Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
“What the fuck?” Levi yells as he’s pressed to a wall, his arm bent behind him.
It all happened so fast—I’m still a bit shocked by it.
Levi was moving toward me after I gave him an admittedly bitchy but well-deserved dig, and I was bracing for whatever might come next.
Part of my job is sometimes poking and prodding until I can get a reaction, and while I’ve never actually been in real danger, I know it’s a part of the job.
But before Levi could finish his unspoken threat, Rome swooped in, grabbing Levi and pinning his body to the wall.
“What the fuck?” Levi yells, drawing attention our way. I look around, panicked. The afternoon was going fine, but this is the absolute opposite of what we need right now.
“Rome,” I murmur, but he ignores me. “Rome,” I repeat.
“I’ve got this, Lana.”
I want to tell him he doesn’t. I want to tell him that he needs to think logically, that he needs to think about consequences, but I can’t find the words. I, can’t even find my breath right now.
“I wouldn’t move if you like your wrist the way it is,” he growls, tugging said wrist back just a bit. I open my mouth to tell Rome to stop, but Levi speaks first.
“What the fuck?” Levi repeats, too loudly, bringing attention to himself. “You’re a fucking psycho. Everyone just saw that, right?”
“Dude, you looked like you were going to hit her,” Noah says, voice low, unexpected, sticking up for me and, in a way, Rome.
“Lana, move behind me,” Rome says, but I stay frozen. “Lana, get the fuck behind me.” The second time is less a request and more a demand. Terrified of making things worse, I do as he asks, watching this shit show unravel over his shoulder.
“Now, you’re going to turn around and say you’re sorry to my girlfriend. Okay?”
“Fuck you,” Levi says, but Rome pushes him into the wall once more with a thud. “Fuck. Fine, just get the fuck off me.” Rome pushes him once more before stepping back. Levi turns, shaking out his wrist, then to me.
“I’m sorry your boyfriend is a loser and that you have to find that out the hard way,” he says, a smirk on his lips.
I open my mouth to argue, to give him a cutting remark, but Rome just smiles, his eyes dancing in a way I don’t know if I’ve ever seen.
Taunting, but not in the fun way we do. Taunting like he wants Levi to start something so he can end it.
It’s similar to what he looked like when Levi came to Monster Smash. Worse, maybe.
“I’m glad you feel like you can get one up on a woman, just because she turned you down. Real big man shit, you know? Hopefully, it helps soothe the ache of knowing that even when I’m not on the track, you still can’t get a win.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Levi asks, stepping forward. Rome reaches a hand behind him, and in a touch so gentle it feels out of place in the moment, pushes me back away from him. Even now, he’s trying to keep me safe. A small appeasement, I suppose.
“Hit me,” Rome says under his breath, grinning wide. “Hit me, Levi. Please. Show everyone who you are.”
“Why would I do that, Rome, when you’re doing such a bang-up job of showing off who you are?
” Levi asks, smiling, voice low. My gut churns when it’s filled with something like victory.
And when I look over, I see what he saw, what Rome doesn’t: the board members whispering to themselves.
“This is why you’ll never be welcome here again.
Because you’re a fucking loaded cannon, ready to blow at the smallest moment.
A little bit of teasing from a teammate, and you’re threatening to break my wrist. At any moment, you’re ready to lose it, and that’s a fucking liability.
That’s why they’ll never take you back. Why you’ll always be a nobody. ”
Before he can lunge, I wrap both hands around one of Rome’s biceps, stopping him from making things worse. Levi smiles wider as if this is all going to plan.
“He’s not worth it, Rome,” I say. “Remember the plan.” To anyone listening, they’d think I meant the plan of lying low, but Rome knows I mean more. Thankfully, before Levi can push him beyond what I’d be able to rein in, a new voice enters the fray.
“What the hell is happening here?” Kevin asks, and my stomach drops to the floor.
“You saw that, right? He attacked me,” Levi says, putting on that mask I know all too well, the good guy who did nothing wrong.
“I saw you lunge for a woman,” Kevin says, and relief fills me. It’s not a great win, not with the entire board watching the scuffle, but it’s something. “And I saw Roman get you away from his girlfriend.”
“That wasn’t—” Levi starts, but Kevin shakes his head, tipping his head to the exit.
“I think you should head out now. Go home.” Levi’s jaw tightens, but he nods then starts to move. He shoulder-checks Rome as he walks by, and I tighten my grip on his arm.
