"You're mine, Savannah." His voice drops lower, more intimate, and it's somehow worse than the shouting. "You've always been mine. And if I can't have you?—"
He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't have to.
Marco's hand is on my arm, pulling me back. Tony is calling for backup on his radio. Thad finally walks away with that same cold smile.
"If I can't have you, no one will," he calls over his shoulder. "Remember that."
I collapse when we get back to Romeo's apartment. Not dramatically—I just sink down onto the couch and can't seem to make myself move. My whole body feels heavy, disconnected, like I'm piloting it from somewhere far away.
Romeo is pacing, and I can see him trying to control his rage, trying not to explode in front of me.
"He threatened you." His voice is tight. "In front of witnesses. In broad daylight. And campus security did nothing."
"They never do anything." I stare at my hands. "His family has too much power. Too much influence. They're not going to help."
"I'm going to make sure Whitmore never comes near you again."
"You're going to kill him."
He doesn't answer, which is answer enough.
"No." I stand up, and the room spins for a moment before steadying. "No, you can't. If you kill him, they'll know it was you. They'll arrest you. They'll?—"
"I don't care." His voice is flat. "I don't care what happens to me as long as you're safe."
"But I won't be safe!" My voice cracks as it rises. "Don't you understand? If you kill him, if you go to prison, then I'm alone. I'm alone with your father, who wants me gone, and my father,who wants me married to a monster and no one to protect me. You think that makes me safer?"
The words seem to hit him physically. He stops, and I watch the realization cross his face. "Then what do I do?" His voice breaks. "Tell me what to do, because I can't—I can't watch him terrorize you anymore. I can't watch you falling apart. I can't?—"
He stops, and when he looks at me, I see something I've never seen in Romeo's eyes before—helplessness. "You're not eating," he says quietly. "You're not sleeping. You're losing weight. You're—" His voice cracks. "You're disappearing right in front of me, and I don't know how to stop it."
"I'm scared all the time," I whisper. "I'm so scared I can't breathe. And I know I'm supposed to be taking care of the baby, supposed to be eating and resting and staying calm, but I can't. Every time I try to eat, I think about Thad showing up. Every time I close my eyes, I see my father's face when he hit me. And I just—I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this."
Romeo crosses the room in three strides and pulls me against his chest. I can feel him shaking.
"I'm sorry," he's saying, over and over. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault. All of this is my fault."
"It's not?—"
"It is." He pulls back to look at me, and his eyes are wet. "I brought you into this. I pursued you when I should have stayed away. And now you're—" His hand moves to my stomach, rests there gently. "Now you're carrying my child, and you're in danger because of me."
"Romeo—"
"I need to send you away." The words sound like they're being torn from him. "Just for a little while. Just until I can handle Whitmore and your father and make sure you're safe."
The suggestion makes my chest tighten with panic. "Send me where?"
"Upstate. I have a house there. It’s secure and isolated. Giulia will go with you. And Marco and Tony. You'll be safe there. You can rest. You can?—"
"You're sending me away." I stare at him, disbelieving. "You're abandoning me."
"No." He grabs my face, forces me to look at him. "No, I'm protecting you."
Tears well up in my eyes. "It feels the same. It feels like everyone in my life either wants to control me or wants me gone, and now you?—"
"I don't want you gone." His voice is fierce. "I want you safe. I want our baby safe. And the only way I can do that is if you're somewhere Whitmore can't find you. Somewhere your father can't reach you. Somewhere I know you're protected while I handle this."
"And what if something happens to you?" The question comes out as a whisper. "What if you get hurt or killed or arrested, and I'm stuck upstate with no way to help you?"
