THIRTEEN - ROMAN
I felt like such an idiot as I watched Jameson disappear behind her bedroom door.
So much was said in such a short amount of time, yet I didn’t even cover half of what I had initially come here this early to talk to her about.
Our conversation had taken a turn that I was not expecting.
Regardless, it was evident that there was a lot more between us that we needed to talk about…
eventually…maybe. But business came first and foremost.
Always had, always would.
It was apparent that we’d both seemingly lost our appetites, so I cleaned up what was left of breakfast, stacked our dishes back on the tray, and headed out on the balcony.
The sky was still mostly dark as night, with a sliver of sunlight creating a soft red-orange glow on the horizon.
There was a slight chill in the air that would soon be replaced with the same warmth and humidity as midsummer.
It wouldn’t be long before the peace of early morning would be replaced with a thousand cars and the hustle of patrons half willing to blow their life savings hoping to hit the jackpot.
I let out a sigh, watching my breath turn into fog every time I exhaled. The cloudy air stirred up a lot of dark memories. Shit that I wished I could forget.
The patio door slid open behind me. “The weather’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“It is.” I turned around, and for a brief moment, it felt like the world had stopped.
Jameson stood in the doorway, dressed to the nines in her typical work attire: a too-tight-for-my-liking black pencil skirt and a silk blouse—today’s color choice a deep royal purple—finished off with a pair of black spiked-heel FMPs.
I practically—no, I did—eye-fuck her from head to toe and back up again. I didn’t even try to hide it this time.
“What?” she mused.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” All I could think was how much better that outfit would look spread out in a pile on the floor from here to her bedroom.
“You just gave me a look.”
I shrugged. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied as I quickly made my way past her, heading back inside.
She closed and locked the door. “Uh-huh. Whatever you gotta tell yourself.”
“You just…you look amazing. You always do. That’s all.”
She grinned, playing with a dainty gold chain bracelet on her wrist. “Thank you. Feels like this”—she waved her hands over her outfit—“is about all I’ve got left anymore to feel good about myself. I tend to go overboard sometimes.”
I walked over to her, stopping just a few inches in front of her. I reached out, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then kissed her gently on the forehead. “Don’t ever change.”
As I took a deep breath to keep my mind from wandering, I was hit with instant regret. Jameson smelled mildly sweet, like vanilla mixed with heaven and sex and all the dirty things I wanted to do to her but couldn’t.
I backed off, putting as much space between us as possible. “Before we get going for the day, I wanted to talk about one more thing.”
“Sure. It’s not like we don’t have time.”
“I’ve been wondering, does Ivan ever go home at night, or does he stay here on the property around the clock?”
Once upon a time ago, Ivan had an off-site condo somewhere on Riverside Drive in Memphis. I’d never been, but I heard him talk about it in passing. He also had a wife, and I couldn’t imagine she’d be okay with him being gone 24/7…or hell, maybe she enjoyed his absence.
“Sometimes he stays, sometimes he goes. I don’t force him to live here. I think it depends on what he’s got going on here or at home. If he does leave, he gets someone from night watch to keep an eye out. Why?” She eyed me suspiciously.
“I just—I don’t know, James. Something feels off about, well, everything. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“You’re not here to start an investigation. All I can tell you is we’ve got a decent operation going on, and you’re not about to fuck it up with your wild and crazy ideas and accusations.”
“I’m not accusing anyone of anything.” Yet. She folded her arms across her chest, pushing her cleavage tighter together. Fuck. “Just hear me out.”
“I’m listening.”
“You said you haven’t been to your dad’s house at all? Correct?”
She reached up and grabbed the emerald pendant dangling from her necklace. A present from Elliott on her sixteenth birthday. Also another defense tactic for when she didn’t have a desk to hide behind. “No.”
“Do you think Ivan has anything to do with why Kane is after you?”
“What? No!” She rested her hands on her hips.
“Christ. Do you know how ridiculous you sound? Ivan has done nothing but protect me in any and every way he knows how. He even brought you back from the dead to help him, for fuck’s sake.
Do you think he would have called you here if he had something to do with this? ”
Oops. I’d struck a chord but had led her right into the conversation I needed. It was now or never. “Maybe not, but I want to go there.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Go where?”
I swallowed down the lump that had formed deep in the back of my throat and braced myself for the backlash. “Your dad’s estate.”
“No.” She pushed past me, heading toward the door in an effort to leave.
I turned to follow her. “Yes. That place needs to be checked on, at the very least, and I want to be the one who does it…without Ivan.”
She kept walking. “I said no.”
I ran ahead of her and put my body between her and the only exit. “God damn it, Jameson. Stop. Fucking. Running.”
