“You get one hit as a courtesy because I know you’re angry, but if you ever touch me again, I will fucking end you. Do I make myself clear,boy?”
Thomas was at least twenty years older than me, but this man was lethal, and I knew he meant every word of his threat.
“You took her away from me.” The words burned as I muttered them.
“I did. I had to. For both your sakes.” He glared at me, and then his face softened a little. “Do you trust me?”
“No,” I spat.
Laughing, he eased off, and I rubbed my aching neck as I swallowed tentatively to see how much it hurt. As Thomas stood, turning to the smaller of the two men so he could help him remove his gloves, the Viking held out his hand. I took it, allowing his giant frame to pull me from the ground, as he muttered, “Jesus, you’re built like a wall.”
No one spoke again until Thomas was glove-free and beginning to undo the tape from his knuckles. “I’ll ask you that again.” He turned to me. “After everything we’ve worked on together over the years, do you trust me?”
“Fine,” I huffed. “Yes.”
“Well, then, you’ll know I’ve taken care of her. She’s safe.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had so many emotions flooding through me, I couldn’t explain how I was feeling.
“She’s not a teenager anymore, Roman. She’s a woman. A woman with needs. She needs friends, a life, a job, stability. She needs a relationship, kids maybe… you’re denying her all that.”
I charged towards him, but he didn’t even flinch, raising an eyebrow as if he couldn’t believe what I was doing, and my feet halted.
He gave me a second to calm myself before he spoke. “What happened to the last man she dated?”
“She didn’t date him. They went out once, and he was a creep.” I shuddered when I remembered seeing them together.
“But what happened to him?”
“He had an unfortunate accident.”
Thomas’ mouth curled into a smile as he shook his head. “The lights at the junction he was crossing all went green at the same time, and he was hit by a car. What happened to the bloke before him?”
“I scared him off,” I replied matter-of-factly.
“You filmed him cheating on his wife with three different women and then sent her the evidence.”
“H-how?” I spluttered.
This time, Thomas laughed loudly and looked between his friends as if he couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of my question.
“You know what I do for a living. Did you really think I wouldn’t be keeping an eye on you?”
My eyes widened, and my rage spiked.
“You move any closer, Roman, and I will knock you on your arse again, but this time, you won’t get back up.”
I stayed still.
“This can’t continue. It has to stop. Not just for her, but for you. You can’t sacrifice your life because you feel guilty for still having one.”
His words hit harder than any punch ever could. Was he right? Had my promise morphed into my damnation?
1
ROMAN
2 WEEKS LATER
