Page 188 of Romeo

I couldn’t stop the grin.

Seven years of hiding hadn’t been enough to drag Chasm out of the shadows, but apparently another man trying to dance with his wife had done the job.

“What was that, baby?” Sal asked.

Morgan straightened. “He saw me at the Tavern with the girls when David Gearing tried to dance with me. He’s been trying to get me to go out with him for years. Jude got jealous and broke into my house. He was there when I got home.”

The sound behind her came from Sal.

Low.

Very fucking unhappy.

King’s fists closed against the table until Grace rested a hand on his arm. After a second, his fingers loosened.

I couldn’t blame either man. Chasm had disappeared from Morgan’s life for seven years, then walked back into her house because some other man dared to stand too close to her. He’d confronted her, reopened every wound he left behind, and disappeared again before Morgan could even decide what she wanted from him.

“Then why did he leave?” Frank asked.

“Because he’s a stupid, stubborn son of a bitch,” King answered.

Morgan smiled.

It was small, almost reluctant.

That smile told me more than the rest of the conversation had.

Whatever Chasm had done to her, whatever anger and hurt still lived between them, Morgan wasn’t done with him. And judging by the way Chasm had reacted because another man tried to dance with her, he sure as hell wasn’t done with her, either.

I thought about Fiona.

For months, I’d measured every step I took toward her. I called it patience, and most of the time it was. She deserved room to decide what she wanted without a man thirteen years older pushing his certainty onto her.

But there was another side to that.

If I hid too much in the name of giving Fiona room, the silence could start saying things I’d never meant.

Morgan had spent seven years believing Chasm didn’t want her because he’d decided disappearing was the noble thing to do.

I wasn’t making that mistake.

“Morgan?” King called.

“What?”

Her mother touched her arm. “Honey, Kingston is worried about you being here unprotected. He offered to take you home to Nebraska with him. And of course, I’m sure your father would love for you to go to Boston.”

“I can’t leave.” Morgan looked around the table. “I have a business to run.”

“Honey, I can take care of the business.”

“Morgan, until we know what Steele had in that file, you’re not safe.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If Steele had anything, why would he wait so long? Why didn’t he come after me years ago?”

King looked away before drawing a slow breath. “Steele was working with the Death Dogs. He was part of the group that attacked our clubhouse. He was also responsible for the warehouse explosion Jude was in. You aren’t safe here. Come home with Grace and me. Let me keep you safe.”

Nobody from Nebraska dismissed the threat.