Masterson

ROMAN

"WHAT IN THE HAM sandwich happened in here?"

Jade enters my apartment door cautiously; poking her head inside and looking around corners while randomly kicking things on the floor with the rounded toe of her Converse. I forgot that I gave her a copy of my key if I ever became "unresponsive".

It's a safety precaution we put in place just in case I was ever in trouble, and she needed to access my emergency cash or gun stash. She's never had to use it until today, although had to use is a strong term for her being here. I don't need her assistance at all, and she knows it. She's just being nosy.

"This place is a real fucking mess, Roman, and so are you."

Tell me something I don't already know you tiny terror.

"Shut up, Jade."

"We really need to talk about how you speak to your employees, if you're going to take over the business. Your people skills suck."

After the awkward drive home with Elizabeth the other day, I called myself giving her a little distance. I know that I moved entirely too fast with her when she was over my place, and that I probably scared the ever living shit out of her. So I thought it was best that I take yesterday off and make it a "No Duchess Day," because when I'm around her, I can't help but want to get inside her in any way she'll allow me to. Her mind. Her body.

Fortunately my "No Duchess Day" gave me a chunk of distraction-free time to take a serious look over of the ownership agreements I've signed with Joseph, along with my lawyer, and to start setting up meetings with management of each club. I have a lot of ideas on how to improve productivity and increase revenue, especially now that Camden and Cutter have agreed to be the managing partners of all the clubs.

Unfortunately though, I now realize why a "No Duchess Day" was a bad idea, because that woman is capable of anything in twenty-four hours. I run by the house under the pretense of asking Joseph to clarify something in one of the contracts and learn from Juliette that Elizabeth went out of the fucking country to meet some investor, without so much as a single word to me.

After that my brain and my body went on autopilot. Juliette fixed me something to eat, and I have zero idea of what was on the plate. I just wolfed it down while I thought about a hundred ways to get on a plane to the Bahamas with a non-registered gun. I asked Joseph about clause number twelve in one of the contracts, but I'll be damned if I have any recall of his explanation.

Not that it mattered.

It was all a front to get in the front door and put eyes on Elizabeth anyway. I just needed to know that she was okay. That she didn't hate me. I wanted to know if she had been thinking about me or about what we did. I'd know if I saw her. Elizabeth is easy to read. Those expressive eyes of hers tell the truth even when she does her best to lie her ass off. Especially to me.

Now she's gone.

When I finally made it home, and I definitely don't remember exactly how I got here, I sat down with my old friend Jack Daniels and drank myself into a coma and then later into a violent rage. That thing, that monster inside me, which I desperately try to keep at bay was rearing its ugly head. That thing telling me I'm not good enough. That I'm trash. That I can't be trusted. I start tossing shit all around the place, destroying my own home; my crowning achievement. Because it doesn't mean shit if I don't mean shit to the one person that is starting to matter to me.

So now I'm sitting on my couch, the same couch that I spread Elizabeth across and fucked her thoroughly on just a day ago, and I'm staring at a blank flat screen. Wondering when the hell did I turn into a complete pussy and what I'm going to do about it– because this shit sucks.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Jade in a very annoyed voice like the prick that I am.

"You didn't return my call or text for over eight hours, homie. You know the protocol. You created it. You could have been in jail or dead in an alley somewhere. What is going on? And don't tell me nothing, because we both know that's a bunch of bullshit. Is this about Joseph?"

"No, Jade."

"Your mom?"

"No," I snap. Talking about my mother has always been off-limits.

"Then what?"

"Elizabeth is gone."

Jade's eyes grow wide with fear, and I know instantly that she knows something that I don't. Why would she react like that?

"What is it, Jade?" I ask with little patience in my voice. "What."

"Do you know where she went?" she asks nervously.

"To the Bahamas. Why?"

"Oh shit." Jade rubs the palms of her hands nervously up and down the front of her jeans. "You asked me to look into the ex."

"AND!"

"Well the boyfriend Ethan ...he's not in rehab."

My chest constricts. I'm not liking this. I'm really not liking this.

"When did he get out?"

"He didn't. He was never in rehab. At least not in Arizona like Elizabeth thinks."

"So where the fuck is he, Jade?"

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure he's in the Bahamas."

♡ ♡ ♡

Are you dying to find out what happens next? Roman and Elizabeth's love story continues In Masterson Unleashed.  Available on all major retailers!

https://books2read.com/Masterson-Unleashed

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