Page 107 of Sweet Addiction
She looks at him, stunned, but Dad doesn’t back down. “All of you, go to your rooms. If you hear anything, call.” And as my brother, uncle, and cousins file out, Dad stares me down, like I’m ten goddamn years old again and just broke my arm trying to jump from the roof into the deep end of the pool. Anger and concern both bubble beneath the surface. But Sam Beneventi has that shit locked down.
He always has.
And right now, it pisses me off.
“She’s got to be spinning out right now,” I fume as worry consumes me. “This shit is her trigger. This is the thing she’s avoided for years, and I’ve put her right in the middle of it.”
“Love is never easy, son. Do you honestly think your mother hasn’t walked through hell time and time again being married to me?” he asks, a cocky grin curving his mouth. “Dillan will come around. She might be pissed. She might yell and fight. But you’ll get through it. And when you do, you’ll look at it as the first of many fights.” He grabs a water bottle from the dresser and throws it at me. “But you’ve got to get your shit under control. You’ve worked hard to get here, and you’re not doing anyone any favors by going off the fucking rails on your cousin and your family right now. Family first, always, Rome. Us against the world. It’s the only way we stay strong.”
“I know, but I need to find Dillan.” Everything else can be handled after I’ve found her.
“I think Dillan will find you when she’s ready, Rome.”
Yeah . . . That’s what I’m afraid of.
It took us two years to get back to this place.
What if it takes her two more to forgive me?
“Rome,” she whispers as she climbs under the covers. Her arm wraps around my waist as she rests her cheek against my chest. “I love you.”
“What time is it?” I murmur, not sure if this is a dream or reality.
The last time I looked, it was midnight, and she wasn’t back and hadn’t called. Her brother and father are here, but they hadn’t heard from her. And Lilah refused to tell Killian anything except that Dillan was safe. Safe but gone.
“After two,” she says sweetly. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Are you okay?” I ask her, pulling her closer. “Where’d you go?”
“Sleep first, love.” She presses her lips to my heart, and I rest my chin on top of her head and take my first full breath since she walked out earlier. “I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Not ever again.”
Her words are like a balm to my soul.
I’ve spent a lifetime acting like nothing bothered me.
Like nothing could touch me.
But this tiny woman shattered all that by walking away.
She’s it.
The person who sees me and still wants to be here.
The person I’ll protect at all costs.
She’s the person I’ll give it all up for if it means she’s protected.
“I love you,principessa. I’m so fucking sorry this happened. I’ll make sure no one ever hurts you again.” I yawn as sleep pullsat the corners of my eyes. “We’re taking care of everything in the morning.”
“I already did. We’ll talk about it in the morning,” she whispers as I drift back to sleep.
“Yeah, baby. In the morning,” I agree and fall back to sleep with my woman in my arms, my decision already made.
Asmall trickle of light bends through the crack in the room-darkening shades as I roll over, searching for my phone so I can silence the damn thing. Only once I do, I realize it’s not just my phone ringing. It’s Dillan’s too.
She reaches over, groaning, and answers it without opening her eyes. “Hello.”
I lie back down and pull her against my chest, burying my face in her hair.
