“That was Prez.”
“And?”
“Rosie’s in the wind. Either someone got to her, or she got spooked and fled.”
“Sanchez.” I grip the edge of the couch cushion, digging my nails in.
“For now, you keep low here.”
“I should go to Mona. I never should have left.”
“Best decision you made was getting shot of that shit and coming here.”
“What if Rosie’s dead?”
“Then she’s dead, darlin’. Nothing you do now will change that.”
He’s not wrong but it makes me feel helpless. Lousy. Rotten. Mona’s going to lose her mind if she hasn’t already with my disappearing and now Rosie. It’s no secret that Viking is my brother. Charleston is the first place any of them will come hunting.
“I’m going to handle this. No one and I mean no one is going to come between us.”
I offer him a weak smile as my cruel reality hits me square in the gut. He’s still unaware of the full story. What’s Hound really going to think of me when he learns the truth? That I had that vile man in my mouth. The same mouth I kiss him with. When he realizes…he’ll be done. I should confess it all now. It isn’t as though I haven’t tried. Only part of me wants to pretend it didn’t happen. To continue this fantasy I’ve allowed myself to play a part in. The one where I’ve lied to myself and to him. Let us both believe that this could be the real deal.
That I could be a good wife. A woman who deserves his love. A woman who could bear his children.
“There are still certain parts of the–––my story I haven’t disclosed.”
“I don’t care what you did or didn’t do, darlin’. What matters to me is that you’re here and safe. Yeah?”
“It’s sweet and I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but I’d rather you hear it first from me.”
A sigh leaves his lips as he resumes sitting next to me on the couch.
“Do I need to know this? Don’t ruin what we’ve got going with bullshit that happened in the past.”
“I can’t start something beautiful with you built on secrets and lies. This will always hang between us otherwise. It’ll eat us. You’ll always wonder what I kept from you, and I’ll always regret not speaking up.”
His hand wraps around mine, bringing my knuckles to his lips. “I’m listening.”
I chew on my bottom lip prolonging the inevitable.
“You can tell me anything. Won’t change a damn thing between us.”
I recount my story starting with Archer trading me for a night to Sanchez. I don’t skip any details though I desperately want to.