Page 101 of Ruthless Contract
But I also wanted to protect Rome and me. Because I wasn't the only one hurting. Rome was hurting too. I'd seen it in his eyes.
And Marcel...
My chest tightened. Marcel was hurting the worst of all. The man rarely left his house now because of us. Because of one terrible mistake. A tear slid down my cheek. Then another. I didn't bother wiping them away.
I simply sat there behind the register, staring out at the empty shop, hating life at the moment. Hating that I’d fallen in love with the enemy. And hating that if the enemy knew the real me, he’d loathe everything about me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ROME
––––––––
I pulled into Marcel's driveway a few minutes later, shut off the engine, and reached over to grab the peace lilies from the passenger seat. The house sat quietly behind a tall wrought-iron gate, the landscaping trimmed to perfection.
To get through the gate, I’d had to wait for his security scanner to scan my face and allow me through. Apparently, I was on the list of people allowed on his property. Anyone driving by would probably think this place belonged to a rich old man living a peaceful life.
They'd be wrong.
This house was what Marcel called his fortress. But what I saw was a self-made prison. I needed to find the key to free my young cousin soon. I walked to the front door and pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the small speaker above the camera crackled to life.
"What’s up, Romaneo Cattaneo?"
A smile tugged at my lips. “What’s up, Marcello Cattaneo?” I greeted.
"You brought flowers,” Marcel mused.
"I did,” I told him, staring down at the bouquet my Blossom had prepared.
“Who are those for?” he asked.
I leaned closer to the camera to glare at him.
“If you don’t open this door, I’m going to break in,” I told him.
“Men who wear glasses shouldn’t be so violent,” he stated.
Before I could reply, a series of electronic beeps came from inside the house. Then something clicked.
"The door's unlocked," Marcel said through the speaker. "You have five seconds before it locks again."
Damn it.
I grabbed the handle, twisted, and stepped inside. The lock clicked almost immediately after I shut the door behind me.Damn. I'd barely made it. I strode forward, wondering where the hell my cousin was.
The front hall seemed to stretch forever. My gaze moved left and right, noting the cameras on the wall. They followed my movements, tracking me. Marcel’s foyer opened into a spacious living room with high ceilings and large windows.
I immediately noted the changes he’d made to the place since the last time I was here. Over those windows were security shutters that were closed, preventing outside light from entering the home.
They were also keeping anyone on the outside from peering into the home or snapping photos from a distance. Before I could look around more, footsteps echoed from my right. I glanced in that direction in time to see Marcel jogging down the stairs.
He'd obviously just finished working out. His long dark hair was damp with sweat and clinging to his shoulders. He was shirtless,wearing a pair of black athletic shorts, with a white towel resting across one shoulder.
For a second, I simply stared at him. Cas was right. He'd changed. Marcel had always been a handsome kid. It was in his genes. But over the last several months, he'd gotten bigger. His shoulders were broader now.
His arms and chest carried lean muscle that hadn't been there before. He wasn’t bulky. Just... fit. Stronger. No longer the scrawny kid we’d fought so hard to bring home. He was a man who looked like he could hold his own now.
But his looks weren’t what concerned me. This house and his unwillingness to leave it were what bothered me. When he made it to the last step, his gaze landed on the flowers in my hands, and a grin spread across his face.
