Page 27 of Not Your Romeo
Downstairs was tidied, and I could smell a candle burning, though I didn’t immediately notice the source. It wasn’t until I arrived in the kitchen and saw the tiny flame dancing in the glass jar, that I realized where she was.
Fuck.
My feet anchored to the floor, but damned if my mind and heart weren’t halfway to that fuckin’ bike already.
I took a deep breath and made my way toward the open patio door. She was standing beside the pool I’d filled with cement. Her arms were crossed, and her gaze was locked on something in the distance, seemingly oblivious to my presence. I quietly made my way behind her and gently took her upper arms in hand before placing a kiss to her shoulder.
“What kind of mess is this?” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
I closed my eyes, slid my arms around her waist and gave her a tiny hug, “Whatever we make of it, Ro. That’s what life always is.”
“Your family is entwined with the man who took my brother from me. What the fuck does that future look like? What do Sammy and I talk about at family affairs? When it all goes down– How does that look for you and me? You just walked away, unable to finish a meal or look at me.”
It was bad. She was right, but I’d navigated worse.
“Could always be worse,” I mumbled, realizing my inward reflections weren’t helping her any.
Her laughter came in a bitter huff, “Yeah. I’m making a big deal out of nothing. All marriages dance around dead bodies and blame games. I’m sure your first one did, too, right?”
She whipped around, before I could get the stunned expression off my face. I opened my mouth, but my brain actually reacted faster than my tongue for once and I resisted the urge to back her up with the crudest shit I could bring myself to utter. That was how I usually won my arguments with Jolene. Ro wasn’t Jolene, though. Those blue eyes widened, and I could tell she regretted her words, even if she didn’t understand just how close to home they’d hit.
“Yeah. It actually did.” I gestured to the pool, keeping my tone low and even.
She hesitantly turned her gaze in the direction I’d indicated, and I could tell by the way she stared at the monstrosity, that it was the first time she’d consciously took note of it. Her cheeks lost a bit of their color and she swallowed hard.
“Is that–? Do you have something buried there?” The fear in her tone was palpable.
“My heart,” I managed, before the emotion swelled in my throat and I got pissed off for even trying to enter into Ruby territory with her. I couldn’t keep the irritation out of my voice when I snapped, “Jesus, Roisin. If I ever had a need to bury a body, I damn sure wouldn’t do it in the backyard of my family home.”
She blinked, digesting what I said, but clearly struggling still. “Why the concrete–? Wh–?”
I closed my eyes, forced my lungs to slow and my thoughts to quiet enough that I wouldn’t scream it at her, “My little girl drowned in that fuckin’ pool.”
When I opened my eyes, hers were glistening, and her fingers were covering her lips.
“It led to blame games and ruined your marriage?” she guessed, her fingers slowly dropping away from her mouth to reach for mine.
I looked away, but kept my hand still, allowing her to hold onto it, “Something like that. It’s a little tough to talk about, but all I meant to say was– You didn’t call and tell nobody Menace took Sammy. She can’t hold that against you. Just like I’m not the one that hurt your brother, right?”
Her gaze dropped and I ducked my head trying to force her to maintain eye contact, as I repeated, “Right?”
“A member of your club did,” she whispered.
“Of his own drunken volition. Not on my order or on the club’s behalf. Me and you were brought together by something ugly and regrettably tragic, but we’ve committed no personal wrongs against each other. We can grow from this if we choose. There’s nothing saying this has to stay ugly, is there?”
She swiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head.
“Right.” I pulled her toward me and kissed her crown. “If it makes you feel better, he’s out bad with the club. His actions brought unsanctioned conflict with the Double Nickel gang.”
She jerked back and stared at me with a mixture of disbelief and admiration, “You put a hit out on him, for real?”
I nodded. “I did– at one point.”
Her face fell, right along with her tone “So, you recalled it?”
I tipped my head left and right, searching for the right explanation, “Not exactly, but I’m sure my VP spread the word that I struck a peace treaty with Sean to save him from a mob hit.”
It was complicated. Her hands snapped against my chest, knocking me back about six inches, and squarely into reality. Life was complicated, and so the fuck was marriage!
