"You're overthinking," Dom says, watching me with concern in his eyes.
"Am I? My father was corrupt. Everything I've built my life around was a lie."
"He wasn't corrupt," Dom counters, irritation edging into his voice. "He was practical. There's a difference."
"Is there?" I snap. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like I've spent my career trying to bring down the very people my father protected."
Dom's patience visibly frays. "That's rich coming from someone who's been fucking me while trying to build a case against me."
The words hit like a slap. "That's different?—"
"Is it?" He leans closer, eyes flashing. "You're the one who decided it's okay to sleep with me and work with me when it suits you. So maybe the answer is yes, you’re exactly like your father."
I want to defend myself, insist I haven't broken any laws, that our situation is completely different.
But he's right.
I've been compartmentalizing, justifying, drawing arbitrary lines.
"I haven't compromised my investigation," I say weakly.
"Keep telling yourself that." He shakes his head and I get the feeling that I’ve offended him somehow. But he’s the one who lied to me.
"Look, I'm not judging you. Neither is Roman. Your father made choices to protect what mattered. So are you."
I feel like I’m disassociating because his words sort of make sense. I've been so focused on the letter of the law that I missed its spirit.
Justice, protection, doing what's right even when it's complicated.
But no. That’s just excuses.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
"I don't know who I am anymore.” I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "I need to get out of here. Clear my head."
Dom puts his hand on my forearm. "That's not smart, Olivia. You're still in danger."
"I can't stay here," I snap, gesturing around the safehouse. "In this bubble with you where everything makes sense until I step back into the real world."
"Maybe this is the real world." His voice softens. "Maybe out there is the illusion."
I laugh bitterly. "That's convenient philosophy for a criminal."
"For someone who just learned her father worked with the Vitale family, you're still pretty quick with the judgment." His words sting because they're true.
I look away. "I need space to process all this."
"Process here. Where it's safe. Where I can protect you. If you need space, I’ll give it to you within the confines of this safehouse."
"And then what?" I challenge. "We just... continue whatever this is?"
"Would that be so terrible? We could see where this goes. What's between us."
"There's nothing between us, Dom,” I lie, letting my anger and feelings of betrayal get the best of me. Because the truth is, I do feel something for him.
His eyebrows raise. "Really? Because the way you respond when I touch you says otherwise."
Heat rushes to my face. "That’s just sex.”
