Page 73 of Barristers & Bones

She nodded toward my neck. “Tell me about that.”

My fingers went up to the band. “It has a tracker. Roman said he wanted to be able to find me quickly if the Stracks got ahold of me.”

“Hmm. That’s actually smart. Why the lock?”

“He said he wanted it to be harder to take off, but I told him I didn’t want to be locked in.” My gaze shifted away. Sylvie would understand, but shame still swam through me.

She straightened off the doorframe and sat next to me. “You have every right to feel however the fuck you want without worrying about anyone else. And think about it, Luna. If anyone could understand your feelings about being locked in, it would probably be him and his partners.”

I gazed unseeing at the floor. It was true. Some of the leaked photos from the Ranch showed small, cramped cells with chains drilled into the walls where the boys had been kept. Thinking about those cells gave me a vicious case of claustrophobia.

I took her hand and turned her arm around, staring at the now-faint scars on her forearms she’d gotten when she climbed into my bedroom window to save me. “He gave me a key to the lock.”

Sylvie nodded and studied me. “Did it help?”

“Yes.” I let go of her hand.

“How was it?”

“How was what?”

She rolled her eyes. “The sex, dumbass.”

A blush moved over my face and chest, but not all of it was from embarrassment. My eyelids fluttered just thinking about it. “It was… so good.”

“Bitch,” she chuckled.

“More like a bitch in heat,” I mumbled.

She smacked my thigh and laughed. “If we can get you extracted from all this bullshit with the Stracks, I think you and Roman should give this marriage thing a good-faith effort.”

I stared at her, wondering if I’d heard her right. “Are you serious right now?”

“I am. Give yourself a chance. I think Klim might be right, maybe you two could help each other heal.”

I stared at Sylvie. “If we’re delivering atrocious, unsolicited advice, I have some for you. I think you should give Drakos a chance too.”

Her eyebrows went up, and an appalled look settled on her face. “Point taken, forget I said anything.”

Chapter 23

Roman

When I got home that evening, Milo met me in the garage.

“How’d it go?” I asked.

“Fine.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Why do you look exhausted then?”

He shrugged, then started chuckling. “She’s an inquisitive little thing, isn’t she? The first part of the day she was mad at me for questioning whether I should let a Spade into the house, and then after her friend left, she wanted to know about my job, the FBI, and what I do for The Firm. She’s got a sharp mind.”

“She does.” I was used to her insatiable curiosity, but it’d taken some adjusting. “The Spade family has an unusual reputation around town, but I trust them with her, and she won’t stand for them to be kept away.”

Milo nodded. “Got it. I’ll apologize to her.”

I was happy to be home and anxious to get inside and see Luna. It’d been a long time since I’d felt this sense of anticipation. “I’ll be home for the rest of the evening, and we’ll be using the pool tonight so don’t wander around the grounds.”

---