“Will do,” Melissa answered and made her way out to call Jackie.
“It’s rude of you to expose my weaknesses,” Will complained.
Rome laughed, “No one is exposing anything. You like exactly one person on this planet, and it’s Jackie; everyone knows this. I think you’re even quoted saying that.”
Will shrugged in a noncommittal acceptance.
I chuckled and turned to Rome. “I hear you have something to do with Will being here.”
“You needed backup. So, I got you backup,” Rome answered, as if it were an obvious choice.
Will clapped Rome on the shoulder, “He’s right, and we need to discuss these notes you’ve been receiving.”
I shot a glare at Rome, “You promised not to tell anyone.”
“I lied. And you were being stupid not telling anyone,” Rome argued.
Will snickered, and both Rome and I directed our glares to him. Will promptly held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just here to support Bec. Not insert myself in whatever…” He looked between the two of us with a knowing gleam in his eyes, “...this is.”
Rome sighed and stood, “I need to get back to work. I have some… people decoding the letters.” He then directed his attention to me, “Let me know when you want to head back so I can call the driver.”
I nodded, and Rome left Will and me alone again.
“So this new dynamic is lovely to witness,” Will remarked as he leaned back and rested his ankle on his knee. “Why didn’t you tell me about you two?”
I rolled my eyes, “There isn’t anything between us. I’m still trying to work through what it is I am feeling when it comes to Rome.”
“You two seem pretty friendly.”
I scoffed, “You should have seen us last week. He about tore my head off—though I deserved it for poking the bear.”
“Rome was angry? Actually angry?” Will asked, shocked. “Not his weird mock-anger he gets whenever I shut down his advances towards Jackie?”
I nodded, “I tried prying into his last assignment, and he obviously didn’t want to talk about it. Hell, I didn’t really pry, just asked, but that was too much.”
Will sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face, “Well, I guess that explains why he hasn’t been returning Malachi’s calls.”
“Your brother-in-law?” I clarified.
Will nodded, “And his best friend… at least until he came here and all but dropped off the face of the planet. I was nervous this was going to happen… after everything.”
“Tell me. Please, Will. Why won’t he talk about it? What happened out there?”
Will eyed me, his matching blue eyes assessing mine. “What do you know?”
I knew what he had told me. His wife, Jackie, had shared some details as well, and I knew the nightmares still swallowed them both whole at times. But I wanted to know more, I wanted to know how it affected Rome.
Whydid I want to know? It wasn’t because he was my friend, my fake boyfriend, my enemy, or my bodyguard. I needed to understand why those dark eyes swam with the demons of his past. Why he used humor to drown the guilt deep in his soul. I needed to know what had hurt Rome so thoroughly, and I needed to know if I could fix it.
“I know a lot went down with Jackie’s family. I know Rome was assigned to help protect them. I know that his best friend, Malachi, was hurt… or his wife was hurt… and it somehow catapulted into so much more.”
Will nodded as he sank into his chair, worry and despair painting his features. “Rome was supposed to be keeping a distant eye on Malachi. He was hiding out with his now wife, Rose, trying to keep them safe. They were being targeted, and in an attempt to help, Malachi went off-grid. However, none of us wanted him to be alone, so Rose stayed with him, and Rome wasalways close by too.” He sighed and enveloped my hands in his own, always the older brother trying to protect me. “How much do you know about his team before they all retired?”
“There were four of them, all Army Rangers. Malachi James, Rome, Fynn Winslow, and Damien Biles. They had worked with each other for like a decade before they retired and came to work for us.” I had read Rome’s file on countless occasions. I had always been intrigued by his story and his life.
“That night, Rome was on duty to protect Malachi and Rose. He was attacked.” I felt my stomach drop at Will’s words, terrified of what Rome had endured. “He was knocked unconscious, and Malachi and Rose were attacked. Eventually, the man who attacked them was killed in a scuffle with Malachi. Rome was fine… He had a few broken ribs and a nasty cut on his head, but he was fine.”
“I-I don’t understand. If everyone is okay, why does it bother him so much?”
