killed, Sophie? How many men I’ve made bleed?”
I have no idea, but knowing he killed two in one day without any guilt chills me to the bone.
“No, and I don’t want to know. I don’t want to see you as a killer, Roman.” My grip on the spoon in my hands is hard, the metal digging into my skin. Roman leans into me, his eyes roaming over my body, like he’s trying to decide where to take his next bite.
He hasn’t acted this way since the night we had sex, and I don’t know how to handle him when he’s like this. His mood swings give me serious whiplash, and while I want to think he wouldn’t hurt me, his warnings are clear.
“Why not? What would you like to see me as, Sophie? A white knight? Prince charming? I’m a murderer—it’s what I am and what I’ll always be. Learn to deal with it or...” he trails off, as if he’s afraid to finish. Deafening silence hangs between us for a moment.
“Or what, Roman?” I let go of my spoon, and it falls into the bowl with a loud clatter. I watch as he releases his grip on the counter top and runs his fingers through his unruly hair. He’s grappling for control, afraid he’ll say something he can’t take back.
Exhaling deeply, he shakes his head, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
The doorbell rings, interrupting our argument. Roman pushes from the island, giving me a grim look as he heads to the front door. Once he disappears around the corner, I let out a breath.
I don’t know what to think when he’s like this...what to say. Part of me wants to hug him and tell him he’s going to be okay while another part wants to slap him.
A few moments later, he returns with Ivan, Violet trailing behind him. They walk into the kitchen, smiles on their faces, completely unaware of the fight we just had. Once they see me, both their smiles fade. Ivan’s face turns into a mask of fury. His fist is clenched, and he looks just as scary as Roman does when he gets mad.
“Did you fucking hit her? I told you to stop taking that shit. It fucks with your head. Makes you act out in violence,” he yells at Roman, who has his own mask of fury in place.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Are you seriously accusing me of hitting her?”
Violet’s face turns ghostly pale as she steps in front of me and inspects my face up close.
“What happened?” she asks quietly, sitting down next to me.
“Roman didn’t hit me,” I say loud enough for Ivan to hear as well. “I got hit when Roman took me to his fight. It’s all right, though. It’s nearly healed.”
“You took her to one of your fights? That’s almost as bad. God, what are you thinking?” Ivan keeps complaining, and even though I know Ivan is right, I have this irrational urge to protect Roman, even if it’s just from a verbal assault from his brother.
“Don’t tell me you came all this way to insult me. If so, you can go right out the fucking door you came in,” Roman snaps. I can’t really blame him for being angry. Its apparent Ivan doesn’t think all that highly of his brother.
Ivan takes a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. “No, I didn’t. I came for something very important. Can we all just calm down and take a seat?”
Roman huffs in annoyance, but sits back down in the free chair next to me. Violet takes my hand under the table and squeezes it gently as Ivan takes the seat beside her.
“I have a reason to believe some of the men at the compound have formed an alliance against me. There have been rumors about some of the men being unhappy about the changes, especially about not doing the auctions anymore. Unfortunately, I don't know who exactly it is, and even worse…I think there are some men outside the compound involved as well. Most likely, they’ve established their own business using buyers Rossi used to sell women to. A lot of people are missing out on a lot of money and they are not happy about it.”
“And what am I supposed to do about it?” Roman snarls.
Ivan grits his teeth his dark eyes piercing Roman’s, “You’re supposed to keep an ear to the ground for me. Maybe show up at the compound a few more times. I need someone I