The Perfect Stroke (Lucas Brothers #1)(138)

“No one.”

“That’s sad. No one behind to mourn your passing,” I whisper. Roman doesn’t respond. I didn’t really expect him to. “Where are we going?”

“I’m going to drop you off at the apartment and then I have to go to the morgue to identify the body.”

“I could go with you, Roman,” I tell him, not wanting him to be without me—in the city, especially, as I’m more aware that Paul could try to set Roman up at any moment.

“No, Ana. I don’t want you around any of this. I’ll get it handled and check on your brother and then meet you back at the apartment.”

“Maybe I should see my brother?” I suggest, not completely sure I want to at this point.

“He’s getting better, Ana, but I don’t want him around you. Not yet.”

“Roman, you can’t protect me from the world,” I complain as we pull into the parking garage of Roman’s apartment complex.

“I can try,” he says with a ghost of a smile.

His face looks so tired. My hand reaches up to brush away the wrinkles that are gathered around his eyes. “I love you, Roman.” My heart pounds in my chest. I didn’t mean to say the words. They slipped out and now they’re just hanging between us. I can’t call them back and I can’t make them unheard.

“Ana,” he says, and I can read the regret there. You don’t have to be a detective or a beat cop to see the writing on the wall.

“Shh… I didn’t tell you because I expected anything back. I just wanted you to know.” I’m half lying. I didn’t tell him on purpose, but still it would have been nice to hear something back. Instead, I get a Roman who looks uncomfortable, a Roman who is rubbing the tension out of the back of his neck—tension my big mouth probably put there. The car comes to a stop and I turn the handle quickly, intent on getting out. Roman’s hand on my arm stops me.

“We’ll talk tonight, pet. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay.” I plaster a fake smile on my face. He holds my neck again and brings my lips to him. He gives me a sweet kiss, brief, but his tongue slides into my mouth, slow and seductive. “Be safe,” I tell him before sliding out. One of his security guys is already waiting for me at the door. I need to get my head out of my ass and start figuring out what on earth I’m doing here. The only thing that is clear is that I’ve gone too far with Roman to ever find my way back to being the Ana I was before I went undercover, which means I need to try and protect Roman and get out from under Paul completely. I need to concentrate on that plan right now. Honestly, if I concentrated on the fact that I just told Roman I loved him and he didn’t even bother to hide the look of surprise and regret in his face, I’d fall to my knees and cry. I can’t do that. This seems like the safest option.

I walk into the apartment as if I’m on autopilot, and maybe I am, because I can’t even remember the ride up in the elevator. I go straight to the bedroom and pull out my cellphone.

The * barely answers before I interrupt him. “Paul. We need to talk. I’ve decided to do what you want.”

“What if I said I don’t need you now?” he asks, and the implications of that scare the hell out of me.

“What if I told you I could deliver more than just what you asked? We need to meet.” I’m bluffing my ass off here, but I don’t have a f*cking choice.

“Coffee shop on the corner. There’s a small room off from the bathrooms. It will be unlocked. You have fifteen minutes and you better not be wasting my time, Ana.”

“I’ll be there.” I tell him, closing my eyes and reminding myself that I don’t have a choice.





I know who is behind Joe’s murder. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist. My mind is trying to stay on course, but hearing Ana tell me she loves me… Fuck.

I know how women get. She expects me to say that shit back. That’s impossible. I don’t believe in f*cking love. Never had it in my life and I’ve seen enough of human nature to know that f*cking shit doesn’t exist. Nothing overrules human nature. When things get right down to it, survival is what matters most to people. No amount of feelings can outweigh that. Anything that says that it does is just some bastardized publicity. That’s it.

All that said, I will admit to a perverse thrill at Ana’s words. If I can nurture that and keep her trapped by my side, that’s all I need. I’ll make sure she never wants for a motherf*cking thing. Keep her happy enough that she never questions about what else is out there.

As she disappears into the elevator with a security detail, I pick up the phone. I need to switch gears to business. I will have to plan shit out with Ana later.

My first move is to call Marcum to let him know what’s going on.

“Hello?” A woman answers the phone. It’s surprising because, as much as Marcum f*cks around with chicks, not a damn one of them would ever answer this number.

“I’m looking for Marcum. Who is this?”

“This is his daughter-in-law, Tess. Marcum was in an accident.”

“An accident?” I ask, instantly alert.

“Yeah, it was touch-and-go for a little while, but he’ll be okay.”

“What happened?”

“Can I ask who’s calling?” she asks, instead of answering.