A naked vulnerability I've never seen flashes across his face. It tears me up inside. I'm struck with the urge to wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. To comfort him. To tell him that everything will be all right. But I don't. As much as I long to, I can't. This man has endangered the people I care about most, and that is one transgression I can't forgive.Fortifying everything inside me, I say, "You need to let me go."His body stays stretched out over mine, and I fleetingly wonder if he'll allow me to leave or hold me captive indefinitely. But then, one by one, he removes his fingers from my wrists.Uncomfortable with the intimacy of our position, I whisper, "Please, Roman, you have to let me go. I've listened to everything you had to say." I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't make a difference. You betrayed us. What you've done is unforgivable."His lips hover over mine. He looks ready to kiss me, but instead jerks away and rolls off the bed in one fluid

I blink back tears, refusing to let him see how much he's shattered me. "You should have done us both a favor and never given in."He scrubs a hand over his face. "Don't you think I know that?" he asks in a low, ugly snarl. "Don't you think I fought my feelings every single goddamn day? Every fucking moment was a battle. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. You have to believe that."Unable to listen anymore, I stand. "I don't know what to believe. I need to get to work.""I expected you to call Enzo last night." He tilts his head. "Why didn't you?"I look away.That's an excellent question. One I've asked myself a million times already. I should have called my father right after getting in the cab.Papa would have snapped up Roman by now.Which is precisely why I didn't do anything.Because I can't sentence the man I love to death.My shoulders slump as I acknowledge my own truths. This delay doesn't mean I won't tell my family. It just means I haven't placed

I rush toward my car in the school parking lot with one thing on my mind.And that's stopping at the pharmacy on the way home to get a pregnancy test.In my two years as a high school counselor, I've had several girls pop into my office, frightened that they could be pregnant. The first thing I tell them is to talk to their parents because this isn't an issue they should deal with on their own. The second is to take a test. For the most accurate results, I advise them to make an appointment with their family doctor or Planned Parenthood to run blood work and take a urine test. If they aren't comfortable with either of those options, I tell them to pick up a home pregnancy test.Most of the time, they stop in and tell me their results were negative. We then have a come-to-Jesus discussion regarding safe sex practices. Abstinence is the only foolproof method, but that's not a realistic option for many teenagers nowadays. And I get that. We go over the different kinds of birth con

"Once I earned Enzo's trust, he brought me to the compound himself and gave me access to the heart of the operation. He opened his home to me and treated me like a son." His eyes drop to his lap."He cared about you. He still does. He planned for you to take over since my brothers have no interest," I grate out, unable to hide the fury tinging my voice at how Roman duped my father.Roman shakes his head and runs a hand over his closely cut hair. "I know."His troubled gaze meets mine again, and my heart softens because I can tell he's just as conflicted over the situation as I am."This assignment was supposed to be a two-year stint. I was instructed to make connections in the lower ranks and gather intel. Just as I was about to be pulled out, Enzo took an interest in me. No one had managed to make it into the Valentini inner circle before. My lieutenant and the DA decided to let me stay. But the problem is that you can't work undercover indefinitely. The deeper you get entr

Surprisingly, my brothers release Roman right away.Roman leans against me, trying to hold himself upright so as not to appear weak in front of my family. We stagger toward a leather armchair, and he slowly lowers himself onto it. The swelling and bruises have worsened in the last few minutes. His right eye is almost fused shut and a rainbow of streaks color his chin.As I turn to face my family, my gaze lands on my mother, who I hadn't realized was standing behind me. Grace is there as well, her blue eyes wide as saucers."You don't have to do this," Roman mumbles.I slip my hand into his and rub his knuckles with my thumb. "Yes, I do." My parents, my brothers, and Grace are all on one side of the room while Roman and I occupy the other. I've never felt so isolated from them. My family has always stood together. That's what we do. The Valentinis present a united front to anyone who tries to harm us.And I'm breaking that code by defying them.Is this man worth it?Is he wor