Page 79 of The Freedom in Captivity

The scent of Rozelyn is all over me and I fucking hate it—hate how much I love it. My dislike is made worse when the solider posted outside Rozelyn’s new cage, who must have arrived while we were inside, smirks and shoots me a knowing look, which I ignore.

I head for Nico’s office, finding only him and Rosen there, speaking low to one another.

“Rafael left too?” If Nico’s making a plan of action, Rafael, as Capo, would typically be here for it.

Nico shares an amused look with Rosen. “He’s heading to Toronto for a doctor’s appointment. Something regarding Isabelle.”

“Got it.”

Nico gestures for the open chair beside Rosen, but I don’t take it, instead positioning myself behind it. “Rozelyn in her new room?”

“Yeah.”

“She say anything further?”

The truth isn’t all mine, so I leave the details at a minimum. “Just why she’s working against him. Guess he’s been abusing her for years.” Why tell Nico at all? Maybe he’ll have further compassion for her actions and it’ll guarantee her life after this because I’m dying to know what’s in my underboss’s head.

Nico’s brows lift and even Rosen glances toward me, his low whistle filling the air. “So she’s a woman scorned,” he says. “That’s why she’s so frightened we’d fuck this up.”

I nod as Nico curses, lightly banging his fist on the desk. “How many people can a single man fucking traumatize during his lifetime? Well, Stefano is now our focus.” He reaches for a glass to his right, sliding it in front of him but doesn’t drink, only stares at the amber liquid. “If anyone told me a year ago, I’d be dealing with bullshit about a hidden society, I would have laughed, but here we are.” His attention flashes to me. “Return here tomorrow morning at nine. I want you in on the meeting. You’re dismissed, Flynn.”

Grateful to be finished, I push off the chair and spin on my heel, only to be stopped by my underboss again with a single word.

“Thanks.” He pauses. “I know dealing with Rozelyn might not have been easy on you, but you did what was necessary. You have my respect.”

For the first time ever, I don’t feel worthy of his respect, with Rozelyn still on my fingers, my dick. Her marks, half-moons that have stopped bleeding, imprinted into my shoulders start burning beneath Nico’s watchful gaze, like an invisible signal admitting my wrongdoings.

“Thanks, sir,” I manage before rushing away.

* * *

Iwake from a dream in the middle of the night. A nightmare.

The first ending of Rozelyn and me, and it’s no coincidence the memory has slipped into my head on the very same day I might have just unknowingly said goodbye to her.

At the school’s front doors, I step off to the side, where I kiss Rozelyn goodbye every day. Through the glass doors, parked by the curb, is the black car that drops her off and picks her up each day. I both love and hate that vehicle. In the front seat, there’s the usual outline of a man, who she confirmed is not her father.

The sky seems darker than normal, the grey overhead clouds threatening a thunderstorm, so I’d like her to get inside the car before she gets soaked, but I also don’t want to release her yet.

Rozelyn might believe I’m oblivious, but I’m not. She wears designer labels, gets dropped off and picked up each day by a driver, and carries a backpack with her that would feed a family for months with its value. Rozelyn comes from money—real money.

My arm snakes her waist and I pull her against my chest, and the rest of the world falls away. The other students rushing around, some out the front door, others away, toward the sports field for their after-school activities, have no effect on us. It’s always like this with her; so easy to tune the chaos around us. She eases the noise in my head, my frazzled thoughts become focused when they’re attuned to her.

Rozelyn doesn’t meet my eyes and she’s staring off to the side, her lips curled down, her teeth scraping her bottom lip. She’s been off all day and no matter how many times I bother her, she won’t tell me what’s wrong. I know something is because I can easily read her. It became especially apparent earlier when I pulled her into the dressing room.

“Hey,” I prompt her attention with a thumb to her bottom lip, freeing it from her teeth, “what’s in your head?”

Her frown shifts the opposite way, but the smile doesn’t meet her eyes. She shrugs, still studying the school around us.

“Hey,” I repeat, this time in a firmer tone. Grabbing her jaw, I force her eyes onto me, and it’s then I notice the water edging them.Shit.“What’s wrong,mon soleil?”

“I…” She blinks, and a single tear slides down her cheek, landing on the back of my hand. It’s cool, branding me with her emotions, which I fight to understand. “I…”

Her partial sentences have me shifting, bringing her even nearer as I back us into the corner for more privacy.

“Rozelyn—”

She lifts onto her toes and smashes her lips to mine. Her lips taste like tears, rather than the ocean. Like desperation as her hands claw at my shoulders. She kisses me with a feral intensity and more tears slip between our cheeks, joining in the kiss.

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