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Then I’m jolted back to awareness by a heavy thud, and his grip loosens.
I fall to my hands and knees, inhaling noisy breaths that verge on screams. Oxygen fills my lungs, but does nothing to ease my panic. Darkness fills my vision, but a tunnel of light expands with each frantic heartbeat. Everything is blurred. All I can make out is one huge figure striking another.
It’s Roman.
He stands over Dominic’s crouched form, hitting him over and over with the butt of his pistol.
The shock of the assault still punches me in the chest. I skitter against the wall, trying to catch my breath. No matter how much I continue to inhale, the oxygen fails to register. It’s as though my lungs still think I’m being choked.
“You piece of shit,” Roman punches Dominic so hard that he crumples like a broken marionette.
The towel around Roman’s waist lies in a wet heap on the floor while he continues raining blows down on Dominic with the kind of savagery that makes my hair stand on end.
Blood spatters across Roman’s tanned skin, and his handsome features twist into a mask of rage that makes him look monstrous.
I’ve never seen such raw savagery, not even from Jim at his cruelest. Roman fights like he’s powered by a legion of demons, each battling for their chance to draw blood. He’s vicious, savage, relentless, and attacking with wild abandon—just like a berserker warrior in the throes of a frenzy.
My heart stutters, and I clutch at my chest. Will I be next? Will Roman’s violent rampage be directed at me?
The thump of fists meeting flesh turns wet, and my spine stiffens at the sound of Roman’s brutality drawing blood. I clap both hands over my mouth to muffle a scream, making his head jerk in my direction.
When our eyes meet, his expression softens. He drops the gun and wipes a bloody hand over his face.
My gaze bounces from Roman to the man lying on the floor. Dominic’s head and face is a mess of blood and broken flesh. The only sign he’s still alive is the slow rise and fall of his chest.
Roman stands, his face a deceptive mask of calm. His gaze never leaves mine as he crosses the room, stops at my side, and holds out a hand.
All traces of the enraged beast are gone, but my limbs refuse to cooperate. Experience says that people don’t switch from monster to man. Roman is either that monster in a mask or a man fighting to protect what’s precious. I’m not naïve enough to think I’ve become that important to him after just a one-night stand.
When I don’t take his hand, he reaches down, gathers me into his arms, and pulls me to his chest. Blood soaks my apron and fills my senses with the scent of copper.
“It’s alright now, baby,” he murmurs. “You’re safe.”
I can’t fight. I can’t flee, so I freeze.
He buries his head in my hair, inhales deeply, and groans. I can’t stop feeling like I’m trapped in the maw of a beast.
Who the fuck is Sam?
Why does he want me dead?
And was he telling the truth about Roman’s nefarious motives?
I might be safe from Dominic, but who’s going to keep me safe from Roman?
TWENTY-THREE
ROMAN
Fuck. I almost lost Emberly. If I had spent a minute longer in the shower, she could have died.
The only reason I left Dominic alive is because I need answers, starting with why a long-trusted employee was choking the life out of the woman standing between me and my family fortune.
Emberly trembles in my arms but refuses to lean against my chest, no matter how much I try to pull her close. Her trauma response goes beyond the shock of being choked.
I draw back and cup her face with both hands. “Are you hurt, baby?
She shakes her head but won’t meet my eyes.
