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River kisses me and tucks me in before jumping out of bed and throwing some shorts on, and then seeing what his president wants. Romeo speaks in a low tone, so I can’t hear exactly what’s been said, but it seems serious.
“I’ll be back,” River says, pressing his lips to the top of my head.
He gets dressed and leaves, and I wonder what the hell could be going on at eleven at night. I try to sleep, I do, but I’m wide awake at this point and I leave the room to go into the kitchen to make myself hot chocolate. Hades runs up to me and I pat him while heating up some water.
When I hear what sounds like a shout, I wonder if I’m imagining things. When I hear it a second time, I get up and go to investigate. The voice sounds familiar. Is someone in trouble? What is going on now? Is River here still or did he leave the clubhouse? My feet take me back to the infamous garage, which is where the voices are coming from. I know this didn’t end so well for me last time, but I open the door anyway and step inside.
And there I see River.
Beating the shit out of Mark.
Romeo sees me and rushes me out of the garage, but not before I see River mercilessly pummeling Mark in the face and stomach, wearing an expression that I’ve never seen before.
He’s in his element, almost.
I wince with every sickening sound. Why is he the one they always go to if violence is involved? Does he volunteer? Does he enjoy it?
I push Romeo off me and bolt back into the garage.
“River, what are you doing?” I call out, and he turns to look at me, letting go of Mark, who falls to the ground in a heap. River’s eyes gentle as they land on me, the monster turning back into the man I know and love.
Romeo grabs me and pulls me away before River can say anything back to me.
“Why is Mark here?” I ask Romeo, who has me gently by the arm, leading me back to my bedroom.
“We found him outside, trying to look around,” he explains, stopping at the door. “I know you are curious, but River wouldn’t want you down there, so stay in bed until he gets back.”
“He’s punching the shit out of Mark! I can’t just go to bed and act like everything is fine,” I growl, pulling my arm away from him as the shock starts to wear off.
“He’s blackmailing you, Bella. What did you think would happen if River got his hands on him? You aren’t dating a gentle, timid man. River is... River,” Romeo replies, studying me. “And you know this.”
I feel bad for Mark, not that I’d tell River that, but I do. Yeah, he’s an asshole, but I don’t like to see anyone getting hurt like that. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
Romeo heads back down to the torture chamber and I go back into the kitchen, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do right now. Do I try to stop him? Do I just let him do his thing and get information out of Mark? I really should have gone back to bed and pretended that I didn’t hear anything.
I empty the water out of the kettle, suddenly not interested in a hot beverage, and get out a bottle of beer instead. After a few sips, I decide I can’t just let this happen to Mark and storm back down to the garage. Only this time I walk right into River, the two of us stopping and staring at each other.
“What are you going to do with him?” I ask, my voice breathless.
“Why did you come down there?” he asks in return, shaking his head. “I never wanted you to see me like that again.”
“But that side of you is a part of who you are,” I state.
He nods slowly. “Yes, I guess it is. But not for you. Never for you.”
“River, I know that.”
And I do. I’m not scared of him.
Maybe I’m a little scared for other people, but I know he’d never hurt anyone he cares about.
“If you want to go home, I can take you, or I can get Jag to take you...”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I reply, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to our room. “What happens now? With Mark, I mean.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about him turning you in for the forgery. Mark was fired and has been trying to use Victor’s crime to get his way back in. Not only that, but someone is blackmailing him to take down Romeo. I don’t know who or why, but we will get to the bottom of it,” he says, clearing his throat. “You need to listen sometimes, Bella. If I tell you to stay somewhere, it would be nice if you actually fucking stayed there.”
I open the door and step into the bedroom. “I heard a noise, as if you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”
