Hana took out the gun, and my heart rate shot up again, making me wonder how many times she could shock me like this before I died of a heart attack. But instead of pointing it at me, she placed it on the table, facing it away from us as she sat next to me.
“Thank you.” It was the first time she sounded like the Hana I was used to.
“So, how long have you been picking locks?” I asked, trying to sound casual, but failing miserably.
“Since I was ten.”
I paused, deciding I was in a dream and about to wake up because, what the hell? “I’m sorry, what? I thought you saidten.”
“I did.” She nodded, taking off one glove and placing it down in front of her before repeating the process with the other, while I sat there in shock.
“You’ve been picking locks since you were ten years old?”
She sighed as if this was a tedious conversation. “Picking locks, breaking and entering, stealing cars, pickpocketing… then it escalated to stealing more high-value items when I was about twelve.”
“Hana…” I said with a gasp. “Why?”
“No one suspects the kid. That’s what my stepfather used to say. He liked money, and it turned out I was small and really good at stealing things, so he used to hire me out to gangs, groups of people who wanted to steal things…”
My mouth hung open, unable to find a way to respond. She shuffled in her seat, and the urge to pull her into my lap and comfort her was real. If this was true… if she’d been a thief from a young age… I had to bite the inside of my cheek while I tried to regulate my emotions, unsure if I was angry on her behalfor angry that I’d not known any of this. How could I have not known?
“The gun… well, that’s new. I can shoot, don’t get me wrong. In fact, I have perfect aim most of the time, but they aren’t my preferred choice of weapon.”
I pushed my hand to my chest, where my heart beat against my ribs like it was trying to break free. Hana sounded like we were discussing her favourite type of pasta, not what weapons we preferred, but the sick fucker in me decided it had to ask, “So what is your choice… if you had to pick?”
Her lips curled into a half smile. “Not to get caught, so I don’t need one.”
42
HANA
I wonderedif I looked confident, because I was anything but. I was faking it, and while my hand was steady, my stomach flipped like I was on a rollercoaster, going around and around the loop the loop.
I knew it was extreme—the photo, the gag, the threat—but I needed Roman, and I was too stubborn to just ask. I told myself it was because he wouldn’t come. I’d used my safe word with him, told him to leave me alone, and while I was pretty sure Roman Black was some sort of stalker, I was also equally as sure he was a man of integrity, and if I’d told him to back off, he would have taken that literally. So I faked the photo and sent it to him, knowing he’d never ignore it if he thought I was in trouble, and this was the only way I could guarantee he came alone. I couldn’t have anyone else knowing what I’d done.
And here he was. Always the white knight.
Now he was here, I ached to tell him the truth, but where did I start? I knew the minute he heard about my past, he’d hate me as much as I hated myself.
His phone beeped, and he glanced down at the message.
“It’s a burner phone. We don’t have a name yet, and the signal’s being bounced all over the place, so it will take a whilefor my team to triangulate it, but the good news is that it’s turned on.” He looked up at me. “If that’s all, I should be going.”
“Don’t,” I said a little louder than I’d meant to.
He let his gaze drift over me like he still couldn’t believe I was doing any of this, and I couldn’t blame him. This was a far cry from who I was now, and I’d never wanted to be this person. “You going to point a gun at me again, little menace?”
I twisted my lips like I was thinking about it, but really, I wanted him to choose to stay. Choose me. I’d never had anyone stay for me. Even Tony left me in the end.
Roman didn’t leave, and the gesture had my heart aching, my body twitching with the need to let him take care of me. I was tired of being strong, tired of being in control. I think that was why I wanted dominance in the bedroom; I longed not to think, not look over my shoulder, and Roman gave me that. Fuck, he gave me everything, and it wasn’t until I told him to walk away that I realised just how much I craved him. How much I felt for him. At some point, he’d crawled under my skin and taken up residence, and knowing he wasn’t there for me anymore was a loss I wasn’t expecting.
“You didn’t bring me here with a fake kidnapping plot just to get me to find out who sent you a message about your dead brother.” He sounded angry, and I didn’t blame him. I couldn’t explain it all, but I could get to the point.
“Seconds after I was sent those messages, someone fired a bullet through my bedroom window.”
Roman’s face hardened, his jaw locking. “You think whoever killed your brother is coming after you?” He sounded so shocked… if only he knew about my past, he’d know I deserved this and more. “What are you involved in?”
I shook my head. “Not guns. Not usually. This…” I pointed to the gun. “This is for protection, that’s all. I promise. This isn’t me, Ro.”
