Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2 — The Price of Peace
Roman arrived in nine minutes.
I watched from the security monitors as his black SUV tore onto the street, stopping aggressively outside the main gate.
He did not wait for his driver to open the door.
He stepped out, his dark overcoat billowing in the wind, his eyes scanning the perimeter with lethal precision.
He was not carrying a weapon.
He had promised me he would not carry one anymore.
But the way he moved made it clear he was still the most dangerous thing on the street.
I met him in the lobby.
Before I could speak, his hands were on my shoulders.
His gaze swept over me, searching for any sign of injury, any tremor of fear.
“I’m fine,” I said softly.
He pulled me against his chest.
His heart was hammering against my cheek.
“Show me the box,” he demanded.
I led him into the security room. Sarah stepped outside to give us privacy.
Roman stared at the wooden box on the metal table.
He looked at the riding crop.
He did not touch it.
His jaw locked so tightly I could see the muscles feathering beneath his skin.
He picked up the note.
He read it once. Twice.
Then he crushed the heavy cardstock in his fist.
“Do you know who sent it?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“A ghost.”
Roman turned away from the table, pacing the short length of the room.
“When I cooperated with the federal investigators, I dismantled the primary syndicates.”
“I know,” I said. “You surrendered the routes. You closed the accounts.”
“I also exposed the supply lines.”
Roman stopped and looked at me.
“There was a man named Victor Kael. He ran the eastern ports before Grant and Arthur tried to push him out.”
“I don’t recognize the name.”
“Your father kept him hidden. Kael was brutal. He didn’t just kill people; he made spectacles of them.”
Roman’s eyes darkened.
“When I took over the Mercer operations, I pushed Kael out completely. I drove him into exile.”
“Why?”
“Because he dealt in human trafficking.”
A cold sickness settled in my stomach.
“I refused to allow that on my docks,” Roman said. “I burned his ships. I crippled his network.”
“And when you went to the feds?”
“I gave them Kael’s offshore ledgers. I thought he was rotting in a black site.”
Roman threw the crushed note onto the table.
“He is out. Or he escaped.”
“And he knows about Haven House.”
“He knows about you.”
Roman stepped closer, his hands framing my face.
“Kael knows that you are the reason I walked away. He knows you are the only thing in this world I care about losing.”
His thumbs brushed my cheekbones.
“I am sending you away, Evelyn.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I have a secure property in Switzerland. It is completely off the grid. You will leave tonight.”
“No.”
“This is not a negotiation.”
“I am not leaving my home.”
Roman’s voice rose, the old authority bleeding back into his tone.
“You do not understand what this man does. He sent that crop to show you he knows your scars. He knows your past.”
“I know my past too, Roman. It doesn’t control me anymore.”
“Evelyn, please.”
He pressed his forehead against mine.
“If he touches you, I will burn this city to the ground. I will become exactly what I promised you I would never be again.”
I closed my eyes, listening to the desperation in his voice.
He was terrified of losing me.
But he was also terrified of losing his own humanity.
I placed my hands over his.
“Look at me.”
Roman opened his eyes.
“I am not going to Switzerland,” I said, my voice steady and absolute.
“I spent twenty-seven years hiding in a mansion because men told me it was for my own good.”
“I am not hiding anymore.”
Roman pulled back slightly.
“Evelyn.”
“We built this life together, Roman. If Victor Kael wants to tear it down, he will have to face both of us.”
“He plays dirty.”
“So did my father.”
I turned toward the metal table.
“Kael wants to provoke you. He wants you to pick up a gun and start a war in the streets. If you do that, the feds will void your immunity deal.”
Roman’s eyes narrowed.
“You go to prison, and he takes back the ports,” I said.
“That is his plan.”
Roman stared at me, the tension in his shoulders slowly beginning to uncoil.
“You analyzed his strategy in ten minutes.”
“I grew up watching criminals make mistakes.”
I picked up the crushed note and smoothed it out on the table.
“We are not going to fight him with bullets, Roman.”
“Then how do we fight him?”
“With the one thing men like him never expect.”
I looked at my husband.
“We are going to use the law.”
Roman let out a slow, heavy breath.
A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth.
“You are terrifying.”
“I told you that on our wedding night.”
“What is the first step?”
“We need to know how he got out, and who is financing his return.”
“The feds won’t tell us.”
“No,” I agreed.
“But someone else might.”
I looked at the riding crop again.
“Kael knew about the crop. He knew about my scars. Only three people knew those details.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“Arthur, me, and Grant.”
“Exactly.”
May you like
I picked up my coat from the chair.
“I need to visit my brother.”
