“It’s not! Not when you turn your back on everything I am and go running to rat me out to Rastelli. Just tell me one thing. How the hell did you even know about the meeting with Abate? I never discussed it with you. How did you hear about it?”
She looks up at me with fearful, watery blue eyes.
“ANSWER ME!”
She jumps and flinches away from me. Fat tears roll down her face. “I didn’t tell her about that. I didn’t tell her anything.”
“That’s not what I asked?—”
“I know what you mean,” she says, her voice raising in volume. “I never told Rastelli about the meeting or anything about you or the Bratva. I didn’t rat.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” I say.
“I am not lying to you, Roman. I swear?—”
“Ares saw you meeting with her in a diner,” I growl at her. “You’re not even denying that you’ve been talking to her. You really want me to believe that you’re not akrysa?”
“She wanted me to rat, okay?” Tears start streaming down her face. “And a couple of months ago… A couple of months ago, I thought that I might. That it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to be the manager of a fucking Bratva bar, Roman! I’ve never dreamed of being a part of this shit! You pulled me into it!”
“You didn’t exactly resist me very hard, Ember. Don’t act like I just waved my magic golden dick and you had no choice but to follow. You came to me willingly.”
“I know!” she shouts, her voice a heartbreaking cry. “It didn’t start out that way, though. I… I never thought…” She stops and wipes one wet cheek with the back of her hand. “When things started getting serious between us, I told her I was done. I wasn’t going to be her fucking snitch anymore.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes!” She barks it at me, her eyes wide and ravenous. The fire behind them is enticing and damned sexy. No wonder I started falling for her. “I told her I wanted out and in return, she raided the club. And today, all I could think about was how doing that caused all this and I felt guilty, all right? I only went to meet her to tell her to back the fuck off.”
She’s so passionate in her words that I almost believe her. I take a step back from her and say, “Get your shit and get the fuck out of my house.”
She freezes, flabbergasted. Before she can say any more, I add, “I don’t want to hear your excuses or your lies. You’re lucky I’m telling you to leave instead of having you executed. Get out. Now.”
I turn and walk away. Back to my study and my drink. If I never see her again, it’ll be too soon.
I’m not in the study more than a few moments when I hear the door open behind me. I turn to see her standing there. “You deaf?” I ask her. “I told you?—”
“I heard you,” she says, walking up to me. “I’m not going that easily, Roman. You’re going to listen to me.”
“I don’t have to listen to you. Do you understand?”
“You could have me killed, yes. I get that. In fact, that’s the one thing I’ve always understood about this relationship. You’re a monster. You’re the big, bad wolf. Got it.”
She walks right up to me, getting in my face. “All this talk about my being a rat and you forgot one very important thing. I would never betray a man that I love. Never.”
I blink in confusion.Love?I move away from her to my drink caddy. “You don’t love me.”
“Why else would I even be here right now? With you growling threats at me, I’m certainly not here for my health.”
I ignore her, picking up a fresh glass for my liquor. She walks up to me, her eyes darting frantically from my face to my hands as I make another drink.
“How many have you had already?”
“That is none of your business. Not anymore.”
“Are you drunk?”
I slam the glass down on the caddy and it rattles in a dozen clinking tones like a swinging chandelier. “What’s it to you?” I ask her. She pauses, but the determination is still hard in her eyes.
“Listen to me, Roman. I’m not the rat in your midst. Someone told Rastelli about the meeting with Abate, but it wasn’t me.”
