Marcus scoffs as we all turn to face the Escalade that looks all too lonely in the massive driveway by itself. “Like you’re one to talk,” he mutters as we move toward the big black car. “What was with all your, tell me, Father, how did those agents know about that party bullshit? I couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I?”
Roman doesn’t respond, knowing damn well that Marcus is right. Though there’s no denying that Marcus and Levi were a little more demanding in their approach. At least they were able to get a few answers out of their father, even if they weren’t the ones they were hoping for.
It’s only been a few minutes since Levi was knocked down by that taser again, and he hasn’t spoken a damn word after hearing exactly how their father murdered their mother. Though, they had to have expected it. Surely they couldn’t have been so blind to believe she died some other way, but then, they were only vulnerable kids. Who knows what their father would have told them about her sudden death.
Marcus reaches out and grips the door handle of the Escalade and tears it open. “Come on,” he says, his voice low and demanding, leaving no room for argument. “Out.”
Jasmine’s head snaps up, her eyes wide as her gaze snaps to Marcus. She peers up, peeking her head over the window edge and peering out into the massive drive to see that the threat is now gone. She lets out a shaky breath as she scrambles out of the Escalade quicker than she ran for the exit in the tomb.
Leading her up the grand entrance, we find the front door left wide open and relief surges through me knowing that I won’t have to scale a fucking maze bush just to get back inside. My body is too tired for that crap. I just want to find a bed and crash in it, and honestly, it doesn’t even matter whose bed it is at this point.
I get Jasmine inside and before I even get a chance to show her around or tell her where the bathroom or dining hall is, Roman is there with a phone, handing it over. “Go and call your husband,” he tells her. “Do not give him your location or tell him who you are with. We will take you to him. Understood?”
She swallows hard and nods, her eyes still wide as she scurries out of the foyer and toward the massive staircase. She drops down on the third step, hugging the banister as though it’s her only lifeline. We all watch her for a moment as she enters the phone number, and after a long pause, she sobs at the sound of her husband’s voice.
I can’t help but glance at Roman again. He’s really trying to make things up to me, though I can’t be certain what for. It could be for the whole slicing and dicing incident after Marcus was shot, or for rejecting me in the den and making me feel like a pathetic, desperate whore. Either way, I appreciate it.
With Jasmine sorted out, I cross through the foyer and step into the massive living room, my heart breaking as I find the two wolves passed out on the floor, just like I found them after Giovanni’s last visit. “For fuck’s sake,” I mutter, my jaw clenching as I bend down in front of them, holding my hands out in front of their mouths to feel their warm breath brushing against my skin.
Certain that they’re still alive, I drop onto the big couch and get comfortable, scooching down and propping my head against the armrest as the boys trail in after me. Each one of them mimics my expression as they see the wolves on the ground, and just as I had, Levi takes it a step further to double-check they’re still breathing, knowing his father’s sick antics all too well.
Roman sits directly across from me and I can’t help but grab the half-empty water bottle from the coffee table and launch it at his head. “The fuck was that for?” he demands, his eyes pulsing with an uncontrollable rage, his emotions already too messed with to be able to function like a normal human being.
“Your taste in women fucking sucks,” I tell him. “Ariana? Really? She’s a fucking bitch. God, I hate her. What the hell were you thinking?”
Roman clenches his jaw and glances away, trying to calm himself as Marcus and Levi smirk, the agreement clear on their faces, though they don’t dare speak it out loud.
Roman shoots his sharp glare back toward me. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he tells me. “She’s had a hard fucking life and has been screwed over with every turn she took. Go easy on her. It’s because of her relationship with me that she’s trapped under my father’s hold. She has every fucking right to be wary of you.”