“I am not running. I have an incredibly busy weekend with a lot to do and only a few days to get it done. That won’t happen if I’m arguing with you.”
“Then let me go. One time.”
“It’s not necessary. There’s nothing there. Now, get out of my way.” She reached for the door, pulling it ajar.
I slapped my hand against it, slamming it shut. “Maybe not, but you yourself don’t even know for sure. I’ll get Ivan or one of the guys to take over my post for a while, tell them I’m sick. I’ll report anything I find back to you.”
“You can’t be fucking serious. Are you really standing here telling me that you think I’m just going to trust you enough to let you go poke and prod around my dad’s estate?
Alone?” She laughed out loud. “Are you out of your mind? Scratch that. You are out of your mind. Now, move. I have shit to do.”
“Maybe I have completely lost it, but someone needs to at least lay eyes on that place because you clearly haven’t.”
“Absolutely not. I had that house locked up and sealed shut. No one has been there since. There’s not one single reason for anyone to go back—not you, not me, not anyone.”
“You sure about that?”
“On my life.”
“Only one way to find out.”
After a stare-down from the Wild West, I eventually conceded and stepped aside, letting Jameson storm out of the penthouse.
I was already at risk of getting my balls kicked into my throat.
If there was one thing I knew about her that would never change, it was that all she needed was a little time alone to get lost in her own thoughts and think everything over.
Once she had sorted everything out in her head and could make sense of things, she’d come around. Eventually.
I followed her around, staying far enough behind to not feel invasive, as she made her administrative rounds—yawn.
As she went from department to department, I checked my watch at least twice a minute.
We were knee-deep in what could only be described as the ultimate snooze fest. That was until Chris appeared.
It was as if he came out of nowhere from between some slot machines, approaching Jameson, and right on cue to liven things up a little.
Let’s see where this goes.
She stopped and glanced around. Looking for me?
She focused her attention back on him when she didn’t see me, as if she were alone.
I hated that I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she pulled out her phone and showed him the screen.
They talked for another minute, and then he leaned in closer to her, saying something he wanted only her to hear.
She leaned away from him ever so slightly, said something back, then started to walk away.
I watched them for a second or two before I followed at a distance.
I knew in my gut he’d been waiting for this moment.
He’d really thought in his shit-for-brains that I’d actually left her alone.
They walked casually side by side, innocently enough, until he reached behind her and copped a feel of her ass. She swatted his hand away and kept walking. He seemed to laugh at the gesture. I, on the other hand, saw red as heat seared through my veins.
I quickly made my way up behind the unsuspecting couple in only a handful of long, easy strides. When I was within arm’s reach, I tapped Chris on the shoulder. He turned around, and I decked him square in the jaw. He immediately lost his balance and fell to the floor on his knees.
“Roman!” Jameson screamed. “What the hell?” She reached for me, but I shoved her with one hand to her chest, pushing her out of the way.
I squatted down and leaned in his face. “Motherfucker. Get up.”
“Fuck you.” His words slurred, and blood pooled in the crease of his lips.
“No, thanks. Word on the street is you’re a lousy lay.”
He cut his eyes to James, then back to me, and smiled. “Yeah. You hit like a bitch.”
He clambered to his feet and lunged at me, knocking us both to the ground.
He took a swing at me from above, grazing the side of my face just as I turned my head, causing him to punch the floor.
I easily overpowered him, rolling him over onto his back.
As soon as I did, I unleashed a series of closed-fist hits straight to his face.
“Don’t ever put your hands on her again,” I heaved between thrown licks. Chris’s blood splattered from his face off to the side in tiny flecks all over me and the carpet beneath him.
Jameson’s scream in the background for me to stop was barely audible over the ringing in my ears.
It didn’t take long before I felt hands pulling at my shirt and arms, dragging me off him.
“Roman,” Leon’s deep voice calmly ordered as he lifted me up. “That’s enough.”
Jordan ran over and helped Chris to his feet.
He was a bloody mess, his face and shirt destroyed. He tried shrugging Jordan away. “Get off of me. I can take him.”
Ivan stood off to the side, casually leaning up against a slot machine, shaking his head in disbelief, a smug grin on his face at the circus I’d created. Jameson stood shakily beside him with tears streaming down her cheeks.
It was barely eleven in the morning, and thankfully, the patrons were still far and few between this time of day.
Chris was still being held upright by Jordan’s hands.
I licked my lips; a metallic taste coated my tongue. I didn’t know if it was his blood or mine.
“You hit like a bitch,” I casually said to him.
“Don’t worry. Next time, I’ll just fucking shoot you.”
“Hmm. Something tells me there won’t be a next time.”