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Tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I had to go."
"You didn't have to go like that. No one knew what happened to you. Fuck. I thought that someone had—" He stopped, but she knew what he'd been about to say. He'd been worried that one of his business associates had killed her.
"I had to get out, Roman. I did it the only way I knew how."
"I thought you weredead,Piper."
"I know. I'm so sorry."
"It's been seven years.Sevenyears since anyone has heard from you. What the hell?"
Piper pulled into her driveway and parked the car. "Roman," she said, trying to hold her emotions together. "I'm sorry I worried you and the others. I just…I was going to die if I stayed there, and Iknew it. If I told you, I never would have gone. You wouldn't have let me go. None of you would have."
"You underestimate us," he said. "Is that really what you think of us?"
"Well, I don't mean you would have chained me to my bed. I just meant that you would have talked me out of it." Dragged her down, just like he was doing right now. Making her feel guilty for taking care of herself, and doing what she needed to survive.
"You so sure about that? Or do you think that it's possible we would have been glad that you made it out? That you had a chance to be more? Did that occur to you?"
She closed her eyes. "No."
"Maybe it should have." There was so much anger in his voice, so much blame. Which was why it had been seven years since she'd talked to him, or the others.
"Roman. I need to go, but I called tonight to tell you that I love you. And the others. You'll always be my family, and I will always hold you in my heart." She almost added that she would always be there to help them out if they needed it, but she didn't.
Because she knew what kind of help her family would want from her, and she wouldn't give it to them.
There was a long silence.
"Roman?"
"You coming home soon?"
"No."
"Ever?"
She couldn't make herself say "no," even though that felt like the truth. "I don't know."
He was silent again.
"This is my cell," she said finally. "Call me if you need to."
He was still silent.
"Okay, um, so that's it, then." She paused. "Tell the others I love them."
More silence.
Should she just hang up? Roman was the one she was closestto, the one she really missed, but also the one who was the most dangerous to her because of that very reason. "Hello?"
"I missed the hell out of you," he finally said. "You always have a home here, little sis." He paused. "I'm sorry I drove you away. I love you."
Tears filled her eyes. "Roman?—"
He hung up before she could say more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
