“No,” I sobbed. “God, I did something really stupid . . .” I burst into tears and collapsed onto the floor. All I’d wanted to do was to get Ivan off my back.
“I’m on my way. It will be okay, Beth, try not to worry.”
***
I waited for what felt like hours for Roman to arrive. In reality, it was only a few minutes. As I stood by the door waiting to spot his car, my phone beeped. My hands shook as I read the message.
You stupid little bitch. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? If you think I was rough with you, these guys will make our time together seem like a sweet teenage romance. These guys have killed for less than this, Beth.
I was hysterical.
How could I have been so stupid? I’d wanted to hurt him like he hurt me—only all I’d done was gotten myself in a whole heap of shit. I’d been around enough drug dealers to know that they didn’t mess around. When they found out what I’d done, they’d hunt me down and kill me. Or worse.
Sliding down the wall, I sat on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest, panicking and silently freaking out. Please hurry. Come on, Roman. Hurry.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Roman
The ten-minute drive to her place seemed to take hours. I hadn't felt this nervous in years. She could barely speak on the phone; something was seriously wrong, and I had no idea what that was.
Finally, her place came into view. I slammed my foot on the accelerator and drove up the hill, screeching into her driveway. The gate was open. Why was the gate open? The gate was never open. Beth was one of the most security-conscious people I'd ever met.
Blood pounded through my body as I climbed out of my car and ran to the door.
“Beth? It's Roman. Let me in.” The door opened, revealing a terrified-looking Beth standing behind it. She was literally shaking like a leaf, her eyes wide with fear. I walked in and took her in my arms. She burst into tears, relaxing into my embrace.
I walked her over to the sofa and sat her down. I needed her to calm down if I was going to find out what the hell was wrong. So help me God, if anyone had hurt her . . . Let's just say things wouldn't end well for them.
“Beth, I need you to calm down. Look at me, Beth. Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes to mine. What the hell had her so terrified? She was shaking, and her face was white except for her eyes, which were red from crying. Even in this state, she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
“I can't,” she whispered.
“Beth, you can. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You can do whatever you want to do. Tell me what happened. Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
“You can't fix this, Roman.”
“Let me try. Did someone hurt you?”
Her sobs got louder. And there was my answer. My body tensed at the thought of anyone laying a finger on her. Shit. I’d fucking kill the bastard.
“Beth, I need you to talk to me, okay? I'm two seconds away from calling the cops.”
Her head shot up. Her eyes were wide with fear. “Don't do that! Please, please don't do that.”
“Then you’d better tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I did something. I did something really stupid.”
“What? What did you do, Beth?”
“I'm in some serious trouble. I can't stay here,” she declared. She jumped up, glancing around the room, that same look of terror in her eyes. “They know where I live. This is the first place they’ll look. I've got to go.”
I followed her as she ran toward her bedroom. I watched as she grabbed a bag and begun stuffing random items of clothing into it.
“Fine, come with me, you can tell me what the hell this is all about on the way.”