Page 40 of Savage Poet

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I had Roque drop me at Tati’s. I lied and told him it was my house. He’d find me sooner rather than later. But I fucked up again and need to either come clean with Zio about my conflicted feelings or we needed to decide to run. Again.

With a heavy heart, I lifted the corners of the curtain framing Tati’s window. An untrained eye wouldn’t notice all I saw.

He left security on my ass. There were two men on either ends of the street. One was smoking while nursing a coffee, the other was in an SUV wearing shades despite the fact it was barely dawn.

I let Tati sleep and pulled on a hoodie that I found in her closet. Hopefully, it’d help disguise my blue hair as I snuck out. Zio had been lighting up my phone with texts. I grimaced knowing I was about to break the only man’s heart who truly loved me. The one person who knew my complete truth and who championed me through it all.

I pulled up my Uber app and ordered one to pick me up three blocks from here. Sneaking out of Tati’s house was easy. None of the hired surveillance noticed me creep out the backdoor and race into the woods.

I hopped into the backseat of the Uber after double checking it was the right car and head home to face the music.

Zio’s back was stiff as a board as I walked in. He wouldn’t turn to face me. Instead he sipped his black coffee while staring out the kitchen window.

“I’m sorry, Zio.”

“Scusi?”

My head hung with shame. My cheeks flamed as red as my real hair. “I tried to fix what happened.”

“Did you?” He turned to face me.

“I don’t know.”

“Sit,” he commanded before pouring me a coffee and adding a smidge of cream. “Tell me everything Romina. Everything.”

I swallowed hard. “I-I think… he likes me. Really likes me.” Zio studied me hard for a few seconds.

“You foolish girl. A man like Roque Salvatore cares for nothing. Especially a slip of a girl he almost killed decades ago. Did you fuck him,mi amore?”

I shook my head. “Well at least you’re still a virgin. We can use that.”

“I’m not using my body in this war I’m not sure I still want to fight.”

“How easily did the mighty Diana fall, eh? All it took was your first taste of passion. He’s just the first man to awaken the pleasures of the flesh in you. That’s all.”

“It’s not that simple Zio. I’ve told you every detail of us… of him. But unless your me, you can’t really understand. It’s like our souls twisted together that day, during the massacre. We were both practically kids caught up in some war we were born into. He didn’t want to kill me. I know it.”

Zio raised his head. “And yet he did. He did kill you. The girl you were died that day and you changed. You became someone else, literally.”

“I don’t feel the same need for vengeance anymore, Zio. What if I could win? What if we both win by making him love me? Love us? Doesn’t love trump evil after all?”

“You could try. But heed my warning, that man will never love the way you think he will. Roque Salvatore has been training his whole life for one thing only: To be the most powerful mob king the world has ever seen. You have two choices now: Cut and run or stay and seduce the dark king into letting you be his queen. There are many ways to take a man down. And I love you too much, I’ve cherished you too much to set you on this path, but it seems you’ve already set yourself on it. You could hold his black heart in the palm of your hand and decide if he’s worthy of yours. If he betrays you, break it. You break him and get your revenge. But you’d have to give him all of you. You’d be his lover, his confidant, be everything to him, but the danger is he’d have the power to break you too. Are you willing to risk it all to find out if he can change for you?”

I held my head in my hands, confused. Because I really wasn’t sure. Roque is a tornado; he’d consume all of me I just know it. But the high I get from just breathing his air makes me stupidly want to risk it all.

My phone pings with a text:Get ready Baby Blue, the big, bad, wolf is coming for you.

Me:How did you get my number?

R:I can get anything I want. You are at the top of my list.

Me:***Eyeroll***

R:So, going to hurt you for that.

Me:***Double eyeroll***

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