Romeo The Mafia Casanova

Romeo’s [POV]

She was late.

And I was turning into one of those annoying as hell people who constantly checked their phone and looked out the kitchen window for her SUV.

Nothing.

Naz’s school had been over for hours, and it wasn’t like her to just keep him out.

He was always starving after school, so unless she took him to eat and then shop, which he hated, something was wrong. I’d called her father only to get a grunt on the other line, which made me wonder if I should put on a cup and pray she didn’t have good aim.

Things had been better.

When I found her in my apartment, I was more surprised at first that she’d taken the initiative to look into things, and then annoyed that the only thing my brain could focus on was that we’d been alone in my apartment and that my bed hadn’t seen any female in it-ever.

I never brought women back to my place.

The very thought that Eden had been a mere few feet from my bedroom, from christening that mattress, had me both unsteady with need and fucking hard as nails.

Hell, even her yelling at me hadn’t made the lust go away. If anything, I wanted her all the more for it.

I loved her anger.

Missed it.

Missed the fire I used to see behind her eyes, the fight that somehow lessened every year she was married to my brother like he somehow stole pieces of her personality until there was nothing left.

At this point, I’d probably welcome a good kick to the balls. At least then I’d know she still felt, she still cared, and she was still my Eden.

Mine.

Headlights flickered in the distance.

I bolted toward the door only to stop a few feet away from it. What the hell was I doing? With a curse, I turned away and braced my hands against the kitchen counter, counting the seconds until the car’s engine turned off.

I measured the steps she took to get to the door-nine.

I sucked in a sharp breath at the twist of the lock.

Tried like hell not to look up when she walked in and clicked the door shut behind her; she locked it as if she was trying to keep someone out when all she ever should have been worried about was letting me in.

Eden peered up and then stopped in her tracks like she was frozen in place; her eyes darted behind me to the living room and then back to me again.

Her keys fell to the ground in a loud crash, and I couldn’t tell if she was angry or terrified.

“Eden?” I tilted my head. “Is everything okay? Where’s Naz?”

“Safe,” she snapped while something flashed in her eyes before she picked up her keys and very slowly walked into the kitchen.

She walked right past me.

Which pissed me off.

Hadn’t things be better? “What the hell do you mean safe?”

I reached out and grabbed her wrist, keeping her from going past me.

“Let go,” she whispered, still not looking at me.

“Eden, what happened?”

A tear slid down her cheek. “Nothing.”

“Talk to me.” I squeezed her wrist and then tugged her against me until both hands pressed against my chest. “I can keep him safe. I have been keeping him safe, you too, so why isn’t he here? Why are you lying to me?”

She tried pulling away. I pinned my arms around her body and held her close, so close I could feel her heartbeats, and measure her small breaths.

“Let go.” Another tear slid down. “Please.”

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “I’m here to protect you, and you’re looking at me like I’m going to murder you any second. I would never touch you or Naz, you know that-”

“Good to know we aren’t on your list of people to kill.” Ice dripped off her words. “I won’t ask again, Romeo, let go.”

“Red-”

“Don’t you dare!” she yelled, her eyes flashing. “You don’t have the right to call me that, to claim me, protect Naz or me. You don’t have the right!”

Desperate for answers, I kept her close, my mind trying to piece together what could have possibly happened to get her to this state. “Eden, I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. Did someone hurt you?”

Her laugh was humorless. “That’s rich since it’s always you! You hurt me! Over and over again. You protect me. You reject me. You give me hope. You take it away. You lie while you smile, and you do it constantly until I believe you. Until I lie to myself to love you! I hate you, Romeo! I hate you!”

“You still love me?”

“Let me go!” she roared.

My heart slammed against my chest as she struggled against me. “I would do anything for you, anything!”

“I know!” She burst into tears. “Because you did!”

Cold chilled down my spine. “What?”

“Let me go before I scream!” She struggled against me. “I can’t even look at you, I can’t touch you. I can’t, I can’t, Romeo, I just can’t-”

“Calm down!” I pulled back and cupped her face. “I will always have you-”

“Until you’re bored! Until my name comes up. Is that it? Until I’m no longer useful? What happens when I age? Is that another get-out-of-jail-free card? Is that how this works? You claim me until you no longer want me, and then I die?”

“Die?” I shook my head. “What the fuck, Eden, did you miss the part where I said I’d do anything for you?”

“I know what you did!” she screamed, nearly loud enough to break the glass.

I dropped my shaking hands to my sides. My entire body went numb. “What are you talking about?”

“I. Know. What. You. Did.” She spoke with conviction.

“Red, you’re not making any fucking sense. You’re talking in circles. I can’t keep up with you.”

“No! I can see very clearly for the first time, and I know what and who you are. Finally! After all these years, I know who you truly are, Romeo Sinacore!”

I shook my head. “Eden, I’ve never pretended to be anything I’m not. Especially with you.”

“Bullshit!”

“I’ve done everything for you. Everything.”

“Oh, I’m fully aware. Don’t you worry about that?”

“Can you stop speaking in code and just spit it out already.”

“I know who killed Tristian.”

I stumbled back. I could see it in her eyes.

All these years.

All this time.

I was protecting her from me.

Only to have her figure out what I was capable of, destroying both of us when she seethed…