Page 50 of The Editor’s Choice

Come over. Now.

I hit send on the text before chucking my phone at the wall, not caring what damage is done. The fucker was inside my fucking apartment.

Less than five minutes go by before Roman is tearing through my front door, panic written all over his stubbled face. When he finds nothing amiss, a look of confusion flits over his handsome features before he makes his way to me.

I simply point at the note, refusing to touch it even long enough to hand it to him. Turning to stare out the windows of the living room, I wait. Wait for a reaction of any kind. Seconds go by. Five. Then ten. Thirty perhaps.

“Get your things,” he says simply, slamming the note down on the island before stomping through the space, checking every nook and cranny, knowing he won’t find anyone there. If they had been here, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. I would be gone.

“What?!” I half-yell. “To go where? This is my home, Roman!” I whirl around to face him, fury pumping through my veins where the anxiety had lived mere moments ago.

“You can’t stay here. We both know that,” he says, stopping long enough to level me with a look. “Get your things,” he says again, more emphatically than before. The voice that leaves him is unrecognizable, more beast than man now.

Knowing I don’t have a leg to stand on in this fight, I do as I was told. He’s right anyway. I can’t stay here. They got in once. There’s nothing stopping them from getting in any other time. My life hangs in the balance now.

He blows out a frustrated breath before rearing back and punching the wall in the kitchen, caving in the drywall around his hands. I watch as he pulls his hand away, knuckles starting to well with blood and vibrant red. Our eyes lock but not a word is said.

Turning on my heel, I head to the bedroom and start shoving anything I might need into an old bag. A few outfits, hairbrush, toothbrush, shampoo, the normal stuff.

An overwhelming dread and sadness drapes over me as I pack my life into the little bag, leaving my home and my normal life for who knows how long. Maybe forever.

The thought that I may have already lived my last normal day has my stomach churning again. The initial shock of that possibility wears off quickly though, as my blood turns to ice and everything goes numb inside me. A survival technique I learned a long time ago, during a period when things with Dawson were particularly bad. You can withstand just about anything if you can make yourself numb to it.

Exiting the bedroom, I do my best to shake the thought. It’s all about forward motion now. Old life be damned.

“Ready?” he asks, face drawn and far away.

“As I’ll ever be,” I say honestly. This isn’t something I ever considered facing in this lifetime or the next, but it’s reality now. Time to get a game plan.

Roman pulls his phone from his pocket, dialing a number. “I need you to find out everything you can on Cain. Now,” he says, pausing to let the other person speak. “No. This is top priority now. Everything else be damned.”

He hangs up the call by dropping the phone to the floor and crushing it with the heel of his foot.

There’s a fire burning in his eyes when he looks back at me, like the world is about to pay for Cain’s threat. I’ve never been so absolutely terrified and turned on all at the same time.

Holding out his hand to me, we make our way out of the apartment and toward an unknown future. With a reassuring squeeze, we cross the threshold and I don’t dare look back.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Roman

“Finn, I need you here like yesterday,” I say into the phone, my grip so tight my knuckles hurt. “No. It can’t wait.” Hanging up, I eye Jade, finding her in the same spot she’s been in for the last hour.

We got new phones that can’t be traced back to us, ditched anything that could, and headed back to my apartment for now until we can come up with a better plan. At the very least, she’s not alone and my apartment would be a lot more difficult to break into than hers. Through the years, I’ve updated everything from the window locks to the doors themselves, including an insanely advanced security system.

Nobody is getting in here without me knowing about it and that simple fact makes me feel a fuck ton better about having her here. This is going to be the safest place for her right now.

“Hey,” I say, sitting down beside her and pulling her into my side. “We’ve got this. Finn is on his way, and Sara is digging up anything valuable on the fucker right now. We’re going to keep you safe and out of his grimy hands.” Kissing the top of her head, I feel her relax slightly, likely just exhausted from the events of the day instead of actually believing a word that just came out of my mouth.

“I just need some time to sort through it all. It’s way too much to process,” she says, looking over at me through those gorgeous thick lashes. Her eyes are watery, but she manages to keep the tears at bay. “A month ago, I was a regular woman. With a pretty normal job. With a boyfriend and a house. I had a whole life planned out,” she sighs, still reluctant to give up her past ambitions. “Now look at me.” She drops her hands to her lap, dropping her chin right along with them.

I pull my arm back and turn her to face me. “We’re not going to have any of that. No talking down on yourself, and damn sure no pity. It’s a house rule,” I say, putting the fingers of my right hand under her chin and lifting her face to look at me. “That’s not the girl I know anyway. That girl isn’t a quitter, and she sure as hell wouldn’t want pity from anyone. She’s a fighter.”

She sniffles before nodding, pulling her chin from my fingers. As much as it goes against every nerve in my body, I let her. She’s fighting a war I can’t even see right now, and I have no desire to make that any harder for her.

A knock on the door interrupts our moment, and if I’m being entirely honest, I’m thankful for it. Awkward silences full of people feeling bad for themselves just aren’t my cup of tea.

Looking through the peephole, I click back the lock and swing the door open for Finn. He looks to either side of him, making sure no one is around, before stepping through the doorway.