Page 49 of Fallen Rook

“Luca and Achilles—” I started.

“Might spare you, sure.” Tom stood up, slipping into his Oxford dress shoes. “But your soldiers would know, and they’d never look at you the same way again. You’ll be good as dead. The enforcer. The man upholding the organization’s ruthless reputation. The Camorra is already at a point of disadvantage against the Russians, maybe even the Irish; you will be the final nail in that coffin. You’ll never let yourself be your family’s downfall. No.” He shook his head. “We both have too much to lose in the worlds we live in. We’re taking it to our graves, kid.”

My throat worked around the bitter lump inside it. He was right.

I could never love him in the light.

I could never love any man in public.

It was the future I’d accepted for myself, to keep the ones I loved happy and fulfilled.

“Any more questions?” He arched a brow.

I shook my head, unable to produce actual words.

“Good.” He strode toward me, dropping an impersonal kiss to my bare shoulder. “I’m headed out of town for the weekend. I’ll see you Monday.”

I nodded absentmindedly. All the excitement and joy from our night together drained from my body, leaving in its wake this odd, gnawing feeling of an empty stomach no food could satisfy.

“Hey.” He grabbed the front of my throat, tilting my head up in a possessive grip. “Next time I see you, I’m going to fuck you. Buy some lube. Finger your ass daily. It’ll ease you up to it. Though I’m not gonna lie… The first time’s gonna hurt.”

He turned around and walked away, leaving me somehow more devastated than that time Achilles fucked Adriana and she broke the news to me while still underneath him.

Chapter Sixteen

Tom

I stared at my phone, trying to muster relief and satisfaction.

No new messages from Enzo today.

No stupid jokes.

Not even the unwarranted daily dick pic.

And when I’d checked his Instagram earlier, he hadn’t posted any new photos. No stories, either.

Nothing since I left his apartment this morning.

This was good. Great. Fantastic. I needed him to cool his jets.

But he didn’t have to vanish from the face of Earth.

Logging on to the back end of his gym’s website, I checked if he’d gotten his workout today.

He hadn’t.

Now I was getting worried. Worried for my operation, of course, not for Enzo.

Enzo knew how to take care of himself.

Unless…

I picked up my phone and started typing out a message.

Me: Are you O

I was about to hit the K when Sully kicked my door open, breezing inside and dumping a Dunkin’ coffee on my desk. He smelled like a seedy alleyway in East Harlem. “Got good news for you, Roth—”