Page 124 of The Temptation

“There’s no need. She’s gone.”

I gasp as my head whips in his direction. “You whacked her?”

“I was going to,” Dante admits in a low voice as he bows his head. “But by the time my men got there, she’d beaten us to it. She overdosed.”

I press a flattened palm to my chest as my eyes widen. “Does Romeo know? He didn’t say anything.”

“Not yet,” he replies with a tired sigh. “He’s dealing with his own shit right now. I’m going to have to break it to him eventually, though.”

“He’s a good man, Dante, so don’t you dare hurt him. I swear, I’ll never forgive you if you do.”

He exhales. “He’s my best friend, Luc. He’ll have toface some repercussions when he’s well enough, but I could never physically harm him. Not like that.”

My throat tightens. “He fought to stay alive until the very end … until he knew I was safe. The second that last bullet left his gun, when the final man dropped, so did he.” My voice cracks as I speak because the memory is still too raw and vivid.

I think that moment will haunt me for the rest of my life.

The first thing I did when I entered the safe house was burst into tears. The time I spend here with Romeo will go down as some of the best of my life, and I hate that it’s all coming to an end.

I’m going to miss this place, but more than anything, I’m going to miss spending every waking moment with him.

After I went out the back, showed Ki-Ki some extra love, then brought him inside and cooked him a massive feast, I got to work on the rest of the house.

The dog has followed me everywhere. Every room I enter, he’s hot on my heels. I think he can sense something is wrong.

My things are packed, and my suitcases are sitting by the front door.

When I enter Romeo’s bedroom, the first thing I do is circle the bed, kneel at the side he slept on, and lift his pillow to my face to inhale his scent.

I catch myself doing the same thing as I pull each item of clothing from his drawer, packing them neatly into his luggage. I’ve done some stupid stuff where he is concerned, but even I can agree that sniffing all of his possessions is weird.

When I reach the bottom drawer, I come across a large white envelope tucked in the back. Inside, I find the marriage certificate Father Flannery gave us after the ceremony. I pull it out and briefly hug it to my chest. This is just the commemorative keepsake, not the official certificate, but I’m touched that Romeo kept it.

I gently place it on the bed and reach back into the envelope, pulling out his passport next.

A smile tugs at my lips as I gaze down at the serious-looking photo of him inside. This man is beautiful, even when he scowls. But his smile will always be my favourite look on him, because holy moly, when he relaxes and lets his guard down, he’s breathtaking.

I lean in and press a gentle kiss to his photo, wishing it were him in front of me instead. When he not-so-subtly told me it was time to leave the hospital earlier, I tried to kiss him goodbye, but he turned his head at the last second, and my lips barely grazed his cheek.

It was in that very moment that I found clarity; he was truly shutting me out.

My eyes scan over his information, and I still can’t believe our middle names are so similar. It is probably just a coincidence, but it feels like kismet, as if we were meant to be together from the very beginning.

I look at his date of birth and see he’ll be celebrating another year around the sun early next month.

It broke my heart when Romeo said nobody had ever done anything for his birthday. After Mamma died, my sister stepped in and continued the tradition she had started, always making sure my birthday was celebrated and special.

I commit that date to memory. He has me now, and I won’t let his birthday slip by unnoticed going forward.

When I close the book and go to place it back inside the envelope, I see two more smaller items at the bottom.

A diamond ring and a folded note.

I reach in, pulling out the ring and letting the band rest between my thumb and forefinger. The large diamond catches the light, scattering it in dazzling shards around the room. It’s breathtaking.

Without a second thought, I slip it onto my finger next to the gold wedding band, and a sudden tightness grips my chest.

Did he buy this for me?