“You. Follow me,” Kevin says, tipping his head toward a room that I think is a staff kitchen. Without another word, Rome grabs my hand, and we move that way.
“Thanks, Dad—” he starts, but Kevin lifts his hand, and once the door closes behind us, his face looks a mix of furious and exasperated.
“What the fuck was that? You need to be smarter, Roman,” he says.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing out there, but you may have just set yourself back another few months.
” Rome opens his mouth to argue, but Kevin barrels through.
“I’m doing my fucking best to get you back here as soon as I can, but you keep pulling shit like this. ”
“That’s not fair! I—” Rome starts, but Kevin’s face goes red, throwing his hands in the air.
“Life isn’t fucking fair, Roman. And not everything can be easy fucking peasy for you. The sooner you figure that shit out, the faster you get on with your life.” He lets out a deep sigh.
“Get out of here,” he says. “Go back to Monster Smash. I’ll try to smooth things out. Sounds like Noah might be willing to vouch for you, say that your girlfriend was in danger, but it doesn’t look good, Rome.” He runs a hand through his hair, looking older and exhausted.
“I have a meeting with the board at the end of the month. Stay out of trouble, and we’ll be good. Stay out of the headlines. Play it safe.” Rome sighs and opens his mouth. I expect an argument, but instead he just nods.
“Okay,” Rome says, and Kevin seems to relax with his acquiescence.
“It was nice to see you, Lana. Wish it were under better circumstances,” he says to me.
I give him a polite nod, even though I’m not sure how to feel about the man.
Part of me understands the tight corner he’s backed into, balancing love for his son and for his business, but another part of me hates that my instinct isn’t to believe in and stick up for him wholeheartedly.
I don’t say that, of course.
“You too, Kevin,” I say with a polite nod before Rome twines his fingers with mine and leads us out of the party.
“What was that?” Rome asks when we step into the cool night air. He leads us toward his car, but I keep my arms crossed over my chest.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” I reply.
“He was all up in your space, Lana.”
“I had it covered.”
“He lunged in your direction.”
“He wasn’t going to do anything. Trust me. I’ve been doing this for a while, and I can read people. But even if he was, I had it covered,” I say, irritation still prevalent in my veins. “I was here because I needed to find out information, Rome.”
“You’re here as my girlfriend. It would have been nice if you weren’t flirting with my biggest rival,” he says, and his words hit me like a slap.
My steps falter, and I blink as if he did, in fact, slap me.
To his credit, when he looks at me, his face is full of guilt, realizing instantly he crossed the line.
“Lana, fuck—”
“I’d like to go home,” I murmur, my stomach churning as my steps quicken, taking me to his car. The door is locked, and he looks at me over the hood.
“Lana, baby, please—”
“I need some time, Rome,” I say softly, afraid that if I speak too much, the emotions of the day will take over.
Unlike him, I want to watch my words to make sure I don’t say something I can’t take back.
He stares for a moment before sighing and nodding, then unlocking the door.
He doesn’t say anything as I buckle in or as he starts the car, but before he backs out, he looks over at me.
“Lana?” he asks, and I turn to look at him. His own eyes seem to glimmer just a bit with unshed tears before he clears his throat. “Can I at least hold your hand?”
Something in my chest eases, a boulder shifting as I can finally breathe again.
I welcome this moment in time where the world almost feels normal, where I feel like we can get over this.
A rough patch is to be expected, since this is all so new to him, not to mention we’re starting this relationship up during a stressful time for both of us.
I give him a small smile, then nod. Relief washes over his face as he slides his fingers between mine, squeezing tight before driving us out of the parking lot.
We’re silent as we drive. I try to collect my thoughts, to organize and sort through them. I try to think of a dozen ways to approach this conversation with understanding and kindness, but before I can, something very different tumbles from my lips.
“I told you I could fight my own battles,” I confess, voice nearly silent. His hands grip the wheel tighter, and his jaw goes tight. “Before we were even together, I told you that. You agreed, you said you understood.”
“This was different, Lana,” he says, but I shake my head.
“Not to me.” That lump in my throat grows as I look out of the windshield. “This is my job, Rome. This is what I do. I’m working, and your jealously messed with that.”
“Because I stopped him when he lunged at you?” he asks, sounding incredulous.
“Because you didn’t trust me to handle it myself.”
“This isn’t about trust, Lana.”