“Cezar!”
“My wild Roma, I was very worried about you!” He rushed out like it was a perfectly feasible excuse.
I needed to focus on something, something other than this woman. Glancing at my watch, I realized it would be dinner time soon, and I should figure that out. Stepping towards the door, a strong hand stopped me, and I faced Ion.
His eyes were hard, his lips turned down before he glanced at Cezar and Kazia, then back to me, whispering, “What were you two talking about?”
Glancing down at his hand on me, I stepped into him, getting in his face. “I told her about father.”
He cursed under his breath, “Fuck, Nicu! We decided to keep her safe; why would you scare her like that?”
Shaking his hand off me, I smoothed out my clothes. “She needs to know what she is walking into. Would you prefer her to go in blind, letting him feed off her fear like a drug? No. I want her to know that she can keep her head on her shoulders even when she feels fear. It's better for all of us that way.”
Turning away from him, I went through the door, leaving his angry acceptance to himself. I did what I had to do and what needed to be done. I was tired of losing and failing the people I cared about. It was about time I made the moves to prevent it.
19
KAZIA
Looking out the window at the freeway, I finally realized that I was leaving LA and didn't think I was ever coming back. My childhood home, my car, my mom’s grave. All of it was here, and there was a good chance I would never see them again. Rubbing the heel of my palm against my chest, trying to rub out the pain building.
The smell of the taco shop down the street, the calling of the neighbors' cats at five am begging for milk, the simple pleasures of going to class and taking notes, devouring the lesson plan, all was gone. Something I will never get back. I tried my best to hold it in, even as my vision watered; I bit my cheek to remind myself that tears would do no good with these men. It had already been decided. There was no going back.
The car bounced as it went over a pothole. Pain burst at my right shoulder, and I gritted my teeth through it.
“Watch it, Nicu!” Cezar yelled next to me, hovering over me like he was trying to help but didn't know how. So, instead, he picked on his brothers. “Do you need me to drive the fucking car?” He paused before laughing like a madman, “Even Nan said she could drive better than you.”
Nicu glared at him through the rearview mirror, opening his mouth to say something when his eyes slid over to me. He shut his mouth, furiously looking at the road ahead. “We’re almost there.”
The last four days have been a blur of sleep, medication, and men telling me what to do. It was cute at first, being looked after by men who I thought would kill me at first glance, but now it was getting irritating. Cezar followed me into the bathroom this morning, and when I told him I could take off my underwear with one hand, he asked me, lifting his hands. “Why would you do that when you have both of these at your disposal?”
We went back and forth for a while, and I learned -the hard way- that arguing with Cezar was like navigating a minefield. Every time you thought you were getting closer to an acceptable resolution, it was, in fact, a trap for you to step on a mine. I finally told him that if he didn't leave the room, I would only ask Ion to help me from here on out. That got him out of the room and closed the door so fast… until he waited outside, knocking every ten seconds to check if I needed his help.
Then, there was Ion.
He was a whole basket case of longing glances and lingering looks, but he made a very big effort to make sure not to touch me unless I explicitly asked him to. Like ever.
When I needed his help to get out of the tub, he had his back turned to me, walking backward before asking if it was okay for him to turn around. Was it okay that he looked down to grab me? Was it okay for him to carry me to the bed? It was either feast or fucking famine with this guy, and it was getting on my last nerve.
I get that he was trying to atone for when he was drunk, but to be honest, my body hurt like a bitch, and it felt like I was flying across the world to my ancestral land just to be put down for slaughter. I could use a hot guy wanting to fuck me right now. Take my mind off of everything, and the resident fuckboy was now acting like a saint.
The car stopped, and Nicu's authoritative voice rang clear, “We're here.” An eerie silence filled the air, like soldiers about to head out to war, where they knew one of us wouldn't return.
Looking out at my city, the city I grew up in, one more time, my heart tugged. This was the only place I knew, my home. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I closed them, taking one last final breath.
Shaking off those thoughts, I opened the door, but a long, ink-covered arm shot out, reaching across from me and shutting it. Cezar’s voice whispered along my neck. “My wife doesn’t open doors; they open for her.”
Clenching my fist, I raised a brow at him. I wasn't his damn wife. Just because he speaks it into existence doesn’t mean it's real. You need a wedding, rings, a dress, and consent. You know, the basics. Oh, and a little piece of paper that says you're legally bound to each other. He always had the same reply.
“Yes, we are. We're married in the Romani way. I kidnapped you, so you're mine.”
He laughed and went out his door, telling Cal that he had always been this smooth; he just hadn't met the right woman yet. I once asked him how he knew so much about Romani. His face stilled, all traces of humanity draining away as he said, “My mother was Romani.” I instantly regretted asking.
He jogged around the car, opened my door, and offered his hand.A psycho gentleman. When was I ever going to find a unicorn like this again?
Chuckling at my joke, I took his hand with my good arm. Ion came up next to me on the other side, carrying the bag of clothes Cezar had gotten for me. His gaze flicked to my hand in his brother’s, heat flashing across his face before he looked at me. Then, like he just remembered he left the oven on, he turned away and walked at a pace he knew I couldn’t keep up with. “I’ll go check on the fight.”
The frustration in his voice rolled off him before he left, and I couldn't help but watch, out of the corner of my eye, his long, lean body walking away in those tight suit pants that looked like they were sewn on him. Even with his inconsistent attitude, he was gorgeous, like the gods sculpted him. Or his father.
