“I want to hear what happened between you and my father in Vegas. In your words.”
“What did he—”
“Doesn’t fucking matter,” he snaps with a snarl pulling at his upper lip. “I never believed a word that came out of that bastard’s mouth. You of all people should know that. I want to hear your unspoken truth.”
I press my fingertips against my burning eyelids as memories of that night once again push their way into the forefront of my conscience. My insides tremble as I recall the nightmare that separated me from the man I loved.
“You were right about my friends Tina and Shawna,” I begin. “They were prostitutes. They worked for our friend at a popular brothel just outside the city limits. When your dad took you from camp, and I didn’t hear from you that entire school year…I lost all hope. Everything in my life went to shit. Even though I knew the friends I made in Vegas were always getting into trouble and involved in some illegal things, they were nice—especially my friend that owned the brothel. Eventually I started working for him too.”
The springs in the armchair creak. I open my eyes to find Roman pacing the room. Holding his fuming gaze, I tell him, “I swear to you, I never slept with anyone. I told my friend Benjamin that I wouldn’t do anything beyond waitressing. I thought he respected that—until one day he didn’t. Two days after you left Vegas, Benjamin threatened me with a gun, said he’d throw my body in a dumpster if I didn’t meet with a customer who had paid five thousand dollars to sleep with me.”
Hands clenching the chair at his sides, redness blossoms from Roman’s neck into his thick jaw. I’ve never seen him this angry. Knowing I have to continue, fear violently twists through my stomach.
“While I waited for this customer to walk into the back room of the brothel, you were the only thing that went through my mind. I knew you’d hate me if we got back together after the fight we had. I knew I’d never be able to have sex with you again without remembering what I had done. You can’t imagine how surprised I was when a man with the same eyes as yours waltzed into the room. It took all of three seconds to recognize your father. I thought for sure someone was playing a sick joke on me. My mind was reeling—I didn’t know whether he had tracked me down, or if it was a freak meeting. Then he started talking. He was loaded, so his words were slurred and difficult to understand, but I caught the gist of what he was trying to say once I pieced everything together. He wanted to know what was so special about ‘my pussy’ that made his son want to throw everything away.”
All at once Roman stops pacing the room. “Stop! I’ve heard enough!” Pulling his hair away from his face, he bends in half. “Jesus Christ, Belle, I can’t fucking stand this!”
“I didn’t sleep with him.”
His eyes snap back to mine, hope swimming through their sea green depths. He visibly fights against sucking in a breath like he’s afraid he heard me wrong.
“We didn’t have sex,” I clarify, standing along with him. Wrapping my arms around myself, my shoulders stiffen with the memory of that night. “He tried forcing himself on me, but I fought him with everything I had. I vowed to myself that I would die before I’d give the sick bastard the satisfaction of being able to tell you that he had fucked me. It was surprisingly easy to fight off someone of his size—I guess because he was so drunk.”
I pause to pull in a stuttering breath. It still wasn’t easy enough. His father stripped out of his pants and tried shoving a hand down my jeans. Even though his dick was placid and I was still dressed, he tried shoving it between my legs until I kneed him in the balls. If I tell Roman every detail of what went down that night, it’ll break us both.
“Before he gave up, he pressed something sharp against my neck and threatened to tell you where I worked if I didn’t stay away from you. Then he cut me and said he’d come back to finish the job if I didn’t heed his warning.” The warm burn of tears tumbling down my cheek surprises me. Looking away from Roman, I wipe at them before running my fingertips along the scar his father left behind as a reminder. “I never wanted to leave you, Roman. But I didn’t think I had a choice. Knowing what he had done to you over the years, I was scared to death he’d follow through.”
“That motherfucker!” Hands curled into fists in front of him, he shakes his head. “Why didn’t you tell me what he did?”
I close my eyes as more tears fall. “Because you had already accused me of lying about my virginity. And Chris knew I was working there. Months before you came, he showed up with a couple of his buddies. I caught him coming out of a back room after having sex with one of the girls. He threatened to tell you and Joey that I worked as a prostitute if I told her that he had been there. In my seventeen-year-old mind, I decided there was no way in hell you’d believe that I only worked there as a waitress when Chris and your father would both swear otherwise.”