Page 24 of Vicious Secrets
I take another drink and shake my head. “Oscar should have told her.”
Fabi shrugs and looks away.
“What? You-you can’t be fucking serious?” I laugh and shake my head again. “You think I should have kept the debt a secret?”
“Uh, yeah.” He blinks slowly at me like I’m the idiot in this conversation.
I curse under my breath.
Fabi walks over to me and takes the bottle away. He corks it and puts it back on the shelf. “Earlier this week, Robyn asked me how to best approach and apologize to you. She even floated the idea of changing to a later shift so she could see you more often.”
And here I thought she’d be happier if I made myself scarce.
My chest tightens, and not from the alcohol in my blood. No, this is more guilt threatening to make me vomit. I can’t precisely explain why Robyn drags emotion out of me. Is it because I have empathy for her situation? Or because of the embarrassing obsession-slash-attachment I developed when she took my virginity? Or did we click on day one, and I didn’t catch it?
I glare at him. “What the fuck did I do to earn that? It sounds…healthy.”
“Fuck if I know,” Fabi grunts.
I suddenly have the urge to cut out my tongue to stop myself from asking him for help in the future.
“Fine. You win, Fabi. You pay Cesaro a visit. See if Ari can squeeze him for anything on the Bratva. If Oscar’s willing to lie to Robyn, he probably lied to his wife too. Make sure she knows the truth. I’ll stay here and try to fix something I didn’t have in the first place.”
“On it, Boss.” Fabi nods and leaves without another word.
The sudden silence in the penthouse feels all wrong after the chaos of the last thirty minutes.
A thump from the bedroom draws my attention. I run across the room and down the hall to the bedroom, skidding to a stop at the door and pausing with my hand on the handle, waiting for a sign from Robyn. Busting in and terrorizing her because she dropped a shoe would add insult to injury.
I press against the door and strain my ears. There’s another thump, like a piece of furniture is being lifted and set down.
“Robyn,” I call out. “You’re safe. Only Fabi has a key. You don’t need to barricade yourself.”
It’s a lie, but not impossible for me to do, and something I’m strongly considering. The guest room doesn’t have a lock like this, one meant to keep people out as much as in. It’s electronic with an emergency override, and I could remove my own access with a few clicks. And she’d be safe from more than just me.
The liquor catches up to me, and I slink down to the floor, sitting with a shoulder leaning against the door.
“My parents believe affection is a setup for failure. Before the bride test, I’d only known touch that was violent. After you kissed me at our engagement party… I thought desire and pleasure would outweigh the distress touch usually causes. I was wrong.”
I shift around, stretching my legs out and putting my back to the door to watch for Fabi’s return. “In the closet, I got overwhelmed by my nerves misfiring, and I stormed off to my office, where I blacked out. The wedding night was a gift from Xanax. I popped it a few hours before the ceremony. Thought it’d worn off at dinner.”
Silence greets me.
“I’m sorry, Robyn. For everything.”
Footsteps pad away from the door. I release a sigh and close my eyes. She heard me, and that’s all I want.
I sit in the hall long enough that the motion lights click off, plunging me into darkness but not bringing on sleep.
Chapter 9
Robyn
Thelockonthebedroom door clicks with a whirr. My phone buzzes a moment later with a text from Fabi.
All set. Come out whenever.
I stare at the dark wood until it blurs before my eyes. Sitting on the edge of the bed on Siro’s side, I’m waiting to see if he’ll come in. I grab my phone and shoot a message back to Fabi.
