Page 15 of Reckoning

“Roman,” I murmur, wanting so much to reach out and touch him but I can’t. “Please just leave this alone.”

He lets out a huff and I can see I’ve won whatever this is. He won’t push me. He sees me as too fragile now.

A part of me hates that. I want him to rage, to scream, to prove that it’s not the case. But he doesn’t. He just accepts it, like I’m some broken pot put back together and he knows if he applies too much pressure all the gold covering my cracks will melt and I’ll crumble back into tiny pieces.

“Why was Koen here?” I ask, changing the subject.

His look is everything I expect. There’s a flash of something unreadable as he meets my gaze.

“We had some business to sort.”

“Sure.” I smirk.

I know they’ve been working together. They’ve been keeping it on the downlow but their alliance didn’t simply stop when we reclaimed this city. No, I know the pair of them have been up to something. Plotting if you will.

“If you must know we’re going into partnership.” Roman states.

“Partnership?” I repeat.

He nods. “He has contacts and I have supply.”

“Supply of what?”

He shrugs. “Weapons, guns, you name it.”

“You’re becoming an arms dealer?” I say half-shocked.

“Our father’s businesses weren’t legitimate enterprises. With Hastings in charge we have to be above board or he will take us down just like any other family in Verona.”

“But arms?” I repeat. He’s becoming one of them. A warmonger, a profiteer?

“The world is cruel place, Sofia. You know that more than anyone, if I simply stay on the peripheries, enjoying my millions as they slowly deplete, then our family will become weak, we’ll become a target, just like before.”

“Being an arms dealer makes you a target.” I state.

He shrugs again. “Perhaps, but with Koen on our side it very much lessens that risk.”

“So you’re using him for protection purposes?”

“Protection, opportunities.” He shrugs. “We’re both bringing something to the table.”

I let out a sigh. He’s right about us becoming weak, our enemies are still out there. They may not be shouting from the rooftops the way the Capulets did but now is not the time to rest on our laurels. We have to be strategic. We have to be smart. Verona is still a vipers nest and we’d be fools to think otherwise.

“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” Roman asks.

I pull a face. I didn’t have plans. Not concrete ones. I was simply going to go back to my penthouse and hide out.

“Stay then.” He says. “I know Rose will want to see you. And Lara misses her aunt.”

That comment makes me wince. Truth been told I’ve been avoiding them. Keeping away. When I’m with people I have to put a happy face on, to be the person I was before. But doing so, pretending all the time, it’s exhausting.

And being around Ben, seeing the way he looks at me, the way he tries to do whatever he thinks will make me happy, all that does is make me feel more guilty.

The door crashes open. I physically jump so high I’m surprised I don’t hit the ceiling.

“Aunty Sofia. Aunty Sofia.” Lara screams barrelling into me and thank god she doesn’t feel the way my body flinches at the unwelcomed contact.

“Larabell.” I smile, pretending that I’ve not just had a complete adrenaline spike, pretending that my heart isn’t now racing at a million miles an hour. That I’m not on the verge of a complete meltdown.