."

He frowned up at me. And he trembled.

I picked Romare up without thinking and popped him on my hip. As soon as I did, he clung on for dear life. His hands gripped my clothes and he buried his face in my neck. The feeling of his warm breath against my flesh was almost sweet.

Sweet? What is happening to me?

I walked out the backdoor and left the mall behind. Romare was semi-clean, but he still needed a bath, new clothes, and a stern talking to. He was hiding things from me and I needed to figure out exactly who he was.

* * *

I sat Romare in the tub and he sighed as the heat of the water embraced him. Usually, I would have left him to his own devices, but he still looked terrified. I sat beside the tub and grabbed a loofah before I squeezed a bunch of soap onto it.

Romare kept his arms wrapped around his knees. It was nothing like the first time I'd seen him in this tub. The way he opened his thighs and invited my gaze. Now, he was closed off and quiet.

Pink swirled in the tub as I washed him and wiped away every remaining trace of blood. I gave him as long as possible before I couldn't take it anymore.

"What happened, Ro?" I asked. "Why did you kill him?"

He gazed up at me and shuddered. "I don't know," he whispered.

Romare's voice was always so small, but I was starting not to fall for that. Underneath that softness, there was a killer. One that was dangerous even to me. Whatever was going on in Romero's head hadn't been figured out and that made him a problem.

"I'm gonna need more than that," I pressed as I swiped the loofah over his leg and bumped into his arms. "Move."

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