✔️ ILLICIT DESIRES | 18 +

Chapter 43

ROMAN

I Am Stuck with the Fucker Next to Me.

Still in the hospital, I can't sleep. She deprives me of all rest because she's all my mind is occupied with.

I saved her on her wedding night. I protected her. I lied to my capo for her. I was ready to help her build a new life. I risked everything for her.

And she showed her gratitude for my generosity by breaking her promise to me — running back to her daddy at the first opportunity.

She reported me to the police while I was grappling with my brother, trying to stop him from following her. Now I'm in police custody.

In less than a week, I'll be in jail. I huff. I should have just killed that two-faced bitch that night, but goddamn me, I spared her.

I come back from my thoughts as the door opens and Donatello walks in. I smile when I see him wearing a doctor's uniform, just like Marco last time.

"Dr. Alessi? What's my daily dosage of medicine for today? Poison?" I ask, the corner of my lips curling into a taunting smile.

"No wonder you're still awake," he mutters, looking at a snoring Valerio — who literally shakes the room — before turning back to me. "I'm not here because I want to kill you. I can't kill you, even if I want to."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I frown, confused. He sighs before pulling out a chair and sitting in front of me.

"What kind of files did you have in your safe at home, Roman?" he asks seriously, confusing me even more.

"Just some contracts about sealed deals I had to take care of in two months. Why?" I ask curiously. "Do you really think this is the right time to talk about business? Anyway, they all went through successfully..."

"Fuck," he groans, looking irritated, which puzzles me even more since I just told him everything went fine. "How did she get the code to your safe?"

"I gave her the code so she could take the money and run away before Valerio came to kill her," I mumble with a frown. "What's the matter?"

"Well, Rita obviously found the files more interesting than the money. She took the files instead. Now, she's threatening Antonio — saying she'll hand them over to the police," he tells me, frustrated.

"Oh... wow... at least she's not a gold digger," I nod, impressed, as I sit up, a deep frown creasing between my brows. "What does she want in return for the files?"

"She wants you both to be safe. We even have to protect you. Do you know how hard it is for my brother to protect the men who betrayed him?"

"I didn't betray him. I killed his enemy. I killed Nicolai. But she's not his enemy. She means no harm to him," I groan, fed up with being called a traitor.

"She's just a victim. She only wants to live a peaceful life. If he hadn't sent Valerio and had let me take care of her, she'd be a ghost by now!"

"Innocent? Last time I checked with Marco, you said she was a veiled killer," he snaps. "This woman is dangerous, Roman! Don't you see it? She used you to outmaneuver Antonio and escape!"

"Maybe that was her only option after your brother surrounded my apartment with his armed men." I still defend her. A part of me refuses to believe she's a two-faced prude who only cares for herself.

"She used her father to help put Maria on trial so she could get her dead husband's shares. And after her father helped her — when she had no use for him anymore," he asserts, lips pursed, "she deemed him expendable."