“If you don’t leave her alone, I promise you that I’ll be your worst nightmare.”
“Rowan, let’s go,” Sandro mutters.
I take a step from Brett and slide my gun back under my jacket. “Are we clear?”
“Clear,” Brett spits.
I give him a vicious grin. “Nice talking to you.”
“I don’t thinkthat was smart.”
I adjust my sleeves as Frostbite disappears in the rearview mirror. “There’s a time for diplomacy, and there’s a time for force.”
“You didn’t have to pull out your gun.”
“I didn’t want to leave any ambiguity. I want him to know I’m serious.”
Sandro runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m just now starting to feel settled in here. Business is good. You’ve got your girl. Let’s not fuck it all up.”
“We won’t fuck it up.”
“You’re grinning.”
He’s right. I’m in a great mood. I feel like myself, my old self, for the first time since we got here.
“We’re not in New York anymore,” Sandro grumbles, as if I need a reminder.
Annoyance inches along my skin. Sandro’s nothing but a buzzkill. It’s bad enough I have to act like a fucking choirboy most of the time, but this was one fucking opportunity to flex an old muscle, and he won’t even let me enjoy it.
“I’m well aware.”
He glances at me, probably picking up on the change in my tone. That knee of his starts bouncing again. “I’m just making sure.”
I tamp down my frustration. Sandro’s just trying to watch out for me the way he promised Rafe he would.
“Give me the keys,” I tell Sandro.
He hands them over. The keys to the storefront. Blake’s future bookshop.
And the keys to my future here.
A future where maybe one day I’ll be able to let go of my past.
CHAPTER 35
NERO
By the time Sandro drops me off at the house, I’m still buzzing.
I can’t believe how fucking good that felt—like slipping into a pair of perfectly broken-in leather shoes.
People who’ve lived their lives following the arbitrary rules society imposes on them have no idea how good it feels to sayfuck the rules. They’re too scared to go against the grain. Too scared to risk being rejected by those around them.
But what they don’t understand is that as long as they conform, they will never know true power. It comes from being your own fucking person and doing whatever the fuck you want.
Back at Frostbite, that power pulsed through me, but it’s already fading.
When I was in New York, I felt it rushing through my veins all the damn time. It's stronger than any drug you can possibly imagine.
