Roman looks down, his eyes flashing like he’s seeing the bodies lying on the table in front of him. “One other bouncer, three dancers, a bartender, and a cleaner. Six total.”
Taking a deep breath, I quickly jot down the names and positions of all the victims as he says them. Roman is obviously shaken up and upset by what happened last night, but I can’t help but feel like he’s used to the violence – it’s who was hurt that’s the issue.
“Who all knew about you being in Denver?”
Roman takes a moment to think, “Just my boss and…and his second in command. And the people who worked at the club once I got there.”
There’s that hesitation again when his boss comes up – and what’s with the second-in-command thing?
Roman isn’t being honest with me, not completely. He will, though. Soon enough, he’ll realize that he needs me to help him more than he needs to worry about me threatening him and he’ll spill every singledark secret he has buried deep inside of him – and I, craving the dark like I do, will consume each and every one with a smile on my face and then go back for seconds.
I just have to wait for him to come to that realization himself.
I slide my notepad back into my briefcase and shoot Roman a smile, “Well, I think I’ve got all I need for now. I’ve got to work with the police to get photos from the crime scene and any video footage from that night. Do you know if the club had security cameras?”
Roman nods, wiping down the table in front of him with a napkin. “Yes, of course. All our clubs have the best security systems money can buy.”
I roll my eyes. “Why did I even ask? I’ll also figure out what type of gun was used so we can compare that to the one you carried. All of that together should build a pretty strong case.”
Roman stands along with me, his eyes skimming me from head to toe before coming back to meet my own. “What do I do in the meantime?”
I shrug. “Stay out of trouble.”
His hand on my wrist stops me as I move to leave, “The judge put you in charge of me, Eve. I think that means you’re responsible for me and anything I do at the moment.”
I turn to see a wicked smile covering the bottom half of Roman’s face. He’s testing me, pushing me. He thinks I’ll back down.
“Hmm...” I nibble on my bottom lip as Roman takes a small step closer. Abel won’t be back from his retreat for at least a week, and Viv will be buried in her case for a while…Wylder I’m sure will have a few choice things to say but riling him up is half the fun.
By the time I’m done making up my mind, I have amatching smirk on my own mouth. “Fine. You’re going to stay with me then. Just don’t make fun of my American coffee in the mornings or I may have to kill you – and I promise you I know how to get away with it.”
Chapter 8
Eve
I’mwoken up in the morning by yelling coming from the spare bedroom – the spare room that I put Roman in just the day before.
After we left the coffee shop, we went to his hotel so he could pack his things and check out – something the hotel manager was deeply saddened by – before heading to my house. He immediately made himself at home, claiming Terry as his cat and stealing my favorite couch blanket to lay down and watch the news where we saw his face plastered over and over again.
It had me contemplating the murder I threatened him with much more than what is socially acceptable.
Now, the sun has just broken over the horizon and he’s in the room next to mine yelling for some ungodly reason and here I am trying to decide if I want to bludgeon him with a heel or tie a scarf around his neck. I could bury him in my garden out back. Wylder would help. No one would ever know…
I hear his voice rise again and scream into my pillow.What the hell is so important this early in thefuckingmorning?
Getting up, I pad over to the shared wall and press my ear firmly against it. I love my old house, but I’ve always hated how thin the walls were. It means I can always hear Abel playing video games late at night. Although, it is coming in handy right now.
“Listen, man, you need to get to Denver right now!” He’s silent for a minute before scoffing. “I can’t explain over the phone, just get here!”
Who is he talking to?
“No, my lawyer is fine and I’m sure I’ll be able to get off, that’s not the problem!”
I can hear him seething even through a wall and I can’t help but chuckle at his clear aggravation. Something about a man getting angry just makes me feel all giddy inside.
“Cuba? What the hell is in Cuba?”
First New York, now Denver, and then Cuba? Roman’s boss is a busy one – assuming that’s his boss he’s talking to.
