Despite not liking it, I have no choice but to let it go. My sister takes her responsibility seriously. Roman hesitates, giving us a sideways glance. I’m sure he can tell there’s something more between all of us now, but he’s thankfully not calling us out.
He inhales sharply and nods toward Dr. Ranlen. “Very well.”
Marcus leans down and whispers in his ear. I can’t make out what he says, but Roman’s cocky grin drops into place. He opens his arm so that Roman can slide out, and I watch him wheel over to Sarah.
Then we're left with the quiet again. The silence of waiting for our love. It doesn’t matter that there are conversations going on around us, or the fact I really need to convince Tease to shower. All that matters is someone is in there with our heart and it’s not us…
Soon, though. Soon we’ll claim him. If he lets us. Fuck, I hope he will.
For the first time, I wish I was drugged. Being dragged around while trussed up like a turkey by your former best friend and his bodyguard isn’t something anyone deserves to be conscious for. Tennant, the fucker, either doesn’t ask, or doesn’t allow Doc to drug me, which means I see and feel everything they do to me.
They’re not gentle as they pull me from the back of the SUV and escort me into Tennant’s torture chamber. I struggle against my bonds, screaming obscenities through the gag, only to choke on my saliva, forcing myself to double over as I dry heave.
“Stop being fucking dramatic,” Tennant bitches, jerking on my arm.
I stumble between them, my heart pounding hard, as doom fills every cell of my being when we enter Tennant’s main torture room.
They dump me in the chair that's sitting in the middle of the large room, undoing my bonds only to chain me securely to the chair. With the two of them, there’s no chance to attempt to escape, though I know better than to even try, at least not now. Tennant would have prepared for that. I’m not a novice, I know him better than anyone, even his lovers.Especiallyhis lovers. The things we’ve been through together outweighs whatever types of relationships Tennant has with anyone else.
It’s why, even though sweat beads at my temples and my heart races, I’m not afraid. Not of him. There’s nothing Tennant can do that will scare me, or make me regret the things I don’t already have remorse over.
“Thank you, Joel. You can go wait in the car if you’d like, it might be a while.”
“Yes, sir.” The bodyguard gives me a dirty look before he leaves, but it rolls off me. Whatever insubordination can be taken care of once Tennant is finished fucking around.
I’m surprised when Tennant doesn’t immediately get started on whatever he has planned. Instead, he removes his phone from his pocket and taps it a few times before bringing it to his ear.
“Any news?” He frowns at whatever he’s being told. “Fuck. Okay. How’s Roman handling it?…Yes, I imagine so. Remind him of what I said before I left. He won’t be able to do anything if he’s chained to his bed.” Ten laughs a little. “Yes, I know.” He looks me in the eye as he says, “Yes, I have him. We’re going to spend some quality time together, so I don’t think I’ll be home tonight. I managed to buy us a few days—Luca agreed to stay a little longer.” He rolls his eyes. “I really don’t care, Lio and Roman both need the breathing room. Three days is all I need.” He listens for a moment before huffing. “Yes, Hol, I’ll be fine. You just make sure everyone there keeps sane. I’ll check in withBenjamin later, and the Little Monster; tell them to call if they need to.”
When he hangs up, he takes his time to put the phone away and straighten out his suit, then he just stands there, staring at me. Those cold, penetrating blue eyes seemingly try to cut me down to my very soul.
“You’re in deep shit, Cris,” he says softly. His shoes click on the concrete floor as he crosses the space between us. “You know,” he asks conversationally, “I never thought we’d be here. Maybe I should have. After all, you saved me once upon a time, now it’s time for me to return the favor. Or not. That part’s up to you.”
He reaches out and removes the gag, finally. I flex my jaw, willing for the ache to subside as I stare at my best friend. Gently, Tennant cups my cheek, his knife and gun-calloused palm scratching against my skin.
“You look like shit, Cris.”
“What do you expect? I was fucking held for…God knows how long. Unable to see or hear, not knowing what was going on.”
He huffs and pulls back. “It was only a few hours, don’t be such a baby.”
“What happened? Where’s Allesandro? Luca? I hope you kept that bastard alive for me.”
“You really have become Sergio, haven’t you,” he says softly. “All our years trying to be better, to make this Family into what it was supposed to be, to protect Roman from our demons, and you went and fell off the deep end.”
I jerk in my chains. “Don’t you dare fucking talk about my son as if you know what’s best for him. If you did, you wouldn’t have taken up with more lovers.” I sneer at him. “I never pegged you as someone who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, Ten.”
Blood pools in my mouth from when he punches me. I spit at him, disappointed when he moves out of the way to avoid getting sprayed.
“How fucking dare you. If you knewanythingabout your son, then you would know Roman isn’t just okay with the shifting relationship dynamics, but is encouraging. He wants everyone to be happy. So much so that he orchestrated Jude meeting Antonio—which is going very well, by the way. I’m proud of my Little Lamb, and the way he’s coming out of his shell, thanks to Ghost and the twins.”
“Roman needs?—”
“Do not tell me what he needs,” Tennant says scathingly. His control is slipping as his tone turns cold and hard, fire dancing in his icy eyes. “You don’t know anything about him, so much so you’re not worthy of calling him your son. He’sCarter’s.” Tennant smiles a little. “And Carter has done an amazing job of supporting him and showing Roman the love he deserves.”
I glare. “Carter isn’t his father. Not when he’s playing house with someone else’s kid.”
Tennant shakes his head. “You’re boring me. If you have nothing interesting to say, I will leave you here for a while. Let you think about what you’ve done.”
