Rome: A Marked Men Novel (16 page)

When I pulled up to the Victorian, Nash was coming down the front steps. He had stayed to shut the bar

down with me and Rowdy, so he looked about as haggard as I felt. He had a ball hat pulled down low on

his forehead and dark sunglasses covering half of his face. He pulled up short when he saw me and walked

over to lean on the fender of the Cooper.

“What are you doing here?”

I tried not to fidget and pushed my own sunglasses up on my nose.

“I need to talk to Rome.”

I saw his eyebrows dip below the frames and the corner of his mouth turn down.

“Why?”

“Because I do. Leave it alone.”

“I told you it was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, well, it’s my bad idea, so back off. I just need to talk to him. Where are you off to so early?”

“I’m going to talk to my mother.”

I blinked in shock. It was no secret that Nash’s relationship with his mom and his stepdad was anything

but rosy.

“Why on earth would you want to do that?”

“Because something is going on with Phil and I need help pinning him down. He’s dodging me left and

right, so she’s my last resort.”

“Wasn’t Phil your real dad’s brother?”

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. I could see even mentioning those dynamics made him

uncomfortable.

“Yeah, but ever since I was little, I mean long before I even understood that my dad took off, Phil has

been unable to tell my mother no. She says ‘jump,’ he asks her what river she wants him to leap into. It’s

weird but I figure she’s the only way to get some answers.”

I patted his bicep and moved toward the front of the apartment they shared. “Good luck with that, it

sounds like a whole lot of no fun.”

“He’s not here.”

I pulled up a step and looked back at Nash over my shoulder. Unbidden visions of Catwoman and her

hands in Rome’s pants flew through my head. I didn’t like the way that they made my stomach drop at all.

“He didn’t come home last night?” I could hear the dissatisfaction in my tone and clearly it wasn’t lost

on Nash because he scowled at me.

“No, he was here when I got home. Alone. He just doesn’t sleep so great, ya know? He was up really,

really early. I think he went running or something. You want me to let you inside so you can wait for him?”

I nodded. I needed a cup of coffee and a second to formulate what I wanted to say to Rome.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Cora. Rome isn’t the kind of guy you can just manipulate and

twist around your cute little finger. What happened to holding out for Mr. Perfect?”

I made myself at home in the small kitchen and pulled my sunglasses off to set them on the breakfast

bar that separated the very masculine living room from the even more manly kitchen.

“Stop being such a worrywart, I just want to talk to the guy.”

He headed back toward the front door but his words stayed with me after he shut it behind him.

“Talking with you is what normally gets people into the most trouble.”

I appreciated that the guys were worried about me. I didn’t have the best track record with

disappointment and boys, and I had been going on for a long time about my perfect man. They all knew I

was after a guy that seemed rock solid, that wasn’t carrying around a truckload of emotional baggage, that

came across happy and set with his lot in life. They knew I was ready for a guy who wanted to promise me

forever and a future that was as bright and shiny as I tended to be. I wanted the happy-ever-after that Rule

had given Shaw and the peace of mind that Jet had given Ayden. I wanted a partner and someone who was

ready to travel the long, twisting road of commitment with me.

It made sense that they could all see that Rome was almost the exact opposite of what I had been

describing, so they were just trying to save me from more unnecessary heartache because by now it was

obvious he was getting to me. I just didn’t know if my idea of what I was holding out for was a viable

option anymore. There was something happening between us—more than chemistry, more than wistful

longing, and more than a little crush. I knew when a plan was falling apart. I had seen my first plan of a life

with Jimmy go up in smoke and now I could see the idea of Mr. Perfect, this fictional ideal I had built up in

my head, start to tatter under the force of everything that was Rome Archer. It didn’t matter that he seemed

to be as lost as a child in the dark, that his baggage was heavier and harder to handle than most, or that he

couldn’t even see his tomorrow, let alone a future with someone else. I wasn’t sure I was ready to fully let

go of the dream just yet; only Rome was standing in the way of me getting my hands on it anymore. I

couldn’t ignore that something was happening between us and it was time to stop being scared and find the

answers to exactly what that something was.

I heard the front door open and heavy footsteps make their way toward where I was in the kitchen. I

was rinsing off the dishes in the sink, mostly because I needed something to do with my hands, but also

because they looked like they had been there for a while. Gross.

“What are you doing here?”

The tone was not nice. There was no welcome, none of the flirty and teasing he normally tossed at me.

It sounded like each word was having to fight its way out of somewhere deep in his chest and that they

tasted bitter and sharp on his tongue. I wiped my hands on a dish towel and turned around to face him.

Holy hell
. How was I supposed to have a coherent, grown-up conversation with the man when he was

wearing only a pair of black track pants and an iPod holder wrapped around one bicep? His dark hair was

even darker with sweat and all those muscles and planes that made up his amazing physique were standing

out in stark relief since he wasn’t wearing a shirt and had clearly just put himself through some serious

paces. That just wasn’t fair.

“The dishes. You’re welcome.”

He grunted and pulled the iPod off. He stepped past me to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. I

tried not to drool in an obvious way when some of it missed his mouth and ended up running a damp trail

over his chest. He just watched me with almost zero expression on his handsome, but obviously exhausted

face.

“I was going to do them later this afternoon. I need to take a shower. I stink.”

I cleared my throat and leaned back against the sink. “I was hoping we could talk real quick.” And

maybe he would go put a shirt on so I could form words and not sound like a moron.

