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Slipping out from between him and the counter, I put space between us by circling to the opposite end of the table.
He looked at me for a minute before scrubbing a hand over his face.
“I’m waiting.” He crossed his arms and gave me a leveled stare.
“Why did you kill that little boy? He was just a kid, Rome.”
“So she does have some morality left in there.” He sneered at me. “That wasn’t a kid; that was an animal. He would’ve eaten your fuckin face off in your sleep. I’ve seen dozens of kids just like em.”
“You’re an animal, too! You’re a…”
“Savage. I know. I make no excuses, and I have no regrets. This is who I choose to be and I don’t care if you don’t like it. You’re either with me or against me.”
“And what if I’m against?” I asked quietly.
I wasn’t, of course. I was with him through and through, but I could already picture Tito in my rearview mirror.
If I knew with complete certainty that there would be no issue between them, I would put it all out in the open. My gut told me that wasn’t the case, though.
“If you’re not with me, then I guess you would be a
whore.” He spat the word at me like it tasted vile in his mouth. “Get your ass upstairs, the fuck out of my sight.” He walked away, back towards the front of the warehouse.
“Shit,” Cobra muttered, taking off after him, leaving the clueless blonde beside Arlen.
Sucking in a breath, I stared after him, looking down when I felt a tug on my wrist. “Come on,” Grimm coaxed.
I let him lead me up the stairs, surprised when he followed me into Romero’s room.
“I’m not looking for a pity fuck,” I clarified right off the bat.
“I don’t want to…I would never.” He looked mortified at the very idea of it, the most emotion I’d ever seen from him written all over his face. He shook his head, stroking his beard.
“I would never fuck you because you belong to my best friend, and he would do things to me not even I could imagine—and I’m real imaginative, just for some clarification. I would never fuck you because nothing you said in that car was true.
“You’re not a whore, Cali. You were just a little girl and no one was there to protect you. I promise you there are a lot of people in this world who regret that.”
The sincerity laced in his words knocked against my stone exterior. Dropping my gaze to the floor, I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a dry laugh.
“That’s real sweet of you, Grimmy, but no one in this world has ever apologized for what happened to me, and I no longer expect them to. I just want to find a place where I fit in.”
“You already did. I don’t have any issues with you staying, as long as you’re in it for the long haul. We haven’t got to the good parts yet.”
Toying with my hair, I gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
His regular inexpressive face was back but I could swear by it the man almost smiled. He nodded and headed for the door, pausing after he pulled it open.
“You’re crazy and a pain in the ass. He’s insane and always fuckin moody but the connection is undeniable. Everyone sees it. You fit—you’re a fucked up pair of star-crossed lovers.”
With that, he walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving me to wallow in my thoughts.
Falling back onto the bed, I looked up at the ceiling, blowing out my cheeks.
Me and Rome.
Rome and I.
We were unhealthy, dysfunctional, toxic.
