BLOSSOM
––––––––
Seated on the edge of my bed, holding my phone, I stared at Rome Cattaneo. The smile I’d grown to adore wasn’t on his face tonight. He looked just how others described him.
Ruthless.
And now, I was the target of that ruthlessness. He leaned back in his seat, and I swear, that muscular body of his could fill out a suit and an office chair.Damn. He lifted a glass of brown liquor to his mouth.
After taking a sip, he set the glass down and licked his lips. My traitorous body had the nerve to perk up at that. Ignoring the sensation, I kept my eyes glued to him as he clasped his hands together in front of him. We stared at each other in silence.
Neither of us uttered a word. Neither of us looked away. For months, we'd talked for hours without ever seeing each other's faces. We'd laughed together. Flirted in sweet and filthy ways. We’d challenged each other. Impressed each other.
We’d fallen in love while hiding behind masks. Now, the masks were off. There were no voice modulators. No fake names. Just the two of us. The real us. Yet, neither of us was saying anything. It was Rome who finally broke the silence.
“You’re not even going to try to deny it, are you?” he asked.
“Deny what?” I countered, already knowing what he was talking about.
“Deny that you, Blossom Brooks, are also Juliet With Curves.”
“There’s no point in denying it,” I told him. “You wouldn’t be calling my phone if you didn’t already know the truth.”
There was a tick in his jaw. With Kelly’s life on the line, I really needed to stop pissing him off.
“You used to have only sweet words for me,” he drawled. “Now that you’re no longer able to hide behind a mask or a florist apron, you’re showing me who you truly are.”
“I could say the same for you, Romeo.”
“What did you say?” he asked, leaning forward.
“You used to have such sweet words for me also,” I pointed out. “Now, you’re threatening the life of my staff member. I guess we’re both revealing who we truly are.”
Okay, I should really be quiet because if looks could kill, I’d already be dead.
“I’m sending a car to get you. Be ready,” he told me.
“Whoa. Wait. A car? Why do you need to send a car for me?” I asked, panicking. “We’re already on the phone. Say whatever it is you need to say to me.”
“A car will be there in twenty minutes to bring you to me. Be ready.”
“Wait. What?” I asked, confused.
“And if you try to call any of your staff, especially Kelly Boyd, they won’t live to see the sunrise.”
There was that fear again, threading through my veins, chilling me from the inside out.
“Don’t try to sneak and make the call, Juliet. I’ll know.”
My eyes widened. “You... you hacked me,” I accused.
“Everything you’ve done to me and my family, I plan to do the same to you and yours, Juliet. Get in the car when it arrives. You do not want to make me angrier than you already have.”
With that, he ended the call, leaving me staring at the screen with my mouth open. He was sending a car for me, which meant he knew where I lived. He knew where Kelly lived. He knew what we’d done.
He knew everything. Well, not everything. But enough to make him send for me. All my planning was for nothing. I didn’t fix anything. Hell, I could’ve possibly made it worse. What would he do if I didn’t get in that car?
Would he go through with his threat to open her skull? I blinked back tears. I really wanted to call Kelly to warn her. But he’d already hacked me and would know if I did so.Shit!How had he hacked me without me knowing?