He rubbed both his hands, hard, over his face and head and I noticed how really worn he actually

looked. Those blue eyes were sort of faded and he had dark shadows resting underneath.

“Listen, Cora, I understand. I’m jacked up, you aren’t into it, whatever. It just messes with my already

overworked mind when you tell me one thing and then look at me like you want to lick me all over like an

ice cream cone in the same breath. I’m trying to figure my own shit out. I don’t have the mental fortitude or

the patience to try and figure yours out as well. I just ran six miles on less than two hours of sleep. I need a

shower and maybe if I’m lucky, a nap.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond. He just turned on his sneaker and left me standing there gaping

at him. For the second time in as many days, I was not only speechless but also left without being able to

get a final word in. I hated it. The butt-head didn’t even give me the opportunity to apologize for being

needlessly bitchy last night. I shoved off the counter and went down the hallway to the room at the back of

the apartment. It was Rule’s old room when he had lived with Nash, so I knew that there was a bathroom

attached.

I could hear the water running and he had the radio on somewhere in the room and it was playing Tom

Petty. Oddly fitting, Rome totally struck me as a classic-rock kind of guy. His room was also neat as a pin.

All those years in the military had obviously bred good habits into him. The big king-sized bed was even all

made up. There wasn’t so much as a stray sock on the floor, but there also wasn’t much to define the space

as his. The only personal effect that was visible was a black-and-white photo of a much younger Rome and

the twins.

Rule looked like Rule, only without as much ink, and he was smiling, something he didn’t do much of

until he and Shaw had figured their situation out. Rome looked tall and proud, every bit the protective older

brother. And the other twin, Remy—it was crazy to see an exact replica of what Rule would look like as a

typical guy—still beautiful, but so boring, so common.

I was lost in thought, staring at the photo, so I didn’t hear the water turn off. An arm shot out over my

shoulder and picked the picture up. Startled I turned around and came face-to-face with Rome in a towel

and that’s it. Man, this was turning into a total test of my self-control. Track pants were nice, a towel was

better. He smelled clean but still looked annoyed that I was all up in his space.

“This picture has been everywhere I’ve been. I took it to basic. It went to Korea. It’s been to Pakistan

and Iraq, and it just came back from Afghanistan with me. The people in it were always there to remind me

what I was fighting for, who I was supposed to be keeping the country safe for.”

I put a hand to my throat and was surprised to find that his words had tears building in the back of my

eyes.

“You’re lucky to have that kind of relationship with them.”

He snorted, and I had to try really hard not to reach out and snatch that tiny knot holding the towel up. I

don’t know what it was about him that made my body take charge and my mind take a backseat, but it was

potent and slightly unnerving. I had never been so overwhelmingly attracted to any man before, not even

Jimmy.

“I thought so, too, only then I found out Remy was hiding a secret life, and that Shaw could do a better

job taking care of Rule than I ever did.”

I cocked my head to the side and considered him thoughtfully. “What about you?”

He cut me a look and moved back across the room to his dresser. The backside view was just as nice as

the front.

“What about me?”

“You always talk about how you fought for them, how you made choices for them. What about you?

Who took care of you? Who fought to make the world a better place for you?” I asked the questions in

shock, because I couldn’t really believe he didn’t realize how important he was and had always been to his

brothers. Those blue eyes never wavered from mine.

“I think you’re trying to diminish all the things you were to Rule and Remy, and that’s not cool. Remy

might not have been honest, but by all accounts he was in love and happy. And yes, Rule was a hot mess,

but he managed to get it together when it counted, so you did your brotherly duty. It’s time to focus on your

own life.”

He turned around to look at me, a T-shirt dangling from his hand. I took a deep breath and forced

myself to focus on his face and not his naked chest, or the spot below his waist where that towel was

hanging precariously below his belly button.

“Look, I need to apologize for being so bitchy last night. I think it’s cool that you’re trying not to drink

anymore. Admirable even. Honestly, I was not a fan of the leather-clad bimbo and her hands all in your

pants. It might have made me a little cranky, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

The eyebrow under the scar went up. “Who?”

“The girl from last night.” He shrugged like he didn’t remember and tossed his shirt on the bed.

“Well, you and Rowdy looked like matching rock-and-roll wedding cake toppers. Both so blond, pretty,

and all kinds of pierced and tattooed. If I had to stand there and watch him rub your neck or whisper in

your ear one more second, it wasn’t going to be pretty.”

I felt my eyes pop wide and my heart started to speed up.

“Rowdy is like my brother.”

“And I don’t remember any chick in leather.”

We stood there in silence, staring at each other. I saw his pulse flutter in his neck and bit my bottom lip.

It suddenly felt like we were the only two people in the world, like this room was standing still in time. I

was starting to feel like what I thought perfect meant was absolutely boring and I was an idiot forever

thinking that was what I wanted. Wild and unleashed seemed so much more exciting than steadfast and

firmly planted. Now I just needed him to get on the same page as me with it.

“So here’s the deal. I don’t need you to figure my shit out, I can do it all on my own. I look at you like I

want to lick you all over because I do. I don’t really know how to go about starting up something with a

guy like you, but as long you promise not to lie to me, to not cheat on me, I want to.”

And I did. I wanted to start it and finish it and enjoy everything in between. He was so different from

Jimmy, and honestly, troubled or not, I could see he was so much better. Rome Archer was a force to be

reckoned with, a storm brewing of broken thoughts and dangerous demons, of misplaced responsibility and