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She smiles, then goes about her business.
Roman’s orders? Wouldn’t it be easier for him if I had no means of communication? Or is he so sure that his earlier threat latched itself deep in my bones, that I wouldn’t dream of running away again?
This gesture is either arrogant or thoughtful. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which.
CHAPTER8
Sophia
Ididn't see Roman again until that night at dinner. I spent the rest of the day recovering in my own bedroom. I tried to read, but my mind was a jumble of thoughts and memories.
Memories of how I’d fallen through the ice, believing I was going to die. Then the complete trust I had in Roman when he pulled me from the lake. The feeling was so powerful, so all-consuming, that in the moment I’d forgotten why I’d run away. I felt protected in his arms. I just knew that everything, thatI, was going to be okay.
Of course, I couldn’t tell my sister and cousin that this morning. The small parts that I did disclose to them already felt like too much. Is Ravenna right? Am I intrigued by this mysterious man who always leaves me feeling some intense emotion whether it’s hatred or gratitude? I’m certainly not indifferent around him.
I glance across the table at Roman. Dark head bowed over his plate of grilled chicken salad, scrolling through his phone. I swear he never stops working. At least, I assume he’s working. He could simply be using the device as a means to ignore me.
“What do you do for work? You own a shipping company, don't you?” I ask him, wondering what can possibly take up so much of his time.
His head jerks up, almost like he forgot I was here. I suppress an eye roll.
“I run De Luca Global Trades.” He clears his throat, setting his phone on the table beside his plate. “It’s an import export company that’s been run by my family for several generations.”
“And…what does that have to do with my father? You two work together, don’t you?”
“I work with a lot of people.” He leans back in his chair. “I assist with importing goods into this country and have ins with the port authorities. To the mafia, the various bratvas, and everyone else I work for, I’m indispensable to their business.”
Arrogant much?
“So, you’re a smuggler?”
He scowls. “I suppose you could put it that way.”
Roman reaches for his phone, bows his head over it, and resumes ignoring me while we eat. I guess that conversation is over.
In the full twenty-four hours that I’ve known him, he has alternated between hot and cold so many times that I’m beginning to get whiplash.
He’s rescued— I mean,notrescued—me twice. His touch does funny things to my body and brain, making me crave more. Then he ruins it all with his threats.
‘I’ll bury your body in the woods’
Orworse, kill my entire family.
I cock my head, studying him. Except, before all of that he’d stated that, ‘it may as well be true’, to the question of murdering his late wife. Which is not the same as an admission of guilt. No, this complicated man is hiding something. He has secrets. The mystery of those secrets lure me in, begging me to unearth them.
Why? I’m not entirely sure.
I’m not the best judge of character perhaps, but I think I’m okay at it. Now that I’m sober, calm, and have had the entire day to think about recent events, I don’t peg Roman as a wife killer. This morning I said as much, and my intuition around it has only gotten stronger throughout the day.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that he is, in fact, a white knight, cleverly disguised as this arrogant, surly, reclusive man. But why? Why does he hide his true nature beneath this prickly exterior?
Since I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, I aim to find out which version of him is the real Roman De Luca. Is he a hero or a villain?
I can’t think of a better pastime. The puzzle will certainly keep me from getting bored.
So far in the hero category, I have: two rescues, caressing my bruises, telling me he’d never hit me, giving me a new phone, and… that’s about it.
In the villain category: Assaulting my ex-fiancé—though this could be seen as heroic, kidnapping, smuggling, verbal threats, snide comments, calling me an idiot, rude behavior all around, and holding me captive in his house.
