Page 44 of Revenge Saints

Roman? Roman is power. He doesn’t care about me; he wants to own me. At least, that’s what he thinks.

“Sir. We need you.”

Roman sighs, annoyed.

He releases my throat and steps away, always so calm, so in control.

“Later, Bryn.”

I nod, still catching my breath, and watch him disappear up the stairs.

I head to the bedroom, the one that used to be mine and Ethan’s. I gave up my space for Sean. I had to. Power isn’t about comfort; it’s about sacrifice. Strategy. Survival.

Ethan introduced me to Roman a week after our first night together. Thought he was doing me a favor. But the moment I saw Roman, I knew.

Ethan never stood a chance.

Roman isn’t the kind of man who shares power. Not with someone like Ethan, and when Ethan asked me to deliver a message to him? That was my opening.

All it took was one touch. A brush of skin, and Roman had me pinned to a tree, fucking me like I was his reward for conquest.

That was the beginning. That night. That fuck.

That’s when the plan started.

Let Ethan take the fall. Make it look like he killed me. Let the guys chase shadows while Roman took the base.

And I gave him the access codes. The paper the guys found with the cells, the woman’s holding. It was all me.

The only thing I didn’t count on? Knox changing the underground passcode.

Of course he did. That asshole could never share control either.

Aspen was supposed to wait here.

We had it all planned! Lock her in a bedroom; keep her safe until it was done. Then I’d tell her the truth. She would’ve been protected, watched over, and untouched. No one else would lay a hand on her.

She doesn’t see it yet, but she’s better off here. With me.

She thinks she likes them—Dante, Knox, and the rest—but the reality is she knows no better. They’re just using her like Ethan used me. If they saw her on a normal day before the plague, neither one of them would’ve given her the time of day.

And Roman? He won’t touch her. We have a deal, and he needs me.

Do I feel bad for betraying the guys?

Well… Max and Ryker, yes. A little.

But Dante and Knox? They deserved it.

They shut us out. Always kept the planning, the power, and the decisions in their tight little circle. They never asked what we wanted. Never treated us like equals. Knox especially had to rule everything. Always in control.

I don’t do well with rules. Never have, never will.

With Roman, it’s different. We share power. I say something, and he listens.

I told him to keep Dante alive; he did.

I told him Ethan was a liability, and Roman killed him.