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“I can explain—”
“No! I’m done listening to this,” he says, visibly angry.
“Roman, I—”
“Just stop, okay?! Fucking stop.”
He takes in a ragged breath and after one last look at me, he walks away, leaving the apartment. As soon as he’s gone, I fall onto the couch. My head is in my hands and my eyes well up with tears.
“Well, that went really poorly,” I say to myself.
Having nothing else to do, I text Kiara, asking her to come home with my baby. She arrives at the apartment with a worried expression on her face, especially when she takes in the fact that he’s not here.
“Where’s Roman?”.
“He left,” I reply flatly, taking Cassie from her arms.
She’s already awake with an adorably happy expression on her face. I carry her to the couch and take a seat, making soft, cooing noises. Her cheeks are tinted red and her short dark hair is slightly mussed. She’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.
“What happened?” Kiara asks, still standing by the door. “Did you not tell him?”
I let out a brittle laugh. “I told him.”
“And then what?”
“And nothing, Kie. He didn’t believe me. I tried to talk to him but he just left.”
“That’s…” Kiara trails off.
I simply sigh before turning my attention to the bundle of joy in my arms. Her brown eyes practically gleam as she stares at me.
“I love you so much,” I breathe, hugging her closer to my chest.
More than anything else in the world.
CHAPTER18
Roman
My fist smashes into his face and the kid goes flying backward. He rights himself before he hits the floor, jaw clenched.
“Easy, Don,” Tony says from my left.
“If you see a fist coming at you, you’re supposed to fucking dodge! Was I not clear?” I shout.
There are about twenty people surrounding me, creating a wide circle with me standing in the middle. We’re in one of my buildings, a training facility of a sort for new blood. Most of the men and a few women are between the ages of eighteen to twenty-one—kids with nowhere left to turn but the underworld. My dad was always fond of recruiting them, training them, helping them to make a life for themselves. All he asked in exchange was loyalty to the family and the drive to fight for us, if and when needed. I’ve continued the tradition.
They all break into groups soon after, training in hand-to-hand combat. I move away, heading for the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. Tony follows. He leans against the wall.
“You good, Rome? You’ve been acting weird since last night.”
“I’m fine,” I grit out.
“Really?” he drawls. “From where I’m standing, looks like you’re in a pissy mood. Who’s got your panties in a twist?”
Your fucking sister!I want to yell. But I clench my jaw and look away. After leaving Elena’s and that insanely bizarre conversation, I went to my house and promptly locked myself up in my room. I spent the rest of the night alternating between denial and imminent rage. This morning, I woke up leaning more heavily toward denial.
Because there’s no way in hell she had a baby and didn’t tell me. It’s ridiculous.
